The Diplomat Aero in Sunset Orange: 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’ve always admired Diplomat Aeros. I like the Zeppelin shape and matte finish of the pens. When I saw they offered one in a new color, Sunset Orange, I decided I needed one.

The Diplomat Aero comes packaged in a box topped with an aluminum lid that slides off. It’s really pretty cool packaging.

Inside, the pen is held by a ribbon atop a white satin-like pad with the Diplomat logo. Beneath you’ll find a couple of cartridges and a booklet. The converter (included) is already inside the pen.

The pen is made of anodized aluminum and comes standard with a steel nib in F, M, or B, though you can actually get the pen with a 14K nib from Points of Distinction for about $100 more. Because the pen is metal, it has some heft to it, weighing 30.5 grams uncapped. The pen is 5.5 inches capped, 5 inches uncapped, and 6.25 inches posted. It doesn’t post very securely—just a couple of shakes dislodged the cap from the body of my pen. This isn’t a problem for me since I never post pens, but for those of you who do, be careful.

The Aero’s style is quite striking. I love the dark grey anodized aluminum accents (finials and grip), and the grooves in the body and cap evoke the Zeppelin.

The cap’s finial sports the Diplomat logo. The logo is called an “ink flower,” and represents droplets of ink (thanks to Hillary from Points of Distinction for answering my question about that). But I also think it looks like a Zeppelin propeller in motion. Regardless, from what I’ve read, the logo is painted on and over time wears off.

The clip is made of the same grey aluminum. It’s quite stiff, so if you clip your pens to shirt pockets or papers, it should stay put. Although I prefer screw caps, this one snaps on and off with a satisfying click.

The stainless steel nib is engraved with the Diplomat logo. I got a fine nib, and it’s a very smooth writer, but hard as a rock. There’s no give at all with this nib. The tines are very close together, and the nib seems a bit stingy with ink. I tried flossing but couldn’t get the piece of cellulous acetate between the tines (that’s how tight they are).

Even though it’s a dry writer, the steel nib is consistent and I had no hard starts or skipping. I noticed that my hand grew fatigued after a couple of pages of writing. I assume this is due to the weight of the pen, but I have other heavy pens that don’t cause my hand to cramp. So, maybe the weight combined with the grip (which is a little slippery even though it’s anodized aluminum) caused the fatigue.

The pen comes with a Diplomat converter. It draws up ink smoothly and is standard international size, holding around .7ml of ink.

The Diplomat Aero is a substantive, visually appealing fountain pen. I think the Sunset Orange color is fabulous—the matte finish tones it down so that it looks classy not flashy.

Vanness Pens has the Diplomat Aero in Sunset Orange for $195, along with all other colors of the Aero lineup.

Pros

• The Diplomat Aero is a great example of German engineering. The pen looks flawless and the design is gorgeous.
• I absolutely love the muted Sunset Orange color.
• The steel nib is a smooth, consistent writer.
• This is a hefty pen, so people who prefer weighty pens will definitely enjoy the Diplomat Aero.

Cons

• Although the Aero feels comfortable, my hand grew fatigued after only a few pages of writing. I don’t think this is a balance problem, because the pen feels well balanced. However, the weight of the pen combined with the metal grip (which is slightly slippery) may have contributed to my fatigue.
• I like my nibs wet, and this steel nib is a bit stingy with ink. I’m going to try to find my brass shim to see if I can get in between the tines to loosen them up a bit.

(I received a discount when purchasing this pen from Vanness Pens for purposes of this review.)

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Nemosine Singularity Aqua Demonstrator 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 Nemosine Singularity is an entry-level fountain pen from a new (to me, anyway) pen company that has a lot going for it. It's not often that we see newcomers to the entry-level game, so this is always exciting. But, it's also difficult to break into this level of fountain pen due to the excellent options already available.

The Nemosine Singularity is just a hair under $20 on JetPens, and you have a fairly good range of options between color and nib size (including an intriguing 0.6mm stub option). While the "gift box" aspect of this pen is a joke, the rest of the pen holds up well against expectations.

On first unboxing this pen, I had similar thoughts and assumptions as when I've purchased $6 fountain pens on eBay from a Chinese manufacturer. There's no flash or pizzazz in the packaging, and the experience is fairly boring. That's fine as long as the pen lives up to the unbelievable price. In the case of the Singularity, the presentation should be improved upon due to the surprisingly great quality of the pen.

This pen reminds me a lot of the Monteverde Artista. While it looks like that pen is being retired from JetPens, it is a great all-round pen for general writing. The Singularity is cheaper, has more nib options, and performs very closely with the Monteverde. I was impressed when I first tried it out.

At $20, you're up against a couple of the best budget fountain pens out there: the Pilot Metropolitan and Kakuno. After the $30 mark, you're in Kaweco, Lamy, and TWSBI territory, so let's leave them out for now. When you compare the Metropolitan and Singularity, the features are very similar. They both come with converters and cartridges, and they're only $5 apart. When comparing these, it really comes down to your own preference. Do you want a professional pen with classy accents? The Metropolitan is the best choice. Do you like how demonstrators look, or do you prefer plastic-body pens? The Singularity is a better option.

