Review by Laura Cameron

Several weeks ago I was browsing JetPens and saw the 4-pack of Zebra Zensations ($9.75) and thought I’d give disposable fountain pens a try.

Zebra Zensations are plastic bodied disposable fountain pens. They come in a variety of colors including: red, green, blue, turquoise, black, purple and pink. My 4-pack included black, blue, purple and pink. All pens contain a 0.6mm nib that writes surprisingly smoothly. I would put it somewhere between a fine and medium nib.

The pens themselves are lightweight, coming in at 13g, but it’s about what I would expect for a disposable pen without filling mechanisms. In contrast the Papermate Inkjoy Gel comes in at 13g, Marvy Le Pens come in at a tiny 6g, and the Uniball Signo 307 comes in around 10g.

The pens are a nice length ranging between 4.9″ to 5.5″ depending on whether they are capped or posted. The pen also has a plastic clip that seems fairly sturdy.

The final feature that I really like is that each pen has an ink window on the side so you can see exactly how much ink you have left.

Impressions

The Zebra Zensations wrote very smoothly and started up right out of the box, which was a nice surprise. I had a few issues with skipping, but I am left-handed so I don’t know whether that was the fountain pen or me; I’m inclined to think it was my writing style.  The ink is quick drying – as you can see from above, swiping a fingertip over it just after writing only yielded a bit of smearing on the final few letters. I was also concerned that colors might run together if written over (i.e. the pink pen because it is a light color might drag the black ink along with it) but that didn’t seem to happen at all. Overall, I thought these pens wrote pretty well. Honestly, my biggest nitpick on these pens is that the logos and nibs weren’t lined up in every pen. In some cases a top view showed the nib inline with the logo, whereas some had the logo skewed or on the bottom. This isn’t a big deal, but for a Type A person it was something I noticed.

When I was in high school I had a teacher who used to refer to rule 37C which stated “there is a proper time and place for everything.” Sometimes a disposable pen is just what you need, and if you’re looking to try a disposable fountain pen I think these do an admirable job!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Zebra Zensations appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Review by Laura Cameron

Over the holiday break, Ana let me play with the set of Karas Kustoms Starliner and Starliner XL fountain pens that she had received for review. I love my Karas Fountain K and prototype Decograph so I was excited to see what else Karas has to offer!

The Starliner series pens are fun machined pocket size pens that start at $55, which makes them a great introductory to mid-level option for those new to the fountain pen world, or those looking for a durable, affordable every day carry.  The pens are light weight, but sturdy and the ability to post them adds a little length if you think a pocket pen might be too short for you.

First let’s go over the things that are the same between the Starliner and Starliner XL series.

• Materials: Both pens are machined in 6061-T a “space age” aluminum.
• Colors: Both come in a variety of colors: Black body/Black section/Black Cap, Tumbled body/Tumbled Section/Tumbled Cap, Silver Body/Red Section/Silver Cap, and Silver Body/Blue Section/Silver Cap.
• Caps: Both come with snap caps that post.
• Nibs: Both pens are outfitted with Bock 076 (#5) nibs and are offered in EF, F, M, B or 1.1, 1.5 or 1.9mm stubs. They can also be upgraded to Titanium or 14K nibs if you wish, though that will raise the price.

Now let’s look at where they differ:

• Length: The Starliner comes in at 4″ capped, and 4.5″ posted whereas the XL comes in at 5″ capped and approximately 5.5″ posted.
• Weight: The Starliner weighs in at 24g (filled and capped) and the XL weighs in at 30g.
• Ink System: The Starliner is small enough that it only takes cartridges, but it will take any standard international cartridge. The XL is a bit larger and can take a Schmidt K5 Converter or any standard international cartridge.
• Clips: The Starliner XL cap comes with a clip; the Starliner does not.

Now for the eye candy:

For my review purposes I chose to take the Black Starliner with an F nib for a drive and popped in one of my favorite cartridges (Tarzan Teal from Fahrney’s). The pen started right away and wrote smoothly, with no skipping. I carried the pen around in my pocket and purse for a week or so and found that it always started up right away. The pen was the perfect size to stash just about everywhere.

The only pocket pen in my collection that I can compare the Starliner to is my Kaweco Liliput. While I prefer the smooth lines and styling of the Liliput aesthetically speaking, the Liliput is far too small for most hands, as well as more expensive than the Starliner. The Starliner’s rugged appearance will definitely appeal to a different audience and seems like a great addition to the Karas lineup!

And, in case you missed it, use the code WELLAPPTDESK when shopping at Karas Kustoms and you’ll get 10% off your purchase!

DISCLAIMER: The fountain pens included in this review were loaned to us free of charge by Karas Kustoms for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Karas Kustoms Starliner Fountain Pens appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

By Jessica Coles

I found myself lost the other day in the depths of JetPens, wandering through various corridors.  It seems that even though I could swear I’ve seen everything they offer, I can still find nooks and crannies of previously unseen goodies.

This time, I came across a Pilot fountain pen that I had never seen before.  It was the Pilot Grance fountain pen ($137 from JetPens). I’ve known that Pilot offers a few amazing deals for mid-level fountain pens, but this was a special treat.  A gold nib fountain pen!

Gold nib fountain pens are not necessarily for everyone.  In fact, there was recently a great conversation about gold nibs versus steel nibs on an episode of The Pen Addict that touched on the pros and cons of nib materials (the question was asked by a listener and is near the end of the episode).

My personal preference swings between steel and gold, but I am always excited to find a great deal on a new gold-nibbed fountain pen – one that is at a lower cost than most others.  Pilot also offers the E95S at a similar price ($135 at JetPens), but it is a rather small pocket pen that doesn’t usually appeal to those with larger hands.

The grip of the Grance is 9.5 mm, about the same as a Pilot Metropolitan.  The weight of the Grance is also in-line with the Metropolitan, coming in at 25 grams to the Metro’s 27 grams. The posted Grance is about half an inch shorter than the posted Metropolitan, although the capped pens are nearly the same size.  Again, like the Metropolitan, the Grance pen closes with a very satisfying snap.

However, the exterior of the Grance is quite different.  It has a pearly finish that comes in white, pink, or light blue, each with black and gold accents.  

The pen is long enough (for my hand) to be used unposted, but the balance is much nicer when posting it.

The Pilot Grance is offered with an extra-fine, fine, medium-fine or medium 14kt nib.  The nib is a buttery smooth nib with a bit of springiness.  A small amount of variation is present when writing with no pressure at all.

The nib is soft when writing with light pressure.

In longer writing sessions, using the Grance pen feels elegant and looks amazing, especially in the sunlight! I had no problem writing for several pages with the posted pen – the balance of the pen kept me from pressing harder on the page and the nib was absolutely perfectly tuned straight out of the box.

The pen comes in a plastic clamshell box with one black cartridge but no converter.  It is a sad thing that no converter is included in a gold nib pen purchase, but it seems one way that some pen manufacturers are using to keep the retail prices down.  A converter is available separately ($7.25 at JetPens), or it can be used with Pilot’s proprietary cartridges.

