Inside Your Sharpie Pen

Felt and Plastic Tip — 11 January 2010

Original Sharpie Pen and Refill (top) Sharpie Pen Retractable and refill (middle) Sharpie Pen Grip and refill (bottom)

After a bunch of reviews of different Sharpie Pens, and hearing lots of different feedback on the shade of blue and how long ink was (or wasnt lasting) I decided it was time to get to the heart of the matter and crack these suckers open to see what was going on in there. Lucky for me I happened to have a blue version of each Sharpie Pen on hand to hack apart for your viewing pleasure…or disgust, I can see either side of that argument.

Now I have to say, it did pain me a bit to do this because I really like writing with these pens, and I don’t really enjoy wasting things, however….I’m a curios person by nature and I love taking things apart so I couldn’t help myself when it came to the Sharpie Pens. Now that I’ve opened these up, it allows me to address a few things that have come up multiple times: the shade of the blue ink, the ink capacity, and the “refillability” of these pens.

Original Sharpie Pen Refill (top), Sharpie Pen Grip Refill (middle), Sharpie Retractable Refill (bottom)

So there it is, above you have the “money shot” of Sharpie Pens. Not too long after the Retractable Sharpie Pen came out, people immediately started to complain that they were running out of ink way too quickly. My initial response was “well, I have not used mine enough yet” and I didn’t like that answer, which is one of the reasons I destroyed these three defenseless pens. As you can see from the photo above, it really shouldnt be a surprise that the Retractable Sharpie Pen would run out quickly, as it’s by far the smallest of the three ink cartridges of the group, coming in at almost half the size of the others. I couldn’t get a perfect picture of all three, but the one in the center of the above photo which is the Sharpie Pen Grip, is SLIGHTLY shorter than the one above it which is from the Original Sharpie Pen.

Original Sharpie Pen refill (left), Sharpie Pen Grip refill (center), and Sharpie Pen Retractable (right)

The next picture shows two different things. First, staying with the size comparisons, you can see that in addition to just being longer than the other two, the original Sharpie Pen ink cartridge also has a slightly larger diameter as well. Overall it looks like if you are going to have a marathon writing session and only care about how long your Sharpie Pen will last, then the original version is for you. I think that the smaller ink cartridge found in the Retractable Sharpie Pen is a trade-off in what you get with the pen being retractable. You will notice in the very first picture, there is a clear plastic contraption, which houses the ink inside of a plunger with a spring. This contraption obviously takes up quite a bit of space, so in order to keep the pen a similar and reasonable size, it appears that the ink quantity was the trade-off.

The second thing that this picture definitively shows, or at least I hope it does, is that the ink is absolutely lighter in the original version of the Sharpie Pen. It might not be easy to tell from the photo, but having them in my hand in person here next to each other, I can tell you for sure that the Sharpie Pen Retractable and Sharpie Pen Grip look darker. The only thing that I can think of that might be the reason for the visually darker appearance is the smaller diameter of these two cartridges as compared to the original version. If the amount of ink used is similar but it’s just wrapped tighter to get a smaller diameter, I assume that might give it a slightly darker appearance.

Now the last thing that I want to discuss here is the “refillability” of the Sharpie Pens. I know that they are NOT refillable, but to me it really appears as if it would not be a big problem for Sharpie to make at least the Sharpie Pen Grip and the Retractable Sharpie Pen so you could refill them. Making the grip section of each of these pens removable (like many other pens) would give you easy access to the ink cartridges without the need to hack them apart with a mini-saw like I did. The ink cartridges shown above don’t look like your typical pen refills, however I can easily imagine these cartridges being sold in refill packages that are vacuum sealed similar to what you get when you buy ink for an ink jet printer. From an environmental perspective I think it would be fantastic if Sharpie took a look at making the pens refillable because there is a lot of plastic being used in these pens, and with the popularity of them, I’m sure ther are lots of them being used and eventually tossed. Oh, and while Im daydreaming here of my ultimate Sharpie Pen that is refillable….I think the best solution would be if there was a Stainless Steel Sharpie Pen that was refillable.

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OfficeSupplyGeek

http://www.penaddict.com dowdyism

Very cool post – thanks for hacking them up!

I think a refillable, stainless steel Sharpie Pen would be perfect! Especially if there were orange and purple ink cartridges available.
http://www.prosaicparadise.com/ Kim

Aha! Now this is the kind of hard-hitting pen reporting I come here for!

I like my original Sharpie pens but unless they start selling the purple color as a stand alone I probably won’t buy more.
Andrew

I question the value of a refillable felt tip pen, as the tip itself tends to wear out when the ink runs out, if not before, at least in my experience. Perhaps the tip would be part of the refill. Then they could make the refillable stainless steel sharpie pen, as you suggest, and I agree that would be great.
Another idea along those lines would be a refillable Paper Mate Liquid Expresso, ie in a stainless steel or other nice barrel. These pens write great, but have too much branding on the barrel. Paper Mate & Sharpie are part of the same company anyway.
Veronica Honer

Just wanted to share that my sister washed one of her Sharpie pens. Everything was OK until she took the cap off–ink all over! Darn. And I would love a stainless steel Sharpie pen. In all the colors regular Sharpies come in!
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@dowdyism – no problem, it was either the Sharpie Pens or the Sharbo X. I dont know if you saw it, but the other day, @SharpieSusan said that Orange, Purple, and Green Sharpie Grip pens will be available in May.

