Ah, my ARTUS. It’s a magnificent work of art that mesmerizes me every time I use it. The layers of paint give the design a seemingly endless depth. Every time I look at it I see more details.
ARTUS Four Elements Water
Posted in Fountain Pens
Category: Fountain Pens
Pen Mini Reviews
Posted in Fountain Pens
While I certainly think it’s worth reviewing some of these pens I picked up at the 2021 DC Pen Show, this post is really just an excuse for pen porn and penabling. You’re welcome. 🙂 I’m doing these in the order I bought them at the show.
As usual, click on any image to view it larger.
Only interested in certain pens? No worries, jump to specific reviews.
Jowo Update #2
Posted in Fountain Pens
Once again we interrupt our scheduled programming on the 2021 DC Pen Show for a special bulletin on Jowo issues.
After my last update, I received comments and messages about the too-tight housings. So many, in fact, that I decided to measure my nib housings. Clearly, I’m not the only one who’s experienced the super-tight housings.
So, being the data nut that I am, I carefully measured some of my housings. The results were inconclusive at best. Let me start with disclaimers.
- I can’t give manufacturing dates for my housings. The best I can do is say a housing was manufactured before I received it.
- I don’t recall precisely which nibs were in cracked housings when I did my big cleanout a few weeks ago. With the obvious exception of the two cracked housings listed, I don’t THINK any of the ones I measured were. But I’m not 100% sure.
- I did my best to measure everything in the exact same location. But, I’m human, and humans are neither perfect nor precise. So consider that when looking at the results.
Nib Mini Reviews
Posted in Fountain Pens
I picked up five nibs at the 2021 DC Pen Show. Of those, one was a standard Jowo #6 with a horned skull engraved on it from Carolina Pen Co. While it’s a fun nib, since it doesn’t have any modifications beyond the engraving, I’m not including it in this review. But here’s a fun picture. 🙂
Jowo Update
Posted in Fountain Pens
Once again we interrupt our scheduled programming on the 2021 DC Pen Show for this special bulletin on Jowo issues.
Things have moved quickly since I decided to write about the Jowo nib housing issue. Because of that, I have two updates for you today.
Official Statement
I can’t call this Jowo’s response. This is Meisternibs’ response. It’s a good response. Brian acknowledges that the issue is more severe than they thought and provides a temporary, easy fix.
Open to Read Meisternibs' Statement
The following was copied and pasted from Meisternibs.com on 8/17/2021 at 4:20pm to preserve the message for future readers.
Housing Issues
On behalf of Meisternibs, I would like to recognize the issues that have been occurring with nib housings.
We truly appreciate all of the feedback from penmakers and consumers so that we can make the best decisions and offer the best products. We have been aware of and have considered all of these issues since they were initially reported.
In the beginning, this issue seemed to be isolated to a very small percentage of our nib housings. However, after receiving reports over the last 7 days (not only from penmakers but also from consumers) we now understand that this issue is larger than we had originally thought.
We believe that this issue is related to a few faulty batches during the injection molding process of nib housings. We also believe that the issue has already been addressed and fixed months ago and that no faulty housings are currently being shipped to our penmakers or consumers.
However, please understand that a faulty nib housing from our facility would have come from the overseas factory, then to us as a distributor, then to a penmaker, and then to the consumer. This period between manufacture and consumption means that faulty nib housings from months ago could still be out there.
Considering this, we have made sure that we have replacement housings available to all of our penmakers and consumers as needed. These housings are from the latest moldings that we have tested thoroughly. Anyone who possesses a faulty housing is welcome to request replacements at no charge from Meisternibs.
If this is the case, please email brian@meisternibs.com. Please include a photo of the problematic housing and a shipping address. If you can provide a photo, we will send you a replacement and we will cover the housing cost and shipping cost. If you cannot provide a photo, we will only ask you to cover shipping costs. Photos are preferred so that we can have as much information as possible regarding this issue.
