fountain pen Archives - Page 3 of 10

Namiki Custom Impressions Fountain Pen Review

October 17, 2015 by Blake

The Namiki Custom Impressions line of pens was produced in the late 90s and while it predates the very popular Pilot Custom 74, it is essentially the same pen with a “celluloid” body and no markings on the cap band. These pens are cellulose acetate and not the cellulose nitrate normally associated with the word “celluloid”. The difference is that the cellulose acetate feels and can often look like a more typical plastic without the depth and oily feel of real celluloid.

The Custom Impressions came in five colors: Sapphire, Medley, Ambertone, Ruby and Emerald. I have Sapphire, Medley and Ambertone. It has been suggested (and from what I can tell rightly so) that Aurora used the same green plastic as the Emerald in their Optima. I have photographed them with a couple of Optimas…I am not certain that the Ruby is the same as Aurora’s Burgundy but they are close.

My Namiki Custom Impressions with two Aurora Optimas — Left to right: Custom Impressions in Ambertone, Medley, Sapphire, Aurora Optimas in green and Burgundy

I particularly like the Sapphire and Medley colors; these to me are the most unique and beautiful.

These pens came with a con-70 converter and a 14kt gold #5 nib.

There is another variation of the Custom Impressions that very closely resembles the shape of the Custom 845, but again in “celluloid” and with a #10 instead of #15 nib. This model seems to be much more scarce and considerably more expensive than the pens I am showing here.

Like the Pilot Custom 74, the Namiki Custom Impressions make excellent workhorses. The nibs are butter smooth and wonderful writers.

To my knowledge these pens were only produced in fine, medium and broad nib grades.

I also find the nibs on the Impressions to be softer than the ones on the Custom 74. It seems to me, based on a small sample of Pilot/Namiki pens, that the pens from the 90s and early 00s have softer nibs than the ones produced more recently.

I have a decent amount of experience writing with Pilot/Namiki nibs from size #5 to size #20 and while I find all of these nib sizes to be very comfortable, the #10 seems to hit the sweet spot, with the #5 feeling a bit small and the #15 and #20 feeling a bit big. If you have big hands, which I do not, you may not like the #5 nib on these pens.

The Custom Impressions are full size pens measuring just over 13.5cm long, capped and weigh approximately 22.5 grams empty (with the con-70 installed). These pens post very well and I find them comfortable to use posted and unposted.

Prices for the Custom Impressions range a bit as they do not come up for sale all that often. If you can get one for around $150-$200 (depending on condition) I think that is a fair price but keep in mind if you prefer the look of a simple black body, a Custom 74 can be had for around $90 new.

Pilot Blue Black Fountain Pen Ink Review

September 27, 2015 by Blake

Pilot’s Iroshizuku line of inks has become incredibly popular in the last couple of years thanks to its agreeable performance and excellent color palette. Despite Iroshizuku’s success Pilot still produces it’s original more affordable ink line that is simply branded as “Pilot” (or “Namiki …or “Pilot/Namiki”).

It is my understanding that these inks have a ph of over 7 making them basic and as such I would caution against putting them in a pen where ink makes direct contact with celluloid.

This line comes in bottle and cartridge formats. The cartridges only fit Pilot and Namiki pens. There are seven colors produced in the cartridge format. In bottle format I have only seen three colors: blue, black, and blue black.

Pilot Blue Black is a bit pale for my tastes but the upshot is some nice subtle shading. The ink provides some good lubrication, making it a great choice for dryer writing pens. I had no issues with bleeding or feathering. I also saw no nib creep (as is common for lubricating inks). I found that this ink was easy to clean out unlike Pilot Blue which has a tendency to stain.

Packs of 12 cartridges go for $7 and 60ml bottles go for $12. The affordable price makes Pilot Blue Black a great workhorse ink that would be appropriate for the office and general correspondence.

Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Platinum-Plated Facet LeGrand Fountain Pen Review

September 23, 2015 by Blake

If you read this blog regularly you will know that this pen is not my typical cup of tea but as I was traversing the Warsaw airport I couldn’t help but see sale signs on a large Montblanc display. The only pen that caught my eye was the Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Platinum-Plated Facet 146 (or LeGrand as they now call it). I was curious to know how much it was and after seeing the price I decided to go for it.

This pen is the typical Meisterstück design but in a faceted platinum plated stainless steel body instead of the usual “precious” resin. It really is quite a stunning pen to behold and has much more of a presence than its resin sister.

The facets create a tiled pattern. You will notice that the face of the tiles are a mirrored platinum finish while the edges are brushed; this is a particularly nice touch and a testament to the craftsmanship put into this pen.

