Desiderata BAMF Pump Piston Fountain Pen: 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.)

The Desiderata Fountain Pen Company was established by Pierre Miller, a chemist, musician, and writer who makes fountain pens. His goal is to create pens that are well made, accept a variety of nibs, and offer an excellent flex-nib writing experience for those who desire it.

I'm on Pierre's mailing list. And when I received a notification about his newest creation, the BAMF Pump Piston Fountain Pen, I set an alarm on my iPhone, and as soon as orders opened, I placed mine. In part, I wanted this pen simply for its name--a name I cannot publish here--because when I saw it engraved on the pen, I laughed aloud, long and hard. I knew I needed this pen after the year I've had (and I'm not even talking about COVID).

But I also wanted the pen because it offers a unique combination of features: an innovative pump piston filling system that holds a lot of ink, a beautiful black ebonite exterior with a red ebonite grip and feed, and the ability to use a Zebra G calligraphy flex nib with a fountain pen system.

I've been on a never-ending quest to find a modern flex fountain pen because I have an anti-Midas touch with vintage pens. Believe me. I touch a vintage pen and it crumbles in my hands. I've also tried straight and oblique calligraphy pens with dip nibs. I am so bad at dipping, resulting in ink blobs, spatter, and all-around ugly calligraphy.

I've also tried multiple modern pens, including the Aurora Anniversary Flex Nib, the Noodler's Triple Tail Flex Nib, the Scribo Feel flex nib, and many others. My conclusion: Meh. Some are absolute duds. Others offer decent flex but aren't really calligraphy worthy. And others are just out of my price range right now (like the Scribo, not to mention the Montblanc Calligraphy 149).

Pierre's pens offer a wonderful middle ground: reasonable price, calligraphy flex nib (with other nib options), and a filling system so you don't have to dip the nib. Woot!

The BAMF pen comes in no-frills packaging: a small flat rate USPS box and some soft paper padding taped around the pen.

The pen is made of black ebonite--the body has a gloss finish and the cap has a brushed finish.

There's no clip or any ornamentation on the pen other than "Desiderata Pen Company" and "BAMF" (spelled out) engraved on the barrel. This is not a pen you want falling in the hands of a child who can read and who wants to know what those words mean. I've kindly blurred them out for the photo.

The pen is 150mm/5.9 inches capped, 140mm/5.51 inches unposted (with the Zebra G nib installed), and 178mm/7 inches posted (but I couldn't get the cap to post securely at all). The pen is light, weighing only 15 grams capped without ink.

It has slightly rounded ends and a small drop from cap to barrel. The blind cap blends so well into the barrel that you wouldn't know it's there. I'm glad I watched a review of the pen before I received it, because I would've tried to unscrew it at the grip end.

The grip is made of polished red ebonite which offers a classy contrast to the black pen.

The filling system is all kinds of cool. Pierre calls it a "Pump Piston." You open the blind cap to reveal more red ebonite (where the blind cap screws onto the barrel), a spring, and a swirled ebonite button. Once you're ready to ink the pen, you simply put the nib into your ink and press the pump several times until no more bubbles come out. Clean off your nib and section and you're ready to write (well . . . sort of, see below).

I opted for the Zebra G nib (you could also choose a JOWO nib in various sizes or a Nemosine .6 italic) and the red ebonite feed.

I read all of Pierre's instructions and watched his video on how to prep the pen for writing. The first step was to remove the nib and feed (which are friction fit) and to clean both of them. I used toothpaste to clean the Zebra G nib because that's what Pierre used. I rinsed the ebonite feed well.

Then I inked the pen up with Robert Oster Red Candy, sat down at the table, and began to play with the pen. I knew from watching Pierre's video that I would have to work with the nib to get it to write properly. It took some time to get the ink flowing, and even then I encountered railroading and skipping. But I kept at it. After awhile, the pen started writing more consistently, and I could do an entire page without problems.

That said, if I paused for even a short amount of time, the ink stopped flowing. I had to start all over, drawing circles, licking the nib to stimulate the ink, flexing lines to get consistent flow. This happened every time I paused or between writing sessions.

