When is a Platinum Preppy not a Platinum Preppy? When its a Muji Fountain Pen (price not available online). In the past, I’ve acquired other pens from Muji that were “white-labelled” but none more perfectly fits this description than this Preppy.
The exterior is entirely opaque white plastic with a clear ring at the cap band. The clip is integrated into the cap and is smooth straight line with no embellishment.
The only branding is the classic “p” and the nib width indication of “03” which is the fine nib.
The pen performs just as well as a regular Preppy but with a simple, clean exterior. The Platinum nib, as always, is smooth and the snap cap makes it a great on-the-go pen. If you have access to a Muji store, I would recommend looking for this gem.
This pen was sent to me by a dear friend.
The post Mini-Review: Muji Fountain Pen appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
I don’t know precisely why I love my TWSBIs as much as I do. Sure there’s the fact that they’re sort of modern, tech-y looking with the see through barrels, and the piston filler. There’s the fact that my TWSBIs almost always start on the first go, and don’t run dry unless they are literally out of ink. The, ECOs, of which I have three, are incredibly reasonably priced so they make great entry-level fountain pens. They provide a nice, if not exceptional, writing experience. They’re available in a ton of different nib sizes. Ok… I guess I’ve given myself a few reasons.
Despite really liking my TWSBI ECOs, I’ve never actually branched out and tried any of their other pens. (I take that back, I tried the TWSBI Swipe a while ago and thought it was ok.) But this time I saw the TWSBI Diamond Mini AL in Grape (a limited edition color!; $62.50) and decided to give the more expensive model a go!
The Diamond Mini AL is TWSBI’s version of a pocket pen. It is styled similarly to the other pens, in the sense that it has a transparent plastic barrel which gives you a bird’s eye view of the piston filling system. There are differences though. The grip and part of the piston system are designed in aluminum. The barrel of the pen is faceted (hence the “Diamond” feel and look). While the ECO and the SWIPE tend to be boxier, with edges on the cap, the Diamond Mini’s edges are rounded, and the cap is tapered. Overall while the ECO is utilitarian, the Diamond Mini is a bit sleeker looking.
I decided to compare a few pens that I use as daily writers to give you a sense of size.
L to R: TWSBI Eco, TWSBI Diamond Mini AL, Kaweco AL Sport, Sailor Pro-Gear Slim.
While the pens vary quite a bit in length when capped, when uncapped the Diamond Mini AL and the Kaweco AL Sport aren’t that different in length. The nibs, however, do have a size differential. In terms of weight they’re very similar: The Pro Gear comes in at 19gm, the ECO at 20, the AL Sport at 21g, and finally the Diamond Mini AL is the heaviest at 23g. But that’s not a HUGE range.
So what do I think? If I’m entirely 100% honest, I don’t feel much of a writing difference between the ECO and the Diamond Mini AL. This is my first extra fine nib from TWSBI, and given that TWSBI tends to use western-style nibs, I don’t find the extra fine to be scratchy in the least. In fact I quite like it. The pen is a bit weightier in my hand, and it’s smaller in size, but I have small hands and it seems like a comfortable writer. So what would make me pay more for the Diamond AL Mini? To me, it comes down to aesthetics. The Mini is fun, and often I do prefer aluminum to plastic (see my preferences for Kawecos!), but given that I don’t see a huge writing difference, I feel like I’m more apt to stick with the ECOs than amass another collection.
Do you have a favorite TWSBI? I’d love to hear about it!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge or at a discount for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Fountain Pen Review: TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Grape – Limited Edition appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
We have reviewed the classic Kaweco Sport fountain pen many times but we continue to come back to it. It is a great gateway pen and its is inexpensive enough to live in your bag or on your desk at work. So, of course, you need more than one, right?
So, over the past few weeks, I’ve acquired TWO new models into my collection: the Smooth Sage ($29, EF nib) and the Frosted Blush Pitaya ($24.50, B nib).