This 146 came with a medium nib which was too fat for my tastes but Montblanc has a free nib exchange program than can be utilized within six months of purchase. At the Montblanc boutique in Berlin I was able to try their tester set and found that the OB nib offered the most line variation and the next morning I picked up my pen with the OB installed. That is exceptional service.

The 146 is a full size pen fitted with an 18kt gold nib, a piston filling mechanism and a striped ink view window. The standard resin 146 has a 14kt gold nib and when compared with the 18kt version I could not tell the difference.

The nib is noticeably soft and is a very nice to use. The ink flow is on the drier side but the smooth nib conceals this quite well. I have found that lubricating inks work best with this pen.

Montblanc LeGrand Platinum Facet Fountain Pen-7

As is obvious in all of my pictures, this pen is a fingerprint magnet. If you cannot handle finger prints and patina this 146 is a not a good choice.

This pen retails for around $1,300 and even at over 50% off I don’t feel as though the price was a home run. It’s very well made and nice to look at but to me it is not as special as say a hand turned Japanese pen or a pen made of beautiful Italian celluloid (all of which can be hand for a similar price). If you want a flashy pen with the Montblanc brand cachet then this could make sense but otherwise at anywhere near retail I say forget it.

Namiki Yukari Royale Vermilion Fountain Pen Review

September 18, 2015 by Blake

The Yukari Royale is an oversize fountain pen similar in size and shape to a Montblanc 149. Despite it’s oversize form the Yukari Royale sits mid-pack in the Namiki line-up; there is the standard full-size Yukari and the comically enormous Emperor.

Namiki Yukari Royale with Namiki Nippon Art (same size as a non-Royale Yukari)

Earlier this year in Japan I tried both the Yukari Royale and the Emperor in person. I quickly ruled out the baseball-bat-sized Emperor but the Yukari Royale I struggled with for a little while. I thought “how could a pen so big and heavy be so comfortable?”; ultimately I decided not to take the risk on such an expensive pen and I bought a Platinum Izumo Yagumonuri instead.

Fast forward a few months and I was still thinking about the Yukari Royale and at the same time feeling disenchanted with the Izumo (the Izumo has a long section with a large step down that causes me discomfort in long writing sessions).

I ended up going for the Yukari Royale (thank you to Pen Chalet for making this possible).

The Yukari Royale has a large brass torpedo-shape body covered in vermilion (red) urushi lacquer (also available in black). The cap has Namiki’s (Pilot’s) ball clip and a very thin gold band at the end of the cap. The simple shape and minimal trim make for a very elegant pen.

The fit and finish of this pen is flawless. It really is perfect to the point where I genuinely question if it is in fact hand painted. Next to a Nakaya the difference is night and day. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with a Nakaya, there isn’t, a Nakaya has more of an organic beauty.

This pen weighs a hefty 45 grams but it is so well balanced in my hand that I don’t feel any fatigue from its weight. My other Namiki pens, a Nippon Art and a Yukari (non-Royale) share this same wonderful balance.

The Yukari Royale measures 5.8” capped. You can post this pen but it becomes too long for me. The grip section is about .4” in diameter which is thick but not as thick as a Montblanc 149s which measures over half an inch.

Namiki Yukari Royale — Yukari Royale next to Montblanc 149 (notice how much fatter the Montblanc section is)

Here you can see the Royale with a variety of Pilot/Namiki pens:

The Yukari Royale is the only pen pictured above to feature an urushi painted metal section. All of the other pens (even the more expensive Yukari Nightline) have unpainted plastic sections with visible seams.

The Yukari Royale (using Pilot’s sizes) is a #20.

Interestingly, it is the same size as a Pilot #15 but with a different shape and an oblong breather hole as well as a red plastic feed.

Nibs left to right: Pilot/Namiki #20, #15, #10, #5

The nib is made of 18kt gold and is quite soft. The performance is excellent. No skipping no hard starting; this pen just works. Out of all of my modern pens this is by far my favorite stock nib in my collection; it’s character is unique and lovely. Compared to my other Pilot and Namiki medium nibs which are butter smooth, the number 20 has a small amount of feedback which I love. It sort of reminds me of the feedback from an Aurora Optima nib with the softness of a Montblanc 149 nib…in other words this is a dream nib (for me at least).

With it’s large nib and feed this is a thirsty pen.

It uses a Con-70 converter that holds 1.1ml of ink and even with this large capacity I find that I run out of ink rather quickly. I also must admit that I am not as huge a fan of the Con-70 as I once was.

