ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen Review

Finally.

For a pen that has been a personal favorite of mine for years, I am finally putting pen to paper and writing my review of the ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen.

What has taken me so long? I can’t really say, other than I use it a lot, which, for some reason, puts it in a different mental work queue. It even got to the point where I used it so much, and raved about it on top of that, that I just assumed I had reviewed it. It was only when I went to search for the link of the review to share that I realized I hadn’t. Repeatedly.

I’ve had plenty of opportunity to review it, too. It was my first ystudio product, and since then, I’ve reviewed six other ystudio products. But never this one.

As the origin story goes, I first saw this pen shared by my online friend Patrick Ng and my jaw dropped. I had to have it, but as with many products from the Asian market, it was tough to acquire. I kept a keen eye on the situation, eventually discovering a shop named Kohezi in Amsterdam, who became my first ystudio dealer, and where I acquired this pen. That was in November, 2016, and it has been in regular use since.

The style is what first drew me to the Brassing Portable Fountain Pen. Hex barrels have been used in pens for quite some time, but the way this one was executed is unique enough to make it stand out from the pack. The lines are clean, and are set off by brass highlights peeking out from under the black exterior coating.

The black coating is what gives this pen its Brassing name. Over time, it will wear with use to show more of the underling brass barrel. I see more wabi-sabi in the grip section that I do in the black paint, but I do have plenty of dings on the exterior edges, giving it the well-loved look this pen deserves. You can speed up the Brassing effect with the included sandpaper, but I decided not to go that route with this pen.

The top of the pen features an integrated lanyard loop, where you can slide through the provided leather rope, and tighten it up with a brass bead. There is even an external carrying tube you can slide the lanyard through for added protection, although I haven’t seen mine for years. The leather rope and brass bead do reside permanently on my pen.

As much as I love the design of this pen, it wouldn’t be worth a mention if it didn’t perform well, and feel great doing it. In use, I would consider the Brassing Portable Fountain Pen to be a small pen. The grip section is narrow, and tapers down towards the provided #5 gold-plated steel Schmidt nib. The Schmidt nib works perfectly well, but I swapped it out for a Franklin-Christoph Steel #5 Broad Nib, with a Mike Masuyama Cursive Italic grind. It’s a mouthful, but it has proven to be the perfect compliment to this pen for years.

(Side note: Schmidt and Jowo #5 nibs are swappable, but the same #6 nibs are not due to feed differences.)

I honestly cannot speak highly enough of this pen. It’s not for everyone - with possible questions around size, barrel materials, nib choice, and cost - but I’ve found it perfect for me. The way it feels in my hand. The way the cap clicks on. The way the barrel lines up. The way the brass hits just right. The way the lanyard allows me to fidget with it. And, most importantly, the way it writes.

Luckily, since I bought mine, ystudio products have become much more accessible. Kohezi is the best choice in Europe, and even worldwide if you are looking for some of the more rare releases. In the US, distributor Kenro brought ystudio in earlier this year, meaning you can check out their full product lineups at all of my site sponsors - JetPens, Goldspot, PenChalet, and Vanness Pens.

ystudio keeps doing good work, and I keep adding them to my library. The Brassing Portable Fountain Pen was my first, and despite the competition from their own catalog, it is still the best for me.

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Nakaya Long Piccolo in Ama-Iro with a Cursive Italic Reversible Grind by Mark Bacas: 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.)

Back in May, I purchased a Nakaya Long Piccolo in Ama-Iro from my friend Rick Liebson. It came with a luscious BB nib. The Nakaya Long Piccolo is a body shape produced only for Aesthetic Bay, so nabbing one of these isn't easy. Plus, Nakaya stopped producing pens in the Ama-Iro finish in 2019. I was thrilled to add such a unique pen to my Nakaya collection.

The Long Piccolo is significantly longer than the regular Piccolo, measuring 5.9 inches/150mm in length capped as compared to 5.1 inches/130mm for the regular Piccolo. Uncapped, the Long Piccolo is 5.1 inches/130mm in contrast to the regular Piccolo, which is 4.6 inches/116mm. It's not a heavy pen at all, weighing only 19.7 grams inked and unposted (posting Nakayas is not recommended).