I must confess that this is the first Kaweco Sport with a B nib and I am surprised how much I am enjoying it. It isn’t as broad and the BB I tested out years ago and preformed like a Sharpie marker.
Needless to say, my recommendation is that if you’ve never purchased a Kaweco Sport, what in the world are you waiting for? There are dozens of color options and you can even upgrade to the AL-Sport if you want a shiny, and more durable version. We like those too.
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 Mini-Review: Kaweco Sage Fountain Pen (& Frosted Blush Pitaya) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
inkophile
inkophile
In early February, I came across fountain pens made of titanium in our local pen group. After some discussion with the creator and developer behind f-inks, I checked the pens and agreed to do a full fountain pen review of their stainless steel pen. I only have a few metal fountain pens, and the ones that I have are either made of aluminum or brass. When I received f-inks' F1 SS316 fountain pen, I used a fountain pen that is made from solid stainless steel for the first time. The SS316 surprised me; it was love at first sight and more love at first write!
Here's the F1 SS316 fountain pen inside the presentation box. |
The F1 SS316 has a minimalistic female shape, a shape that is comfortable to hold while writing. |
The F1 SS316 fills with ink through a standard international converter. |
Engraved on the cap's top is f-inks logo of ink drop and stylized "F" |
These are threading on the pen's section and barrel. Notice the thick stainless steel used on this pen. That means sturdy, solid, and (almost) unbreakable. |
Francesco uses #6 JoWo nibs on his pens at the moment, but he is open to using other compatible brands in the future, including using flex and ultraflex nibs. I got an elastic EF nib in my pen. |
From top: TWSI ECO Rosegold, Laban 325 Snow, F1 SS316, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, and Lamy Al-star. While the F1 SS316 shares almost the same length as the Al-star and ECO, it is shorter than the 325. |
Uncapped, the F1 SS316 is longer than the 325. |
Enigma Stationery released an exclusive pen from Nahvalur in honor of the Lunar New Year, the ‘Brilliant Bunny’ Nautilus Fountain Pen ($295). This pen features a classic Chinese New Year colorway with a red blank accented with teal, blue, and purple sparkle. The hardware is gold to coordinate with the 14K nib.
The Nautilus pen design features porthole windows around the barrel, just below the cap that allows the user to see the ink piston inside. Ahoy, ink matey!
In the past we’ve reviewed other Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) designs like the Key West and the Voyage. The design of the Voyage is similar in terms of build and size. The porthole windows being the only distinct visual difference in the two models. The big upsell on the Brilliant Bunny is the 14k nib.
The 14k nib is specially engraved for this limited edition. I love with waves around the edge of the nib. Unfortunately, the only nib size available for this special edition is M but there’s enough tipping material that it could be ground to a finer size, if desired. We did not want to ink this up so that it would be pristine for the winner but we did “dry test” it to get a feel for the nib. The 14k nib has a bit of spring to it but it is not a flex nib. It will be a very expressive nib, reacting to the amount of pressure the writer applies.
Size:
The Nautilus does not post.
Weight:
The cap is heaver than I expected but since it can’t be posted it won’t throw the balance of the pen off.
There have only be 50 of the Brilliant Bunny pens made and we are fortunate to have one to giveaway to a lucky reader. If you want to guarantee that you’ll be a proud owner of one of these pens, hop over to Enigma Stationery and order yours today.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us what your Chinese Zodiac sign is. If you don’t know, make one up. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.
If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give themonkeys some time.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, March 17, 2023 (St. Patrick’s Day — oh, the irony!). All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Enigma Stationery for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Fountain Pen Giveaway: Enigma Stationery Nahvalur Exclusive ‘Brilliant Bunny’ Nautilus Fountain Pen appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
I hadn’t thought about getting a new fountain pen for my new job, until I was watching a Friday happy hour edition of Mike’s podcast (Inkdependence) and he announced he was releasing a special design collaboration with Ian Schon of SchonDSGN, the “Cheerio Waterpen.” And just like that I was sucked in.
