BAZIC INSTINCT

A bunch more marker pickups from the weekend Chinatown stroll. 

BAZIC PERMANENT MARKER

This is a long marker, similar to the long version Marks-A-Lot. Bazic seems to be the brand found in most of the Chinatown Dollar stores I visited. Heavyweight black plastic construction, with screened on white label details. Bleed on the label screen creates some nice shadow effects. Chisel tip. Heavy black ink. Bazic may be prevalent in many dollar stores, but they do make good quality product at a budget price, and are quick to appropriate different marker silhouettes and styles based on other popular marker brands. 

B10 TEXTA

Got this from one large. messy, Chinatown dollar store. The place had all sorts of plastic pails collecting roof leak drips. Stock was overflowing everywhere. So I was a bit disappointed that I only got 2 markers from the place. Bullet point. Plastic wrap label. Not going to pop it open. Have a strong feeling that even though it is wrapped in plastic, and was sealed in a plastic clamshell with cardboard backing, that this thing will not have any ink in it. 

LEARNING DAYS

This is the other marker I got from the messy Chinatown dollar store. Came in a box set of assorted colors. The label has a smiling dancing cartoon marker on a green background with a bunch of stars on it. It makes good, thin, heavy black ink marks. Good times.

BAZIC PERMANENT MARKER

Could this be a bootleg of a Bazic dollar store marker ? Most Bazic markers I have in my collection are actually well constructed. This marker is made from a lighter plastic, that bends in a bit when I squeeze the barrel. The label is plastic wrap around, on that silver toned background, that I often see on cheap dollar store markers. Bullet point marker. Makes thin lines. Nice medium black ink quality. Bazic makes SO many different versions of marker, that maybe they bootlegged a bootleg marker, down to these cheap design details and construction.

OSB WHITEBOARD MARKER

A familiar dollar-store marker silhouette. Some nice design details on this. Features screened-on gloss plastic label, color blocking, and geometric pattern on the barrel. Chisel tip. REALLY faint ink quality to this marker. Appears light grey. Lines run smooth.  Whenever markers have different tints or shades of ink, I try to stock up on them to create good tone variance in my black marker illustration work. I will try to remember where I got this one from and pick up a bunch.

HITS FROM THE YONG

Chinatown San Francisco marker stroll pickups. Chinatowns + black marker hunting = two of my favorite things.

YONGLI Y850

This is a bootleg of a Pentel model. A really good quality bootleg. Heavyweight black plastic construction, with screened on silver/black design detailing. Bullet point, makes somewhat thin, dark black lines. Smooth marking, rough alcohol smell. Good value pick. Shoulda got a couple more.

BEROL 

A no frills stubby marker. Heavyweight black plastic construction, with screened on label. This marker says it was assembled in Mexico. Chisel tip. Disappointed in the light ink quality of the marker. Minimal smell. A streamlined marker in design, also makes smooth lines.

UNIVERSAL PERMANENT INK MARKER

A no frills marker with a lot of bang for the buck…since it only cost 50 cents. Gloss black plastic construction, with screened white wordmark and label details. Chisel tip. Makes nice heavy black lines, runs smooth, low odor. This is a really good marker. Didn’t think it would be from the looks of it. Maybe I can go back and grab a box.

PROFFICE

Nice stubby no frills marker. Ergonomic plastic groove on the barrel. Simple black wordmark on white plastic body. Makes heavy black lines. Applies smooth. Another unassuming marker that performs better than it’s pricepoint. Will go back and clear the shop out of their stock.

MAGIC FRAGRANCE

Friend rounded these up from Chinatown Buenos Aires for me. 

EDDING 100

Sleek little number, all black with white accents, bilingual Spanish-English text. Edding makes great quality markers. This is a 3mm bullet tip that makes nice consistent dark lines with no bleed. I’d have a box of these lying around for general studio use.

KEYI KY-200

Dollar store Chinatown marker. Similar silhouette as a whole slew of generic dollar store markers originating from China. Flimsy plastic construction, grey wrap around labeling. This is a chisel tip, which is something you don’t see too often in Chinatown Dollar store. Most markers like this are a bullet tip. Better than average performance. Usually dollar store markers have thinner ink and bleed heavily. This has a nice dark ink and minimal bleed. I tend to buy markers like this in bulk, pop the end caps off, cut the inner felt open, and use it to create light ink cloud effects, similar to smudging.