While it holds a lot of ink, it is the most difficult to use and the most difficult to clean converter on the market. I fill and clean mine with a blunt tip syringe.

So what about the price?

As I said earlier this is an expensive pen. The street price is $1,200 ($1,500 full retail). I get a lot of enjoyment of the Yukari Royale and while I have a lot of wonderful pens this is the only one that I have refilled six times in a row…I just don’t want to put it away and to date I haven’t yet.

Is it worth it for you? Rationalizing a pen this expensive is a fool’s errand (though I have tried in past reviews, see Nakaya Naka-ai).

The Yukari Royale is a wonderful jewel of a pen to behold.

A special thank you once again to Pen Chalet for making this review possible. If you buy a pen as nice as this you will want to purchase from a reputable authorized dealer with great customer service like Pen Chalet.

Montblanc Meisterstück 136 Fountain Pen Review

September 2, 2015 by Blake

The 13X series of pens were the first Montblancs to feature a piston filling mechanism. The 136 was the senior size pen just as the 146 is today in the current Meisterstück line.

The 13X series was produced in the mid 1930s to the end of the 1940s and possibly into the early 1950s as there was a brief point when the 13X line and 14X were sold simultaneously.

There are several variations of the 136 which I won’t cover here other than to say that my version is a later model with the shorter ink window.

The differences between the 136 and the original 146 were mostly in design. The 146 had (and still has) a streamlined cigar shape where the 136 has more of a flat top.

Montblanc Meisterstück 136 Fountain Pen — 136 cap with a star that has turned ivory in color over the years

They both had the same telescopic piston filling mechanism but if you look at the end of the barrel on a 136 you can see two knobs…the one at the very end is the regular piston filling knob you use to draw ink into the pen and the one below that is used to remove the actual piston filling mechanism…this makes repairs slightly easier.

I am quite fond of vintage Montblancs because they were very well made and have wonderful nibs. Unfortunately, these pens are expensive today, despite being mass produced. Montblanc is now very valuable luxury brand name and this has had an effect on the prices of their vintage pens.

Like most pens, the larger the size in a given series the more expensive the price and that is certainly the case here. The oversized 138 and 139 are the most valuable and the 132 is the least. A 136 in black celluloid can range from about $400-$1,000 depending on condition. Most will be in the $600-$800 range.

All piston filler Meisterstücks that I have owned are suitable for daily use; they are reliable workhorses. With the older celluloid models, however there are a couple of things to look out for: 1) The cork piston seal. If the cork dries out there will be no seal, meaning you won’t be able to draw up ink. The best thing you can do to prevent this is to use the pen regularly. Alternatively, you can store your pen with water but be advised this method is not foolproof 2) Celluloid shrinkage. Many old Meisterstücks suffer from this and sadly there is no cure. The good news is that this rarely causes functional problems. Shrinkage on the cap can cause the cap rings to come loose and you may see subtle dips and bulges on the body and cap. On my pen there is some shrinkage on the section. You can see a little bump in the middle of it.

My 136 is fitted with a beautiful OB nib.

This nib is very soft and is wonderful to write with. These nibs were hand made and most I have come across are very soft. I have seen some Meisterstücks with flex nibs but these are considered extremely rare and generally command a small fortune.

Modern 146 on top and the 136 on the bottom

You can see that the 136 has a larger and more shapely nib compared to what is currently used on a modern 146.

Again, modern 146 on top and the 136 on the bottom

A view from the side shows that the feed is practically flush with the nib. — 136 nib from the side

The 136 has a flat “ski-slope” ebonite feed that provides a generous amount of ink to the nib.

Ebonite "ski-slope" feed...looking ready for a deep cleaning — Ebonite “ski-slope” feed…looking ready for a deep cleaning

You will notice that unlike modern Meisterstücks the cap band is English, not German, and reads “MONTBLANC MASTERPIECE”. This signifies that my 136 was an export model. There is some debate about whether pens with “MASTERPIECE” on the cap band are more or less common than those that read “MEISTERSTÜCK”. Based on what I have seen for sale on 13X and early 14X pens the cap bands in English are the most common.

The 136 weighs approximately 24 grams and measures 13cm long (or about 1.5cm shorter than the current 146). The 136 feels nice in hand and is a very comfortable size.

If you are looking for a vintage Montblanc I highly recommend a 136.

TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen Review

August 21, 2015 by Blake

The highly anticipated TWSBI Eco is the company’s most affordable fountain pen to date at $28.99. The Eco features a clear demonstrator body with a piston filling mechanism; these attributes combined with its low price make for a very enticing pen.

