As I do each year, I’m sharing my current top tens. *screech* Except I’m not. I’ve decided to rename this entry to my favorites of the year. It has nothing to do with my inability to stick to just 10… Really.
My inks list started the departure from my “top 10” format. As you’ll read later, I could either have a top 5 or a top 15. Then I tried to do nibs, and I have so many amazing nibs, I simply couldn’t rank them normally, so I provided my top nib(s) for several categories. And, then, when finishing the pen section, Stanford Pen Studio was 90% of the list, so I decided to give those pens their own list so that other pens would have a chance to shine.
You can also check out my top tens (AKA favorites) from previous years: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021
Now, without further preamble, enjoy my top tens favorites of 2025.
Jump to a Section: Pens | ⇣ Nibs | ⇣ Inks
Top pens by appearance
These are my favorite pens based on appearance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, these pens bring a smile to my face — and sometimes some tears to my eyes — whenever I pick them up. It’s not uncommon for me to spend time just admiring their beauty.
Stanford Pen Studio
As I mentioned above, I gave Stanford Pen Studio their own list this year. After all, it’s hardly fair to compare a fully hand-painted piece of art by a professional artist with other pens. I’ll also admit to a serious bias towards their work, and this gives my other pens a more level playing field.
9: Ardently and March Sisters by Hanna Farmer
Ardently — a Pride & Prejudice tribute — (top) and March Sisters — a Little Women tribute — are covered in so much beautiful detail, typical of Hanna’s pens. I really can’t choose one over another, since they’re both stunning.
8: Catstellations by Yulia Glas
Unfortunately, I haven’t posted a pen porn post for this pen yet. That said, this is such a fun pen! I love the cat constellations, and that cat sun is gorgeous!
7: Imperious Egyptian Cats Kseniia Nel
More cats! Last year, Imperious Egyptian Cats outranked Delft Cats for the precision of the patterns. This year, I’m putting more emphasis on color, so they’ve swapped places.
6: Delft Cats by Yulia Glas
Usually cats would rank above moths and hummingbirds, but I’m trying to judge these on more than my feelings for the subject matter. Color means a lot to me, and Delft Cats is monochromatic. It’s a stunning pen, though, truly.
5: Hummingbirds by Marian Binder
Hummingbirds is another pen that has an amazing color palette, and I do so adore color.
4: Magenta Moths by Yulia Glas
I fell in love with this pen the day it was posted, but the stars never quite aligned until the black Friday sale. And now it’s mine. The color palette is absolutely stunning, and the detail is amazing.
3: Cats and Books by Yulia Glas
Cats and Books fell one spot, for obvious reasons, but it’s still an absolutely amazing piece of art.
1: The Right Royal Pen by Marian Binder AND The Royal Tribute by the Stanford Pen Studio Artists
This is the last year I’m going to include my two Bumbledore pens on a yearly favorites list. Now that he’s crossed the rainbow bridge, no other pens can ever compete — not that any could when he was still with me — so I feel it’s unfair to include them. Just know that these are both always my number one. The Right Royal Pen was such an amazing living tribute to my sweet boy, and now The Royal Tribute arrived yesterday, just in time to add it to this post.
All other pens
This list was incredibly hard to put together. It’s hard for me to choose between pretty design and beautiful workmanship. I tried to get some of each.
10: Den’s Pens Baetylus Twist
Den makes all of his pens by hand, that includes the shaping and polishing. Knowing that makes the complex shape of the various Baetylus styles even more impressive. I call these “fidget pens” because your fingers glide along the grooves in such a satisfying way.
9: Country Made Pens 3D Scrollwork Sleeve
The 3D Scrollwork Sleeve is another pen here for its magnificent workmanship. The glorious duochrome material doesn’t hurt, either.
8: Zek Pens Tezhib Butterflies and Flowers
And we get to our first pen here for its design. It’s butterflies; and look at those colors!
7: Ryan Krusac Ashbane the Dragon
Just look at that dragon! Ashbane the Dragon has been beautifully rendered with so much detail.
6: Platinum Izumo Kurikara-Ken
The magnificent black-on-black urushi art for the dragon really sets off the silver of the sword and the clip. And the texture on the Kurikara-Ken is exquisite.
5: Iron Feather Creative Mayan Art
The Mayan Art holds a special place in my heart for its cultural significance. The pen is beautifully executed, like everything from Iron Feather. And it has a hummingbird, too.
3: ARTUS Four Elements Air and ARTUS Four Elements Water
Per usual, the Water and Air are neck and neck. Rather than waffle back and forth on the correct rankings, I’m setting them at a tie again.
2: Cypress Maki-e Goldfish
This is a truly stunning pen design. I knew when I saw the Maki-e Goldfish that I needed to add it to my collection. It’s such a beautiful design, and I love the chubby little goldfish.
1: Permies.World English Garden
Today, the English Garden wins out. Between the color, texture, and subject matter — can you spot both hummingbirds? — it feels right to put it at the top of my list.