@Kim – It would be nice if you could get the individual colors in the pens like you can with the markers. Glad you enjoyed the review.

@Andrew – The Sharpie Pens are actually not felt tipped They have plastic tips, which is what helps them keep a consistent width and shape line when writing with them over time. I do agree with you about the amount of branding on the Liquid Expresso, I guess they arent as “professional” looking that way.

@Veronica – That is VERY unfortunate…washing office supplies doesnt usually turn out well, I speak from experience.
http://www.robotninjamonsters.blogspot.com/ Alberto

Wow that is dedication to the cause! Thanks for the in-depth report on the inner workings of the Sharpie pen.Just today I decided to use the black version for my cartooning class this term.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@Alberto – No problem! good luck with the class, although judging from what I’ve seen on your site, you are the last person that needs luck when it comes to anything art related.
wild violet

Wow. I’m a bit disturbed by the sight of the “hacked apart” Sharpie pens, yet I can’t look away. I was even briefly tempted to do the same to one of mine at work today. Thanks for taking the time to investigate some of the Sharpie pen mysteries.
ironknuckle

I’ve said this before, and I’m glad that we agree, Mr. Office Supply Geek; the ultimate pen would certainly be a Stainless Steel Sharpie Sharpie Pen that was refillable. It wouldn’t be hard, either! The Stainless Steel Sharpie marker, the one that is out currently, has refills that you can buy.

http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Stainless-Steel-Refill-1751000/dp/B001V9LQM0

That’s how they should do it; include the grip PLUS the ink PLUS the tip. All that Sharpie would have to do would be to change the tip to the finer felt tip that the pens use. I’d hand then bundles of cash for that, I would.

Great article! It’s stuff like this that distinguishes you from the rest, and it’s certainly why I’m here typing this. Thanks for destroying a helpless pen set for our entertainment!
Monica

Awesome article. It really answered my question as to why my retractable quit working so early. I really can’t find the grips still. STILL looking. Can’t wait to try them out.
http://snarkysmachine.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/clickity-click/ Clickity Click « Snarky's Machine

[...] Office Supply Geek hacks up a family of Sharpie Pens to get to the bottom of the burning question, “What’s up with the inconsistent [...]
wild violet

I stumbled upon a bargain @ Target today. In their seasonal/value pack section they had a 12 pack of Sharpie pens for $11.79. That’s $.98 per pen. Each pack held 2 each blue, red, orange and purple and 4 black.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@wild violet – No problem, Im glad I could spare you the effort and horror of doing it yourself. that does sound like a great deal at Target. Ill have to double check my local one. Thanks for sharing that info with us!

@ironknuckle – I totally agree regarding a completely replaceable grip section, point and all, that might be the best way, although from an environmental perspective it may be better to just replace the ink since the plastic tips should last a very long time. Thanks for the kind words, and its a pleasure to have you here visiting and commenting.

@Monica – Glad you enjoyed it so much. Sorry to hear you cant find the Sharpie Grip version yet near you. I know that the ones I saw at Staples recently were a new arrival, so hopefully they start to pop up in more places.
http://doesthispenwrite.wordpress.com Does This Pen Write

I absolutely love your devotion to pen journalism. Though much of the credit goes to these Sharpie heroes willing to take one for the good of all Sharpie pens.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@Does This Pen Write – Thank you I like to think you are right in that the Sharpies that I sacrificed saved some others from meeting a similar fate.
Mcsbeth

This is my favorite OSG post ever! If that stainless steel sharpie ever does come out, I’ll know who to thank.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@Mcsbeth – Im glad you liked it, it was fun hacking up the pens. If they make Stainless Steel Sharpie Pens like they did for the regular Stainless Steel Markers, I think they would be a huge hit! The only new Sharpie Pens I am aware of though are some Purple and Green versions of the Sharpie Pen Grip coming out later this year.
wild violet

Is it May yet? I could really use a Sharpie grip pen in purple.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@wild violet – May will be here before you know it!
wild violet

To help pass the time, I combined and sorted the 3 different packages of original Sharpie pens that I had. I’m not keeping those red ones. It’s the weak, orangey-red, not the rich red of the grip version.
wild violet

Perhaps I’m a day late and a dollar short, but has anyone found the Sharpie pen in a medium point? I saw these on the Sharpie website last night.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@wild violet – I never noticed a difference between the reds, I should take a closer look. I never saw those medium points myself either, thanks for the heads up!
wild violet

You’re welcome. I sent Sanford an e-mail inquiring about the medium point version. I ‘ve heard nothing in response, which is odd for them. I’ve checked out Office Depot, Office Max, Staples and Walgreens. Nothing so far. I’m on the Sharpie prowl!
Oscar

Hi,

So I absolutely love these retractable sharpie pens, but the other day to my dismay the sharpie pen shot out of my hand (that’s one damn powerful spring) and landed tip first and pushed the writing tip back into the metal sleeve. What I want to know is is this pen salvageable? Thanks!

Oscar
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

Oscar – I have always thought the spring was pretty strong and responsive, but that takes it to a whole new level. I cant say for sure, but it doesnt sound like there is much you could do to salvage the pen. I would try to pull the tip back out using a pair of tweesers but I would be afraid that it would be too loose to continue writing with because any amount of pressure on it would probably push it back up into the pen….perfect reason to make sure you always have more than one of your favorite pen(s) handy though!