The Eco is a full size pen at just under 14cm long capped. The Eco comes in only two colors white/clear and black/clear. I opted for the black.

Like most TWSBIs, the Eco’s design offers a lot to digest. The cap and piston knob are made of a faceted black plastic while the body is made of a round clear plastic allowing you to see the internal piston mechanism and the feed.

The Eco features a small stainless steel JoWo nib (the same that is used on the TWSBI Mini and Classic). For a full sized pen the nib is on the smaller side but at this price point it’s a pretty minor gripe. I ordered my pen with an extra fine nib and it is a delight to use. I was surprised how smooth it was; in fact it puts my medium nib Safari to shame.

The Eco does post but the cap doesn’t seat very far down on the body making it a bit too long. The pen feels solid in hand and overall the pen is well finished. A Lamy Safari by comparison looks a feels cheap.

The Eco is designed to be user serviceable and as such comes with silicon grease and a wrench along with directions for servicing your pen.

This is my new favorite entry level pen. To me is far better than the Lamy Safari and Kaweco Sport.

Mid Trip Report – Europe July 2015

July 17, 2015 by Blake

I am about halfway through my trip and while I haven’t been actively seeking out pens and pen related items I haven’t been able to avoid them.

While in St. Petersburg I found a nice lacquer miniature box made out of paper mache that fits a pen quite nicely.

Minding my own business at the Warsaw airport, I found a duty free store with some rather bold discount signs in a small section of their Montblanc display and I accidentally bought this Platinum Facet Le Grand fountain pen…oops

Today in Budapest I came across BomoArt’s beautiful little shop.

There I bought some very reasonably priced notebooks as well a Le Typographe propelling pencil with built in lead sharpener.

The interior is lined with a beautiful paper featuring hot air balloons.

I picked up a small 2016 calendar as well. It has a leather binding and an antique map paper cover.

The paper is very fine…I was told that it holds fountain pen ink well.

I also bought four pairs of shoes (quadruple oops)…but perhaps this would be best suited for another blog.

Hopefully I will be able to make it through Germany and Austria without buying anything…that’s all I have for now.

Namiki Nippon Art Flower Basket Fountain Pen Review

July 11, 2015 by Blake

The Nippon Art series is Namiki’s entry level line of maki-e pens. The pens are screened and on my Flower Basket version I do not believe any of the artwork to be done by hand. It’s “Hira” or flat maki-e and it really is flat to look at. I also see no gold sprinkles which makes me question if it should actually be considered “maki-e”, which I am told translates roughly to “sprinkle picture”.

The body of the pen is plastic covered in urushi lacquer and has a gold plated clip and thin cap band. The pen is very simple and elegant; it looks great despite the dull hira maki-e. The section has a seam on it and I do not believe it to be painted with urushi. The pen is signed “Kokkokai” which is not a specific artist but rather a group of artists.

Namiki Nippon Art Flower Basket Fountain Pen — “Kokkokai” signature

The pen is very well balanced and feels great in hand. It weighs about 32 grams with converter and measures 5.6” long capped. This is a full-sized and very comfortable pen despite being the smallest in Namiki’s lineup.

Namiki Yukari Royale, Namiki Nippon Art — Nippon Art pictured with a Namiki Yukari Royale

The inside of the cap has a soft fuzzy material near the lip. This is done so that when posted the cap does not scratch the lacquer body (a very nice touch). Like the Pilot Custom 743 , the Nippon Art’s gold nib is lighter in color than the gold trim.

The pen has a #10 size nib and despite the different decoration, I believe this nib to be the same as a standard Pilot #10 (I am going off of a appearances only, so please correct me if I am wrong). The Namiki #20 nib is the same size as the Pilot #15 but has a different shape and breather hole.

Namiki Yukari Royale nib above the Nippon Art nib

The 14kt gold medium nib is ultra smooth and soft. It’s a wet nib and I find that it is a bit wider than your average Japanese medium.

The Nippon Art comes with the Pilot Con-70 vacuum fill converter. The Con-70 holds 1.1ml of ink (more than twice as much as an average converter). After using a good number of these Con-70s I have found that some work better than others. I always fill them with a syringe for this reason. I also find them more difficult to clean but the huge capacity outweighs any of these of these drawbacks.

This is my favorite Pilot/Namiki fountain pen I have used so far…the elegant design, balance, and wonderful nib have won me over.

The retail price for these pens is a staggering $750! That is quite a lot of money for this pen. I paid around $200 for mine second hand. In my opinion these pens are a good buy at around $200-$350. Some designs are more attractive than others and some have more handiwork.

