Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Karas Kustoms Starliner 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.)

Karas Kustoms are at it again, this time with a newly designed fountain pen called the Starliner. If you aren't already familiar with Karas Kustoms, they've been around for a few years making high-quality machined pens of various styles. My personal favorite is the Ink, which debuted back in 2013. In my mind, quality is synonymous with the Karas Kustoms brand, and I always enjoy seeing the new designs they come up with.

The Starliner fountain pens are small pocket pens that are part of a larger "Reaktor" series of pens that Karas is working on. While I don't have exact dates on availability, you can expect these to drop sometime mid-year, so keep an eye on Twitter and the Karas Kustoms site for timing.

These pocket pens have a classic design that reminds me of The Great Gatsby and the golden age of stationery. But, your grandparents didn't have fountain pens made from solid pieces of aluminum. Because of this material choice, the Starliner pens are incredibly light and durable. The material is still thick enough to make it incredibly strong and resilient for pocket and bag use. When I pick these pens up, they remind me of the feel that the Kaweco AL Sport has. Light but solid, short but useful.

There are four color options available in the Starliner group. The one that sticks out the most is the black anodized aluminum. This is a sleek pen with a durable finish. Under the cap, the grip section is also black. I'd love to swap out the stock Bock nib with something black as well, to complete the blacked-out aesthetic.

There's also a rugged tumbled aluminum finish available, which also covers the pen from top to bottom and everything in between. Despite being tumbled, the pen still has a sleek and smooth feel in the hand. It just lacks the same amount of luster as its shiny counterparts. One of my favorite features of this finish is the fact that the grooves that are cut into the cap and lower body of the pen retain their polished shine. It gives this pen a classy feel.

There are two polished aluminum models available: one with a blue section and one with a red section. Both models feature polished aluminum caps and barrels. Like all of the anodized options Karas has provided in the past, the colors on these pens are incredible and here to last. The red section might be my favorite, as it has a slight burned orange hue in certain light. Likewise, the blue section also has some green dancing around under the surface. These are anything but basic colors — they're delightful.

Something that I believe is entirely unique in this lineup is the fact that they employ a slip cap design instead of a threaded cap system. All Karas Kustoms pens in the past have used some sort of retractable mechanism (for gel refills) or a threaded cap. So, how does the slip cap system work on the Starliner? Pretty well. I noticed that there were some rough edges out of the box, but they quickly smoothed out. Simply pull the cap off and post it, and then snap it back on when you're done. In practice, they need just the right amount of pressure to operate, and I have no concern that it will uncap on accident. When posting the cap, however, the cap can sometimes wiggle loose due to the short length of the pen and how it rests on your hand. The cap has never completely come unposted while writing, but it does wiggle. To get around this, I've been using the pen without the cap posted. While the pens are short, they aren't short enough to be uncomfortable to use unposted.

You might have also noticed that there are no clips on these pens. This is a deliberate design choice, as the clips are only available on the larger sibling (Starliner XL). These pens do roll around on flat surfaces, so beware. In practice, it hasn't been a big deal for me. They also fit snugly in pen pockets and cases provided there's something to tuck them into. I think the main use case for these pens is to be thrown into pockets and bags with other loose items.

The Starliner comes with a Bock nib out of the box, and I've been fairly pleased with them. Nibs can often need minor tuning when you receive them from the factory, and these nibs are no different. While all four nibs write perfectly well, there is some tuning I'd like to do to increase the flow and smooth out the feel of the nib on paper. The nib is also a great size compared to the body of the pen. Not too small, but not too large either. They compliment each other. Since these are standard Bock nibs, they're also fairly easy to swap out.

One of the downsides of every pocket pen is the lack of refill and converter options. Alas, the same is true for the Starliner. Given the short body, the only options available are short international cartridges. You could probably use one of the short cartridge converters that Kaweco or other companies sell, but there's also a massive market for this size cartridge.

In my time with these new pens from Karas Kustoms, I loved the aesthetic as soon as I saw them, but the writing experience is also fantastic. Every new product is always a blank slate, but I'm glad to see that Karas Kustoms have come up with another excellent product that should open up possibilities in the $50 price range.

Keep your eyes open for these pens to become available!

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

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, for which I am very grateful.

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

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pen Reviews, Karas Kustoms, Fountain Pens.

Zebra Zensations 0.6mm 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 Zebra Zensations fountain pen is a recent addition to the disposable fountain pens category at JetPens, and one that I'm happy to recommend. It's been a while since I experimented with the disposable fountain pens category, and the Zensations pen just solidifies my opinion that just because a pen costs less than $5 does not mean it performs poorly.

