Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Mike’s Pen Fun Fountain Pen Review

When I’m too busy using the pen instead of reviewing the pen, I know that is a good sign. That’s the case with this Mike’s Pen Fun Fountain Pen that I picked up all the way back in May at the Chicago Pen Show. It has been in my writing rotation for many weeks since, and given the fact that it is recently cleaned and re-inked, I finally decided to give it its proper due.

Mike Green has been making pens at his Minnesota home for the past several years, and has begun sharing them online and at various pen shows throughout the United States. I first met Mike as part of my Twitch community, and was excited to meet him in person this year and check out his craftsmanship. Needless to say, I came away impressed.

Standing in front of his table that Saturday in Chicago, I had incredible difficulty choosing which pen was coming home with me. Mike uses materials from ALL THE MAKERS for his pens. I finally settled on mine, turned from Divine Pens Plus Wicked Wisteria. I mean, how could I not choose this pen?

When buying a pen from an individual maker, especially for the first time, I look for a few things:

Does the weight and balance fit my hand?
Does the shape of the grip section work for me?
How is the acrylic finished? If polished, is shiny and even? If matte, is it consistently smooth?
Are the threads smooth? Not only the cap threads, but the internal barrel threads as well?

There are exceptions to all of these rules, but this is a good starting point when I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle pens in person.

With Mike’s pens, I was hooked by two things: the rounded ends, and the exceptional polish job. In conjunction, those two things made for a pen that I enjoyed holding, and looking at. After it was in my hands, I went through the rest of my checklist and found a pen that I wanted to come home with.

This Wicked Wisteria model is fitted with a Jowo #6 nib, but Mike does offer pens with Bock #6 and #8 nibs, plus various gold and titanium options. I almost exclusively buy steel nibs in my maker pens. I prefer the stiffness, not to mention the cost savings.

*I regret to inform you that this material, Wicked Wisteria from Divine Pens Plus, is no longer being produced.*

Speaking of cost, this clipless model runs $150, with clip and roll stop models starting at $170. That is a fantastic price for craftsmanship of this level. Mike offers pens directly from his website, and at several pen shows throughout the year. As with many small makers, if you see something you like, you better grab it because there may not be another one like it available.

Like this Wicked Wisteria.

(I purchased this pen at regular price at the 2023 Chicago Pen Show. Mike also provided a second pen for giveaway at the same time, which I did for Pen Addict Members earlier this year.)

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Posted on November 13, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Mike's Pen Fun, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Faber-Castell Hexo Rose Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

I'm a big fan of fountain pens that can deliver a solid fundamental writing instrument along with unique or delightful design elements for under $50. This has to be a difficult price range to deliver on, and not everyone succeeds. In my experience, the biggest letdowns in this price range usually come in the form of a unique looking pen that just doesn't write well. At $50, you want something that looks nicer than a disposable or $20 entry level pen, but you also want it to write as well as any of the fantastic pens in the lower price bracket (if not better).

The Hexo from Faber-Castell is an entry-level fountain pen with a modern design and fantastic build. The name "Hexo" aligns with the hexagonal shape of the pen body and cap, but the corners are rounded off and smooth to make it comfortable to handle. The Rose color that I have now is a light pink — almost difficult to detect unless there's plenty of light. Otherwise it looks silver or champagne.

The broad matte black clip contrasts the aluminum body well, and also does a great job of keeping the pen attached to things. It's really strong, but easy to use.

One of my favorite features of the Hexo is the mechanism that auto-aligns the cap to the barrel so that the hexagonal lines match. When you design a pen with lines that go from top to bottom, you have to assume that a large portion of buyers will be compelled to make sure those lines always line up, and I really appreciate them thinking ahead and making that process automatic for me. This is accomplished with some small guides on the grip that ensure the cap lines up. The click fitting for the cap also makes this pen easy to uncap/cap, and features a satisfying click to let you know it's capped securely.

