Thank you Sheaffer for sending this Sentinel Signature ballpoint pen for review! There are four finishes available in this series and they are all quite pretty... attack of one-of-everythingitis.
ABOUT
Price: $30.00USD
Where to buy: Goldspot Pens
PACKAGING
The Sentinel Signature ballpoint pen arrived in a classic black Sheaffer box. Inside, it was in a plastic sleeve, nestled on a felt bed. Under the bed, there is a warranty pamphlet for Sheaffer's limited one year warranty. The packaging is simple though quite large for such a slim pen. It does not meet the Keep It? cut though.
APPEARANCE
I found the Sentinel Signature quite striking in its simplicity. The pen is slim but not overly so. Most of the pen is a glossy black, with a chrome tip, and a checkered chrome top, clip, and knocker. The classic Sheaffer White Dot can be found at the top of the clip as well. I think the combination of the glossy black barrel and the understated checkered pattern on the top of the pen is great. It looks really nice.
PERFORMANCE
This ballpoint pen performs quite well. The refill supplied is a Sheaffer "K" ballpoint refill and I was quite pleased with it because it started up right away, did not give any blobbing or smearing issues, and wrote continuously without skipping, at high and low angles.
The tip is a decent size - a true medium. Not too bold, not too fine. It's a good width for every day use.
After a long writing session, I felt the slim profile and fairly light weight of the pen was a little wearing on my hand, because I had to hold it so tightly to keep a good grip on it. Ballpoints, of course, are not generally that ergonomic - at least not the typical ballpoint pen. This one has no grip area or design to cater to long writing sessions, so don't expect to use it extensively. For shorter writing sessions, it is ideal. Otherwise, people with larger hands or long writing sessions will feel the fatigue.
OVERALL
I think Sheaffer has made a nice ballpoint pen here. It's quite attractive and because there are three other finishes available, I think there will be a finish that will be appealing to almost anyone. Personally, a price point of $30.00USD is not too shocking for a nice ballpoint pen, so I would say this is decently priced. The only issue would be whether it is too slim, if you intend to use it for long writing sessions.
I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.
Interesting. I wonder if the Sheaffer ballpoint ink is really Bic "Easy-Glide" ink now?
ReplyDeleteIts a proprietary refill though so it needs to be good to like the pen.
The Sheaffer ballpoints actually have a really nice design and professional presence to them. Nice review!
ReplyDelete