Comparison of the Uniball Signo .5mm and .38mm

Back when I did my first review of the Uniball Signo DX .38 in black brown, I mentioned that I didnt like how the ink looked mostly black on paper.  Well, I had a comment from one of my friendly readers suggesting that I try out the .5mm version if I wanted to be able to better see that it was brown black instead of looking like regular black, so I picked one up at Maido Stationery in CA to try it out and compare.

Comparison of the tip on the Uniball Signo .38mm (left) and .5mm (right)

Before I get to the comparison of the ink and the appearance of the color itself, I wanted to mention a bit about the pen itself.  I have always been fond of the .38 version because of its fine consistent line, and smooth writing experience.  In addition to the great writing results from the .38mm version, the pen itself is very comfortable to hold and write with.  In comparison, the .5mm which doesnt carry the DX stamp, writes very smoothly, and has the same solid ink flow with no feathering or bleed through.  The .5mm is a larger pen overall, the cap and clip are larger, and the entire length of the pen is longer as well.    The body of the .38mm is completely cylindrical, while the .5mm version has six flat sides, kind of like a pencil.  None of these differences were a big deal to me, they dont really impact the comfort or writing experience.  The one major difference though is that the .5mm version does not have the same rubber grip section that the .38mm version has.  For the most part, my thumb is the only part of my hand that comes in contact with the grip when I write, but the lack of grip and exposed plastic on the .5mm version does not give the same secure comfortable grip.  Not a deal breaker, but I do miss having the grip there.

Writing sample and comparison of the .38 and .5 mm brown black ink

As I said, in my original review of the Signo DX .38 in brown black, I had a reader who left the following comment:

Susan
August 21st, 2009 at 11:54 AM

“This is absolutely my favorite ink color and I’d estimate that I write with it about 75 percent of the time. I use it when most people would use black or blue. However, I prefer the 0.5mm version; I have all three point sizes, but I find the brown-black color shows up better in the 0.5mm and is less likely to be mistaken for black.“

Now that I had the .5mm version in my hands, I was excited to try it out and see if I could pick up any difference in how the ink appears on the paper.  When I put pen to paper with the .5mm I could see somewhat of a difference without even putting the .38mm next to it.  The slightly wider line puts just enough ink on the paper to bring out the unique shade that you get with this pen.  Personally I still dont see enough of a contrast though, I can now definitely make out that its brown, but it just doesnt have the same look to me as the blue black and green black inks that I have used.  Overall I am much happier with the wider version of the brown black pen, but I just dont think this ink color will do it for me.

Either way, my hats off to Susan who pointed out this situation to me, and Susan if you are reading this, and leave a comment and drop me an email using the “About / Contact” link above, you will have both a .38mm and a .5mm brown black in the mail to you.

On a side note, dont forget to get your submissions in for The 3rd monthly edition of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil, and Paper.

©2016, Brian Greene. All rights reserved.