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For nearly 10 years from 1994 the Pilot G-Tec series of micro-tip rollerballs held the title of world's finest, culminating in the 0.3mm ball of the G-Tec-C3.
However, in 2003 Pilot's great rival, the Mitsubishi Pencil company, owner of the Uni-Ball brand, made a bid for fame with the Signo Bit 0.28, dethroning Pilot. Pilot responded the next year with 0.25mm ball pens, but in January 2005, Mitsubishi trumped them again with the phenomenal 0.18mm ball of the Signo Bit 0.18.
This remarkable pen writes a 0.13mm line - using Uni's trademark waterproof and fadeproof ink. In Japan the Signo Bit and the rival Pilot G-Tec started a craze for tiny writing, especially amongst schoolgirls who use them to write microscopic kanji characters.
In creating such a fine point, Mitsubishi had to surmount several problems including the increased friction experienced by such a minute ball and how to make the tiny point sufficiently strong. Even the ink is specially developed to flow through the unfeasibly-small structures.
Please note that the nature of this pen means it could be considered a 'scratchy' writer - it's inevitable with the micro-fine needle tip. It is more suited to 'drawing' your writing rather than flowing handwriting. It also appreciates smooth paper! |
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