Current Favorite Pens

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

 

Cooper is entering 4th grade and that means he’s moving from using pencils solely to pens!  He’s so excited about that. Welcome to the club, Cooper!

Whenever I’m posting lettering work on my Instagram account @thehandwritingclub (be sure to follow!) I am asked what pen I’m using, so here it is all in one place. These are my Current Favorite Pens!  If I was to put together an ultimate pen case filled with all of my essentials, this is what it would have in it right now.  I’ve written about my favorite pens here and here before!

THESE ARE MY FAVORITE PENS. Follow me as I show you how/why I love them.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

This is my most used pen. It’s the pen I show everyone when they wonder how I write the way I do.

It takes a lot of finesse, but DANG IT’S GOOD.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

 

Tombow Dual Brush Pen in Black:

This pen is a hot commodity in my pen case. The problem is, I usually wear out the brush pen side before I get to the other side. So it feels wasteful at times. My rules for this pen are: NEVER LET A CHILD USE IT UNLESS I LOVE THEM. But seriously though. When you love the brush pen and someone ruins it, you’re not happy.

This is the pen I like to use in my bullet journal system:

For more of my Bullet Journal layouts, check out this post.

Which reminds me, I need to update that because I have a whole new system now!

(Of course, I do…)

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Pentel Sign Pen with Brush Tip

This pen is one of my new favorites. It’s pretty versatile too! You can get a really fine tip in your penmanship if you work that tip! It’s also a fun to watch. There’s something so satisfying about that rubbery/brushy movement.  Yes, I am a pen nerd.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Staples Duramark Permanent Mark- Fine Tip

I dunno how I stumbled upon these but WOW. I felt like I unlocked a hidden gem. Staples has their own Sharpie experience with this pen. Way cheaper.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Tombow Calligraphy Pen:

I like both the soft and hard tips. This one is soft.

When I’m writing in my journal, a letter or making lists, I use this pen.

Example:

My Everyday Life: Week 27 on Shutterbean.com

Here’s a weird new development. I like a ballpoint pen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Uni-ball Jetstream 1.o Bold

I think I borrowed someone’s pen and this was it. I was like WHOAAAAAAA WHAT IS THAT PEN?!

It glides nicely. It makes my handwriting different. It makes me not hate lowercase lettering and it also helps me make my own cursive.

I like connecting letters.  This is a good pen to use if you’re journaling and you’re on a roll with your thoughts and you don’t want your pen to hold you back.

Ballpoint pens also make me realize how hard I press into the pages. The indentations on the next page fascinate me.

Something you forget about when you’re all about that inky pen life.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Expo Chisel Tip Dry Erase Pen (low odor!)

We have a dry erase calendar on the wall so I can pretend like we have all of our dates on the calendar organized.

Was it the pen experience that made me not what to use the calendar?

MOST LIKELY.

So I went on an epic pen journey and found this chisel tip dry erase pen.

CHISEL TIP FOR LIFE.

This is the pen I use for the UPPERCASE MONTH lettering in our dry erase board.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Bic Magic Marker Dry Erase

This is the pen I use to fill in the dates. IT IS DREAMY.

It is the inkiest dry erase marker I’ve ever used. It makes my handwriting feel closest to how it is with pen on paper.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Uni-Ball Signo (in White!)

This pen is always getting lost in the shuffle.

If you love the contrast of white pen on black paper, THIS PEN IS IT. Also great on top of drawings.

It’s something to put in your art supply kits!

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Crayola twistables crayons

These things are still my favorite. I love using them in coloring books.

Lately, I keep two or three in my pen case because they’re really good highlighters in a pinch.

It’s also good for me to have another color in my pen case so that when Cooper and I are playing Tic-Tac-Toe at a restaurant, we have different colors for each of us.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Staples No, 2 Pencil (.7m)

Can’t find a link to this one for you, unfortunately. But if you go into a Staples store (try not to spend your whole paycheck!), check out these pencils. They’re not as long as a freshly sharpened pencil, which is probably what I like about them. The only thing is that the eraser wears out over time.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

Bic 2 in 1 Wite-Out

Technically not a pen, but VERY useful. If you like a precision situation when you’re using white-out, you’ll like that this product features both a fine point side (which you can see on that post-it) and a sponge brush (which I don’t use as often).

Now that we have all the pens nailed down, let’s find something to put them in.

Here are a few I think are ADORABLE.

Tracy from Shutterbean shares her current Favorite Pens! See what's in her pen case!

PEN CASES

 

Don’t forget my post on Bullet Journal Supplies if you’re interested in seeing more of my organizing brain!

Happy pen shopping!!!