Marlen Rainbow Over Hong Kong Fountain Pen Review

June 19, 2015 by Blake

Marlen is an Italian pen manufacturer that doesn’t get much attention. They make weird pens…not sure how else to put it. Their designs are unconventional and polarizing. I never had much interest in them but early one morning while fighting off some jet lag I started perusing fountain pens on eBay and I came across the pen I am reviewing today, a Marlen Rainbow Over Hong Kong.

It was new old stock and had an 18kt gold nib for a bit over $50…I figured why not? Some background on this odd pen. First of all, this pen was sold in a set of seven pens (yes seven pens!) in the colors of the rainbow. These pens were produced to celebrate the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and as such they made 97 sets in 1997. Not surprisingly, few people bought the sets (who wants seven of the same pen?) and now today you can purchase new individual pens from the set for very cheap.

My pen is made from a beautiful red plastic and has a tapered shape that continues from the end of the barrel through to the cap. The end of the barrel is threaded so that the cap can screw onto the back. It’s not a brilliant look if I am honest but it’s functional.

The cap features a solid sterling silver clip with a Greek column design. The cap band is done in rainbow colors with sterling trim and looks a bit sloppy, the colors are not very uniform and in some spots overlaps the sterling silver.

Unscrew the cap and you will see a small bulbous grip section and a small gold nib. This is the only pen I have owned where the threading on the grip section is used to secure both the barrel AND the cap. I could be wrong but this seems like a cheap shortcut. The downside is you end up with a small grip section and nib.

The nib is 18kt yellow gold which does not match the other metal furniture. The nib has a column design with what to me looks like an ear of corn on top (if someone knows what it actually is please let me know).

The nib is unbelievably soft and springy. The only other semi-modern pen I can think of with a nib like this is the first year of the Pelikan M600 with the mono-tone 18kt gold nib. It’s an amazing nib.

Empty this pen weighs a comfortable 23 grams and measures 14cm long capped. I found the small grip section to be comfortable enough though I found myself gripping the pen on the barrel which this pen doesn’t like. Because of the cheap single threading when pressure is applied to the nib from the barrel the section moves slightly and clicks occasionally…this is annoying for sure.

The pen is numbered and I have number 81 of 97. The red plastic has a bit of translucency to it and you can see on the cap there is a line where some of the color has worn away.

See that dark line going around the cap?

So what do I think of this pen? It’s not made very well but it has a fantastic 18kt gold nib and can be had for around $50-$80 new old stock…if you can get past the design and it’s quirks it’s not bad.

Waterman Carene Black Sea Fountain Pen Review

June 2, 2015 by Blake

Mild curiosity mixed with a very good deal got the better of me and I now have a Waterman Carene.

The Carene is one of the older pens in the Waterman lineup and features an inlaid nib like their flagship Edson pen. Carene in French means “hull” and the literature for this pen states that the Carene is inspired by “luxury yacht design”. The ends of this pen do bear resemblance to the bow and stern of a yacht but other than that there are no cues to signify a nautical theme.

Waterman Carene Black Sea Fountain Pen

The pen has a metal body covered in black lacquer and weighs a hefty 33 grams. The Carene measures 5.7″ capped and is a nicely balanced pen posted or unposted. I did find that you have to push the cap onto the barrel with a bit of effort for it to stay posted. The real star of this pen is it’s beautiful inlaid nib. It is solid 18kt gold with a stub point made in house by Waterman. The nib is a nail but performs very nicely. It is on the finer side for a stub and is quite forgiving on paper. The downside is that you get a little bit less flare but more usability overall.

The Carene like all modern Watermans uses a cartridge converter system. The pens comes with a Waterman branded converter as well as a box of 6 Waterman ink cartridges.

The build quality of the pen is excellent. There are no flaws in any of the materials. The section has two rubber o-rings on the threading and I found that these made it difficult to get the nib in line with the gold tail of the barrel.

Waterman Carene Black Sea Fountain Pen

Amazon UK (no affiliation) had this pen for sale brand new for 60 GBP (approximately $90 USD) and at that price I couldn’t pass it up. Even though this is an excellent pen by all accounts, I didn’t end up bonding with it; it’s boring. If this pen had some personality it would be a home run. With a street price around $220 it’s definitely a pass for me. At $90-$100? It is a lot of pen for the money but I get more enjoyment out of pens like the TWSBI Vac 700 and the Pelikan M200 even though they are not made as well nor adorned with gold nibs.

Here are some other great reviews of the Waterman Carene:

(I have no affiliation with any of the sites linked below)

Pen Classics – Waterman Carene

Leigh Reyes. My Life As A Verb – Waterman Carene, now with stub