Overall, I would highly recommend this pen.  At $137 for a gold nib, a post-able, snap-able, beautiful pen that writes smoothly out of the box, I think the Pilot Grance is one that you will treasure.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Pen Review: Pilot Grance appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The second release from the new, improved relaunch of Esterbrook is the Phaeton 300R (MSRP $85, street price $68). While the Estie was designed to be a modern fountain pen that could also use the original Esterbrook screw-in nib units, the Phaeton is a retro-styled fountain pen with a semi-hooded nib reminiscent of mid-century pen design.

The Phaeton 300R ships in the same box as the Estie. It’s a red textural fabric box, like burlap, with white foil stamped logo on the top. It’s neither overly flashy nor overly cheap which is appropriate for a pen at this price point.

The Phaeton 300R is available in several acrylic colors: red, blue, green and black with a silver cap and gold plated clip and nib. It ships with a plunger-style converter.

The nib is only available in a medium width presently but its a presently crisp medium.

The Phaeton weighs 18gms capped or posted and a mere 8gms unposted. It’s a small pen overall measuring just 5.5″ (14cm) capped, 4.875″ (12.5cm) uncapped and 6″ (15.3cm) posted. It takes its dimensions from vintage pens so it might not work for everyone. It does post though.

In writing, I wasn’t sure I was going to like the Phaeton because I don’t usually write with medium nib pens but the Phaeton has a crisp, almost italic-like grind on the nib making it a pleasant writing experience. I find most medium nib pens to be rather flat and round creating a rather uninspired writing experience — like writing with a ballpoint pen. So, the more crisp, flat medium angle on this nib (and it could just be the nib I received) is a pleasant surprise.

Overall, the pen speaks to me aesthetically. I missed my chance to get one of the Aurora Duo Cart pens last year which fulfilled a similar vintage vibe and the Esterbrook Phaeton is at a much better price point.

I do hope that other nib sizes will be offered at some point but the medium nib is actually quite appealing.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Esterbrook Phaeton 300R in Signal red MSRP $85 $68
• Ink:  Birmingham Pen Co. William D. Boyce Emerald Scout (part of the Ink Parcel subscription)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Esterbrook Phaeton appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

There are not a lot of new, entry-level pens appearing on the market so its always worth taking a good look. The Faber-Castell Grip 2011 ($20) is definitely a contender. Especially in light of recent price increase on the Pilot Metropolitan (now MSRP $29.99, street price $23.99), there is definitely room for a new entry-level fountain pen.

Enter: the Grip 2011.

Faber-Castell took design cues from their Grip pencil, which has always been one of my favorite pencils. The pen shares the same soft, triangular shape and rubberized dots as the pencil, just a wider version.

On the end of the cap, is a raised version of the jousting horses. Oh, did I mention it’s a snap cap?

Printed on the side of the cap is the Faber-Castell logo and the clip is slim and elegant. Unlike other, lower priced Faber-Castell pens, the cap is a uniform cylinder shape which I really prefer aesthetically.

The nib is engraved with dots and Faber-Castell’s signature jousting horses. While I don’t know if the nib is custom made by Faber-Castell or if its a stock nib engraved for Faber-Castell but its good looking and smooth.

The grip section is a subtly molded grip section. Imagine if someone rubbed down the hard edges of a Lamy Safari. As a left-handed writer, I find the Grip 2011 far easier to use and more comfortable than the stricter, sharper edges of the Safari.

So, how does it stack up against other entry level pens? From left to right: a Kaweco Sport, TWSBI Eco, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, Kaweco Perkeo and the Faber-Castell Grip 2011  — all capped. The Metro, the Safari, the Perkeo and the Grip 2011 all have snap caps.

The same pens shown in the previous photo, posted. The only pen in this price range that’s metal is the Metropolitan. The Perkeo and the Grip 2011 are the widest and both take standard European cartridges or converters. Generally speaking, I don’t post my pens except for pocket pens like the Kaweco Sport.

The Grip 2011 is a light pen weighing 15gms capped or or posted and  10gms uncapped. The Safari is a little bit heavier. The Perkeo is probably very close in weight.

The extra fine nib, being a European EF, is not super fine but I still find it really pleasurable to write with. I’ve been using this pen for several months and I really like it. I love that it is easy to use, takes standard European and long cartridges as well as a standard converter. It’s become my office pen, easy to cap and uncap throughout the day and I am using up that stash of mystery cartridges I’ve had for years.

If you need a quick, easy-to-use fountain pen for yourself or you’re trying to convert a friend to the world of fountain pens, I think the Faber-Castell Grip 2011 is a great option. It’s available in a variety of other colors and nib widths so there’s something for everyone.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Faber-Castell Grip 2011 EF in Silver/Grey
• Ink:  Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire ($8.75 for long cartridges)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Faber-Castell Grip 2011 EF in Silver appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I was so honored to receive an Aurora Optima Fine Flex LE as a gift in New York from the fine folks at Fountain Pen Hospital. It is a beautiful candy apple red which looks lovely with my favorite make-up from Bésame (no, I am not getting kickbacks for endorsing them. I just really like their products).

View this post on Instagram

Thank you Steve and the entire @fountainpenhospital and @kenro_official team for an amazing event last night. Thanks to everyone who came out! #penaddict

A post shared by Brad Dowdy (@penaddict) on Oct 25, 2018 at 6:59am PDT

I did not include any images of the packaging for the Optima Flex as it is the same as the regular Optima (Turns out, I didn’t include the packaging in that review either. It’s a big box).

Over the course of 2018, Aurora released a wide array of colors of the Flex LE pens which made the limited edition-ness of this pen a bit less limited feeling. Rather than staggering the release of each color over several years, they came out one month after another which meant that the colors towards the end of the release cycle ended up being less coveted as many people decided whether of not they liked (or didn’t like) Aurora’s flex nib. The red model was one of the very last to be released and it is one of the colors that would probably have been the most popular if Aurora had chosen to release the pens all at once.

I love the combination of red and silver tone rhodium  hardware. It’s classic and elegant.

The nib is 14K gold and rhodium-plated to aesthetically match the rest of the pen.

When I was writing with the pen, I had some issues with hard starting that I finally decided to take to a professional I waited to post this review until I could put this pen into Dan Smith of The Nibsmith’s hands. He looked at it and did some very light smoothing and recommended that I try a wetter ink to avoid the hard starts. I switched the KWZ that I got in Toronto on the same trip to DeAtramentis, some of the wettest ink I could think of, and hoped that would help. If I don’t try to push the nib for flex writing, it seems to write quite well but if I try to really flex it, it starts to hard start and railroad. It also requires a great deal of pressure to get it to flex and I actually write with a fairly light hand.

I might have the nib ground down a bit finer and just treat it as an extra fine fountain pen.

