When I saw Inky Imaginings’ post in my email, I knew I wanted to come up with my list before reading anyone else’s. So, I waited until I’d determined my ten pens to read Laura’s list or Ana’s or Laura C’s on The Well-Appointed Desk.
I tried to track down an “original” post for this challenge, but I didn’t have any luck. I found random, semi-related posts and videos shared in the past 5 years, but no clear thread like is developing from Laura’s. So, without any parameters to guide me in this, I’ve come up with my own.
In this alternate universe thought experiment, I’ve successfully argued my case to whatever nefarious entity is making me get rid of pens. As such, I get to keep all of my “art pens” from ARTUS, Country Made Pens, Cypress, Iron Feather Creative, Permies.World, Ryan Krusac, Stanford Pen Studio, Tamenuri Studio, and Zek Pens under the provision that they stay displayed as cylindrical art, rather than used as pens. I can be very persuasive — AKA stubborn and irritating — when necessary. As a result, you won’t see any of those pens on this list.
That said, instead of pen appearance, I focused on writing experience. If I only get to have ten pens, I want to love writing with each of them. Ana’s comment about pen color, “I chose more neutral exterior colors so I could choose any color ink... If I only have 10 pens, I want to be able to use ALL the inks.” is a good point, but I’d already chosen my pens when I read that, and I’m happy with my list.
One last note: so that I don’t have to figure out a ranking order, I’m listing my ten pens by nib width, smallest to largest.
Platinum #3776 Century in Ultra Extra Fine
With a nib width impossible to find elsewhere — for stock nibs, at least — the #3776 with an UEF would have to be part of this collection. I love the way the #3776 writes in general, and that ultra-fine nib only adds to its appeal.
Harder to decide was which pen body to choose. My UEF nib is gold colored, which ruled out pens with silver trim. This narrowed my choices to:
- Kinshu
- Lavande
- Misty Bloom
- Peppermint Tea
- Shape of a Heart
- Shape of a Heart Chai Latte
The Misty Bloom and Peppermint Tea have a more limited palette of ink colors that would pair well with them, so they’re out. The Shape of a Heart is less interesting, to me, than its Chai Latte counterpart, so it’s out, too. And this was where I realized that I needed to consider the collection as a whole when making my choices so that I wouldn’t end up with a monochromatic set.
After some list-making, I ruled out the Kinshu — even though it’s the most visually interesting — because I had a different red pen in mind, and the Chai Latte because I had a different brown pen in mind. So, I would keep the Nice Lavande. *phew*
TWSBI Diamond 580 in Extra Fine
Ah, my dear TWSBI 580. I enjoy all the nib sizes for this pen series, but, it’s the only EF nib I have that’s wet enough to show ink shading, hence the choice. As an added benefit, I can also swap out the nibs. I would keep the Affogato with Onyx — this is the brown pen I mentioned earlier.
Platinum Izumo Maki-e Kurikara-Ken in Fine
Yes, technically, this is one of my art pens, which means I could keep it anyway. But the F president nib on the Kurikara-Ken is amazing. It’s also the only pen I know of that can handle being inked 24/7/365 with an orange ink and not get crusty.
Pilot Custom 74 in Fine
The Custom 74 remains my most surprising pen love. I like the F nib best of the widths I own, so it would be my choice. And, to help fill out the 10-pen rainbow, I would choose the orange colorway.
Sailor Pro Gear Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary in Hard-Fine
I’m pretty sure I’d miss Sailor’s signature feedback if I didn’t have one in my collection. But, the main question was which one — and what nib size — to choose. I love the EF on my Pro Gear Slim Blue Dwarf and the Pro Gear Tequila Sunrise has always been a favorite. But, the Hello Kitty collab really blows the others out of the water with its ringed design and all of the Hello Kitty references. On the plus side, this made my nib decision easy, since it’s a special nib, and I have the H-F.
Platinum x Wagner #3776 Century Nice Azure Dragon in Soft Fine
Yeah, I chose a second #3776. This one, though, has a SF nib that is gloriously bouncy. It makes me wish I’d kept my Kumpoo all those years ago. I have two other soft nibs in my collection, but this one is significantly better, which gained it admission to the ten-pen club.
Namiki Yukari Rock Garden in Medium
This is one of my super-smooth writers that I love so much. It’s like a hot knife through butter, almost miraculously applying ink on paper without feeling like it’s touching it. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s beautiful, and the 3D rocks are an excellent tactile experience. The Yukari nib is one of the very few cases where I prefer a broader nib, as the M is significantly smoother than the F.
Sailor Pro Gear King of Pen Sunlight from the Ocean Floor in Medium
This Sailor is a bit of an enigma, as it does not have the characteristic Sailor feedback. It’s super-smooth and is a delight to write with. It would also give me a second “chonky” pen for days when my hands bother me.
Loft Pens Glenwood in Stacked Pride
The previously mentioned nefarious entity making me get rid of pens said nothing about nibs — of which I have many, modified by several nibmeisters — so I would need a pen to put them in. Nearly all of my modified nibs are Jowos, which eliminates some truly excellent Bock nib pens like my Den’s Pen’s Baetylus Twister and my Black Robin Pens Ophelia in Opal. As I considered my options, I ultimately decided that the best way to make my collection more colorful was to choose my pen with the most colors.
Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with Custom Nib Studio Spencerian Mod
This one literally has nothing to do with the pen, it’s 100% about the nib, which, unfortunately, doesn’t fit in a prettier pen. Gena’s Spencerian mod is fantabulous. There is a delightful amount of line variation, and it’s bouncy. If you aren’t familiar with it, you can see a writing sample.
I did it! I actually narrowed my collection down to just 10 in-use pens — theoretically. Should I find myself in a situation where these were the only pens I could use — knock on wood, throw some salt, pray, or anything else that will help avoid such a thing — I think I could be reasonably happy with the collection.
What do you think of my pen choices? Would you choose any of the same pens? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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