The above verbiage outlines the most accurate information that we have as of today (8/16/21). As more updates are available, we will post them here.
Rest assured that we are working very hard on this issue to ensure quality control. If anyone has questions, I am always available at the email listed above, or you can use our contact form.
Lastly, I would like to address the "radio silence" that I fully understand has been frustrating. The truth of this matter is that I have never had a means for mass communications besides this website and emails. When Meisternibs began more than 12 years ago, social media wasn't exactly what it is today. Meisternibs caters primarily to penmakers. So when Meisternibs was formed, penmakers became quickly aware of us despite the lack of social media outlets. So even when social media became as large as it is today, we truly did not need it for visibility. Bottom line...I am (and always have been) available for all communications via email or the phone. As these issues have occurred, I believe that every penmaker will attest to fast responses and attention to their needs. I will kindly ask consumers to not confuse a lack of activity on social media with a position of indifference. I have always been available with fast responses via email to all customers, be it penmaker or consumer.
Thank you
Brian at Meisternibs
But it’s not the response I was looking for.
Ever-Growing Jowo Problem
Posted in Fountain Pens
We interrupt our scheduled programming on the 2021 DC Pen Show for this special bulletin on Jowo issues.
My next post will be back to DC Pen Show fun, but I felt that Friday the 13th was the perfect day to post this.
The Issue
Over the past year (ish) the number of posts I’ve seen about cracked Jowo housings has steadily increased. What started as an occasional post has turned into multiple posts per week, from makers and buyers alike. This clearly isn’t a small, single batch issue, it’s a manufacturing problem.
I recently went through my own Jowo nibs and found around 10 cracked housings. I don’t remember the exact number, nor did I keep them for later documentation (lack of foresight on my part). However, in checking my nibs again last night, I found two more cracked housings.
Deciding Which Pens to Sell
Posted in Fountain Pens
This seemed like an apropos time to share this post, with the DC Pen Show going on and other pen shows (hopefully) to come later this year. Lots of us sell pens to give us bigger pen show budgets. That’s probably why I’ve seen some posts recently wondering how to decide which pens to sell. If you’ve never sold a pen, the first one can certainly seem like a wrench. And the occasional posts about seller’s regret wouldn’t help that feeling.
I give my sales significant thought, specifically to avoid that horrible feeling. On the hope that it might help someone, I’m sharing how pens end up on my “for sale” list. I love being able to sell a pen to pay for a new one. I want to make sure that I’m very clear that this post is about how to choose what to sell once you’ve decided that you want to sell pens. It’s not about telling anyone that they should sell pens.
Using All My Pens
Posted in Fountain Pens
I’ve had several people ask me how I use all my pens. I went through a few methods before I settled on the current one. It seems to be working pretty well. I’ve gone through 4, maybe 5, rotations with it so far, and I don’t see myself changing it any time soon.
The base of my strategy is separating my pens into categories. It doesn’t really matter what the categories are, you just don’t want more categories than the number of pens you’ll have in use. I keep 5 pens inked — not including my always inked pens — and split my pens into “Less Expensive” (under $250), “More Expensive” (Over $250), and “Indie Pens” categories.
My Current Pen Wish List
Posted in Fountain Pens
For a very short while earlier this year, I had a very minor pen wish list. But, I’m acquisitive by nature — I try to temper it, but the crow-brain is strong with this one — so, lo and behold, I have a significant wish list again. It’s not as long as it could be — or has been in the past — so at least there’s that.
I’m going to share my current wish list, and maybe revisit it a couple of times a year to see what I buy and what I ultimately decide against. Maybe you’ll find some pens to add to your wish list. Muahahaha — erm, *cough cough*. Sorry about that.
Note: I’ve listed these in alphabetical order by company name.
Ranking Large Pen Brands
Posted in Fountain Pens
DISCLAIMER UPDATE (6/24/22): TWSBI and Narwhal have released a joint statement which I cover in my most recent TWSBIgate post. While not completely satisfied with TWSBI’s response to the situation, I no longer feel the need to dissuade people from purchasing their products.
