Lamy Studio Glacier 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!)

I haven't been a big Lamy fan, in the past. I think they're good pens, but they don't beckon to me the way some other brands do. I'm rethinking that after spending a few weeks using this Lamy Studio. The Glacier color is gorgeous, of course, but it also writes wonderfully and feels overall very well made.

The pen body is aluminum, coated with a matte finish in this lovely frosty blue. The accents are super shiny chrome. There is no step between the cap and the barrel, and you can barely even feel the seam where the two meet, it is machined so precisely. The slight taper at each end of the pen creates a look that is somehow futuristic and retro at the same time. The clip may be my favorite feature--it almost looks as if it's twisted, with the end of the clip pinched out into a propeller shape. It's a firm clip, but flexible enough to be useful.

The cap pulls off rather than twisting, and closes with a very satisfying click. A surprising feature is that it also clicks in place to post, held in such a way that it is secure, but doesn't actually touch the metal against the pen's finish, so it won't scratch. That is some thoughtful design.

The grip section is chrome, and it's the only part of the pen that I don't like. It's quite slippery, and follows the tapered design, so your fingers naturally slide down the grip toward the nib after any extended use. I've solved this a little bit by actually keeping a more relaxed grip on the pen. My hands are less likely to slip if I'm not squeezing the grip.

The nib is steel, and it is the same nib used on the Safari and Al Star (which means you can swap it out easily if you want to play with other sizes). I've had mediocre luck with Lamy nibs as far as QC goes, but this one writes very well. The EF is nicely fine with excellent control without feeling too dry. I've been using it with the included blue cartridge, though the pen also came with a proprietary converter. I didn't want to mess up the converter, because I assumed I'd be gifting this pen to a friend or stranger after my review was complete. Because, you know, I'm not a Lamy person. Except maybe I'm a Lamy person and this pen is totally staying in my collection. In fact, I'm now mad at myself for missing some of the past special edition colors.

This one is also quite limited, so if you fancy this icy blue, don't wait too long to grab one. The MSRP is $99, but you can snag one for about $79. It is well worth that. That actually seems low. I'm not complaining, though, because I might need another one.

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

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Faber-Castell Hexo 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.)

Faber-Castell is a brand that I'm overly familiar with, but one that I don't give enough attention. I have several of their fountain pens, and I enjoy using them all. For whatever reason, they don't make it into my rotation often enough, and it's not because they're unworthy or sub-par in any way. The newest Faber-Castell to make it into my collection, the Hexo, has reminded me of what great pens this company make and why I should consider them more often.

The Faber-Castell Hexo is a wide-bodied fountain pen that features a hexagonal body shape. The edges of the hexagon are soft and rounded off, but they still have plenty of definition to feel good in your hand and prevent the pen from rolling around on your desk or table. The pen has a slight taper that starts at the top of the cap and goes to the bottom of the pen. This makes for a pleasing shape, but also makes it possible for the cap to post on the back of the pen.

For those of us that prefer things to be in order or alignment with everything else, this pen has a built-in mechanical system that ensure the edges of the hexagons are always aligned. My inner OCD-self rejoices when this happens. For example, I really don't like it when the edges of my Caran d'Ache 849 fountain pen don't line up. I twist the cap a bit to line them up manually, but it's fiddly. This isn't necessary with the Hexo, as the inner cap always aligns to the hexagonal edges of the pen. It's a beautiful little tough of detail that I really appreciate. And, due to the unique mechanism for keeping everything lined up, this means the cap is also a click-on as opposed to a screw on lid, making this pen very easy to cap and uncap securely.

The clip on this particular pen isn't my favorite. It's plenty strong to stay in place once it's clipped onto something, but the issue is getting it clipped in the first place. Since the clip is so strong and the raised lip at the bottom of the clip is very shallow, it's really easy to get stuck on the fabric that you're trying to clip it to. In most cases, this means you're just pushing down the opening of the pocket or sleeve instead of the clip easily sliding over the edge of the pocket or sleeve fabric. With a little attention to how you angle the pen into the pocket, you can successfully clip the pen onto things, but it does take a little more attention than I'd like. Again, the nice thing is that the pen doesn't budge once it's clipped in.

