Namisu N1 Pocket Fountain Pen Review

If there's one thing that the stationery world doesn't lack, it's pocket fountain pens. There are a few go-to models, but not a ton of choice. That's why it's always exciting to try out new pocket-able fountain pens when they come out. They're a niche that not everyone is into, but for those of us that love a good fountain pen in a small size, it's just our thing.

I've had the opportunity to use the Namisu N1 for a few months now, and I've been really happy with it. The Namisu N1 is a small pocket fountain pen made from machined metal. It's sleek, simple, and durable, and the small size is just the cherry on top.

Measuring just 104mm (4.1"), it's roughly the same size as a capped Kaweco Sport. The pen body by itself is just under 100mm (3.9"). But, when posted, it can vary between 123mm (4.8") and 146mm (5.75") thanks to the triple o-ring friction fit design that keeps the cap in place. Due to the perfect amount of friction, you can easily adjust the length of the full pen without worrying about it sliding while you're writing. I've really enjoyed being able to adjust the length of the pen so easily — you can quickly change the feel of this pen by just extending or reducing the length.

The o-rings slide against the aluminum easily enough, but they also have plenty of friction to keep the cap in place when capped or posted. I don't have any worries about the cap moving around unless I want it to. The tolerance is just right. This pen would be terrible if the friction was any different.

The model I have was a limited run made from aluminum. The two-tone contrast of the bright polished aluminum body and the anodized blue cap is awesome. The matte clip is sleek and strong, and the knurling along the top of the pen body and the grip section is fantastic. It has a great texture and feels great when writing with the pen or when pulling the pen body out of the cap for use.

The grip section unscrews from the rest of the body, and this is where you can replace the cartridges. I'm using an international short cartridge right now, but you could fit something up to 68mm long. Some cartridge converters will fit, but it really depends on the length as well as the diameter. You should probably surrender to using cartridges with this pen if you decide to pick one up.

Writing with the pen is such a great experience. The weight of the pen is just right, and the knurled grip provides fantastic grip and comfort. On top of that, you can adjust the overall length of the pen by sliding the cap up or down the body to find that perfect fit for your hand.

The pen is fitted with a Bock nib unit — EF in my case. The nib is okay, but I wish it flowed a little better. I could fix this pretty quickly, but it's worth pointing out that it was perfectly tuned out of the box. It writes fine, but the line feels a little dry compared to other EF nibs I use consistently. There isn't any Namisu branding on the nib — it's a standard Bock nib.

While you can't get the two-tone aluminum version any more, you can grab a new titanium version of this pen. It is surely lighter than this aluminum version, but I don't think will detract from the writing experience at all. In fact, I think I'd like the lighter weight even more than this one.

Normally £98.50, this feels like a fair price for a custom machined pen that has been designed well and feels great in the hand and while writing. You can find them on sale or even nab some prototype units for a little cheaper (50% off) while they're available. Either way, this is a fantastic pen. If you like the aesthetic, try one out!

(This pen was purchased from Namisu via Kickstarter.)

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Kokuyo X Platinum Preppy Perpanep Fountain Pen Review

The Kokuyo X Platinum Preppy Perpanep Fountain Pen could be the next highly sought after disposable pen. I’ll explain that thought in a moment, but first we have to get one thing out of the way: The name of this product line is atrocious.

From Kokuyo:

“The brand name "PERPANEP" is a combination of the words "pen" and "paper". This stationery series was designed with the best combination of pen and paper in mind.”

They did this on purpose. They sat in a meeting, brainstormed, and decided this was a good idea. Kokuyo, one of the largest stationery brands in the world, with what has to be a sizable marketing budget, chose Perpanep. An anagram of “pen” and “paper.” Again, on purpose.

Le sigh.

The Perpanep paper lineup consists of three notebooks, each with their own paper type - Ultra Smooth, Smooth, and Textured. The Ultra Smooth and Textured papers are recommended for Fineliners and Fountain Pens, while the Smooth is recommended for Gel Pens, Ballpoint Pens, and Pencils. I hope to have a review here soon of all three notebooks, but in the meantime, check out Ana’a breakdown at The Well-Appointed Desk.

At launch, there were no pens or pencils designed to bring you the “best combination of pen and paper.” There were only notebooks. Certainly, if Kokuyo made pens and pencils to match, I would have jumped on those, but at least they collaborated with Platinum for a branded Preppy model.

