UPDATED 8/19/10
Available in stores September 2010.
We updated the image above and removed the reference to permanency in comparison to Sharpie markers. To clarify, the liquid graphite in the Sharpie Liquid Pencil initially erases completely from paper, but over time it becomes “permanent” in the sense that it can no longer be completely erased. But unlike a Sharpie permanent marker, you will always be able to erase it to some degree.
I bought a set of these around Christmas time in 2010 and was sorely disappointed with the skipping. I left them in he file box I had taken with me to my mothers and promptly forgot about them. Over a year later, I finally empty the file box and find them and decide to use one for my math class. WOW-I used them to take my math quiz, and the ink was so smooth and the wider barrel kept my hand from cramping while I did my figuring for 43 algebra problems. I did notice I was holding the pen upright, but even when I held it normally, it worked fine-no skipping.
So a liquid pencil, does that make them a #1 pencil?
Just got them. Was excited but now am not too sure about them. They skip and the “ink” is inconsistent.
I purchased a package today from Wal-mart, and boy are these Sharpie liquid pencils TERRIBLE! The liquid graphite (I assume that’s what it is) is so inconsistent coming out, that sometimes an entire letter will not show up. If I write a sentence the majority of what I write is barely visible; very frustrating. On top of that, you can’t write with it an an angle like you would normally write with a pen, you have to hold the pencil so that is is perpendicular to the what you’re writing on, and holding a pencil/pen like this isn’t very natural. I don’t know how these pencils made it out of development being so faulty, especially considering that the Sharpie pens are awesome! I can’t believe these are made by the same company. These have been out for years, and they STILL haven’t fixed them. Shame on you Newell Rubbermaid or whatever the name of company is.
I too have found that these pencils skip a lot – a little better writing if you hold them straight up…disappointed.
i love these!!!
Purchased a pair at Target
Worthless , I would like my money back or at least a coupon for another product.
Skips on 93% of the paper I need to use this product with
TERRIBLE!!! DOESNT WRITE WELL AND WHEN I RUN MY FINGER THROUGH THE PAPER, THE GRAPHITE COMES OFF
Don’t buy this pencil. I bought it because I love Sharpie products and assumed this pencil would be higher quality, but after trying to write with it I soon realized I had made a mistake. It doesn’t write smoothly, I have filled up a whole page with scribbles trying to get it to write but that hasn’t helped. I tried writing with it perpendicular to the paper but it still skipped. This piece of junk is a waste of money.
Hi Al- We are so sorry you aren’t satisfied with the Liquid Pencil and would be happy to assist you. If you would please reach out to our amazing consumer affairs team at, 1 800 438 3703, and they will get you all straightened out!
Thank you so much for reaching out!
I like pencils; Sharpie, you fooled me once… however it made a pretty good stylus for my cell phone and I told this to my local Radio Shack people.
I, too, am disappointed with the Sharpie Pencil. I didn’t
hesitate to buy it when I saw it. I will have to call the number above. Please keep working on it. It will be a great product when the kinks get worked out!
I bought these today, maybe if I am lucky I can get my money back tommorow from Target. This is not a good pen at any price.
This is not an old idea, It is an old bad idea. Erasable did not work well 30 years ago and it does even worse now. Out of the 12 comments I have read so far, not one positive review. This is the company web site mind you.
I too am, dissappointed. I am a artist and the idea of contiuous sketching was appealing, however, the skipping is annoying. Great idea, once it is perfected, it will be n artist dream come true.
I am really disappointed because as soon as I saw them I didnt hesitate to buy but they skipped A-LOT of ink.
I like the other had problems with it skipping when I first purchased them. Like the one poster. I put them in my drawer and forgot about them. Not sure how long they were in the drawer, but a long time. Now they work great. They are very smooth to write with but the tops on both of mine flop around. Would love to buy refills, but if I have to put them in a drawer for a year before using, whats the point?
Yeah, this is entirely a gut buster. I bought these thinking, “Oh god, liquid pencil. This is going to be great for illustrating and sketches!” but was I fooled entirely. The so called “ink” is inconsistent and it doesn’t always work. You have to draw on a specific surface to get the right feel you want, unlike real pencils. Good thing is, they erase ok but they leave a HUGE stress mark where you drew. I’m entirely disappointing in these. I’d like to get a refund but I know Target won’t take them back.