Honestly, I like to think of this pen as more of a soft fine rather than a flex nib. I think it would make me feel a lot less frustrated. It’s a beautiful pen with a beautiful nib but it is not a flexible nib in the way that I think of flexible nibs.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Aurora Optima Flex LE in Red ($575)
• Ink:  DeAtramentis Deepwater Obsession Black-Red ($14 for 35ml bottle) and KWZ Maple Red (a limited edition color for the Toronto Pen Show 2018)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Aurora Optima Fine Flex LE appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Review by Laura Cameron

During Inkmas, Ana shared a special ink from the Ferris Wheel Press Kickstarter campaign. You can see her Sunshine Yellow Brush Fountain Pen ($138 USD) in some of her photos, but she didn’t specifically review the pen. However, she brought it to a knit night for me to try and I had to have one. I managed to sell a pen during the Arkansas Pen Show and immediately sent away for a Brush Fountain Pen of my own!

Ferris Wheel Press bills itself as “a stationary lifestyle brand where the whimsical sights, sounds and nostalgia of the carnival dances with the rat-tat-tat of a traditional print shop.” This gives them a bit of a vintage, steampunk feel. The Brush Fountain Pen is a copper bodied fountain pen with a stainless steel nib, and brass trimmings. It is available in three colors: Crème Glacée White, Printmaker’s Teal and Sunshine Yellow. Each pen comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity, in a cute little box bearing the gold foil logo.

The pens themselves are 5.67″/14.3 cm in length, capped and weigh approximately 23g putting them well within the common weights of TWSBI’s and Lamy AL-Stars’s and slightly lighter than Pilot Metropolitans.

The pen is sleek, fairly light weight and easy to hold. The cap rim is a brass nut! The cap isn’t postable however – posting it may cause scratches in the shiny painted finish on your pen.

My favorite part about these pens are the brass sections and nibs. I love that the nibs are stamped with the logo, and the section is printed, but not etched, making it lovely to hold.

Part of what made me want this pen was that Ana’s wrote beautifully! The pens come with medium nibs and her was like butter. Mine isn’t quite there (I’m still playing with it and deciding if I want to tune it), but it’s still a delightful experience.

Overall I love this pen and I’m really glad I picked one up for myself!

• Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50), and Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
• Ink: Robert Oster Honey Bee (50ml for $17.00)

DISCLAIMER: I purchased the Brush Fountain Pen from Ferris Wheel Press with my own funds. However, some of the other items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Ferris Wheel Press Brush Fountain Pen appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Once again, I took very few actual photos of the Atlanta Pen Show event. Between working behind the Vanness Pen Shop table Friday through Sunday and participating in the Pen Addict podcast on Saturday night, I had very little time to wander around and take photos. We stayed very busy.

View this post on Instagram

Coffee with a good friend

A post shared by Jessica Coles (@jesi_raine) on Apr 10, 2019 at 7:38pm PDT

Jesi and I had a great time. We talk all the time but getting to spend time together was also an amazing opportunity.

When I did have a few moments to wander, I made purchases, of course! Most of those purchases happened late on Sunday when the show tends to slow down and I have a few minutes to get away from the table.

I bought the following items:

• Kaweco Frosted in Lime (of course!)
• Franklin-Christoph P45 in Philly Red with Fine Italic Nib tuned by Audrey
• Diplomat Traveler in Lime (of course!)
• Lamy Crystal Azurite Fountain Pen Ink
• Carolina Pen Company Fountain Pen in matte hot pink (see Instragram photos below) with nib tuning by Mark Bacas
• Nockco Sinclair Case in Forest and Kelly
• Prototype Lady Sheaffer Skripsert (!!)

View this post on Instagram

Pen camo. I don’t think @brooks_803 will notice it’s missing, do you? #atlantapenshow2019 #pinkhairdontcare #fountainpen #carolinapencompany

A post shared by ana reinert (@wellapptdesk) on Apr 6, 2019 at 7:40pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Oops! Forgot to show these before the Atl show. These are those liquid MOP pens that I posted a month or so ago. They really came out nice! Pretty much all sold in Atlanta. #madscientist #resin #pen #penaddict #penmaking #penfriends #penporn #penworld #fountainpen #fpaddict #fountainpens #custompen #carolinapencompany

A post shared by Jonathon Brooks (@brooks_803) on Apr 14, 2019 at 5:04am PDT

Besides purchasing pens at the show, I also received an amazing gift from my friend Julia Skott from Sweden. You might know her better as one of the hosts of the MakeDo podcast and she was recently interviewed on Art Supply Posse. Getting to see Julia and her husband Pontis each year is one of the things I look forward to most each year. She brought a lovely assortment of her ceramic mugs this year and there was quite a bit of enthusiasm for her pen cups and mugs. There’s even talk that Julia might try to get a table next year.

View this post on Instagram

Swift ceramic sales in the bar tonight with @juliaskott #atlantapenshow2019

A post shared by ana reinert (@wellapptdesk) on Apr 4, 2019 at 7:22pm PDT

Before I left Atlanta, Brad, Myke, Tif, Julia, Pontis and I went to Ponce City Market and visited a stationery shop and an art supply store as well as eating a lot of food before heading to the airport on our various journeys. We mostly bought pencils because, why not?

View this post on Instagram

@juliaskott doing the happy dance while buying more stationery @archerpaper because when in Rome… I mean Atlanta… #paperjunkie #atlantapenshow2019

A post shared by ana reinert (@wellapptdesk) on Apr 8, 2019 at 12:42pm PDT

Buying more stationery after a pen show makes all of us do a happy dance.

Finally, Brad and I made another round of pins for our annual AL-Star vs. Safari rivalry. This year, we added Kaweco into the mix as we felt that the introduction of the Sport Frosted line for 2019 made real waves aesthetically in the low priced, entry level range of pens. Both Brad and I will try to have these pins available at any pen show we are attending this year. I’ll be at the Chicago Pen Show and will have these available. So, you’ll have to decide which is your favorite this year.

The post Atlanta Pen Show Haul appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Review by Laura Cameron

You may or may not remember that in my first post on The Desk I talked about how my Retro 51 Tornado in Black Cherry (and truly Retro 51) was my gateway drug into the fountain pen world. My love for Retro 51s hasn’t abated, so I was intrigued to hear that they were making product improvements and that there would be a redesigned version releasing this year. Ana ordered one in Aquamarine from Vanness Pen Shop ($65) for me and I was off to the races. (For the purposes of this review I’ll compare the Aquamarine to my Black Cherry).

On it’s face, the new Tornado looks similar to the old Tornado. The new colors (Aquamarine, Ultraviolet and Orchid) are designed in a “frosted metallic” style meaning they have a matte finish both on the pen body and the silver trim. (Former editions of the Tornado were a shiny finish.)

I started by comparing the exteriors of the pens – the length appears to differ only slightly, by less than 1/8th of an inch, and the weights are roughly the same as well (new: 33g and old: 32g, but that may be the result of uneven ink fills).

So now let’s look at the real differences: the nib and the grip section. The previous versions of the Retro 51 Tornado used Schmidt nibs and came with the Medium as the standard nib (though I believe Fine was available on request). The new versions have upgraded to the Jowo #6 nib, and are now available in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium and 1.1 stub italic.

They’ve also re-worked the grip section. It appears to be approximately the same length, but the new grip is somewhat contoured, whereas the older grip narrowed in a straight line.

