Permanent pens are must-have in your line-up of tools. It’s like the eyeliner of paper crafting. When you need it, you need it to work. To stay put and look flawless.

First, I wanna quickly talk about the reason I need a good permanent pen these days.

As we’re kicking off the Season of Words in my fave art journaling community I’ve prepared a little book for all the prompts of this season.

The book is made from kraft printer paper and every other page is vellum. (The cover is the gorgeous floral world map paper from the Brimfield kit by Studio Calico, for those who are curious. It’s stapled together with a long-reach stapler.)

This vellum is beautiful and thick but it also has a slick surface that requires a good permanent pen if I wanna journal on it. Enter my favorite, most used black permanent pens.

The Sharpie Retractable Permanent Marker, Fine Point

There’s nothing ‘fine’ about the point of this marker and to be honest I mostly use it to write my daughter’s name on her toys before she brings them to kindergarten. And I thought I’d mention it just for that reason ’cause I do use it a lot for that. It’s lasted me more than a year (maybe two) and is still nice and juicy. It has a big, rounded felt tip and comes off as a dark grey.

Find it on Amazon.

The Kuretake ZIG Photo Signature Pen, size 5

This used to be my absolute fave and I’ve had it forever. I’m talking 4 years and counting. It has a smooth flow of ink from it’s tiny felt tip. The only issue I have with this is the color payoff, like like the previous one. It comes off more muted, like a dark grey rather than a black.

Find it on Amazon.

The Pilot PermaBall (aka MultiBall) Pen, size M

My current fave and the one I’ll be using in my journal. It’s black as night and super inky. It’s has a ball point which causes the flow and the lines to be slightly uneven (not my fave look) but it’s just so beautifully black. The other pens look faded in comparison.

For some reason this pen is named PermaBall here in Denmark but a little Internet research shows that it’s known as the PowerBall pretty much everywhere else. The PermaBall and PowerBall pens are identical in shape, grip, ink etc. – only the names and casing colors differ.

Find it on Amazon and JetPens.com.

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I wanna mention that I’ve had a bunch of American Crafts Slick Writers but they all died on me pretty quickly. Not impressed.

Do you have a favorite go-to permanent pen? I’d love to hear your recommendations. Finding the perfect permanent pen is like finding a unicorn, and it’s something I’m determined to do.

I hope you’re having a lovely day!

xo Nina