Jump to a Section: ⇡ Pens | Nibs | ⇣ Inks
Top nibs
These are my favorite nibs to write with. This year, I’ve divided the list into my top nibs for various categories — stock nibs, grinds, etc. — because I don’t feel like I can rank them anymore.
Stock nibs
- Wet nibs
- Visconti 18K EF (Il Magnifico Lapislazzuli): This nib puts down a line similar in width to a western M because it’s so wet, but it’s also buttery smooth.
- TWSBI 580 Series F: TWSBI 580 nibs are wet enough to see ink shading even with F or EF nibs, but maintain their designated line width.
- Fine lines
- Platinum President F (Izumo Kurikara-Ken): I love the crisp, fine lines this nib produces. It has a bit of feedback, enough to know your nib is touching paper, but not so much that you feel like you’re writing with a pencil.
- Platinum #3776 UEF: This nib puts down single-hair lines, but if you’re into that — as I am — it’s delightful. It doesn’t catch the paper like you’d expect with such a fine nib, but it does have feedback.
- Smooth nibs
- Sailor 21K KOP M (Pro Gear King of Pen Sunlight from the Ocean Floor): This actually writes like a western M rather than an eastern M, but it has none of the Sailor feedback, gliding along the page like butter on a hot pan.
- Namiki 18K #10 M (Yukari Rock Garden): this is my top stock nib. It’s so deliciously smooth.
- Flexible nibs
- Custom Nib Studio Spencerian: I love the bounce on this nib. It’s a delight to write with, and I only wish it was compatible with other pens (it came with a Custom Heritage 912).
- StyloSuite XXXF X-Wing Harpoon: Because I already mentioned a Spencerian mod, I’m picking this nib from Les. The line variation you can get with this nib is amazing.
- Nib grinds
- Italic oblique: I love a good crisp oblique nib. No subtlety for me, please; I want sharp corners just smooth enough that they don’t catch the paper. Ralph Reyes and Kirk Speer have made the crispest in my collection, and Damien Alomar made a fantastic TWSBI oblique from a 1.1 stub that I adore.
- Iklwa: This is Di Möhr’s version of an architect nib. The version I have is too big for my everyday writing, it is deliciously smooth and wet, and I don’t mind that it’s a specialty nib.
Jump to a Section: ⇡ Pens | ⇡ Nibs | Inks
Top inks by usage
These are my top inks by usage — specifically, the number of times I filled a pen with them. Since I posted my 2024 Top Tens on December 18 last year, I’m running the numbers from then to today (December 17) so it’s a 365 day view. But, I was left with an awkward situation when I ran the numbers. I used 5 inks four times each in the last year. But I used an additional 15 inks three times each during my standard rotations. So, the four-use inks get the “spotlight” with the rest just getting listed in alphabetical order.
Three Uses
- Anderillium Toltype Moth Warm
- Colorverse Butterfly Nebula
- Colorverse Delicious Sleep
- Colorverse Iris Nebula
- Colorverse Las Vegas
- Colorverse Milky Lavender
- Colorverse Mystic Mountain
- Colorverse Tangerine
- Ink Institute Okanagan Grape (Gourmet Pens)
- Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same
- Pilot Iroshizuku To-Ro
- Troublemaker Inks Golden Orchid
- Van Dieman’s Anna’s Hummingbird Wing
- Wearingeul Path
- Wearingeul Pride and Prejudice
Note: You can click on any image below to see the original Instagram post, sales listing, or blog post.
Four Uses
Given how few brands are represented in the three-use category, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my top 5 inks are all from different brands.
5: Van Dieman’s Elegant Peacock Train
It’s nice to see the ink that changed my mind about shimmer inks in my top 5. This one comes in at number 5 because its fourth use was as part of my ink skirmishes rather than my standard rotations.
4: Colorverse Cat’s Eye Nebula
I have Cat’s Eye Nebula in a pen this week — the fourth use this year — which is why it’s number four on the list. I also have to be careful to use it in a wet nib since it can be rather pale.
3: Laban Aphrodite Pink
Dear Aphrodite Pink. Not quite pink; not quite brown; fully beautiful. I like all of the goddess inks from this line, but this one is definitely my favorite.
2: Wearingeul Robinson Crusoe
As a multishader, Robinson Crusoe is like having three inks in one. You have the beautiful bright turquoise when it’s paired with dry or fine nibs, then the deeper turquoise tending toward blue in somewhat wetter or medium-range nibs, and the yellowish-green you get when paired with very wet or flexible nibs.
1: Dominant Industry Spring Fields
I love using Spring Fields in purple pens. The vibrant yellow-green is a lovely complement to almost any shade of purple. It also works well in pink, orange, blue, and black pens. It’s just dark enough to be easily legible, and the blue shimmer is a nice addition.
Jump to a Section: ⇡ Pens | ⇡ Nibs | ⇡ Inks
Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. What do you think of my lists? Is there anything you disagree with? Did anything surprise you? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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