My final test was filling the pens and letting them sit for a while. Although I love my Retro 51s (and I have SEVERAL more not pictured here), historically they have dried out pretty quickly and often require water to get them started again. I let both pens sit untouched for a week, and sure enough my Black Cherry needed a bit of assistance to get the juices (inks) flowing, but the Aquamarine started right up. This test isn’t exhaustive – I really should let the new Retro sit for more than a week and see what happens, but so far I’m impressed.

Overall, I think the changes Retro has made to the Tornado Fountain Pen are great. The section was never a deal breaker for me, but I think many people will really like the new contoured grip. And I’m always a fan of more nib choice; making it a Jowo #6 nib opens up a lot of possibilities. I still think that Retro 51 is a fun brand and makes a great fountain pen for those newer to the hobby looking to upgrade their pen experience!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Retro 51 Tornado Fountain appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I have been waiting to do this review for WAY TOO long. Hinze Pens are such a unique and under-recognized pen maker on the scene right now. Jim Hinze is creating oversized acrylic/resin pens in amazing colors, some even include diamond dust for a stunning effect. The larger pens are made to be comfortable for writers who may have hand issues like arthritis or other gripping issues as well as people who just prefer larger pens.  I tested the American Graffiti Fountain Pen with a custom brass clip (a similar model is listed here). Even though the pen is large, the acrylic/resin material makes it light enough to be be used by someone like me with smaller hands.

Hinze Pens ship in a metal tin with cut foam lining. The cases are simple but protective and worthy of the craftsmanship of the pens.  The Hinze logo is printed on the lid of the box. As discussed in the past, I don’t want a lot of packaging on my pens because I don’t want ostentatious, wasteful materials that I have to figure out how to store or recycle. However, I also want the packaging to be worthy of the product in both presentation and protection. If the packaging has potential secondary use, that’s great too. The Hinze box, being a metal tin, appears to fall into the category of secondary use potential by removing the foam liner. It’s also low profile so I can keep it without requiring a separate wing on my house (Aurora, I’m looking at you!).

The pens take either JOWO or Bock nibs and with custom orders, you can select which nib type you prefer –#5 or #6 size. Though I think a larger #6 nib will probably look more proportional on Hinze’s larger pens. If you prefer a beret on a yeti, that’s your choice. I’m not going to judge. Chuckle maybe.

Most of the Hinze nibs are etched with the Hinze logo. I got mine late in the pen show weekend and the pickings were slim so I ended up with a plain steel EF nib.

Since Hinze pens use mostly JOWO nibs (or you can request JOWO nibs), this makes them compatible with Franklin-Christoph nibs. If you had a Franklin-Christoph custom ground #5 nib (maybe a Masuyama or something that was ground especially for you at a show), then this would be a legitimate reason for requesting a Hinze pen with a #5 nib. Go, you beret-wearing Yeti! You look fabulous and write like a dream. Alternately, you can order JOWO nibs from Peyton Street or Franklin-Christoph in #6.

For size comparison, pictured above left to right, Kaweco Sport, Pelikan M200, Bob’s Hinze Fountain Pen, the Hinze American Graffiti, Sailor ProGear Slim, Lamy AL-Star and Pilot Metropolitan Pop. Clearly, the Hinze pens are larger than most of my other pens by leaps and bounds.

The Hinze pen I tested was larger than the one my husband owns and, with the brass clip, it was heavier too. However, when uncapped, it was actually lighter. Bob’s pen (which, for the record is the only fountain pen he uses on a regular basis) is 5.75″ long capped and 5.5″ long uncapped. Bob’s pen weighs 24gms  capped and filled and 18gms uncapped. The design of his pen is straighter and does not allow for the cap to be posted. The American Graffiti that I tested was 6″ long capped and 5-9/16″ uncapped. The American Graffiti weighs a whopping 32gms capped and 16gms uncapped. It can be posted making it a baton at a length 7-5/16″.

The same pens as pictured previously, this time posted with the exception of Bob’s Hinze which cannot be posted. The Hinze American Graffiti is way ahead of the pack in length.

Despite being a considerably larger pen, writing with the Hinze pens is actually a comfortable affair. The barrel of the pen is not so wide that I cannot grip it comfortably. The only other truly large pen I’ve used that was just too wide for me was the Wancher Dream Pen. While it was very lightweight it was too wide for me to use comfortably. I’d compare the writing width of the Hinze pens to be consistent to writing with a kid-sized crayon or wide width pencil. This completely explains why my husband loves this pen so much. I always tease him that he writes as if he’s using a crayon and his Hinze pen is fitted with a 1.1mm stub nib and red ink so it really is just a grown up crayon.

I think that pretty much sums up the joy of Hinze Pens. The colors of the materials are beautiful from diamondcast sparkles to swirly, funky colors mixed with anodized nibs and a comfortable feel like a jumbo crayon, Hinze Pens delight adults like a new box of crayons delight a child.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Hinze American Graffiti Fountain Pen (approx. $159.99)
• Ink:  Straits Pens Accident Lilac (currently unavailable)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Hinze American Graffiti with Custom Clip appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

By Jessica Coles

Each year, Lamy announces a new color of their best selling Safari (plastic) and AL-Star (aluminum) pens. From the moment I first heard the colors for the 2019 special editions, I started counting down until I could get them in my hands.  2019 was the first year that not one but three Lamy Safari colors were announced!

The three 2019 special edition Safari colors are Powder Rose, Blue Macaron and Mint Glaze.  In some ways, this triple release is a problem for me; I’ve never been good at resisting Safari special editions and I’m even worse at saying no to pastel pens (ok, I might not even try to say no to these).

As I was waiting for my Mint Glaze Safari to arrive from Appelboom, I couldn’t resist picking up another pastel Safari – Blue Macaron.  I wonder how long I’ll be able to resist adding the Powder Rose as well.

One detail that I absolutely love about the pastel safaris is the ring separating the section from the body (this also allows the cap to snap firmly into place when the pen is closed). In all three pastel pens, this ring matches the color of the body.  Typically in Safari pens, this ring is black or grey.

The Safari comes with a variety of nib choices – extra fine, fine, medium, broad, 1.1 italic, 1.5 italic, and 1.9 italic. I’ve never needed to adjust a Lamy nib although the actual line widths run wider than their names would imply.  For instance, I would label the Lamy fine to be a medium, the medium as a broad and so on.  I chose a medium for this Mint Glaze.  I have found each nib choice from Lamy to be smooth right out of the box. Don’t forget, however, that these nibs are easy to change out as well!

Normally when we review pens on the Well-Appointed Desk, we compare them to a list of standard pens so our audience can get an idea of the size and weight of the new pen.  On this list is always a Lamy Safari, so the comparison is built in!

But the characteristic that sets this Safari apart from others is the color.  I have included a photograph with three other recent pen releases to give a feel for the actual color of the pen.  Below is the Pilot Explorer in green, the Kaweco Frosted Sport in Fine Lime and a Lamy Safari Charged Green.

Now if only Lamy would release a trio of inks to match these beautiful Safaris!

The post Fountain Pen Review: Lamy Pastel Mint Glaze appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Desiderata Soubriquet in Lapis Nugget Acrylic (starting at $240) is the third iteration of Zebra G flexible nib fountain pen that I’ve tried from Desiderata. Each version I’ve tested as been iterative of the previous, with improvements and modifications to the filling system as well as making the pens more aesthetically appealing. The Soubriquet is the latest incarnation from Desiderata and features a push-button vacumatic style filling system hidden under a blind cap at the end of the pen. It makes for the sleekest looking pen to date.

