I want to preface that I try to be fair and honest in my reviews, and as a performing professional, I don't like being put in a position to speak badly about other creations.

I will keep this short and to the point.

1. Thread is too thick

2. Tension becomes too tight after pulling the thread about three feet and the thread breaks.

3. Changing the thread is a nightmare

4. It's not a real working sharpie

5. The label rubs off the Pen after only a few uses

6. Cannot be examined

7. Retraction doesn't come all the way back when detaching from anchor point.

8. You get what you pay for.

If you want a reliable reel that is slick and disguised as a writing utensil, do yourself a favor and get a Spider Pen. They are hands down the best reels available on the market.

I review lots of products here in penguin, some of which I bought here, others from local magic shops, but I always try to be fair.

That being said, this utility is not good value. There’s many other suggestions I would give instead of reel sharp.

Try spider pen. It’s the goat of pen reels

If you are thinking about getting this. Don’t. It’s complete garbage. It doesn’t work.

I've been recently getting involved with a lot of thread work and have been working a lot with ITRs. This pen isn't for beginners - if you're looking for something that's easy to fix and maintain I'd go with the covert reel over this. That being said- this device has worked well for my needs. The thread is a stronger monofilament so it's not as thin as the standard IT you'd buy from a magic shop. It's thicker to withstand the tension but still thin enough to be invisible from a few feet away in the proper lighting. It's the same thread that's on the covert reel.

The mechanism is a standard ITR but the thread does have to go around a bend which increases the tension a bit. I sanded the gimmick a bit to make it smoother and that greatly increased my distance - I can get about 10 feet away before getting worried about breakage which is pretty good for a mechanical reel.

You also will have to mess with the tension a bit to get it right- as I said its not a beginner reel. With these small modifications, it works the way I'd like it to and is a pretty neat concept. It's nice to be able to clip this in a pocket or shirt to use and it looks pretty close to a sharpie (it's not a sharpie at all, not even a real sharpie shell)

Overall it's not my favorite reel bit definitely something that's workable - it just needs a bit of adjusting to get to work right.

I actually disagree to some of the negative comments:

Yes, the thread could be a bit more invisible, but his is always a lighting issue.
Yes, sanding the hole a bit increases the quality eliminating sharp edges - just do it and it becomes a quality product!

The Pro: It is just a standard pen in your pocket: An inconspicuous device. Of course you can't have it examined. But, why should you? Why should it write?
Would you ever consider to have another reel being examined? The advantage is that you can always have it in full view. Nothing suspicious.The strength of the thread is rather satisfactory.
Finally, the battery is never dead ;-)

The instruction video though is not a masterpiece.

As much as I was trying too give it a chance but I'm sorry I was terribly disappointed in this product does not retract.

This effect was stolen from me not so much the mechanics but the design and the name. Should have known anyone working with Mathew Wright would rip me off.