The grip section of this pen is uniform all around and features a nice shape for gripping the pen while writing. It's not as opinionated as a Lamy Safari, but it's still really comfortable and provides a nice shape that keeps your fingers from sliding up on the nib while writing. It's also fairly transparent and gives you a clear view of how much ink is flowing through the feed. When you can start to see the dry feed, it means your ink is almost gone.

Speaking of ink, this pen also accepts international cartridges and cartridge converters. I'm using a generic international converter so that I can use the ink I prefer, but the pen does come with a single black short international cartridge. Unfortunately, the converter is not included with this pen. At $42, I feel like a converter would be a nice thing to include with the pen without impacting the bottom line.

Finally, the nib. The steel nib on this pen is small and black, matching the rest of the pen perfectly. The EF nib on my copy of this pen is smooth and crisp. I didn't need to make any modifications to the nib out of the box, which makes me really happy. I've really enjoyed the firmness of the nib and the crisp lines it makes on the paper. But, even though it's plenty firm, it still writes smoothly without any scratching or dragging. The Diamine ink I'm using is average in terms of lubrication, but it's also not a super wet ink. Overall, I've been really happy and impressed with the writing performance of this little nib.

The Faber-Castell Hexo took me a bit by surprise. I wasn't expecting something so enjoyable, but that's entirely my fault for looking past this brand and what they have to offer. At a price that lines up with the Lamy Al-Star and Kaweco Sport, it provides great performance with a unique form factor that many people will enjoy over the standards that Lamy, Kaweco, and Pilot currently offer. And, if all black isn't your thing, you can also choose from Silver and Rose.

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

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Kaweco Sport Coral Collectors Edition 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!)

Kaweco Sport pens are petite but practical, colorful, fun, and affordable--making them the Pokemon of the pen world. They are almost too collectible, between new color series releases and a scattering of limited and collectors editions.

This new Collectors Edition is a Coral color--not to be confused with (or to be entirely confused with) the Kaweco Sport Coral Guilloche Special Edition released by Fontoplumo earlier this year. While the two are extremely similar in name and color, there are a few obvious differences. The Coral Guilloche has gold debossed lettering that specifically says "Coral by Fontoplumo" on one of the pen facets, and the body has a patterned texture to it. This Coral Collector's edition has the classic Sport smooth plastic, and the lettering is debossed but has no color to it. It says "collectors edition" on the facet. See? Totally different. I'm of the bold opinion that you can't have too many coral pens, anyway.

Speaking of bold, this baby comes with a double broad nib option, which happens to be the model I was sent. This nib is a show-off. It will absolutely highlight the best properties of your ink as it glides across the page. This thing is for writing with emphasis, and I love it.

The one downside to the double broad nib is that it will eat through your ink supply faster, and this wee pen only takes short standard international cartridges (or a few options of specially-made wee converters that, by all accounts, are not great). You can find a lot of lovely colors and inks in short cartridges, though, including some beautiful ones from Kaweco. And there's always the option of refilling your cartridge with a syringe. There are also success stories out there from the brave souls who have eyedroppered their Kaweco Sports, but that's a step outside my comfort zone.

Kaweco nibs are easy to swap around, so you can customize that element of your pen, if you like. Replacement nibs are about $11.50 for steel, which I think is very reasonable. You can also get clips that friction fit in a variety of metal color options for around $6. Considering this pen costs under $25 to begin with, you can get a lot out of a low investment here. The price point puts it in a great range for gifts, too.

Kaweco Sports are tiny workhorse pens. Workhorse ponies. Workponies? In any case, they are small, adorable, tough, reliable, and full of rainbows. This coral color is incredibly charming--classic, but bright and cheerful. I'm not entirely clear where the fuzzy line is drawn between special editions, collectors editions, and limited editions, but I imagine this is one you don't want to wait on.

(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!