The Berol Handwriting Cartridge Pen Has a New Look

The Berol Handwriting Cartridge pen has received a makeover.  Known to be a favourite with school children & teachers alike, & apparently used by over 2 million children a year.  This cartridge pen comes in a blister pack with a spare cartridge (one is also supplied inside the pen), they are available with blue or black ink.

Berol Handwriting Cartridge Pen

 

So what is different?

Well there’s the conventional gold coloured nib for starters, the earlier ones were silver.  The nib has been improved to stand up to even the heaviest handed writers.

There is also the addition of a black rubber ring above the soft grip area under the pen, said to decrease the chances of calluses that can form after intensive use, allegedly some children have been known to complain of this after exams for instance.  The ring should also stop the smallest of fingers from coming into contact with the nib.

The new look Berol has the same washable ink, a saving grace for parents on laundry days as it should be easily removed from most fabrics.  Another new feature is that the ink is now unfading & said to flow for longer, giving schools more value for their money. They are also in our top ten list of the best fountain pens under £20.00.

Berol Handwriting Cartridge Pen B

The new design still has the distinctive red barrel, although the colour is a more vibrant shade & has a new ergonomic shape, where its predecessor was straight. One thing I did notice was that although the new look pen I have has blue ink the cap is grey/black & therefore is no longer colour coded.  It has also lost the small ink window from the barrel.

Performance

For a medium nib I found it produced a relatively fine line.  Once I managed to get the ink to flow, after several twists of the cartridge, it did produce a smooth line.

The rubber finger stop just below the nib is positioned so that the middle finger rests comfortably & the pen is lightweight & comfortable to write with.  Changing the cartridge is simple, a turn or two towards you to open & back to close.

As the smokey grey translucent cap clicks firmly into place, which should ensure that the youngest of users can place on the tip & prevent a sea of ink leaking over the contents of their bags.

I note that Berol still refer to the Handwriting Cartridge pen as disposable.  Whilst the price is reasonable, I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to recycle a refillable pen, particularly as most international long or short cartridges will fit.

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Peter Warrior: Pen & Pencil Expert

With nearly a decade of experience in the pen industry, I successfully ran an online pen business for 9 years. My deep-rooted passion for pens and pencils led me to become a part-time blogger, where I've dedicated myself to sharing the wealth of knowledge I've amassed over the years. I'm a firm believer in the power of the written word, as echoed by Malcolm Forbes: "Putting pen to paper lights more fire than matches ever will." My expertise is not just rooted in business, but in the genuine appreciation and understanding of the art of writing instruments.

11 thoughts on “The Berol Handwriting Cartridge Pen Has a New Look”

  1. Yes. I found the nib had something fibrous behind it. I pulled at it with a tweezers and it frayed and created the most bizarre brush like effect. I then cut it from behind the nib with a sharp blade. It now writes with a fine line.

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  2. I bought one of these pens a few days ago so that I could use it with a new notebook I had bought previously. I got the pen started pretty much straight away with no problems. It produced a nice smooth line.
    I hadn’t written much with it but it started to get a bit scratchy and produced ‘shadows’ on the letters I was writing. I checked the nib and underneath I found what I thought were paper fibres right under the very tip of the nib. I tried to remove the fibres but that didn’t help and so I took the pen back and had it replaced with a new one.
    I opened the new one and checked under the nib and found what I had thought were paper fibres again, so I’m guessing that they are supposed to be there. I’ve tried to get this new pen going and it produces the same scratchy shadowy lettering as the old one.
    Would someone please help me as to why it is doing this and tell me what I can do to fix it?
    I’ve used fountain pens a lot back when I was at school and I don’t seem to remember anything under the nib like that 🙁

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  3. Just purchased this pen yesterday. Like David, I was experiencing problems with inconsistent ink flow. I ended up taking a razor blade and gently inserting it between the tines at the tip of the nib. This seems to have cured the problem as the ink flow is more consistent now. There must have been some dirt in the nib or the tines needed to be adjusted slightly.

    Now I just have to work on my penmanship! (-;

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  4. Just to update – my second of the new Berols is giving me no trouble at all – I never did coax the first into life! Marketed as a kiddy pen, but worth considering by grown ups for everyday use, I’d say.

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  5. Sorry to hear you also had problems with ink flow David, as mentioned I did find it produced a smooth line when it “warmed up” – good luck with your next try

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  6. Quite a fan of the original, so I was intrigued by the revamped pen. What a disappointment! Inkflow is best described as sporadic – so far, I’ve managed to write about 50 words or so at most, before the pen clams up and gives me scratchy or non-existent characters. At this price, I’ll try another though, and hope this was just a rogue.

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  7. We quite like this new model – it’s far from a mere disposable pen, as you note – we’ve found it goes down well with writers around 9-12 years old who are confident in their writing skills and particularly with those who are keen on presentation (dare I say it, mostly the girls!) and who are progressing well with regular letter formation at a reasonable pace.

    Another factor in this pen’s favour is that it isn’t as “over the top” with colours defining a special grip and it doesn’t look too much like a training pen – many of my students have swapped to this from the Pelikano because they want a more “grown up” pen and this fits the bill. Also very reasonably priced and refillable 😉

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  8. Just had a look at the older-style Berol Handwriting Cartridge pen…and wow! This new one is a *lot* more stylish! Too bad the company refers to it as disposable, when it clearly is not 🙁 Thanks for the review!

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