And if you’re also into pens, let me know what your favorite pens are these days. 

This information is so important to us pen lovers! 

  • Chelsey

    I love your pen posts. 🙂 I have been using the same pens for about 6 years or so. Joy the Baker mentioned that she loved Sharpie’s Fine Point Pens, and that they never smudged(I think it was in August 2012, if I remember right! I remember it being my birthday month), so I ordered them immediately and never looked back! The only other pens I’ve introduced into my life are Le Pens for some variety. However, now I’m thinking about giving those Pentel pens a shot. 🙂

  • Rebecca

    Before this, I had no idea that Paper Mate made any cool pens, but now I am super into the Paper Mate InkJoy gel pens – I got the 14-pack and I LOVE having that many colors to choose from!

  • Meg

    Tracy. You blew my mind with those tombow calligraphy pens. I’m hooked! I used to prefer the soft brush but I’ve found that the hard brush has its place too.

  • Krystal

    I love these round ups and all of your organizing posts.

    When I saw that first cat pencil pouch with the legs legit screamed! It is SOOOO cute and has markings like my kitty.

  • Krystal

    I legit*

    I’m too excited for syntax.

  • Heather

    PLEEEEAAAASE post your new bullet journal layout! I finally decided to stop procrastinating and get started in September. I’ve got my journal and was going to use a lot of your previous layout ideas.

    Also, you’re turning me into a pen geek! Like, I’ve always enjoyed nice pens, but have never been very intentional about them. I’m having so much fun experimenting now! And that Totoro bag — all the heart eyes!!!

  • Becky B

    I’m really into the Papermate InkJoy pens! They come in a million pretty colors, dry really quickly (as a left-handed person, this is very important to me!) and create a nice, thick line 🙂 The downside to them is that the stop writing long before all the ink is gone.

  • Susan

    When my mom died and I started taking care of my dad, I started using her favorite pen to handle their finances. Paying their bills, helping my dad with getting the accounts chanted to be in his name only, updating beneficiaries, and writing the thank yous for the funeral. I loved that pen and have been using it for a few years now. I started worrying that it would run out of ink soon. Lo and behold, a local store finally started carrying the pen.
    It’s a Zebra F301 stainless steel fine point ballpoint pen. I currently have about 7 black ink ones, 2 blue and a red one, along with the original one my Mom had that I still use. It’s great for check writing, filling out forms etc.

  • Sina

    Dear Tracy, wonderful post! I think I have to find myself a brush pen… My favourite pen these days is an edding 1255 calligraphy pen – I have the 2.0 and 3.5 tip. My favourite ballpoint pen is a quite cheap one I found on the recommendation of my local stationary shop after trying out all their expensive ones. Yay for local shops and their helpful owners! For some colour I have Jumbo Grip Faber-Castell pencils, they are triangular and wonderful to draw and highlight with. I also like Stabilo felt-tip pens in various shades of blue (I don’t know if any of these brands is available in the US though). I use all of these in my bu-jo – oh, please share your new system, I’m allways eager for inspiration!

  • Lori

    Love hearing and seeing your pen suggestions!

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  • Jessica

    Hi Tracy!
    LOVE every pen post. Currently making my way through many paychecks on Tombow products, thanks to you! 🙂
    I’m a teacher, and I think it’s in my blood to love any felt tip pen, particularly Flairs in all the colors. I always just go back to the black, though. I love the extra fine tip Flair when I’m feeling like I can be slower and neater, and the regular tip for everyday.
    I HATE ballpoint pens with a passion, too, and still to this day have not found one I truly like. The Inkjoy ones that everyone is raving about DO NOT work for me at all, however cheerful and cute the colors. I am left handed, and always thought that ballpoint didn’t work for me because of that. I definitely know that is one big reason but I think I just don’t like how they don’t seem INKY enough. You are right, the INKY-ER the better!

  • Cheryl

    I would also love to see your current bullet journal layout method. I finally have my bullet journal supplies, but I’m scared to start!

    • Tracy

      Don’t be scared! Your first journal should be your practice journal. You’ll get better at it the longer you work on it and the more you’re engaged with it, you can play around with new layouts. HAVE FUN!

  • Danabee

    Hi Tracy,
    I love pens! Always have. Even ballpoints. (Why all the hate?) That UNi Jetstream is fabulous! After I read your post I went straight to Staples and bought my own. I balked at the price tag but figured what the heck. It’s a really fast pen and excellent for journaling. Thank you!
    PS: I love the retractable PaperMate 1.0 InkJoy pens too. There is a fun bright pink color I can’t do without.

  • MaryEllen

    I LOVE supplies posts!!! <3

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