Silhouette Pen Holder Review and Tutorial

I've had the new Silhouette Pen Holders sitting in my craft room for more than a month now and finally I got around to testing them out.    The Pen Holders - released by Silhouette America in August - allow users to sketch with their own pens and not just the Silhouette brand sketch pens.  So if you have a favorite gel pen or a skinny marker or even a pencil you can use one of the three size pen holders to do that.

The instructions that come with the pen holders...well, let's just say they stumped me.

What you are supposed to do is grab your pen or pencil and slip the small piece (blue and marked with an S), medium (white 'M') or large (gray 'L') called a "threaded collet" (see why I was left scratching my head?!) into the piece that best fits your writing tool.

Then after you've done that, you push the piece which is now on your pen into the white pen holder (called a pen holder body).  The little cap should be on the pen holder body.  Push the pen all the way until it touches the pen cap....but no further. This will ensure that your pen does not drag while you are sketching. Then twist the blue, gray or white piece into the threads.

Now take the cap off and you're ready to sketch.

 Pop out the blade and replace it with the pen holder and sketch your design.   If you need a refresher on sketching, take my sketch pen series starting with sketch pens 101.

So here's the thing...I like to be honest. I like to endorse products that I love (like my Silhouette) - regardless of whether they are provided to me or if I purchase them. In the case of the pen holders, it's the latter.   I spent $9.99 on the set of three pen holders and I have to say I'm not terribly impressed.

I was hoping to be able to sketch with a sharpie, but guess what...you can't do that with these pen holders because the sharpie can't fit into any of the 'threaded collets' whether you use them with or without the full pen holder body.

I like the idea that Silhouette is branching out and giving users more options by embracing the use of regular pens and not just their sketch pens....but I can't say I love them.

After all they're not that much different than the $1 DIY sketch pen holder (bottom) I made..and guess what I got 10 of them and I can sketch with the marker itself all for a dollar.

If you're looking for a pen holder that can sketch with a variety of pens, pencils, and even sharpies I'd have to say go with the Amy Chomas Sketch pen/marker adapter. It's more expensive, but the adjustability-factor (I think I made up a word there) is worth every penny.

Be sure to read Silhouette School's full Sketch Pen Series on everything (and more) you want to know about sketch pens! 

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! 

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!