DISCLAIMER (5/1/22): Since writing this post, TWSBI has been involved in some unsavory actions, and I am currently boycotting them. For more information, refer to the #twsbigate tag page.
I’ve seen this ranking system on YouTube a lot lately, and it seemed like a fun idea. I don’t know how well it will work in a blog post, but I’m giving it a try. Since I always want to jump to the end to see what the rankings are, I’ve started with that. You can continue reading after the ranking list if you want to find out why I placed a brand in any given ranking.
OK, so what am I ranking? Large/Mainstream pen brands. I’m not including Indie Brands because a) I don’t think that’s fair to them, given I have no idea how experienced any person is with pen making at this time and b) I think all Indie Brands that don’t have shady business practices should be shown more love, not shade. You can see the Indie Brand qualifications in my Indie Pen Makers Update post. For me, large/mainstream brands are those readily available in pen stores.
Let me know if I’ve missed any brands, I can write an update to include them. That said, I’m also not including defunct brands — sorry OMAS lovers. I’m also only considering modern experiences with vintage brands (e.g. Esterbrook, Sheaffer, etc.) not their vintage pens.
Let me know if you agree or disagree with my rankings. And if this looks fun, you can use my template to make your own ranking list.
There Was a Pen
Posted in Fountain Pens
I’ve owned a decent number of pens in my time in the pen world. And I have many pen friends. This idea came to me as I was considering one of my most recent additions to the “for sale” pile. That said, I give you There Was A Pen a short story I wrote with illustrations by Pensloth, AKA Jim Crawford.
My Pen Collection – 2021
Posted in Fountain Pens
I’m a data hoarder. I keep track of my pen collection in an extensive AirTable database, full of delicious data. For fun, I put together this infographic of my collection from the day I bought my first pen through May 1, 2021. It’s interesting seeing the trends. To view larger, click on any section of the image.
A Warning to the Pen Curious
Posted in Fountain Pens
“Hi Mrs. Smith!”
“Oh, hello, Jen. How many times have I told you to just call me Barb?”
“I couldn’t do that, Mrs. Smith, you’re around my mom’s age, and that just doesn’t seem right.”
“Well, the invitation is there, Jen. You’re in your 30s, it’s OK to call me Barb if you want.”
“I’ll think about it Mrs. Smith. By the way, you know about fountain pens, don’t you?”
“I do, I grew up with them. Why do you ask?”
“A friend of mine uses them, and I’m kind of curious.”
Mrs. Smith sighs and gestures to the chair next to her, inviting Jen to sit. “So you’re interested in pens, are you? Be warned, that’s dangerous territory, dear, dangerous indeed.” Jen’s eyes pop wide, and Mrs. Smith waves away her obvious fear. “Oh, perhaps not necessarily dangerous to your life, but to your wallet, to your interests!
A Surprising Joy
Posted in Fountain Pens
It’s not often I write a pen review — let’s be honest, it’s almost never — mostly because there are so many reviewers out there. However, in this particular case, I feel impelled to share my thoughts.
About a month ago, I realized that I no longer had an orange pen in my “Under $250” category. I can’t have a pen rainbow without orange. To try to fix that issue, I solicited some suggestions from my lovely local peeps in the DC Metro Pen Crew.
I received a lot of suggestions, and the Pilot Custom 74 is the one I ultimately decided on. By sheer coincidence, I had a birthday coupon for Pen Chalet, so that’s who I ordered from.
Día de Muertos, Pen Realized
Posted in Fountain Pens
I’m back with post three, so you know what that means. My pen arrived! If you have read my previous posts (1, 2), I suggest you do so to know how this pen came to be. Be forewarned, there is A LOT of pen porn in this post. And you can click/tap any image to view it larger. I take no responsibility for pen envy, pen lust, or pen purchases resulting from the content in this post.