On the left is the Nakaya Piccolo Watching the Moon Cat. On the right is the Nakaya Long Piccolo in Ama-Iro.

Otherwise, the Long Piccolo has the same design elements as the regular Piccolo: conical finials, a body that tapers slightly outward in the middle, and a noticeable step-down from the barrel to the grip.

The Ama-Iro finish is gorgeous. It's sky blue, but with a grey cast that keeps it from being too bright.

The nib started as a double broad (BB). Unfortunately, I failed to take a photo of the nib before I had it ground. I did write with it in my journal, and, although it was smooth as silk, it was too broad and mushy for my handwriting.

I sent the pen to Mark Bacas and we discussed possible grinds. Originally, I thought the BB might make a good Predator nib. But Mark advised me to consider a reversible grind: double broad cursive italic with the nib in normal position, and fine with the nib upside down. Just look at this amazing nib now!

The BB cursive italic is smooth and forgiving yet offers a precise writing line with lots of character.

The reverse is also smooth, and the fine line it produces is the perfect width.

You can see the line width difference between the two sides here:

This nib is so much fun to use, and the ability to have a BB cursive italic and fine line with just a flip of the nib makes it versatile.

If you're interested in nib grinds that go beyond the normal options (Cursive Italic, Italic, Oblique, etc.), be sure to check out Mark Bacas's site. I now own two pens with his special nib grinds (a Predator and this Reverse Grind) and I keep both inked all the time.

(I purchased the Nakaya Long Piccolo and got the Reverse CI grind from Mark Bacas with my own funds.)

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Traveler's Company Brass 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 latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Traveler's Company is already well known for their fantastic notebook systems and line of stationery products with a classic, vintage aesthetic. I've enjoyed their notebooks, accessories, pencils, and writing utensils before, but this is the first fountain pen of theirs that I've used. I'm really quite happy with it. It isn't perfect, but it does its job well.

The Traveler’s Company Brass Fountain Pen pen is made from - you guessed it - brass, so it has a hefty weight to it, despite its small size. They've kept it quite thin, though, so it's not as heavy as many other brass pens I've used. When capped, it's very small and resembles a brass bullet casing, but when pulled out of its lid and posted, it's the size of a normal fountain pen. It has a flexible steel clip that is removable, and a lanyard loop on the top of the cap. The top unscrews to allow you to remove the clip, if you like. There are some decorative grooves hammered into the top, and the words "Traveler's Company Made in Japan" are engraved on the barrel. Otherwise there are no decorations to distract from its minimal design.

The pen is uncapped by pulling on the bottom of the pen. The cap is friction fit with some ridges that grip the pen body. The bottom part that you pull is a bit small and has no texture, so it is sometimes hard to uncap. If you've just put lotion on, it's probably not going to work. The pen body is short and narrow, similar to a Kaweco Liliput. Large hands may struggle with the narrow grip, but I found it comfortable to hold, even without posting. Keep in mind that if you use it on a lanyard, you won't be able to post it very easily, which might be a problem if you have larger hands. Or even regular sized hands.

The section unscrews from the body for inserting a standard international short cartridge. I'm not aware of any converters that will fit this wee pen. It does come with some cartridges, though, that can be refilled with bottled ink if you have a blunt syringe.

The nib is a fine #5 nib with "Traveler's Company" engraved in it. Mine writes very well. It's firm but not too scratchy and has excellent flow. It's not too wet, and the line is fine enough that it works well on scrap paper or in pocket notebooks that don't typically handle fountain pens well. Which is perfect, as that is what I typically use my pocket pens for.

The best part about this pen, besides its excellent portability, is that it ages with character, much like the Traveler's Company notebooks do. The brass begins to patina almost immediately, and even after just a few weeks of use, it's starting to look more like a family heirloom instead of something I just got in the mail. If you like to keep your pens shiny, that might be a downside, but I love it.

At $57, it's a reasonable price. It feels a bit steep for something so small, but the brass is very nice and it functions well. I love that it's small enough that I really can fit it in my pockets--which I can't actually do with a lot of pocket pens, because I have girl pockets. It's been great to have with me at work, and its ruggedness means I'm not worried about damaging it. I think it could use some texture to make it easier to pull open, but otherwise I think this is a fantastic little pen.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The 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, 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!