It may just be a characteristic of using a calligraphy nib on a fountain pen. Or, I may need to clean the nib more thoroughly. Or, it may be a matter of breaking the nib in. Regardless, as fiddly as the nib is, it is so much better than having to dip it in ink!!!! I really hate dipping.

I am absolutely thrilled with my BAMF. As a beginner calligrapher, I truly appreciate a pen that allows me to practice without having to deal with dipping problems. I can focus instead on creating my letters, practicing words, and developing better spacing. Yes, having to restart the pen after every pause is irritating, but it doesn't take long, and I suspect it's user error rather than the pen's fault.

Sadly, the BAMF is no longer available. Pierre makes his pens in small batches, so it's first come first served. Let us hope there will be another iteration of this pen. Your best bet, if you're interested in Pierre's pens, is to sign up for his newsletter (the sign up is at the bottom of the About page).

---

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!

Sailor Pro Gear Slim Blue Dwarf 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.)

After all these years of being involved with the pen community, I finally got around to picking up a premium Sailor fountain pen for myself. I've used plenty of them before, but just haven't purchased one for myself. I knew I didn't want one of the standard black models, so when the new Blue Dwarf limited edition crossed my feeds one day, I knew that was the one that would push me into this category.

I have several different models of Sailor's sub-$120 fountain pens, and they've all been "meh" in my mind. They're good pens, but there's nothing special about them. No matter how much more expensive they are from the High Ace Neo, they just couldn't justify the price for me. I just couldn't resist the sparkly blue color, and the limited edition aspect just expedited my decision-making process.

When deciding which nib to pick for this particular pen, I only had my own memories to compare against since I don't own any other gold-nibbed Sailors. I remember the nibs running incredibly smaller and harder than other brands, and knew I didn't want a needle-like tip for my first purchase. Since I've had really good experiences with the medium fine nibs on my Pilot pens, I decided to give that a shot for the Blue Dwarf as well. I like the "small-but-not-too-small" size that offers a nice feel and allows the ink to express it's characteristics a bit as well.

At $200, this pen wasn't quite an impulse purchase. If I wasn't already actively looking for a Sailor to add for my collection, I probably would have passed on it. I had been leaning toward the regular Pro Gear size instead of the slim, but the sparkly blue body just pulled me in. For $200, I feel like this pen is accurately priced based on the quality of materials and overall fit-and-finish. My only gripe is that they didn't include a cartridge converter automatically. I added the $8 converter to my order without hesitation, but it does seem like an oversight on Sailor's part when you're past the $100 mark for a pen that definitely needs some type of filling mechanism. To offer a comparison, the Pilot Custom 78 and Custom Heritage pens include a converter or use a piston-filling system, and they're often below the $200 mark. Sure, the Blue Dwarf is much more pleasant to look at, but the lack of a converter just feels annoying.

Aside from my converter complaints, the pen is an absolute delight. It's small and easy to carry around, and it also feels really sturdy despite its small size. It's really well weighted and feels comfortable when writing posted or non-posted. It's a versatile writer in the sense that I can pack it in the smallest cases but still enjoy all-day comfort when using it for longer writing sessions.

Like I remembered from using other Sailors, the nib is quite stiff and smaller than my other medium fine nibs. While the nib is stiff, it's still quite soft as it moves across the page. It writes very smoothly out of the box and has excellent ink flow, if not a tad on the dry side. I can get a small amount of flex out of the nib by applying pressure, but it's a minimal bit of variation. Honestly, I don't feel comfortable trying to flex this nib because of how stiff it is. It's certainly not meant to vary line width much at all. The 14k gold material is there to provide some cushion to the writing experience — nothing more.

Despite the stiff nib, this is still an extremely comfortable and easy-going pen to use. Regardless of the paper I've tried with it, it always glides across the page with ease. Even if I forget to cap it after a few minutes, the ink still flows easily. Likewise, if it's been capped for a few days without any use, it starts writing almost immediately.

The color of the material used in the pen is a bright, cheery blue with specks of glittery silver material. The name Blue Dwarf refers to a theoretical type of star, which is where I think the glittery material lends itself to the overall aesthetic. From JetPens:

It is inspired by the wonder of blue dwarf stars, which have been predicted by astrophysicists but will not arise in our universe for trillions of years. The blue dwarf is an inspiring reminder that, as incomprehensibly ancient as the universe seems, there is still far more yet to come.