Similar to the Pilot Varsity, the Zensations fountain pen is a disposable, non-refillable fountain pen that costs only $3. This is the same price as the Varsity and I would say they are perfectly comparable. The Platinum Preppy is another popular choice in the disposable category, but they are different from the Varsity and Zensations pens because they feature a cartridge system. When the ink runs out, you can simply replace the cartridge with a color of your choice.

The Zensations pen features a slip cap design and an all-plastic body (except for the nib, of course). Despite the materials, this pen is rugged and can take normal bag and transit abuse just fine. The clip isn't the strongest clip I've encountered, but it does the job well. The plastic clip is a tad springy, but it provides plenty of gripping power on clothing, bags, cases, and other objects. If you like to post the cap while writing, the Zensations pen will handle that well. The cap posts securely and adds very little weight to the end of the pen while writing.

As an added bonus, there's a convenient ink window on the side of the barrel so you can easily see how much ink is left in the reservoir. The pen barrel is mostly black, but there's a lot of accent color thrown in, as well as a gray/silver trim for the clip. The ink feed section is visible through the grip, which can also be helpful when the ink is close to running out.

The nib on the Zensations pen is fantastic considering the cost. It's smooth, dependable, and has excellent flow. Straight out of the box, it wrote well and without any hiccups. This is important with any fountain pen, but it delights me to see this level of performance with a three-dollar pen. In a lot of cases, this pen may be someone's first exposure to a fountain pen, and I expect that to be a good representation of the nib and feed mechanism. These are perfect to hand out as a "try it" challenge to friends, coworkers, etc.

The steel nib is fairly stiff, and you won't notice much line variation as a result. The 0.6mm sizing roughly equates to a Japanese medium or European fine. It's a great size that most people are familiar with if they're coming from a bold ballpoint or 0.7mm gel pen.

The unit I have is the blue variation, which corresponds to the ink color inside. Where most pens seem to favor the darker blue hues in the standard lineups, the Zensations pen has a beautiful lighter blue that I absolutely love. It's more of a medium turquoise than a standard blue, and that makes me incredibly happy. Although, if you're expecting a darker blue or even a blue-black, I'd recommend looking at the other color options.

Speaking of which, there are seven total colors to pick from, and you can also pick up a pack that includes one of each color. At $3 per pen, and $17 for the seven pack, these pens are a fantastic deal. Throw some in your cart next time, and enjoy this newest player in the entry-level experience that give fountain pens a good name.

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

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

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Zebra, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Platinum 3776 Oshino Fountain Pen Review

One of the challenges with reviewing products is keeping it fresh. I never run out of things to review, but at the same time, I often review products that are nearly identical aside from aesthetics.

The Platinum 3776 lineup is the epitome of this.

The Platinum 3776 Oshino great pen from a great brand. A brand I love, and a brand I have praised on these pages and in other forms repeatedly. Heck, I even named Platinum the 2017 brand of the year in the Pen Addict members newsletter. But we are at the point now where I am reviewing barrel colors. Luckily, their barrel colors are very cool.

Let’s get the core features out of the way. Platinum has two primary things that separate them from the competition: The nib, and the slip & seal cap mechanism.

Taking the second one first, this is a fantastic addition to any fountain pen. In the clear-barrel Oshino, you can see the mechanism in action, with an extended cap liner and spring giving the pen a tight seal when stored away. The enemy of fountain pen nibs is air, which can cause the nib to dry out and the ink to not flow without priming. Not in the 3776 lineup. The slip & seal gives the cap complete airtightness. I’ve left a 3776 inked for months without use, and upon uncapping and writing, it was like I had inked it for the first time.

As flawless as the cap seal is, the nib is even better. For my money, it is the best of the big three (Pilot, Platinum, Sailor) in this price point. I prefer both Sailor and Pilot from a design and variety standpoint, but Platinum makes a better nib. No matter the size, they are perfect out of the box every time in my experience. And, they offer a good mix of sizes for many models, such as Ultra Extra Fine, Soft Medium, and Music. Not all models have all options, but Platinum seems to be expanding their offerings.

The one con that comes up when mentioning the 3776 it is that it is lightweight. At approximately 20 grams, it is in the weight range of the Pilot 74 and Sailor Pro Gear Slim - the entry level gold nib pens for those respective brands - while being priced like next tier options, like the Pilot 912 and Sailor Pro Gear Standard. I do find the 3776 to be light, but not flimsy. It is a sturdy pen and I’ve never considered it to be fragile.

I recommend the 3776 constantly, and often over the competition depending on the context of the question. That said, is it wrong for me to want more from the brand on a personal level? Where are the updated stock colors? How about some solid, non-translucent offerings? Or maybe some alternate cap, section, or finial materials? I see a big opportunity for me to give Platinum more of my money, but they seem content with where they are at.

And who am I to argue? They are great pens.

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

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