Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Récife Waldorf Fountain Pen Review

The Récife Waldorf fountain pen is a charming and well-made fountain pen from a company located in Paris, France. The body design has lovely lines and grooves that elevate the aesthetic to something that is reminiscent of Art Deco. In fact, Récife cites New York as the inspiration for this design, and I definitely think of the Empire State Building when I use this pen.

The pen is a solid metal and lacquer construction, and it feels great in the hand. The cap screws on securely, and there are also threads on the back of the pen so that you can securely post it when writing. I found the pen to be too long and unbalanced when posted, so I haven't used it that way very much.

The grip section is a polished chrome look and is very comfortable to hold. Despite the polished metal, there are plenty of ridges surrounding the grip section to provide ample finger holds when writing.

The body of the pen is a rippling wave of sparkly purple lacquer. You can pick your color, of course, but the purple version look amazing under light when accompanied by the shiny accents.

The clip is quite strong and is integrated into the finial. The finial itself is decorated tastefully to continue the Art Deco aesthetic.

The only branding on this pen is found in two small places: the cap band and the nib. The nib has a small "Récife" logo along with the nib size, while the band says "Récife" and "PARIS" on opposite sides. I love the minimal branding on this pen. The overall look of the pen is ostentatious, and I'm glad they didn't take it too far with vivid branding.

Uncapping and capping the pen is a smooth process for the most part. I've had a little bit of trouble with the unit I have when trying to cap it sometimes. Every now and then, the threads don't want to line up straight and I have to try several times to find the right path for the threads. It isn't a big deal, but I do think it should be smoother for the price.

Writing with the pen is a delight. The nib was perfect out of the box and I've enjoyed every minute with it. The fine nib is true to the size I expect, and it's a true performer. The flow is perfect, the steel nib is stiff but comfortable, and I can find no flaws in the tip. Writing is smooth, reliable, and pleasant.

Along with the pen, Récife include one international short cartridge. There's no cartridge converter included, and that's disappointing to me because the size of the pen makes it impossible to fit a standard converter. I haven't found a cartridge converter that fits yet, but I only looked through my own collection, which is not extensive. In order to use my own ink, I opted to use a Kaweco bulb converter. It works fine, but it's difficult to fill and doesn't hold much ink. It would be great if Récife included their own converter as part of the purchase so that buyers could use their own ink to match these brightly colored and beautiful pens.

I've really enjoyed using this pen. It has a bold design, but I think it works well. It definitely attracts attention and comments, and people can't wait to get their hands on it. Even better, it's an excellent writer.

My only concern with this pen is the same concern I share with many other luxury pens in this same price bracket: it has so much competition. On the Récife website, it lists the retail price for this pen as €125. In current prices today, that translates to just over $140 USD. In my opinion, that's a bit high for this pen, but it's also the full retail price. If you look at other pen offerings in the $140 price range, you are easily overwhelmed with high-quality pens that feature gold nibs, piston filler ink reservoirs, fancy click mechanisms, and more. At full retail, I can't recommend the Waldorf unless you're absolutely in love with the design. If you just want a good pen for your money, there's a long list of readily available pens that I would recommend first.

This price conundrum will always exist, but it's always so great to see new players and new products in the stationery space! If the Récife Waldorf speaks to you, I encourage you to pick one up. It's an excellent writer and a well made pen that won't let you down.

(Artistic Paper, the US distributor for Récife, loaned this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on November 7, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Récife, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Pineider Avatar 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.)

It's easy to spend years in the pen community and be completely unaware of various pen companies that are also operating in the same space. That's what happened to me with the Pineider Avatar. Pineider is an Italian stationery company that dates back to 1774, and recently rebooted in 2017. In the case of the Avatar, I've been pleasantly surprised by this new (to me, anyway) brand.

The Avatar is made of resin and silver trim, but that's really selling it short. The mixture of red shades and translucent material gives this pen a little something extra when the light catches it. Moving under the light, the pen appears to have dimensions and space beneath the surface, an intoxicating chatoyance.

The silver trim matches the pen nicely without detracting any from the real star of the show. The ends of the pen and cap are both rounded, and the clip is a spring-loaded mechanism that integrated into the top of the cap. It's not the strongest clip out there, but it gets the job done.

One of my favorite things about this pen is the magnetic cap system. Instead of a traditional screw-on cap or friction fit system, the Avatar has a nifty magnet catch design. Uncapping the pen is easy, and recapping it results in a satisfying /chink/ to let you know it's secure. When capped and not in use, the cap feel secure and I don't think it would slip off in normal circumstances. I would keep a close eye on this pen if I put it in my pants or shirt pocket if the pen couldn't reach the bottom of the pocket.

Another fun feature of the cap is the band. There's a lot going on with the band, and I wasn't sure I liked it at first. After looking a bit closer and realizing that it was a skyline, it started to grow on me. Since I didn't recognize the city skyline at first, I looked at the small pamphlet that came with the packaging and discovered that it was a skyline of Florence, Italy. Along with the skyline is a classy "Pineider" logo. I wish the band had a little more thickness and dimension, but I also appreciate that it's flush with the body of the cap.