The one thing that remains consistent with the Desiderata pens is the need to use a Zebra Z nib with the pen. This is a wonderfully flexy nib but it is not for everyone. Zebra G nibs require more work than a standard nib or flex nib. It’s a flexible dip nib that retails for about $2 per nib. As a result, it can often be scratchy. One of the first things I was taught by senior lettering artists at Hallmark was how to adjust and smooth dip nibs like the Zebra G. Because the nibs are not terribly expensive, they are great for learning to smooth nibs. Because they are cheap, almost every single one will require some kind of tuning or smoothing. And they don’t last forever. Eventually they will rust or break so tuning a Zebra G will become something you’ll get to practice regularly.

Pierre is now offering the option to get his pens fitted with a #6 Jowo nib unit as well as the Zebra G nib so if flexible nibs are not your thing or you want toe ability to switch back and forth, you now have options. I like a challenge so I only get the Zebra G options. Check out Gentleman Stationer’s review of the Jowo nib version.

The vacumatic filling system is spring loaded and requires pumping several times to get a good vacuum to suck up the ink. Once filled, I was able to write for quite while before needing to refill. However, I did discover that not having an ink window with the ink-hogging Zebra G nib was quite a disadvantage. If I had stoppage issues at any point, I could not tell if it was an empty ink reservoir issue without just refilling the pen. I recommend if you plan on using a Soubriquet with a Zebra G that you purchase one that is either translucent in some parts or includes an ink window so you can verify the ink capacity. While the solid Lapis blue is lovely, there is enough to fuss with in regards to flex nib/dip nib vacumatic fountain pens that verifying that you have ink in the pen should not be among your concerns.

I had to do a good deal of smoothing and tweaking with the Zebra G nib in this particular Soubriquet to work with my hand. I use a series of sanding blocks, micro mesh and super fine grit sanding pads. These are the same tools that most folks use for smoothing pens (not grinding nibs… just smoothing them). As a lefty, I am much more likely to catch the paper if there is a sharp edge on the nib corners and Zebra G nibs are very flexible and very fine. Like I said, experimenting with Zebra G nibs is an inexpensive venture. And if I don’t get the burrs off, I stab the paper and spatter ink.

Once smoothed, the range of flex is impressive, even with a light touch. The pen itself is generously sized, being fairly long but lightweight so it does not feel heavy or poorly weighted. The shape is a modified cigar and the cap will post though it does not stay in place very well.

Besides the Soubriquet, I’ve reviewed the earlier Desiderata Precession squeeze-filler, the Desiderata Daedalus and I have a modified Ranga pen that holds a Nikko G nib. I thought this would be a good time to compare the pens and writing experiences.

The Precession was on loan so I don’t have it any longer but the clear acrylic was stunning empty and looked a little horrifying filled. However, having used the lovely Lapis, I’m seeing the advantages of the clear acrylic material. It may have looked like a mutilated zombie when filled with ink but I could see exactly how much ink I had in the pen, even if it obscured the pretty red and blue threads or made them look like veins. The squeeze filling system was a bit “old school” but not difficult to use and well-constructed. Yes, there’s something novel about the spring-loaded vac filling system on the Soubriquet but if a Precession turned up on the secondhand market, it would certainly be worth the effort.

If you’re on a budget, the Daedalus is still a solid option from Desiderata. Yes, its an eyedropper filler which requires having some silicone grease on hand for the threads but if you’re up to buying a flexy Zebra G pen, you’re ready to have silicone grease on hand. The eyedropper filler also means it holds a massive amount of ink which, for flex writing, is a very good thing. The Daedalus is a simple pen aesthetically (its not going to wow anyone when you open your pen case) but once you start using it, people will ask, “What is that?”

The last flex/dip nib pen I own is the Ranga/Nikko G that Leigh Reyes modified. This is a DIY project pen but provides more options for nib choices as you can carve the feed to fit your preferred nib shape. (Side note: even though dip nibs all look similar, the curves are all slightly different so in order to get a perfect with a feed unit, the feed must be shaped to accommodate the nib.)  The Ranga is also an eyedropper pen, like the Daedalus.

My Daedalus has been modified to hold a vintage Esterbrook dip nib which is not as flexible as the Zebra G and it works like a champ. I’ve had mine for several years and both the nib and the pen show some mileage. Its an earlier prototype so its got its own quirks but to quote Han Solo, “she’s got it where it counts, kid.”

My Ranga was modified by my pal Leigh Reyes and then tweaked a bit more to increase flow in the feed a bit more. It uses a Nikko G at present which is also a bit less flexible than the Zebra G. It gives a nice range of stroke variation with a light touch.

My conclusion? If you do a lot of lettering or calligraphy or want to get better at those skills, investing in a Desiderata pen is going to make the experience better. You’ll get to spend more time lettering and less time dipping your pen. That said, any flex/dip pen nib is a bit finicky whether you are using it in a $2 dip pen holder or a $200 fountain pen so you need to be prepared to do a little tweaking. Yes, the Ranga is a cheaper option but you will have to learn to cut channels into a feed and shape it to fit the nib of your choice. So you have to ask yourself, do you want to spend more time lettering or making your lettering tools?

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Desiderata Soubriquet Lapis Nugget Acrylic ($240)
• Ink:  Robert Oster Carolina Blue ($17 for 50ml bottle)

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Desiderata Pen Company for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Desiderata Soubriquet Lapis Nugget Acrylic Flex Nib appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Momento Zero is the first pen I’ve tried from the Leonardo Officina Italiana brand. From what I’ve read, the Leonardo brand is the latest incarnation from the father-son team responsible for making pens for Delta and later Armando Simoni Club before branching off to create Leonardo Officina Italiana.

The packaging is appropriate to a pen at this price point. There is an outer dust sleeve and then an inner “coffin box” with a creamy suede-like lining. The only odd detail is that the pen is pinched into place by clips under the fabric rather than under a band or elastic like most boxes. It reminded me a bit of the monsters book from Harry Potter. I felt like I needed to grab the pen from the ends quickly and slap the box shut before it tried to snap back. There was an information booklet included as well. The converter was thoughtfully in the pen upon purchase. There were no cartridges included though the pen should accept standard international cartridges.

It indicated that the Momento Zero Blue Positano models are open, numbered editions. There was a place in the back of the booklet for a seal and signature from the shop where the pen was purchased to indicate date of purchase and note the number of my pen. Since I acquired the pen via online, I suspect the box was never opened before shipping or only cursorily to verify that the info on the outside of the box matched the contents before shipping.

The Momento Zero line is a lower-priced acrylic version of this size and shape pen. It was also done in celluloid and resin (€690 each).

While I don’t own any of the Armando Simoni Club pens, I’ve seen them at pen shows and the design of the Momento Zero is similar to that of the ASC pens, including the disc design on the clip and the wide conical tip on the ends of the pen. Where the ASC pens have a decorative Greek Key band around the edge of the cap band, the Momento Zero pens have three metal rings. The Momento Zero is smaller in scale than the ASC pens I’ve seen which is fine with me. I am, as you may realize by now, petite of hand.

