(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
The IWI Handscript Classic is a compact fountain pen with a sleek design that really surprised me. I've never heard of IWI until using this pen, so I really didn't have any expectations aside from "meh." Fortunately, after using this pen for a while, I'm happy to report that it exceeded all expectations to become something I'd heartily recommend for the price point.
The Handscript Classic is a sleek metal pen that features small engraved lines along the body and cap that give it a more modern feel. The lines are so shallow and minimal that you can easily miss them at first glance. But the added texture really takes this pen beyond the simple black tube that you might mistake it for. Everything about this pen's aesthetic is subdued, and I really like it for that. Some pens are meant to be flashy and love getting all the attention, but this pen sticks to its "camouflage" of being unobtrusive while still being quite attractive in its simplicity.
The end of the pen and the grip section add to a slightly industrial look and feel, but not at the cost of writing comfort. The cap posts very securely on the back of the pen thanks to a couple of o-rings. Thankfully, the way they've designed and spaced the o-rings makes it blend in well with the rest of the pen, as opposed to something that screams, "I'm just a weird bit added to the end of this pen to allow posting." Overall, it's a very sleek package that fits in with almost any coordinated aesthetic.
The size is also really well done; it fits somewhere between a Kaweco Sport and a Lamy Safari in length. While I find the Kaweco Sport uncomfortable to use without posting the cap, the IWI Handscript is totally comfortable to use unposted. It's just a tad longer, and that makes all the difference for writing comfort. At just 4.8 inches capped and 4.1 inches uncapped, it's a diminutive size. Even at 5.9 inches posted, it's only just starting to encroach on the capped size of full size pens. It's also fairly slender in diameter without being so small as to be uncomfortable to grip. It's a perfect size for my fingers at least, but your mileage may vary. The grip section has a nice taper and ends with a substantial lip at the nib, providing a great deal of tactility and grip area. It fits my tripod grip easily, and I've used it for quite a while with no fatigue.
This pen comes with a black steel EF Bock nib and no choice of tip sizes. As long as you like EF, you're good! I don't fully understand the lack of choice here, but at least the nib worked beautifully out of the box. It's a smooth nib with plenty of ink flow and no issues starting or skipping. It's exactly the kind of experience you want from a pen that you've just opened — it just works as expected and doesn't require any fiddling or tweaking.
As far as ink options go, this pen accepts the standard international short cartridge, so your options are quite vast. It also comes with a miniature cartridge converter that relies on the push/pull plunger motion instead of a twist like the full-size converters. I'm sure this decision was due to the length constraints, even though this type of converter isn't my favorite. It does the job well, which is all you can really ask of a converter. It's great that they include it with a pen of this price!
The pen barrel and cap is some kind of metal (brass?) while the grip section is plastic. There's also the two silicone/rubber o-rings at the butt of the pen that keep the cap secured. Overall, the materials used are good quality and executed well.
And that brings us to the factor that can make or break how well a pen can do in this market. At $40, it feels about 10 bucks too high, especially considering the other variants are just $22. I assume the metal body is what increases the price, but it still feels like an odd price decision. At $22, this pen is an absolute bargain because of how well it's made and how it performs. $40 feels too high, but that only applies to the metal body pen. The carbon fiber and wood body pens (both are plastic) share the same shape and nib for almost half the price. Adding a full metal body for another $18 feels high, especially when you compare it to the Pilot Metropolitan.
The IWI Handscript Classic is a fantastic pen — I've been so surprised by how it feels and performs. The price tag bums me out a little, but it's still within reach for the sum of its parts. This makes a great everyday carry, gift, or desk pen, so it's easy to find a place for it if the aesthetic matches your own style.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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