On top of the aligning cap, the grip section also has a similar alignment guide for screwing it into the body. Once you reach the end of the threads when screwing the grip onto the body, the final quarter turn positions the grip so that it aligns perfectly with the body. It's hard to explain how satisfying it is to achieve perfect alignment on this pen with zero effort. It's so good that I think it's the biggest selling point of this pen. Faber-Castell has seen the OCD crowd, and they have delivered a fantastic pen for us.

Aside from the design and nifty alignment features, this pen is actually really good at being a writing instrument as well. The steel nib is firm, but provides a crisp line with plenty of feedback. The EF size in my pen is right on target for a European-style nib size. Mine is smooth and required no tuning or tweaking — it wrote well out of the box. The nib and feed provide great flow when writing, and the good seal from the cap means you can uncap and start writing immediately without waiting or scribbling a few lines to get the ink flowing. It's a workhorse in the writing department.

The grip section features a flared shape that provides a nice butt for your fingers to rest into when writing. Something else I appreciate is that the shape is uniform in diameter, meaning this will work well for right- or left-handed writers who use some form of standard-ish grip. The grip provides just enough shape to be useful for many grip styles. Pens that lean into the three-finger tripod grip alienate a lot of people who don't grip pens that way, and the pen is either uncomfortable or unusable. With the Hexo, it's really comfortable, functional, and inclusive.

The light weight body and contoured grip are further complimented by the larger-than-average diameter of the pen, which I find to be more comfortable. Not everyone will agree with me, but I like pens that are a little wider for writing in cursive or for writing for extended periods. All three of these design choices result in a really comfortable writing experience.

The Faber-Castell Hexo is a fantastic entry-level pen from a company that knows a thing or two about stationery. At $42, it’s easy to recommend as a stylish, modern alternative to other sub-$50 pens. The $50 price point has a few "luxury" brand pens that don't deliver on the writing instrument fundamentals, but this is not one of those. This is pen that nails the fundamentals, but also provides some nice extras like the unique design, auto-aligning cap, and wider body. If the Rose color isn't your thing, you can also find this pen in black, silver, bronze, and blue. And, you have a choice of EF, F, M, and B nibs. This is a great pen for gifts, introducing people to fountain pens, or as a nice treat for yourself!

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on November 8, 2023 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Faber-Castell, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Gravitas Pocket Fountain Pen Full White Delrin 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 Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

When I received my Gravitas Quark, there was a stowaway in the package. There, nestled in with the expected items, was a leatherette pen sleeve, and inside that was the best hitchhiker ever--a white Delrin pocket fountain pen. I hadn't yet tried any of Gravitas's standard pocket pens, so this was a very welcome addition to the collection.

The most striking thing about the Delrin material is how light it is. The pen hardly weighs anything at only 13g capped or posted. The light weight makes it easy and comfortable to write with, and the Delrin warms in the hand, so there's no fatigue even with very long writing sessions.

The pen is shaped similarly to a Kaweco pocket pen, where the cap covers most of the body. That keeps it compact when closed, and then when posted, the long cap transforms it into a full-sized pen. The end finials are both shaped to a sharp point, and one side of the cap is machined flat to serve as a roll-stop. The grip section is finely textured to prevent slipping, and it has a nice tapered shape that is easy to hold.

The nib it comes with is one of Gravitas's own nibs, which fits Jowo nib units. It also comes with a wee plunger converter, though it also takes short international cartridges. It also comes with two O-rings, one on the grip section threads and one on the cap threads, that add extra security if you want to eyedropper the pen. I haven't tried eyedroppering it yet, but I plan to next fill.

The nib writes very smoothly with good ink flow. The only issue that might annoy some users is that the texture of the grip traps ink when filling from a bottle, so there may be some discoloration between cleanings. Some inks might even cause some staining to the white material there. This doesn't bother me, personally--I like inky grips as much as I like inky fingers--but I know some folks who hate it. Maybe go for the black Delrin, if that's you!

This pen sells for 90 Euros, or around $95. While that's a lot compared to the similar-appearing Kaweco, this Delrin material makes a huge difference in quality that's reflected in that price. This is a tough, workhorse pen. Which is good, because it's inked up for NaNoWriMo, and it's time to put it to work.

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

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