Over all, DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU WANT TO WASTE 4$.
When i got first got this pen I was happy,The ink skips a lot and it is very light, and barely noticeable, and I use pencils a lot since i’m in school at the moment. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend this product to anybody
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Just wasted 5 bucks for this piece of junk! The packaging LIED! It said it wrote as smooth as a pen..no..it does not. I can’t even write one single word without the stupid thing skipping. So fustrating.
I’m a pen/pencil junkie, and I LOVE Sharpie, but boy… was I disappointed. I really wanted to love these, but the “ink” is extremely inconsistent. I have to press really hard when I write and even then, barely anything comes out. I wish I had read about this product before purchasing it. Live and learn.
Got a pair at Target because it sounded like a neat product and had the Sharpie name. Skips on most papers I tried it on. While the color is a bit darker than a standard graphite pen, regular graphite is crisper and cleaner looking. This product does not perform as expected and is not recommended.
eah I agree I bought them too and they skipped all over the place. Im not sure if it is Walmart selling junky items, maybe I shouldve tried office max. I actually threw it away it was so bad. So much for my 3.00$ :/ Jeesh. Typically Sharpie is excellent, I trust the name. Thanks for listening! Holly
Hello,
I purchased packs of these pens for my young son because I was amazed at the idea of a pencil that won’t break. HOWEVER, these are the WORST pencils ever. When you use them the led skips letters and sometimes whole sentences. You will spend more time going over the letters than writing. I wish that I never brought them. I called sharpie today 4/23/12 because I wanted to voice my opinion and apparently I haven’t been the only one. I was told that they are aware of it. My next question is if you are aware of it then why don’t you pull it from the shelves until you fix the issue. This pencil is unusuable and they know it. Its not fare for consumers to buy the product you know does not do what it says it should.
I am VERY dissapointed.
I love Sharpie pens and, like others, thought these would be really good. However, the “liquid pencils” write way worse than the cheapest ball point pen you could ever get for free. The “liquid lead” skips on every kind of paper I;ve tried to use, writes way lighter than a No. 2 pencil, and will actually rub off if you’re not careful. The 2-pack I bough at Target was pretty cheap, but still not worth $3 or so I paid.
Seriously. These things need to go back to the drawing board (no pun intended).
I never visit product websites, yet the rediculously poor performance of this product compelled me. I have the same complaint as ALL of the above. I bought this pencil from what I believed was a strong brand name. A brand synonymous with quality. This pencil is going to tarnish your brand reputation if not promtly addressed. I have never bought a brand name product that has so UNDERwhemled me. Quite frankly, it was a splurge to buy this product, but I thought it worth the money since I prevoiusly had no doubt in the quality of the Sharpie brand. I have major doubts now. Especially since you have been aware of the problem since October of last year and you are still selling the product!
This is a horrible product. I went online to find out how to reload the pencil I just bought. I thought that the manufacturer put a small supply of liquid into it (because barely anything came out), and I needed to refill it to use it. Now I find out that it already has the ink in it and that’s just how it works. I’m shocked that Sharpie would put out such a bad product. I’ve never purchased something from the brand that was even subpar, and then I get this piece of junk…
Grrrrr! I had two Sharpie pencils I bought last year. We moved and they were lost and then found MONTHS later. They worked fabulously. The last one just ran out last night and I went to Target and bought two more. Both new pencils write so inconsistently they are worthless. Sharpie, this is just a theory, but maybe you need to change the packaging. Based on personal experience, and the previous comments, people who have stored them for a prolonged period have great success with them. The main difference between store “storage” and home storage is the position of the pencils: horizontal at home in a drawer or box, versus verticle, on display, at the store. Given it is a liquid product the physics may parallel getting catsup out of a bottle: verticle comes out spotty, an angle comes out smooth. A simple change in package configuration may solve this problem. If this works, I would like a lifetime supply of Sharpie products please.
COMPLETELY disappointed in this product. Will never buy from a company again who uses their good reputation and marketing tactics to draw people to spend over two dollars on a product that is totally useless and ineffective. The ink doesn’t flow at all. Shame on you Sharpie for selling a product that you KNOW is ineffective. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t been SUED for FALSE advertisement……just absurd. If only I kept my receipt, then maybe I could’ve gotten a refund. To anyone out there, DO NOT buy this product……