HUAYING 

Dollar store Chinatown marker. Similar silhouette as above, with different end cap. Sturdier plastic construction with wrap around labeling. Nice logo of a hawk on a backdrop of a globe. Chisel tip. Nice dark ink quality, no bleed. Really good quality marker for a Dollar store find.

TRATTO CHISEL TIP

Quite happy to have this in the collection. Rounded-square shape, similar to Copics, but in a scale and size that is unique in the marketplace. Sleek black finish with sticker label. Would have been nice to see the label details screened on. Top cap has edging that makes the lid come off easier. Makes super smooth lines with no bleed and really nice dark ink characteristics. Italian or Spanish company. Marcatore/Marker label translation. Color code is Nero Black.  Always good to have international markers to add to the archives.

TRATTO GROSSO

This is a jumbo 12mm angled chisel tip. Sturdy plastic construction. I’ve seen this silhouette before in another marker brand. Made in Korea. Firm felt nib, heavy ink quality, applies smooth with no bleed. A great quality marker. 

GET FADED

Picked this up at the Good Field Trading Co. on Mott. Nice stationary shop. There was a Cantopop version of The Toys / Lovers Concerto playing on the tinny radio at the time. The owner was getting his KTV on. Good marker browsing atmosphere. Only turned up one gem though.

DRI-MARK VISUAL AID MARKER 

Twin tip marker. Black on one side, red on the other. Was just sitting in a random marker pile on the shelf. From its large appearance, woulda thought that it would be a nice medium chisel-tip, but when I uncapped this marker, I found that it is just a small felt-tip nib, producing the same line size as an average Sharpie. Makes nice heavy black lines, runs smooth.

80 BLOCKS

These don’t fit the criteria to be included in my black marker collection; they’re too small. But wanted to throw up a post and some pics because I like the packaging.

The markers still work good. Surprised at that. I could tell they had been sitting on the shelf for a minute. Quality product.

Chinatown NY find. Prolly should have cleared them out of their remaining stock.

Steady Diet of Nothing

Buncho markers I found while clearing out my jacket pockets.

YILEBRAND BI-NIB – Chinatown Dollar Store find. I’m pretty sure. Artline bootleg. Printed plastic label cover wrap. Inferior grade plastic body construction. You haven’t sampled inferior grade plastic till you been to China. I know disposable plastic drinking cups are supposed to be flimsy and cheap, but the ones they have out there are thin and move around in your hand like it was made out of condom. And in true bootleg marker fashion, this one was DOA when I tried to test it. Dried out and died out.

ELMERS PAINTERS COLOR CUTTER – Wow. This is the second marker-and-knife combination that I have in my collection. Who knew there was that niche market. I think it’s the emo and self-harming movement. Painters is a familiar brand from Michaels Craft Supply raiding days. Chisel tip. This is a bad product. The blade on this one has already slipped down the nib crack so it doesn’t even cut. I’m not going to pull it up with tweezers. So now it’s just a normal marker. Stick to making glue Elmer…yeah you just got punned Elmer. Deal.

FUGAZ 2 – From the corner Hasty Market. This marker is dope for a bunch of reasons. Firstly, it’s called Fugaz 2. I must have slept on the first one. Second, it’s made by a company called Wearever. That’s so underacheiver and proud of it man. Third, it’s the first marker in my collection that is HECHO EN MEXICO. I knew I should have gone to Mexico earlier this summer when I had the chance.

MAINSTAYS – Dollar store or Walmart whiteboard yawner. Good construction, nice chisel tip, works well.

HENGLI SUPER SHIRE – And just when I think I have amassed all the Chinatown Dollar Store Sharpie bootleg variations, I come across this one. Although vastly inferior than an actual Super Sharpie. These markers do play significant use in alot of my illustration work. The ink is of a lighter tone, and the nibs are already softer as soon as you use them, which results in spongy wash lines as soon as I use it. The ink fades out faster, and when I get this marker working right, it works like a soft powder brush to give good shading effects without smudging.

THE BOXCUTTER WENT - CLICK CLICK

The W is the last Wu album I listened to listened to. Hollow Bones Ghost was some off the hook Ghost. They sampled Syl Johnson’s “Is it Because I’m Black ? “. Listen to the song while you read over these entries.

HUA JIE - Went to Chinatown Dollar Store on Dundas on the way to friend’s birthday dinner. The basement one. It’s still pretty great down there. Had a few new markers for my collection in there. This is one of them. Average quality bullet tip white board marker. I use these things in drawing to get warmer black tones. Borderline brown. They shade nicely when the nib is well worn in.

