Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Little Hollow Customs “Mistress” Fountain Pen Review

One of my favorite things about attending pen shows is getting to meet new makers, and hear their ideas for the products they are producing. I’ve been able to talk to Em and Logan, the makers behind Little Hollow Customs (and their awesome daughters as well!) a couple of times over the past year, and getting to see their work grow in that short amount of time has been fun to see.

At the 2025 Washington D.C. Fountain Pen SUPERSHOW last month, I couldn’t help but be taken by the variety of pens I saw at their table. The beautifully crafted, polished, and finished acrylic pens are merely the start, with various sections, barrel bands, and metal finishes - even full metal options - make you stop, pick up, and then ask “tell me about this one.”

Little Hollow Customs Fountain Pen Barrel

Hearing how makers describe what they do gives me life. And I’m not just talking about pen makers. People who are the most passionate about what they make - stickers, notebooks, inks, pens, any and all stationery - make the best products. It’s obvious, right?

It’s obvious to me with the Mistress, the uniquely named fountain pen that I’m reviewing today (read more about the name here), that details matter to Little Hollow Customs. With acrylic pens, I’m looking for a consistent polish, smooth threading, and a few “extras” that can set one pen apart from the other. For example, the little dimple on the end of the barrel is a nice touch. It changes nothing about the performance of the pen, and if it wasn’t there it would be a non-issue, but is one of those extras I notice, and enjoy.

Little Hollow Customs Fountain Pen Squirrel — *SQUIRREL!*

The dimple discussion is burying the lede on what I like the most about this pen: the metal grip section. The material is Nickel Silver, and provides the exact feel I’m looking for in a pen. I like front-weighted pens, so metal sections are my jam, and this one is shaped perfectly. There is a moderate concave into a flared out section before the nib, allowing my fingers to settle in to write.

Little Hollow Customs Fountain Pen Writing

The barrel band is a nice added touch, in matching Nickel Silver, along with a finial disc with their SQUIRREL! logo. Another small detail, often overlooked, is a ledge cut inside the cap to rest against the grip section when capping the pen to help keep extra air out around the nib. In addition, the cap only takes a half-turn to uncap, so those who need quick access will be happy.

Little Hollow Customs Fountain Pen Lines

The barrel material is Carolina Pen Company Primary Manipulation 5, and the sparkles in the acrylic pop against the metal accents. I chose Bungubox Sanctuary Blue to ink up the Jowo #6 1.1 mm stub nib, which features a second SQUIRREL! The Mistress is as nice to write with as it is to look at.

The highest compliment I can pay makers is that they “get it.” I think Em and Logan, and Little Hollow Customs, certainly do, and I can wait to see what they come up with next. Like a piston-filler.

(Little Hollow Customs provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on September 8, 2025 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Little Hollow Customs, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

OHTO CR01 Ceramic Rollerball Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

If you have someone in your life that needs a tough pen (maybe it's you!) the OHTO CR01 Ceramic Rollerball is worth a glance. It has an aluminum body with brass accents and a hefty weight to it, so it's much more likely to survive in a heavy work environment than a standard disposable pen. The matte finish on the metal feels very satisfying to hold, with a nice texture that helps you grip the pen.

The CR01 has a snap cap that is very sturdy and closes with a satisfying thunk. It won't open by accident in your bag or pocket. It has a firm clip with some flex to it. Both the bottom end and finial have a rounded shape. Under the cap, the pen has a rubberized section to help with grip when writing. The section unscrews from the body so that you can access the refill. It comes with an OHTO rollerball refill that has a special 0.5 mm ceramic ball point that will stand up to more wear and tear than a metal ball tip. Though, the rollerball ink flows quite well, so it's likely that the ink will run out long before the longevity of the ceramic is called for. The pen is refillable, however, and fits a variety of refills. You can choose another ceramic point refill (which also comes in other tip sizes and colors), or go with another brand you like, like Pilot, Uni, Pentel, or Zebra.

The Rollerball ink in the OHTO refill has a nice, dark saturation to it, but it does have some bleeding issues. It bled slightly through both Hobonichi and Midori paper, in addition to standard copier paper. But it writes very nicely, and the 0.5 mm ceramic tip has just the right amount of feedback--not too smooth, not too scratchy. It's a good writing experience, just don't plan on using the back of the page.

The OHTO CR01 is available at JetPens for $20, which is less than I would have guessed after writing with it. There are a number of comparable pens that cost considerably more. This price and quality falls very nicely into the gift category, and it's perfect for the person whose jeans pockets are stained with the ink from the broken Bic that got snapped in the workshop. The aesthetic should appeal, too. As gifting season approaches, the CR01 might make a good option that won't break and won’t break the budget.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on September 4, 2025 by Sarah Read and filed under Ohto, Rollerball, Pen Reviews.

Anterique Mach Ball Brass Edition Ballpoint Pen Review

Classic, made modern. That’s what the Anterique Mach Ball Brass Edition Ballpoint Pen pen is to me. This look incorporates some of my favorite design elements of traditional ballpoint pens, mixes in new barrel colors, and the Brass section gives it that extra oomph when using it.

It was those last two features that sold me on it. The Brass section is large, making it the standout feature of this pen. It takes up a little over half of the entire barrel length, and while it does add significant weight to the pen, the lightweight plastic back third of the barrel balances it out well for a comfortable writing experience.

My grip latches on to the metal well, there is none of that normal Brass smell, and interestingly, the patina is taking a while to come in. I haven’t been using this pen heavily since buying it, but it has been sitting out and uncovered, and it still looks like new. I’ve used it plenty, though, so I would have expected a bit more aging, but I guess that’s a good thing!

I chose Lavender for the upper barrel, which is one of the 12 colors you can choose from. There is no wrong answer, which means it wasn’t an easy choice. The Grey looks fantastic, and any of the Blues or Greens would fit me perfectly as well.

The refill uses 0.5 mm oil-based ballpoint ink, and it is merely average. The shape is the classic old-style ballpoint refill, and it wrote like that for the most part. The Black in was dark, and the tip stayed clean, but it wasn’t super smooth (that’s ok for an 0.5 mm tip,) and it did leave some blobs of ink behind on the page. What it didn’t do is leave a mess on the tip, which is where the “low-viscosity” part of the ink comes into play, which also prevents the spidering seen between letters in older ballpoints.

Are there refills that I can replace this one with? Not many. There is a similar Ohto Needle Tip that is compatible, but I’ll have to do some research to see if there are any other options. It’s worth looking, because I love the barrel, but don’t have a use for the refill outside of quick notes and lists. I’d love to write longer with it.

The Anterique Mach Ball Brass Edition Ballpoint Pen runs $29, which is fair given the sizable amout of Brass in the barrel. If you are unsure about that, or the refill, the standard Anterique ballpoint comes in many different styles and colors starting at $5.50, including a Mini which I’m definitely going to have to buy one day!

(I purchased this product from The Gentleman Stationer for regular price at the 2025 Atlanta Pen Show.)

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