Shawn Newton Custom Sumpter in Le Tigre Cebloplast/Celluloid: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I saw the Le Tigre cebloplast/celluloid (a vintage material) on Shawn Newton’s Instagram last summer. I immediately emailed him to see if I could have a pen made from the stuff. Initially he said he could only make a barrel from it since he only had a little of the material. But, fortunately, he found more hidden somewhere in his holy of holies of stock. I would get an entire pen made of Le Tigre. Rawr!

I placed my order July 7, and Shawn gave me an estimated ship date of March 2017. Jaw drop. Yes, Shawn’s work is mega-popular, and that means a wait of at least six months (my pen actually arrived the first week of February).

As always with Shawn Newton pens, the wait was worth it. My pen was shipped in a Newton-branded steel tumbler with a lovely pen wrap made by his wife.

Le Tigre cebloplast is outrageously gorgeous—green, yellow, and black striped with tons of chatoyance. The material has so much depth and color and is quite unique.

Shawn told me to be careful with this pen. The Le Tigre is a vintage material, and if I were to drop the pen on a hard floor, it would likely shatter.

The pen itself is light (cebloplast/celluloid is light material) and of medium length (148mm capped, 133mm uncapped, 177mm posted). On Shawn’s site this pen is listed as a small Sumpter. The Sumpter is a classic cigar-shaped pen with a screw-on cap and a plain steel clip.

It is a cartridge/converter (converter included).

I lucked out and got it with an 18K rhodium-plated fine nib etched with the Newton logo.

I’ve purchased three pens from Shawn, and this fine nib is the very best writer of the three. In fact, it’s one of the best writers of all my pens.

It writes so smoothly and with the perfect amount of wetness, and the nib has a wonderful bounce to it. I inked it with Sailor Jentle Epinard which matches the color of the cebloplast nicely. I used it today in my Women Writer’s class to take notes. I was writing as fast as I possibly could, and the nib and feed kept up without any problems.

Thus far, this is my favorite Shawn Newton custom pen. I love the unique, vintage material. The Sumpter shape is classic and uncomplicated. And this baby writes like a champ. Just don’t drop it, Susan. Do. Not. Drop.

Pros

• One of the best things about custom pen makers like Shawn is you can get a brand new pen in vintage material.
• The Sumpter is a classic, simple design that feels well balanced in the hand.
• The standard 18K fine nib I got with this pen is simply excellent—one of the best writers in my collection.
• I like cartridge/converter pens, so I’m happy with this system. But if you prefer piston fillers, you can have Shawn make your pen with a piston at additional cost.
• Shawn is so much fun to work with. He didn’t get to be super creative on this pen because the small amount of Le Tigre cebloplast limited our options. But you can have a pen made in any number of configurations with virtually any material. The only limits are your imagination and the size of your wallet.

Cons

• The Le Tigre material is vintage, and I don’t think Shawn has any more. Sorry (not sorry). I believe I got the last of it.
• The small Sumpter might be too small and light for people who like weighty, large pens. But, you can always ask Shawn to add metal rings and/or a metal barrel to a pen if you want more weight.
• The one bad thing about this vintage cebloplast is it’s super delicate, and I’m a klutz. Kid gloves with this pen, folks.

The Wink Pen: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Wink Pen is a unique concept, combining a glass nib with a converter and a demonstrator body.

The idea came about when the creator, Jessica Chan, decided to combine a writing instrument with sustainable, alternative liquids. Chan collaborated with Matthew Malone, an engineer, to create a prototype pen that could be used with wine, juice, and other liquids. They launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015 (Source: booklet included with the Wink Pen).

The Wink Pen arrives in beautiful packaging. A sophisticated looking black cardboard and metal box opens to reveal the pen wrapped in a soft, satin-like cloth.

Included are the booklet that describes the history of Winkpens, a certificate of authenticity, and a cardboard sleeve that provides usage instructions.

The pen can be completely dissassembled, which is good since it is meant to be used with a variety of liquids. The pen is comprised of a glass nib, a coupler, a converter, a barrel cap, the pen cap, and the glass barrel.

The cap has a clip with the initials of the creator (J.C.) engraved near the top. The Winkpen logo is on the finial.

To use the pen, fill the converter with your desired liquid, insert it into the coupler, push the glass barrel and barrel cap on, and twist the barrel cap until liquid starts dripping from the nib.

The pen is designed to work with low viscosity liquids. I tried it first with coffee:

Then Cabernet Sauvignon wine:

Unfortunately, as excited as I was to try unusual liquids in the pen, it didn’t work very well. In order to write even a couple of letters with the coffee or wine, I had to twist the barrel knob to get a blob of liquid to come out. The converter couldn’t deliver enough liquid to the glass nib to write continuously. My conclusion: the pen doesn’t work well with low viscosity liquids. It would be easier just to use a dip pen.

