Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Visconti Mirage Mythos Athena Fountain 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 Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

Visconti does a good job of making their version of an entry-level pen feel very fancy. While the $159 price tag of the Mirage Mythos Athena Fountain Pen is far from beginner-friendly, it's a good entry point for those interested in trying out this luxury brand. It's also a perfectly good pen in its own right, and this one in particular has been a delight to write with for the past few weeks. It also comes in a fancy gift box that feels like a whole event to unwrap. It's not as much packaging fanfare as their other pens, but it's decidedly Extra for a pen in this price range. I generally prefer simpler packaging, but I appreciated feeling like it was my birthday for a few minutes.

The Mirage is made from a lightweight acrylic in lovely swirling colors. The Athena is in this gorgeous turquoise with pink, rust, purple, and even a touch of green rippling through. There's a subtle sparkle to it. The color is offset with brass accents on the grip, clip, finial, and cap band, which also has some textured etching. It has the classic bridge-shaped, spring-loaded Visconti clip, which gives it its signature look.

The body of the pen is lightly fluted, which helps with grip and keeps it from rolling on the desk.

The brass grip section unscrews from the body of the pen, and the body is lined with a brass sleeve that prevents a brass-on-acrylic thread connection--a nice detail that will prevent wear and cracking over time. The concentration of brass at the grip does make the pen a little front-heavy, but that doesn't have a negative effect on the writing experience.

The cap closes--and also posts--with a clever magnetic attachment. To close, the magnets pull the lid into some notched threads that keep it securely in place. The seal is good--the pen has never dried out between uses. When posting, the magnet helps secure the pen to the end of the pen, though it's a less secure connection and it rattles a little when writing. It's also quite large when posted. But it can be done! Just don't make any sweeping gestures or the cap will fly off.

The highlight of this pen, for me, is the nib. Visconti has had some nib quality issues in the past, mostly on their very high-end pens, but this gold-colored steel nib is totally dreamy. It writes as smooth as butter with the perfect balance of wetness. It's so pleasant to use that I find myself doodling between thoughts just so I can keep using it when my writing is paused.

This pen has been a delight. It was my solo writing instrument on my recent writing retreat and I cranked out over six thousand words that weekend and enjoyed every minute of the writing experience. I'm very content with this pen, but the good experience does tempt me toward someday trying one the fancier Visconti models. This one will do just fine until I cave to temptation.

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

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Posted on April 18, 2024 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Visconti, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Opus 88 Demo 2024 Edition 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.)

Just a few months ago, I reviewed the 2022 special edition of the Opus 88 Demo, which was a wonderful mix of purple and maroon that I really enjoyed. Before then, I wasn't aware that Opus 88 did annual color editions, so I was curious about whether a 2024 edition was announced yet. Not only was it announced already in January, but it was also available for sale. I immediately bought one after see it on the computer screen because the greens and blues spoke to me so strongly.

Fast forward a few days when I got the pen in hand, and I couldn't be any happier with the purchase. In person, the greens and blues are more vibrant and you can see more of the semi-translucent qualities of the acrylic material. It's not often for me that I know that I'll love something like this before I've even received it, but for some reason I just knew that the colors would be spectacular in person. I'm glad I was right.

The Opus 88 Demo model has been around for years, and it's one of my personal favorites. I like the uniform barrel shape and mix of colors that I would think might clash but somehow work together. The grip section fits my hand well, and the pen diameter is really comfortable for how I write and hold the pen. On top of all that, the ink capacity is stellar. I don't normally fill these pens up all the way with ink because I normally want to change out the ink before I use it all. But, just having the option of loading this pen up with ink and not having to refill for quite a while is definitely comforting.

The color scheme for the 2024 special edition is a dark turquoise body paired with green-yellow accents on the cap and grip, and a lighter blue blind piece that you use to open and close the ink reservoir. The colors go so well together, and I love the visual interest that the semi-transparent material adds to the already eye-catching colors. The nib and clip are both a dark off-black color, which go great with the dark hues of the pen body. I think bright metal would distract the eye from the acrylic materials, so I like the dark metal choice.

For this model of the Demo, I opted for a Medium nib. This is a favorite size for me when doing general writing or long-form writing, so the Demo is a perfect workhorse choice for that nib duty. The nib is glassy smooth out of the box, and the flow is perfect. I paired the pen with Road Trip from Standard Bindery, which is a fun ink on its own merit, but it pairs beautifully with this pen.