The build quality of the Singularity is better than I expected. While it's lightweight, it doesn't feel cheap or fragile. This pen can deal with some abuse, although it will show scratches. The clip has moderate strength and the threads feel precise and well-made.

Moving on to the grip and nib, it keeps impressing. The grip is a black plastic, and it fits my hand perfectly. This combined with the light weight make it ideal for longer writing sessions. The particular model I have uses the medium nib, and it writes like a dream. It's a bit on the wet side, but that's something I expect and want from a medium nib. It never stutters, skips, or has a hard time starting, and it's as smooth as can be. It's a steel nib, but it has a good amount of flexibility that can provide some minimal variation with the right pressure applied.

I'm not sure where the nibs are sourced, but they do say "Made in Germany" on the bottom. Also, the decoration on the nib is classy and pleasing. It's not a plain nib, but it isn't chintzy either.

The included converter does feel cheaper than the pen, but it's worked great so far. One minor complaint I have about this converter is that it has a small ball inside to keep the ink moving around. Other converters use this same method, and the noise that the ball makes inside the converter when you move the pen around has always bothered me. I'm not sure why it's there when other converters do just fine without it. Like I said, it's a minor niggle.

Overall, I've been really impressed by this budget newcomer. It feels well-built while also remaining light, it writes like a dream, and it costs less than $20 (barely). I can see this being a perfect recommendation for people who want to spend 20 bucks on their first demonstrator. For me, it will be a common tester pen for different inks since the nib performs so well.

The Nemosine Singularity is available in Onyx, Aqua, Azalea, and Demonstrator colors from JetPens. You also have an option of EF, F, M, B, and 0.6mm stub nibs. The stub looks particularly interesting!

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

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Benu Purple Night Silver Fountain 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.)

Benu is a Russian pen company that produces fountain pens and ball point pens in various handmade resins. They currently offer pens in three collections: Classic, Ornate, and Sublime. The pen I’m reviewing is from the Classic Collection and is called “Purple Night Silver.” It features aventurescent (sparkly) resin with a rhodium plated brass ring.

The Benu pen comes in a black cardboard box with the Benu name on top. Inside, you’ll find the pen wrapped in Benu paper tied with twine and nestled in shredded brown paper. The paper wrap includes information about your pen.

The pen is torpedo shaped and the only complication in the design is the rhodium-plated ring with the name Benu inscribed. There is no clip.

When you unscrew the cap, you’ll notice a sharp stepdown from the barrel to the grip, but the grip area is long, and the thickest part of the barrel rests between your index finger and thumb. So, the pen is quite comfortable to hold, and the barrel threads are far enough back that your fingers won’t contact them.

The nib is a Schmidt stainless steel fine (medium and broad are also available). It has some scrollwork, and the nib size is engraved in the middle along with “Schmidt Iridium Point.”

This is a tiny nib because the Benu is a small pen weighing only 0.7 ounces. Capped, the pen is 4.9 inches. Uncapped it is 4.5 inches, and you cannot post the cap.

Currently all Benu pens are cartridge only, but a representative told me they are manufacturing a new pen that will take a converter. My review model came with a Schneider standard short international size cartridge with blue ink.

The Benu pen writes beautifully. The fine steel nib is smooth and demonstrates no hard starts or skipping. I find it a comfortable writer overall.

My main complaints about the pen are (1) the pen is so light that it feels cheap. The resin is unique and thick, but you can definitely tell this pen is plastic. And although it is handmade, it doesn’t have the feel of a Shawn Newton or Scriptorium pen, though, admittedly, those pens are much more expensive. (2) The threads on my pen are rough and sometimes it takes a few tries to get the cap to screw on correctly. (3) For a pen like this I would expect to pay around $40 or so, especially since it is cartridge only and lacks any complicated design elements. But it costs $90. That said, I have no idea how much it costs to make handmade resin and to manufacture pens for export from Russia.

I really like all the different resins Benu Pens offers. They have many beautiful, unique choices. You can purchase Benu pens from their website: BenuPen.com. Models range from $80-$120.

Pros

• The sparkly purple resin on my pen is quite striking, especially in sunlight.
• The pen is comfortable to write with.
• Because this pen is so small, it might work well as a pocket or a purse pen, though it does not come with a clip.
• The Schmidt fine nib on my review model writes beautifully.
• Benu offers a wide range of unique resin colors though all the pens have the same torpedo shape.

Cons

• Unfortunately, the pen does not have that special feel that you might expect of a homemade pen.
• The Benu is a good pen—one that I think many people would enjoy as a pocket or purse pen. However, as such, it seems overpriced.
• The threads on my pen are rough and the cap doesn’t screw on smoothly.
• The pen is cartridge only which limits your ink choices.
• This pen is very light, so if you prefer hefty pens, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

(Benu Pens provided this pen at no cost to Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!