Back in April of 2022 Mike collaborated with Pennonia to produce a Cheerio Waterbus ink and, at the same time, his wife Audrey created a special edition nail polish color of the same name. The ink was a lovely emerald green with lots of blue pigment – a blue green color after my own heart. So when the pen came out I just couldn’t skip it.
The Cheerio Waterpen was designed as a full size Schon Dsgn pen. It has an aluminum barrel with an anodized finish, and houses a Jowo #6 nib which I ordered in fine. Despite being a full size pen, the Cheerio Waterpen is a small size (nice for those of us with small hands!) coming in at about 5″/13cm capped, and 4.875″/12.5cm uncapped. It is postable, but I choose not to as it’s perfectly balanced without. The pen came with a standard international converter and can be used with cartridges as well.
In terms of weight, it weighs in at 27g, not unexpected for a metal barreled pen.
As part of my green/teal/blue collection, it stands in good company.
L to R: Kaweco x Hello Kitty Opal Green AL Sport, Franklin Christoph Vanness Pocket 45, SchonDSGN Cheerio Waterpen, Pelikan M205 Apatite
The pen itself is exceedingly pretty, but it’s also a delight to write with. The nib is perfectly bouncy and writes smoothly, with good ink flow. The pen itself is fairly lightweight, and the section in particular is the perfect length and circumference for me to write comfortably.
So now I’ve got a pretty new pen and a great new notebook – I just need a few meetings to get started!
The post Fountain Pen Review: SchonDsgn x Inkdependence “Cheerio Waterpen” appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
BENU Euphoria Forest Pond fountain pen, an online store exclusive. |
The Forest Pond fountain pen features hand-painted goldfish and white water lilies. |
BENU Euphoria fountain pens can be filled with ink using cartridges or converters. |
These are the hand-painted goldfish and white water lilies in the Forest Pond's barrel. The depth and color in these hand-painted details are amazing! |
BENU Euphoria fountain pens' long sections help a lot in writing comfortably. |
Some of my BENU fountain pens. From top: Tattoo, Tessera, Euphoria, and Talisman. |
I'm a proud owner of three BENU Euphoria fountain pens. From top: Forest Pond, Scent of Irises (now sold out), and the 2021 Limited Edition Halloween Orange. |
From the top: TWSBI ECO-T Blue, Leonardo Momento Zero Positano Blue, BENU Euphoria Forest Pond, On A Whim Woodworks Peacock Springs, and Lamy Safari Blue. |
Uncapped, Euphoria is still the longest pen in this group. Note this pen's long section. |
The Fine Schmidt nib wrote smooth and wet out of the box. This pen is going to my pen case of daily writers! |
Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Magico Emerald |
The Magico can be fully disassembled for cleaning. |
While other Leonardo pens have markings on their barrels, the Momento Magico has its branding on the cap, above the ascending geometric lines of the cap band. |
The Emerald's body is so shiny! I love the vibrant color and glossy finish of Leonardo fountain pens. |
The Momento Magico's new ink window is shorter and has matching ring bands. |
The Emerald's Medium nib writes smooth, juicy, and very comfortable to use. |
Momento Magico Emerald (2022) and Millefiori (2021) – the packaging and presentation for both pens remain the same. |
The cap, clip, and clip band are all the same. |
But the gap in the ink window that is visible in the 2021 Millefiori is no longer visible in the Emerald. |
Here is the comparison of the ink windows of the two fountain pens. The 2021 Magico has a longer and simpler ink window. The 2022 Magico has a shorter ink window with matching ring bands. |
From top: TWSBI ECO Turquoise, Laban 325, Leonardo Momento Magico Emerald, Esterbrook Estie Gold Rush Frontier Green, and Lamy Alstar Aquamarine. |
I chose this happy song because the Magico Emerald reminds me so much of the sea! |
This postcard tells the Leonardo story. |