The model I got is the Positano with Rhodium trim and a broad nib. I don’t normally favor broad nibs but I think, in this case, fate played a hand because I was very pleasantly surprised with this nib. While it is a steel nib, it has a lot of spring and bounce to it making it a hugely pleasurable writing experience. I’d compare the feel of the nib to a Pelikan M200 nib in terms of springiness. It did write perfectly out of the box, unlike many M200 series nibs so consider that in my comparison.

The only branding on the pen body itself is the name engraved into the acrylic along the barrel along with the specific number of the pen purchased.

One of the most unusual features of the pen is multiple access to the converter. The pen features a cap on the end to access the converter without unscrewing the whole barrel. You can also access the whole converter from the nib section.

The assembled pen is shown above with just the end cap removed to access the end of the converter.

Specifications:

• Weight: 27gms Capped/Posted and 19gsm unposted (with converter filled)
• Length: 5.5″ (140mm) capped, 5″ (127mm) unposted and 6″ (152mm) posted

The Momento Zero is not heavier than a Metropolitan when filled and posted and just a little heavier than an AL-Star unposted.

For size comparison, from left to right, the Aurora Optima, Pilot Custom 92, Lamy AL-Star, the Momento Zero, Pelikan M205, Pelikan M605, Opus 88 Picnic and a TWSBI Eco. Below, the same pens, posted. The Momento Zero is about the same length posted as a TWSBI Eco and just a little longer than the Pilot Custom 92.

What I was most surprised to discover is how well-balanced the Momento Zero was to use posted. I almost never say that. Actually, I think that’s the first time I’ve said that in a review. I’d actually write with this pen posted. Not that I need the additional length but it did not throw the balance off. Amazing.

Now, for what you really wanted to know… how does this pen write? Frickin’ beautifully. I was blown away. Like I said at the beginning of the review, I don’t usually got for broad nibs because they usually write like blunt makers for me and that just makes me say, “meh”. This nib… this nib had a crispness to the broad that made it more… stub-like? Something wonderful this nib brings. (Yes, I butchered a Shakespeare quote… this nib makes me feel badly poetic.)

Any flaws in the writing above is due to a slightly drier ink and not a fault of the pen. I have adjusted the ink since writing the review to verify this and can say unequivocally that the pen and nib are perfect and the ink was a might bit dry.

So my final take away? The acrylic material is pretty for a larger commercial manufacturer selling a pen for under $200. The filling system is overly fancy for a cartridge converter but I appreciate the effort of making a banal element something “extra”. And the nib is ROCK STAR level for a steel nib. If you were waiting to see whether the Leonardo pens were worth the price, I’m telling you, yes.

Bibiliography:

• The Clumsy Penman’s Inkfusion Site
• Gourmet Pens
• Penboy Roy

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pen: Leonardo Officina Momento Zero Positano ( €122.31)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Ink:  Robert Oster Carolina Blue ($17 for 50ml bottle) with one drop of White Lightning Ink Additive ($5.95 for 1oz bottle)

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Appelboom for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Leonardo Momento Zero Positano (Rhodium Trim/ Broad Nib) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

A few months ago Ana let me use her lime green Diplomat Traveller and I liked it quite a bit. So I thought it was very sweet when she presented me with a Diplomat Traveler in Flame ($52.00) for my birthday (and review!)

Back in 2017 I reviewed a Diplomat Excellence A, and the thing I love most about that pen were all the details that went into it! In some ways the Traveller feels the same, albeit at a much lower price point. So let’s start at the beginning.

The Traveller is a sleek and slim designed fountain pen. It features Diplomat’s signature clip and imprinted nibs, in a smooth body design. The Traveller comes in a variety of colors including Black Lacquer, Black Matte, Stainless Steel/Gold, Lumi Blue, Lumi Green and Flame. The Flame colorway is achieved by treating the body with fire which creates a unique finish for each pen. Ana knew I had a Kaweco Liliput in Fire Blue and knew I loved it; this has made the perfect set with the two!

The Traveller measures approximately 4 5/8″/11.75cm end cap to nib tip, and 5 3/8″/13.5cm from end to end when capped. The cap is a snap cap (with a satisfying snap!) and is postable.  The pen takes standard international cartridges or a converter and, when full, weighs about 20g. That puts it squarely inline with many other popular pens.

I’ve compared it to some of my favorites (L to R: Retro 51 Tornado Fountain, Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop, Diplomat Traveller, Sailor Pro-Gear Slim, and Pelikan M200). The Traveller is the slimmest of the bunch, but is fairly comparable in terms of length to all of them.

So let’s get down to why I like this pen so much. The Traveller is super slim, which works beautifully in my small hands. It is also a super smooth writer from the get go. The nibs are made by Jowo (rebranded for Diplomat) and aside from being slightly wider western-style nibs, are beautiful. I got a medium in this pen which is probably a bit wider than I normally go, but everything is just so smooth and the lines it puts on the page are beautiful.

Even though the market has lots of options in the $50-75 range, I just feel that this is a really nice option for someone looking for a more modern, sleeker fountain pen. It feels like a quality pen in my hands, and the attention to the little details really make me love it that much more.

Tools

• Paper: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
• Pen: Diplomat Traveler in Flame ($52)
• Ink: Monteverde Smoke Noir (30ml for $8)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Diplomat Traveler (Flame, Medium Nib) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Review by Tina Koyama

In general, I avoid pens (and other products) that are disposable, but I can think of two circumstances under which a disposable fountain pen makes perfect sense: One is when it might be inked and forgotten for a long time. The other is as a gift to the curious but not yet convinced. Under both circumstances, a disposable fountain pen has one job: It must behave like a gel, rollerball or ballpoint pen that requires no maintenance or thought beyond the color of ink it may dispense.

If that’s the one job, the Zebra Zensations ($3) is doing it – and very well.

Available in seven colors, it comes with a 0.6mm nib (which happens to be my ideal basic writing nib size). It has many competitors, and I pulled out a few I happen to have, including the Pilot Varsity ($3), Platinum Preppy ($4) and Pilot Petit1 ($3.80).

The Zensations has a pleasing, secure snap when the cap is engaged (unlike the Varsity, which feels mushy, and the Preppy, which takes more muscle to pull off than I ever expect). Of the four plastic pens, I prefer the Zensations body and design for looking the most fountain-pen-like. The barrel has a narrow window for checking the ink level.

As for writing quality, the Zensations’ steel nib is solid, reliable and surprisingly smooth – no skipping, blobbing or scratchiness. It started writing immediately – no initial scribbling needed.

Used only sporadically in the four months that I’ve had it, the Zensations always starts writing upon demand without priming, which is more than I can say for some much more expensive fountain pens. The purple ink I chose (which matches the body) dries quickly (no lefty smudges in my writing sample, which was done in a Leuchtturm 1917 notebook).