I will say the paper you write on makes a difference. My first tests were on Maruman Septcouleur paper which is pretty slick and Moo Notebook paper (very high quality with little texture). When I wrote with wine on Maruman sketch paper I had much better results with color saturation. But I still had to wet the nib constantly.

The pen works just fine with fountain pen ink. I tested it with Callifolio Aurora and Bung Box Sweet Potato Purple. The Callifolio worked fairly well, though I had to turn the pen to keep the ink flowing.

The Bung Box Sweet Potato ink worked perfectly.

Although I love the original idea of using the Wink Pen with any liquid, my experiments were frustrating. The liquids I tried simply would not keep flowing from the converter. I found using the pen with coffee and wine to be messy and inconsistent. Therefore, I’m not sure what advantage the Wink Pen offers when compared with a regular glass dip pen.

However, the Wink Pen works quite well with regular ink. Those who enjoy the feel of a glass nib but prefer the convenience of a converter (less mess), will like the Wink Pen.

You can purchase a first edition Wink Pen from Winkpens for $65 (originally $129). I did not find any information on the website about forthcoming editions of the pen.

Pros

• The Wink Pen is an unusual combination of a glass nib with a converter-filled pen.
• The pen writes well with regular fountain pen ink.
• The pen is simple to assemble and dissassemble which makes it easy to clean—important if you choose to use wine or coffee as ink.
• The glass nib writes smoothly and is beautiful when inked with saturated colors.

Cons

• Unfortunately, writing with alternative liquids, which is the main intent of the Wink Pen, was frustrating. Coffee and wine were too wet and the flow too inconsistent to write more than a few letters.
• I found that I had to twist the barrel cap to force liquid out every few letters, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a converter-based glass-nibbed pen. This was not a problem with regular fountain pen ink.

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

JetPens Mini Aluminum 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.)

The mini fountain pen market is full of interesting, delightful pens that can easily fit in a pants pocket, wallet, and an endless amount of other tight spaces. From my experience, the main issue that mini fountain pens (or mini pens in general) face is usability. Sure, it's a small pen, but is it enjoyable to use or simply something to use in a pinch?

When I first picked up the JetPens Mini Aluminum fountain pen, I was charmed by how much it reminded me of a miniature Pilot Metropolitan. I'm a sucker for miniature versions of just about everything, so this immediately delighted me. The second thing that struck me about this pen was how solid it felt in the hand. For being so small, it has a perfect weight. The body is made of a laquered aluminum, which makes it heavier than plastic, but lighter than brass.

The model I have is black, but you can also get these little pens in white or gold. Regardless of the body color, the grip section is always black.

JetPens worked with Regal to produce these pens, and it looks like that partnership worked out great. I have another Regal fountain pen, and I was impressed by how well it performed for the price. Keeping this pen under $15 makes it very attractive to buyers who are new to fountain pens, but it also makes it attractive to anyone looking for an inexpensive pocket pen.

The cap of the pen is secured using a snap mechanism, and it has been solid in my use. Unfortunately, posted the cap isn't as secure as I'd like it to be. Several times while writing, the cap fell off and bounced across the table or onto the floor. I really wish the cap was secure when posted, but this just isn't the case. In most cases, I don't post my pens, but I normally always post when using a mini pen. With the JetPens Mini, the body by itself is too short for me to use comfortably for more than jotting down a quick note.

Being a mini pen, a strong clip is essential. Luckily, the Mini fountain pen has a great clip that keeps it secured to whatever you clip it to.

The grip section is plastic, and it feels comfortable to my hand. The grip on this pen is small, but that's to be expected. It feels like writing with a Kaweco Liliput to me. This isn't the ideal pen for writing a novel, but it works great if you're writing something between a short note to a page or two of notes. The key with any small pen is to remember to loosen your grip and not strain your fingers. Difficult advice for me to follow sometimes!

The JetPens Mini accepts international short cartridges, and it also accepts mini converters. On the JetPens site, they recommend a Monteverde Mini converter. I've never used this converter, but it has good reviews. I'll probably shell out the three dollars in my next order so I can have some more ink freedom with this fun little pen.

The Mini is only available with an EF nib, and I've been extremely happy with mine. The ink flows well, the nib feels smooth, and the lines are crisp. It's everything I expect from a steel EF nib. There's very little decoration on the nib apart from the Regal imprint and the nib size information.

At $12.50, this pen is an excellent deal. It's small, it writes well, and it feels great in the hand. In the mini fountain pen world, it's one of my favorites. It doesn't edge out the Kaweco Liliput or Sport, but it packs a solid punch. Throw one of these in your cart next time you place a JetPens order. It's a delightful pen!

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

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