Prior to acquiring the reproduction style pens known as the HERO from China, I purchased a Parker 21 from Ebay. It turned out to have a crack in the plastic that caused ink to leak out of the pen which made me very sad. Sad because just writing a few lines with it had left…
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Esterbrook Pastel Pink Purse Pen
If I wasn’t such a fan of the vintage Esterbook pens, I don’t think I ever would have imagined myself as someone who would buy a pink fountain pen. But… I have a secret desire to own an Esterbrook in every color they were ever sold in (maybe not every variation… that would get complicated).…
HERO 329 Fountain Pen Review
After my post about reproduction Chinese pens, my good friend Donovan of The Letter Writers Alliance (LWA to those in the know — including my father-in-law!), offered me three HERO 329 pens from China to review and giveaway. So, here goes: This particular HERO pen is listed on Ebay as a “vintage” edition of the…
Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen Review
I had recently seen the Pilot Metropolitan pop up on JetPens but noticed that most of the color options had sold out immediately. Then I heard Brad of The Pen Addict Podcast discuss his rather blah reaction to it and his general aversion to all things gold. So… guess what I bought? Yup. The gold…
Sailor Desk Pen EF Review
The Sailor Desk Pen EF doesn’t look like much with its fleshy-colored, plastic cap but under that cap is what makes this sub-$20 pen such a little gem. It does not have any fancy packaging and even the two black cartridges that came with the pen came in a plain plastic bag but for less…
TWSBI Mini Review…Finally
I’ve had the TWSBI Mini ($50-$55) since Christmas but I haven’t reviewed it because I’ve been waiting for a new EF nib unit. Initially, I got it with the F nib thinking I’d like to be able to compare the F nib with the EF nib I have on my TWSBI Diamond 540*. What I…
Budget Fountain Pen Showdown
After lampooning the Pilot Varsity, I got a lot of feedback from readers that they had a good experience with the pen and that it helped to inspire them to try fountain pens. While I am still not over the bruising experience of the Pilot Varisty, I was willing to try some other sub-$5 fountain…