Frankly, considering that all four pens cost $4 or less, they all write remarkably well and – dare I say it? – behave as close to a rollerball or gel pen as any fountain pen could. Which brings me back to how I began this review. While I don’t value pens for being designed to be tossed when empty, sometimes I want and appreciate the writing feel of a fountain pen nib even when I won’t be using it much. A case in point is the little Lihit Lab pouch I take with me only on fitness walks. I could drop a Zensations into that bag, forget about it for weeks or months and still feel confident that it would work well when I needed it.

In addition, I think a Zebra Zensations would be an ideal candidate for pushing your curious-but-cautious friends over to the fountain pen side of the fence. I know that the Lamy Safari and Pilot Metropolitan are often cited as good “starter” pens for their low entry cost. But as “real” fountain pens, they still require filling and occasional flushing (and I sure wouldn’t want a newbie to leave a Safari idle for six months and then roughly prime it like a ballpoint pen when it doesn’t write! Yes, I know someone who did this). The Zensations is more of a transitional fountain pen that gives the uninitiated a chance to learn to appreciate what it feels like to write with a pleasant nib – but without the fuss.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Zebra Zensations appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Conklin Duraflex 120th Anniversary Limited Edition ($68) is (or was) an exclusive through Pen Chalet. The pen comes with a 30ml bottle of Conklin 120th Anniversary Blue ink as well as a converter. I didn’t test the ink for this review. As you read along. you’ll understand a bit more why I didn’t bother testing the ink.

I have not used a Conklin in five years, and the 120th Anniversary pen was my first experience with the Duraflex nib. I inked up the pen with Robert Oster Carolina Blue and set about testing it.

Almost immediately, I realized something was not right. The ink was seizing up immediately. I got a my loupe and took a look.

Okay, this is a crappy photo but there was a blob of extra tipping material on one tine (the right tine, if you are facing the nib, logo forward) which was preventing the nib from making even, consistent contact. To be honest, if you have good eyesight, you could see the imperfection on the nib without a loupe or magnifying glass.

Since this was a huge glob of tipping material and I was beyond annoyed, I set to work trying to sand and smooth down this flaw so that I could at least test out this pen.

I went into this experience not expecting that the Duraflex nib was going to be a true flex nib nor that it was going to get the same sort of writing experience, out of the box, that the Aurora Optima Flex was. I also realize that comparing the Conklin to the Aurora is unfair but both pens promise similar flex-ish writing experiences, albeit at wildly different price points. At least with the Aurora, I didn’t have to spend an entire Saturday trying to get it to write.

That said, I would much rather have purchased the Conklin with a well-tested, fully-functional firm nib than this flawed half-baked concept nib.

After a good hour of work and debating whether or not to even write a review about this pen at all, I got it going. I wasn’t sure if writing a review about a pen that didn’t really write was the right thing to do. In the end, I decided that this pen might have been the exception. It happens. In manufacturing, be it clothing, pens, whatever, quality control can miss one. I’ve bought clothes with bad seaming or uneven hems. I’ve gotten pens with janky nibs. It happens. I know how to sew so I can fix a hem and I have micro mesh and enough experience that I can try to tweak a bad nib.

Once writing with good flowing ink, the pen writes like a soft medium or medium fine. It is by no means, with regular writing pressure, flexible. I was, however, able to coax it into writing consistently and smoothly.

I did attempt to flex write with it and that was much more challenging. I don’t think the Duraflex nib is at all flexible. The amount of pressure needed to flex it is ridiculous. Its a one-way ticket to a repetitive stress injury. If you really want a flex nib pen, buy a vintage fountain pen. Contact Myk Daigle (AKA Mad Mercantile) on Ebay for a great vintage flex writer.

I realize that, to Conklin, this is a collector’s pen. To me, I liked the blue, marbled resin and the rose gold hardware was interesting. At this point, I may see if I can just swap out the nib completely for something that is a much better writing experience altogether.

Final Note: Should you decide that, even after my less-than-glowing review, you want to try the Conklin 120th Anniversary fountain pen, I reviewed Pen Chalet’s return policy. If you receive a pen you are concerned might not be for you… don’t immediately ink it up. Per their returns and exchanges policy, dip test the writing experience first to verify that it meets your expectations. They do not accept pen returns that have been fully inked up but will take returns if they have only been dip tested.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Conklin Duraflex 120th Anniversary Limited Edition ($68)
• Ink:  Robert Oster Carolina Blue ($17 for 50ml bottle) with White Lightning Ink Additive ($5.95 for 1oz bottle)

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Pen Chalet for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Conklin Duraflex 120th Anniversary Limited Edition appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Review by Laura Cameron

I will admit that over the years I sort of overlooked the Kaweco Sport Fountain Pen because of aesthetics. I love my Liliput, but somehow I never got into the Kaweco Sport. However, with the release of the new Frosted Collection, I decided to give them a try. I went ahead and ordered a Kaweco Frosted Sport Blush Pithaya Fountain Pen (€19.63, approx. $22.04 before shipping) to play with.

The Frosted Sport collection is the latest crop of colors to come to the same great Sport line. In addition to Blush Pithaya, the collection includes Sweet Banana, Fine Lime, Natural Coconut and Soft Mandarin. It was so hard to choose a color because I kind of love them all!

The Sport is a lightweight, plastic/resin-bodied fountain pen that is a perfect pocket pen. The pen is lightweight (approximately 10g when loaded with a cartridge). Capped, the pen is a short 4 1/8″/10.5cm long and uncapped that length doesn’t change much. The cap is postable, and it is more comfortable for many people to write at that length, 5 1/4″/13cm.

I went ahead and photographed the Sport with my other pocket pens – the aforementioned Liliput and the Franklin Christoph Pocket 45 model.

One thing I especially like about the Sport is that the octagonal faceted cap design means that the pen doesn’t roll away from me! There’s also an option to add a clip which makes it easy to attach to a shirt pocket or a notebook.

One thing I enjoyed when playing with this Sport in particular is that I got a broad nib. I’m usually a fine girl, and occasionally I stray to a medium, but this is my first broad. It lays down a bit more ink than I usually like, but the nib itself writes beautifully and it was fun to try something different. (As a note: Kaweco has it’s own branded nibs that are manufactured by both Bock and Jowo.)

Overall, I would say that the Kaweco Sport is a fun little pen that’s perfect for pocket or purse use, and that makes a great starter pen for someone new to the hobby. Even a few years in, I’m still finding things I’ve overlooked!

• Papers: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
• Pen: Kaweco Frosted Sport Blush Pithaya Fountain Pen (€19.63, approx. $22.04 before shipping)
• Inks: Kaweco Ink Cartridges in Palm Green (6-pack for $3.00)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review – Kaweco Frosted Sport appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Review by Laura Cameron

I love looking at Opus 88s! They are all colorful and fun, and they hold so much ink. They remind me of candy – I feel like I need one of each color. So when the Opus 88 Omar (Appelboom, €82.23, approx. $93.50) came out, I knew I wanted to try one. What color? My signature purple, of course!

The Opus 88 Omar has a semi-transparent resin barrel. The cap is mosaic patterned in a matching resin. The Omar is available in Amber, Grey, Green and Purple (also called Amethyst). The pen has silver accents (clip, rings around the ends) and ivory resin finials on both ends of the pen.