CHANGLI 70 - From the Chinatown Dollar Store. A great Artline knockoff, made from plastic. Even in a similar shade of yellow. Great wordmark. Features fibre tip of toughness. Fading-proof. New & Special.

CHANGLI 989 - Also from the Chinatown Dollar Store. I don’t think this is the same CHANGLI as the other CHANGLI. This one is made at the Hongbo pen factory. This is a common low quality Chinese marker plastic body. I pop the backs off and let them air out. Then I take out the ink sponge, slice it open at the top to let it fan out, than use it for a brush marker to make certain effects when I draw stuff. I buy these things in bulk and let them air out a bunch at a time. Kinda like a black marker incense.

EXPO CLICK - Expo jumps awkwardly from their standard overly plain body type, to this funny looking thing. The click is not fun to click. Awkward push and release system. Makes a weirdo noise when clicked. More like a pucker. Even the CLICK wordmark is poorly designed. Chisel Tip. Works equally as well as other Expo dry erases.

REMARX - Got this marker and the one above at Staples. Their marker section is very small. Sanford (Sharpie, Expo) and Staples brand are all they carry. This is a Staples brand chisel-tip dry erase marker . It works adequately. When I saw this marker, the Remarx reminded me, unfortunately, of Richard Marx. Fortunately I didn’t remember a specific song then nor do I now, so I don’t have annoying Richard Marx songs in my head.

CENTER STAGE - Where did this gem come from ? Was in the basement looking in the soup can pencil holder for a fineliner, and saw this inside. I don’t remember buying it, but I don’t remember drawing or recording it. So here it is. A basic dry erase marker. But a really great name and hokey wordmark. It has a subliminal pep talk thing going on, which I like.

MORE CHINATOWN $ STORE FINDS

More Chinatown dollar store pick-ups.

MIN XU NON DRY MARKER – It’s a twin tip, bullet point broad on one side, fine point on the other. It says you can leave the cap off for up to 60 hours and it will still work. Going to test that out.

HAI XIN TOKENS PEN – I have another one of these, exact same design label and layout, except the label says HAI JIA. Pretty much a Super Sharpie knock-off in shape.

JAPANHOME – Got this one by Jovino Gun shop. I like the blue color. It’s based on common twin tip, with a bullet point/chisel tip configuration.

TOYO SUPER MARKER – Slight differences in copy size and font choices. One of them says Creative Wealth Stationary Co Ltd, and also has Japanese writing under the TOYO label.

NOKE IS IT !

A bunch more random Chinatown dollar store markers.

STERMARK – Made by a company called STERDAM. I wonder if they put a STER in front of the name of every single product they make. Odor kind of smells like burnt crystal meth. Kind of like the dazzle camo motif they have going down the sides.

TE NENG AQUALINE – A bootlegged Artline Aqualine. The label printing is really wonky and when I got it, it was already dried out. Cheap plastic construction, but it is refillable.

JUMBO MARKER – Cheap dollar store quality. Weak plastic barrel, cheap wrap-around label, but surprisingly it marks well and the ink is nice and thick.

HAIJIA TOKENS PEN – I have another one of these, exact same design label and layout, except the label says HAI XIN. Pretty much a Super Sharpie knock-off in shape.

HUAXIA 715 – Bullet point. Better than average dollar store quality black marker.

NOKE – Nice chisel tip, thick ink. It works better than it looks. Noke is it ! Made by Ningbo Noke Stationery Industrial Co., Ltd. Looking on a trade website, and apparently the contact person is Mr.Bobby.

AND IF THAT AIN’T BAD YOU GOT BOOTLEGGERS.

…going out like suckers…More Sharpie bootlegs.

STAUNION CHISEL TIP – At least they’re bootlegging a different shape.

HENGBAO SUPER SHARPIE –Copied the name but changed the brand. Interesting angle.

VIVID MARK –The construction and plastic quality isn’t as poor as the Chinese bootlegs. The parent company BUFFALO should know better than to copy the shape. I think they made my protractor set back in the day.

LAN KE SUPER SHANKIE – Maybe this thing would make a super shank. This bootleg is so poor that the labeling isn’t even screened directly on the plastic jacket; its printed on a plastic cello cover and wrapped around.

BEILONG SUPER XINYIDA –

HONGBAO SUPER SHERPLE –

HONGBAO SUPER STAUNION – What’s going on here ? The same company is just making up different name bootlegs ?

CHAO NENG CHAO NENG – I like how they copied the AP sign, and made it say CN.