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Hands-on with Sharpie's Liquid Pencil
I've been a fan of pen technology for a while now, so I was more than a little intrigued by Sharpie's recent introduction of the Liquid Pencil.
It's sort of a hybrid between pen and pencil (and I'm a fan of things that cross boundaries once thought to be immutable.) That said, it can be kind of hard to wrap one's head around Sharpie's new creation, at least until you pick one up.
Although it looks like and writes like a pen, it uses liquid graphite and erases much like a pencil.
On the plus side, it writes smoothly, doesn't break or need new lead and it is even less smudge-producing than a standard pencil and far less smear-prone than any pen.
Its erasability varies based on a bunch of factors from the type of paper to how hard you press. In general though, it erases quite well soon after writing, which tends to be the only time I would want to erase anything anyway. It's supposed to get more permanent after the first 24 hours, but will remain somewhat erasable long after that.
Engadget has soured on the liquid pencil over the fact it doesn't become truly permanent. Sharpie responded that it might have overstated things when it said in a blog post that writing from the Liquid Pencil becomes permanent like a Sharpie.
Indeed, if you are signing a contract, writing a will or what have you, I'd definitely grab a pen. But, for those who want a pencil that won't accidentally disappear over time, I think you are probably safe with the Liquid Pencil. … Read more