The Omar features a #6 JoWo nib stamped with the Opus 88 logo available in multiple sizes; mine is a Fine.

All Opus pens have an eyedropper fill systems (a glass eyedropper is included in the box) and make use of a piston knob on the end of the pen to increase or decrease airflow to the nib, allowing the ink to flow smoothly. While I’m always tempted to add a little silicon grease when I seal up the pen after cleaning, for the purposes of this review I didn’t – I just let the tiny black o-ring do it’s job. No leaks so far!

The Opus Omar pens are big. There’s just no way around this. They dwarf my Pilot Metropolitan and Diplomat Traveller, and are still quite a bit heftier than my Retro 51 and some of my indie pens like this gorgeous one from Carolina Pen Company. The pen is 5 7/8″ or 15cm long, capped, and 5 3/8″ or 13.5cm long, uncapped. When filled, it comes in at a hefty 37gms.

So here’s my problem: I love the way the Opus 88 Omar looks! This one was a little slow to start, but once I got the ink flowing, I had no problems. The nib was smooth, worked great right out of the box and the pen was a pleasure to write with. But I have to face the fact that my tiny hands and the Opus 88 Omar pens are never going to be a good match. I just can’t deny that I get hand fatigue if I use them for too long. So my recommendation is this: if you have small hands and don’t go for big pens, you’re gonna have to give this one a pass (until they make a smaller size… please?!?!?). If you enjoy larger pens, give these a try. They’re fun to look at and write with and I desperately want one in my collection!

Tools:

• Papers: Rhodia Soft Cover Rhodiarama 7.5″ x 9.75″ Silver Notebook (Vanness, $26.95), Story Supply Co, Limited Edition Ithaca
• Pen: Opus 88 Omar (Appelboom, €82.23, approx. $93.50)
• Inks: Waterman Harmonious Green (Vanness, $11.00)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Opus 88 Omar appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

ITALIA is the latest Kickstarter fountain pen project launched by LA-based ēnsso, who has previously created several successful projects like the UNO Minimal pen, the XS Pocket Fountain Pen and the PIUMA Minimal Fountain Pen.

The ITALIA Fountain Pen is currently available for pre-order on Kickstarter, with Early Bird backer prices starting at $55 (for the black), $59 (for brass), and $79 (for titanium). These prices are limited offers and reflect a discount off the future retail price.

Though the ITALIA draws inspiration from vintage Italian pens, it’s a modern-looking pen. It’s milled from solid titanium, brass, or aluminum. The pen has conical ends and the grip and cap band are blank embossed with a Greek Key or three stripes design.

The pen is 139mm (5.47″) when opened or closed (nib included) and 150mm (5.9″) in length when posted. The ITALIA comes with a #6 Bock nib and a Schmidt ink converter. It accepts short and long standard international ink cartridges.

Disclaimer: This post contains paid advertisements and/or sponsored content.

The post Kickstarter: Ensso ITALIA Fountain Pen (Sponsored) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

By Jessica Coles

Earlier this year, Pelikan announced the newest special edition: the Pelikan Violet & White M600 ($440-$535). As soon as I saw the photos of this pen, I fell in love with it and I wasn’t alone. Purple seems to be an especially rare color in the pen world.

So far, I have only given into the less expensive, smaller Pelikan models in the 200 and 400 sizes; I didn’t feel the need for a larger pen since I typically reach for small pens. The Pelikan M600 is not much different than the M400 in length (M400 is 127mm long while the M600 is 134 mm long) nor in diameter (M400 is 11.7mm and the M600 is 12.4mm) but for my small hands, I always thought the jump was a big one. As a quick reference, a Lamy Safari is 139mm in length and 13.8mm in diameter.

The weight of the M600 is a bit over 17gms, placing it among the lighter pens in our common pen chart.

But. Purple. Not “purple” that is actually deep blue. The Pelikan Violet & White comes in a striking box that appears laced up the front that gives an air of elegance in the presentation. Rather than the laces closing the box, they are only for show; the box has covered magnets in the flaps and opens to reveal the pen held in place with another ribbon.

The Pelikan Violet & White edition brings to mind (at least to me) Victorian, striped silk in a parlor or perhaps fancy, striped candy. I have heard a few comments that the gold trim was a disappointment, but personally, I think the color combination is perfect. The two-tone, 14kt gold nib keeps the gold trim in check.

Like I said earlier, I usually reach for smaller pens. However, the M600 felt like a refreshing change; the fact that I refuse to post such a beautiful pen helps keep the length reasonable for me. The uncapped pen feels perfectly weighted to me and is light, great for long writing sessions.

One thing I appreciate about Pelikan pens – every Pelikan feels familiar as soon as I pick it up. Well-made pieces that endure through the years, only getting better with age. I love the classic black-and-green stripes that Pelikan has historically used and the Violet & White echos that tradition. The new violet color seems less an expression of popular colors than simply adding another classic color combination to an extensive lineup. I’m quite happy that Pelikan decided to add such a beautiful pen to their ever-growing flock.

Etched into the end cap is the brand’s namesake pelican and a single chick.

A closeup of the barrel of the Violet & White shows that the barrel is not translucent like many of the striped Pelikan pens. That does mean that there is no visual cues to the level of your ink; I enjoy both versions of ink appearance, but I do think it would have been handy in this case. However, that also means the distraction of ink level does not take aways from the overall look of the pen.

One decision I had to make was where I would purchase the Violet & White edition once it was released. Having purchased a gold nib Pelikan before, I knew I would want the nib altered. I love Pelikan’s fine and extra-fine nibs (Pelikan, being a German company, has nibs that run broader than Japanese nibs), but for my lovely purple Pelikan I wanted something different. Dan Smith (or Nibsmith) offers specialty nib grinds for pens purchased through him. Dan ground a lovely cursive italic for me from a Pelikan medium nib. It is lovely enough that I need a second review just for the nib – watch for part two next week!

Pelikan selected a two-tone gold nib for this edition and the 14k gold gives a touch of softness to the writing feel. It is a pleasure to write with any of their gold nibs, but there’s nothing quite as nice in my mind as a crisp italic nib and the medium nib was perfect base to create the italic nib. It give my writing a bit of line variation without feeling cramped. Again, please watch for the nib review next week.

As I said earlier in the review, purple is a rare color in the pen world. The Pelikan Violet & White is a perfect addition to those occasional purple special editions and I’m very pleased with how Pelikan has chosen to create this pen. Even though the price on the M600 is steep, my experience with Pelikan pens tells me that each pen ages beautifully and keeps its value over time.

I have never regretted a Pelikan purchase and this is one that I am absolutely going to add to my collection and keep in everyday rotation. Modern gold nibs pens start around $150 but typically cost $250 to $300. Is the Pelikan Violet & White worth twice as much as other gold nib pens on the market? Because of the luxurious look and feel of the purple, white and gold combination, along with knowing the performance and durability of Pelikan pens, I think it is well worth the money. This is a pen that I hope to pass down to my children and grandchildren one day. Especially if one has an eye for purple.

The post Fountain Pen Review: Pelikan Violet & White appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.