The build quality of this pen is just astounding. There's no wonder Sailor pens are as pricey as they are. You're paying for excellence in quality and materials, and it easily shows every time you pick this pen up. It's such a delightful writing instrument to use and equally delightful to see laying on a table.

The Sailor Pro Gear Slim Blue Dwarf is a limited edition, with only 1,500 being produced worldwide. If you like this pen and want to pick one up for yourself, make sure you act quickly!

(JetPens 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!

Benu Pen Euphoria Fountain Pen Review

It took me a while to come around on Benu Pen. I like extreme designs and wild colors as much as anyone, but when Benu first launched, they didn’t grab me as a good match for what I like to experience when using a fountain pen.

As the brand continued to grow and gain in popularity, I kept an eye on the new designs, shapes, and materials, but remained on the sidelines for my own use. My thought process on Benu as a brand begin to change at a pen show several years ago when I was working at the Vanness Pens table. That weekend, we sold more Benu Pens than any other pen brand. Since then, I couldn’t help but think I was missing something.

Within the past year I have watched as Benu has gone bigger and bolder with their designs. In turn, my desire to try one out for the first time grew and grew. The shapes of the pens are just as unique, and the colors are even more wild than when Benu launched, and I started to understand what the brand was selling.

Benu Pens are fun. And who doesn’t want to have fun with their stationery?

The Scepter was the turning point for me. This is a pen that, while it isn’t my barrel shape of choice, was interesting enough to check out, especially with the perfect combination of colors chosen for the designs. The Grand Scepter kept the same style, but ramped up the size and colors of the Scepter, and I knew at that point I wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer.

Benu has always done a great job with community outreach, and I’ve been lucky to work with them on products that Pen Addict writers have reviewed over the years, and have used for giveaways. When they sent us the Grand Scepter that Sarah reviewed recently, the hook was set. Getting to check it out before I sent it off was all I needed to know that it was the one for me.

But, before I could pick out a Scepter for myself, Benu reached out with yet another new design and new shape that they wanted to send over for us to look at. And once I saw the new Euphoria model, I knew I wasn’t sending it out for review. This one was going to be mine.

The biggest change you will notice with the Euphoria is the introduction of a traditionally shaped fountain pen barrel. Well, at least as traditional as a non-traditional pen company could be. They have had plenty of close-to-traditional shapes in the past, but the Euphoria, with its more standard taper, build, and clip, could practically be called “classic” in relation to the rest of the Benu catalog.

And the best part? They kept the wild materials a focus throughout this new lineup.

I chose the French Poetry model to review, but that was far from an easy choice. Benu does such a great job with materials that there isn’t a single bad one in the bunch. The only choice you will have to make is do you want wild, or wild plus glow in the dark? That’s a lovely decision to have to make.

So, how does it perform? Wonderfully. When Benu first launched, I was always concerned with the sharp taper of the grip section, especially in relation to the size of the barrel. The Euphoria gets those dimensions correct for my hands, and it feels great to use. It is a fully resin barrel, so it is lightweight, but the material is dense enough to not feel like a feather, even unposted. Unposted is probably to correct choice with the Euphoria lineup as well. The cap and barrel are designed to post, but it makes an already large pen even larger in that configuration.

Benu uses Schmidt nibs, which I’ve always found to be firm and consistent. The Fine steel nib in this pen is no different. In comparison to other popular steel nib choices, it has more of a Jowo feel and line width (firm, fine) than Bock (soft, wide) in my mind. Of course, that is right up my alley. The only downside is the size range available, with the only choices being Fine, Medium, or Broad. I’d love to see an EF or 1.1 mm option eventually.

And finally, the price. At $118 for standard materials, and $128 for glow in the dark, the Euphoria is priced right. The same goes for the entirety of Benu’s lineup. Is there a lot of competition in that price range, and lower? Of course. But Benu brings a level of fun to the writing experience that is difficult to compete with. And for that, I say job well done.

To see everything that Benu has to offer, all of my site sponsors - JetPens, Goldspot, Pen Chalet, and Vanness Pens - carry a wide range of models in an even wider range of materials. Be sure to check out what they have in stock if you are interested in adding a Benu Pen to your library.

(Benu Pen 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!