Sailor Fatigue
Posted in Fountain Pens
It took me quite a while to get into Sailor pens. I didn’t buy my first until October 2019 — 2 ¾ years after buying my first fountain pen. Not gonna lie, I’m still pretty pleased with that initial Sailor purchase — the Tequila Sunrise. It was, is, a worthy first Sailor purchase.
I’ve bought 13 more Sailor pens since then, all in the Pro Gear family, 10 of which I’ve kept. Not a bad ratio, and compared to my total pen purchases, not too terribly many. However, it does encompass the most fountain pens I’ve purchased of the same general model. It ties with TWSBI 580s, at 11, for most fountain pens I own of the same general model.
To be honest, I’d likely own more Sailor Pro Gears if they were less expensive and more easily purchased. But, fairly often, the ones I found interesting were from super small runs through stores that don’t sell online. And we all know what eBay sellers do to prices. But I digress…
Indie Pen Makers Update
Posted in Fountain Pens
About 2.5 years ago, I wrote about Indie Pen makers (can you believe I only owned 20 pens? Incredible!). Since then, I’ve learned about many more pen makers, both that have started recently and that I simply didn’t know about at the time.
Do not expect this to be a comprehensive list, that’s virtually impossible these days. However, if you know of a maker who meets the qualifications below and is not included, please let me know. Also, if you know the location of a maker that doesn’t have one listed, let me know that, too.
To qualify for this list, a pen company needs to meet the following qualifications (I need some way to limit this list, otherwise it would be enormous):
- Small company (1-4 people working on the pens)
- Only or regularly works with customers to make unique/custom pens
- Fully handmade, uses CNC lathes with hand finishing, 3D prints custom pen designs, or designs and develops custom pens to be manufactured
- Creates kitless pens
- Not sold in stores (or only sold in local brick & mortar store)
- Makes one-off or short runs
I’m back with the second entry in the chronicle of my Día de Muertos pen. If you read my first entry then you know that this means I received permission to share the mock-up images for my custom pen.
Be forewarned, it will likely be a while before my next update. I’ll explain why I think so a bit later. For now, let’s pick up where I left off.
Unpopular Fountain Pen Opinions
Posted in Fountain Pens, and Paper
Alright, I’ve got a potentially (probably) divisive post for you today. I’m sharing opinions I have that seem to be unpopular based on what I’ve seen and heard in fountain pen groups and gatherings. Let’s jump in, shall we? I’ll start slow, leaving the doozies until the end.
“Rainbow”/”Iridescent” Finish
It’s been on a lot of pens in the past couple of years, and I think it’s ugly and overpriced. From Visconti’s Rainbow Watermark to TWSBI’s Vac 700r Iris and Conklin’s Duragraph Rainbow, pens at all price points are using the colorful finish.
I don’t know what to call it. It’s not a proper rainbow — the colors aren’t in order and there isn’t a good red or purple. It’s not iridescent — the colors don’t change, or even appear to change, at different angles. Regardless, I bought a seven piece cutlery set with the same finish about 3 years ago for $11 thinking it would be super cool and ended up woefully disappointed. I definitely won’t be investing in a pen with it.
Keeping to My Goal
Posted in Fountain Pens
As I’ve stated previously, my current pen rule is to be more thoughtful with my pen purchases. I’m doing my best to purchase pens that will make me happy to own, not just happy to buy.
It can be difficult sometimes. Pens may have misleading marketing photos — I’m looking at you, Sailor Pro Gear Slim Red Supernova — or zero size reference, for example. So, pens you think will be be fabulous may turn out to be not so great, or even totally wrong for you.
The question then, is what do you do? My plan was always to immediately return any pen that didn’t make me 100% happy upon unboxing. I put that plan in place after the Red Supernova debacle. In theory, it was a great plan. In practice, it hit a major snag the next time a pen didn’t meet that standard.