Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen New Model Review

Retro 51 makes some of the best - and most popular - rollerball and ballpoint pens on the market. In fact, they have made their own market by creating pens that are of a high quality, and are as fun as they are functional.

They make fountain pens too, but those take a backseat to their other offerings. I reviewed the previous version of the Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen in 2014, and while it was fine, it wasn’t compelling enough to recommend in it’s price bracket.

At the time, its clear flaw was the grip section. It was slick, and had a straight taper. It was just asking your fingers to slide right off. It wrote well enough, but the balance was a bit off, even unposted. In short, Retro 51 had some work to do to make their fountain pen a product worth standing next to the rest of their product lineup.

They did it with newly updated Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen.

Retro 51 took the universal feedback they received on the old version of the pen and fixed all of it. First off, the grip section is enjoyable! It is concave, and has a different finish that eliminates the majority of the slippage the previous version had. Secondly, the balance of the pen unposted is right on the money. When writing, you don’t necessarily want to feel the pen in your hand when doing so. You just want it to exist, and be enjoyable. This one is.

When posted, it is still going to be top-heavy, but that is because this is a metal barrel pen, and any posted metal barrel pen will have the same issue.

With those two main issues out of the way, Retro 51 went ahead and upgraded the nib. They went from a good one in Schmidt, to a great one in Jowo. And it is stamped with their logo too, which is something I personally enjoy.

If you couldn’t tell by my handwriting on the page, this EF steel nib was perfect right out of the box. I inked it up with Rohrer & Klingner Aubergine, broke out my Yoseka notebook, and enjoyed the writing experience.

That’s what I want every time I pick up a product. To enjoy the experience. In the past, the Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen didn’t give me that. It does now.

At it’s price point ($52 on Goldspot for the base level Tornado) it is now a compelling product versus the competition, such as TWSBI and Faber-Castell. And I think that is a good place to be.

(Retro 51 provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on August 5, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Retro 51, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Nakaya Long Cigar in Aka-Tamenuri with Kanji and a Gold Zogan: 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 come to the conclusion that my all-time favorite fountain pens are Nakayas. I simply adore them. I love their simple aesthetic, balance in the hand, incredible nibs, and the way they sing when I write with them.

I found this Nakaya on the nibs.com “pre-owned” page and snapped it up. I don’t have a long cigar in my collection, nor do I have any Nakayas with Kanji or gold zogans.

Nakayas are packaged in a softwood box (Paulownia wood) with a red velveteen insert. Included are a kimono (not pictured) and a box of Nakaya cartridges. The pen comes with a Nakaya converter as well.

The Long Cigar is just that: long. It measures 165mm capped and 145mm uncapped. Nakayas aren’t really meant to be posted. Even so, it is not a heavy pen at all, weighing only 27 grams capped and 20 grams uncapped (with converter inked). The pen is perfectly balanced in the hand.

This Nakaya has the Aka-Tamenuri finish, which is a red urushi. You can best see the subtleties of the color when you look at the cap edges and the grip section (pictured below).

In addition, this Nakaya has two extra special touches: Kanji and a gold zogan. The kanji, ikemori means something like “guardian of the pond.” A friend on Instagram explained that it refers to a person in charge of irrigation ponds in medieval Japan. Since this is a pre-owned pen, I don’t know what the Kanji symbolized to the original owner, but I decided to think of the pond as my poetry and this pen as a guardian, since I write out my poetry long hand first.

The gold zogan inlay is a diamond shape, hand painted in 24k yellow gold. It adds an extra touch of zen-like beauty to the pen.

This is my second Nakaya with an elastic nib. I reviewed my first here. An elastic nib is a soft nib that has been modified with cutouts.

This makes the nib separate from the feed in such a way that it feels like you’re writing with a paintbrush. The elastic modification does not provide flex, so you won’t see much line variation with this nib. But, the elastic nib is my favorite nib to write with. It is bouncy, soft, and forces you to maintain a consistent, flowing rhythm as you write.

*The ink used here is* *Kyo-no-oto Adzuki-iro*

I realize that Nakaya pens aren’t for everyone. They are quite expensive, especially when you add features like Kanji, a zogan inlay, and a specialty nib. But, these pens speak to me like no others. The urushi warms to your hand and the smooth lines and earthy colors evoke peace.

(I purchased this Nakaya with my own funds.)

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Posted on August 2, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Nakaya, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

TWSBI GO Clear 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 check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

The TWSBI GO sprung onto the scene recently and turned all our collective pen addict heads. Its spring-loaded button-fill system is certainly not new tech, but it's the first time I've seen such a thing in a pen that costs less than a trip to the grocery store, and that's a category that can never have too many cool pens. This is a cool pen.

This clear demonstrator edition shows off all the inner workings of this small marvel. It isn't pretty, bless its little springy heart, but it does look interesting. It has more than once been mistaken for a medical device, but has also several times been a conversation-starter about pens. Sometimes those conversations end with the tell-tale twinkle in the eye of a person who is about to go off and purchase their first fountain pen.

This is a great starter fountain pen for someone who is ink-motivated. If you want sheen and shimmer and endless colors, you need bottled ink, and this pen is a great way to get started with that. The button plunger is intuitive and easy to use. If you are, however, more drawn to 'fine writing instruments' and the elegance of a nice pen, this is not the place to start.

Every piece of this pen except for the spring and the nib is plastic. Well, 'acrylic', but not acrylic in the way that Sailors or Viscontis are acrylic--acrylic in the way that fake nails are acrylic. It feels cheap, almost disposable, in the hand. But it also IS cheap, so that's not really a flaw, it's a feature.

The cap snaps in place with a solid click, and contains an inner cap designed to keep the nib from drying out. Mine has been very effective. The pen doesn't dry out, even after a few days without use. The cap has no clip, but has a very small lanyard loop that also serves as a roll-stop. I put a bit of cotton cord on mine, so I could wear it around my neck when I'm at work. I could only stand to do that for a few days, though, because it's just too odd-looking. I'd prefer a clip. The rim of the cap is not reinforced in any way, so I do worry about cracking. Even my sturdier TWSBIs have cracked, and this one is distinctly more lightweight. I have knocked it about a fair bit, though, in pockets, purses, around my neck, closed up in notebooks--and it doesn't look any worse for the wear. The cap does post securely, and it's light enough that posting doesn't add any extra weight, but I worry about the stress posting puts on the cap rim.

The grip section is a different plastic from the body. It's a bit softer and not as clear, but still shows the feed and ink. The grip is molded, and forces that classic triangular hold that plenty of people hate. It's a bit more pronounced on this pen than on the Eco, I feel. So, if you dislike molded grips, steer clear. It is very comfortable for me, personally, but it's definitely a deal breaker for a lot of folks.

The nib on mine is excellent, but I do see a whole spectrum of complaints about the nib performance people are experiencing. It appears there may be some quality control issues going on. I'd encourage you to try your pen in person, if possible, or order from someone who will check it for you. My nib writes very smoothly and wet, which makes the extra fine look more like a fine or medium. I've owned a lot of TWSBIs, and so far all of mine have been wet writers.

This pen has its flaws, but on a flaws to dollars ratio, it's still coming up as a great value. I reach for it often and I've recommended it to a number of people. I'm recommending it to you, too, right now, with the disclaimer that it is certainly not for everyone.

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

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