It's refreshing to see pen companies release fun and new colors for their existing products. Lots of companies do it, but Opus 88 does an exceptional job. Their pens are great quality, affordable for what they offer, and work well. Since I know the pen model is a great baseline, it's easy to make a quick decision on a colorful and attractive model without having used the actual pen before.

If this 2024 Edition of the Opus 88 Demo speaks to you like it did me, you'd better hurry and snag one ($140 as of this review). These are limited stock, and when they're gone, they're gone. If the greens and blues aren't for you, then there's always next year or even the solid selection of standard colorways as well. The Demo is one of my favorite pen models, and this color combination just makes me happy.

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

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Posted on April 3, 2024 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Opus, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Penlux Honoring Ishikawa 2024 - Pen Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula in Japan was literally shaken to its core by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, causing widespread devastation “on the Noto Peninsula, particularly in the towns of Suzu, Wajima, Noto and Anamizu, with the neighboring prefectures of Toyama and Niigata also recording significant damage” (Wikipedia). Penlux decided to raise money for relief efforts with the release of the “Honoring Ishikawa 2024” Delgado pen. Proceeds from the sale of each pen will be donated to Peace Winds, a charitable organization which responds to natural disasters and other crises.

Penlux is one of the brands that is distributed by Itoya of America, who also distributes Sailor, Taccia, Profolio, Kuretake and others. I saw this pen at the recent California Pen Show and got the green light from the Bossman to get the pen for review since I didn’t have any experience with the brand. It was a bonus that the pen purchase would also benefit earthquake relief efforts too.

*This beautiful teal leaning blue pen is the Penlux Delgado Honoring Ishikawa 2024.*

*”Honoring Ishikawa 2024” is engraved on the barrel of the pen.*

It was a couple weeks after the show before I got around to inking up the pen and I wasn’t able to unscrew the section. Duh, Kimberly, it’s a piston filler! I wasn’t expecting that from a pen at this price point - I should know better, since there are other brands that have piston fillers at lower price points, like my beloved TWSBIs, for example.

*If I read the instructions, I would have known this was a piston filler (insert facepalm, lol.)*

I like the ruthenium trim on the cap band, piston cap ring, grip section and nib. The metal grip has a slight taper to a lip to prevent your fingers from slipping over the edge, but it is a fairly slick grip. The slight drop on the barrel above the threads is subtle and isn’t very sharp, so it should be comfortable if you gripped your pens higher up. There is a liner inside the cap so your nibs don’t dry out - you can feel the slight springiness when capping the pen.

*The Penlux Delgado (top) and the Pelikan M800 - both are equally comfortable for me.*

*I don’t post my pens but this is what it would look like if I did.*

It is a comfortable pen that isn’t particularly light or heavy. Since I’ve already inked it up, it’s hard to accurately compare the pen’s weight to others. It felt similar to an uninked Pelikan M800 or Nahvalur Voyage/Nautilus, and slightly heavier than a Leonardo Momento Zero.

*Comparison pens capped: Sailor Pro Gear, Platinum 3776, Pelikan M800, Penlux Delgado, Leonardo Momento Zero, Pilot Custom 823, Nahvalur Voyage.*

*Writing sample on 100gsm Ayush Dot Grid paper.*

The nib on the Penlux is a steel Jowo nib, so it writes as one would expect from a Jowo nib. The ruthenium plating feels a bit “squishy” on paper to me, not in the flexy or bouncy kind of way but like there’s something between the nib and the paper. Even though the Robert Oster Sydney ink (which has an average to slightly dry flow) wrote fine, I think wetter inks would do better in this pen. Nibs are available in Fine, Medium, Broad and 1.1 Stub.

*Closeup of the ruthenium-plated nib, which has the Penlux logo on it.*

Penlux hopes to raise $10,000 for Peace Winds by donating $100 each from the sale of 100 of these, which is more than half of its $170 price tag. Kudos to them for donating such a significant portion to charity - I won’t name names, but a certain luxury company’s donation of 5 € per multi-hundred dollar pen is laughable by comparison.

The Penlux Delgado Honoring Ishikawa 2024 is currently available for $170 on the Squid’s Choice website, which is the online retail site for Itoya of America.