The section of this pen is longer than most, but it has a nice shape. It's a slick metal finish that can get a bit slippery, but I haven't had any issues with it so far. One issue I did have during the first few days of using this pen was inky fingers. I wasn't sure how my fingers kept getting ink on them, but I finally figured out what was happening. Since there's no lip or ridge at the bottom of the section, my finger would slip down onto the feed and pick up ink. After realizing this, I consciously changed my grip on the pen to stay a little higher up. After doing this, I had no more issues with inky fingers. This is more of a individual preference problem, but worth mentioning since I don't normally have this problem with the dozens of other pens I own and use regularly.

The steel nib on the Avatar is also something that surprised me. It's minimally decorated and the size matches the size of the body perfectly, but it's also buttery smooth on paper. The nib is firm without feeling like a nail, but you also can't get any flex out of it. Even though it's labeled as a medium, it feels more like a fine — possibly even an extra fine. I'm not sure if Pineider nibs run small usually or if this is just an issue on the unit I have. Either way, I enjoy using the nib and it's performed beautifully right out of the box.

Speaking of the box, Pineider really takes pride in their presentation. The box that this pen arrives in is a black pleather covered box with a couple of small flaps that are secured with magnets (someone at Pineider really likes magnets...). Upon opening the box, you're greeted with the pen on a stand at the top of the box. Under the pen is a small drawer that contains some information on Pineider and some stationery supplies — small envelopes and pages for letters. It's a nice touch and something that I've never seen before for a pen of this price.

I think it's fair to classify Pineider as a luxury brand, and I've had mixed experiences with luxury brand pens before. This certainly isn't the norm, but there are times where the presentation is on par with a luxury brand, but the writing experience is poor. Sometimes it's hard to justify the price of a luxury pen if it doesn't easily attain the number one practical goal of all pens.

In the case of the Pineider Avatar, I'm pleased to report that this luxury pen is a satisfying mixture of elegant materials and presentation as well as a beautiful writing experience.

The Pineider Avatar retails for $280, but Pen Chalet sells it for about $225 at the time of this review. At that price, there's a lot of excellent competition that usually blows weaker luxury pens out of the water. With the combination of a great writing experience and the gorgeous, tantalizing materials of the Avatar, I think it sits fairly in this price range along with the likes of the Pilot Custom 823 and others.

If you're interested in the Avatar, it comes in four beautiful colors. The color featured in this review is Lipstick Red, but you can also choose from Coal Gray, Pacific Blue, and Saffron Yellow. Each pen comes with a cartridge converter and accepts international short cartridges. Unfortunately, there are no nib options outside of medium steel nibs.

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

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Posted on October 24, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pineider, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Monami Olika 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.)

Where were pens like this when I was still in school? I had to hunt for affordable fountain pens back then and most of what I found wasn't nearly this nice or fun.

At first glance, it looks like just another cheap "I only use this in contexts where I'd worry about my nicer pens" pen. And it is indeed perfect for those situations! But the more I play with it, the more I like about it.

The body is clear PVC, so you can easily see your ink level. The grip is textured rubber like you'd find on a lot of big-box gel or rollerball pens. It's easy to grip and comfortable to hold. It does feel a bit large for my hand, but it's so light that it's still easy to write with even for long periods of time. The whole thing looks like a plain inexpensive office pen--which sounds like an insult, but think of it as protective coloration. I can leave it on my desk in the middle of a public library and walk away, and it will still be there when I come back.

The cap snaps to close and it posts securely on the back of the pen. The clip is wide and flexible, but feels very flimsy--like it's going to break off the first time I try and clip it to too many pages or if I put it in my purse wrong. Weak clips are one of my biggest pen pet peeves. Fortunately, the pen writes well enough to make up for this offense.

The EF nib is surprisingly smooth on this pen. It writes with even the lightest pressure and lays down a wet enough line that it shows off some great character in the provided ink. Reports from the wild indicate some inconsistencies in their nib quality, but that's not surprising at this price point. Most seem to be of the excellent quality I'm experiencing with mine.

The nib is steel, and it's fed by a wick rather than a plastic feed. I worried this would cause some problems with drying out or ink starvation, but I haven't had any trouble. It does mean, though, that it's a pain if you want to switch colors--because you'll need to rinse all of the ink out of that wick. It would probably be more sensible to keep a dedicated color for each of the pans, and just collect all of the 20 different colors.

Each pen comes with three ink cartridges, and there are refills available. It also accepts Lamy cartridges, if you do decide you want a change. I also noticed that these cartridges are more rugged than the ones I've seen before, They are made of hard plastic like the pen, not the flexible plastic of most cartridges. It does mean that you can't squeeze ink through if the nib gets too dry, but they look sturdy enough that they could be refilled with a syringe and used many times over.

The Olika ink that came in the cartridges was a very pleasant surprise. The color is rich with beautiful shading and it behaves very well. I'll definitely be eyeing some other colors of both the pens and ink. The ink alone is worth the $5.50, and the pen is an added delight.

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

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