This pen was an insta-buy the moment I saw it while browsing Yoseka Stationery. Why such an immediate positive reaction to what is ostensibly an overpriced Preppy? For that, I need to share with you the story of the Sailor Ink Bar.

When I posted my Ink Bar review in July, 2009, I had just received it from a friend in Japan. The pen eventually made its way to JetPens, and I acquired a few more. Then they vanished - no longer available for purchase anywhere.

As a nascent fountain pen user, I loved the Ink Bar. It was simple, self-contained (unrefillable,) had a great nib, wrote well, and cost $3. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one who liked it. Once they became hard to find, the amount of emails I received about the Ink Bar increased. People LOVED this pen, and Sailor did away with it, never to return.

The Perpanep, visually speaking, brought me right back to the Ink Bar, making it an instant purchase.

This pen is 100% Platinum Preppy outside of the logo on the barrel. That means, it is already one of the best inexpensive pens you can buy. The 03 Fine nib is round, smooth, and writes wonderfully. It’s refillable, using Platinum proprietary cartridges, and the cap contains their patented Slip and Seal mechanism to keep the nib from drying out.

The only true difference between the Kokuyo branded model and a traditional Platinum Preppy is price. You will pay $3 more ($7.50 vs. $4.50) for the artwork, and the beauty of the word “PERPANEP” stamped on the side of the barrel.

For me, it was worth it. The basic white plastic aesthetic is something I love, and combined with an already great product in the Preppy there was no doubt it was heading to my house. The only problem now is I am forced to figure out other stationery anagrams to get ahead of Kokuyo’s next branding adventure.

(I purchased this pen from Yoseka Stationery at full retail price.)

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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!

Traveling with Fountain Pens - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

With the holidays coming up (and with recent pen show travels), it occurred to me that there may be questions about traveling with fountain pens, specifically airplane travel. Hopefully this answers some questions and alleviates some anxiety about pens and travel.

Packing

• Figure out your writing needs - Are you attending a pen show? You may want to bring pens to sell, tune/grind or show off during after hours. Are you going away for a 3-day weekend trip where you will have lots of time to write? A few pens may be enough. Or maybe you’ll be writing lots of letters and like switching pens every page (like I do), maybe 6 or more pens are in order.

• Which pens?

• How much ink? - Will you be doing a lot of writing and therefore want a lot of high-capacity piston fillers? Or perhaps a 1-2 pens that take standard international cartridges and then pack a handful of carts instead? I have never packed ink bottles or vials just for re-inking during travel. I figure I’d either buy ink if I’m headed to a pen show or somewhere that has a FP shop nearby, or I bring some TWSBIs or Pilot 823 or other piston/vac fillers. But if you do decide to bring vials or bottles, consider wrapping them in a paper towel with bubble wrap and putting them in a baggie. If you’re extra paranoid like me, you can also wrap the cap and vial/bottle with parafilm.

• Replaceability - You might not want to bring pens that would be difficult to replace if it were to get lost or forgotten on an airplane or damaged during travels. When I went to Europe a few years ago, I packed Pilot Metropolitans (and extra carts) and TWSBIs that were readily available, not the long-sold out/sought after colors. This is a tougher decision when traveling to or from a pen show where you may be bringing special pens with you.

• Storage - Depending on the number of pens you’re bringing, you might want to use a case like a Nock Sinclair, Franklin-Christoph Penvelope or Rickshaw Pen Roll or Coozy Sleeve/Case. I usually have my pens in a pen binder/case because it’s easy to put them in my massive purse. I like binders because it’s easy to keep the pens upright (more on why that’s important in a bit).

The 48-pen case which carries my currently inked pens is from Girologio, the 20-pen case is from Franklin-Christoph, and my show-and-tell pens are in Rickshaw Pen Rolls and Coozy sleeves.

• How to Pack - You will hear a lot of advice out there as to how to bring inked pens onto airplanes. Some will tell you to have them all uninked and ink up at your destination. Some say that you should top up all your pens (so there is less air in the barrel/cartridge/piston that could cause burping in the cap during flights). Some will also suggest that you individually ziplock bag every pen. I am one of those folks who regularly has 40+ pens inked (I had 60 inked for Chicago, lol) and I do not do any of these things. I’ve only had 2 pens burp in the cap in the 4 years I’ve been traveling with FPs, and one of them was a ¼ full eyedropper. If you feel more comfortable with any of the above steps, by all means, go for it. Just know that it generally isn’t a problem if you keep the nibs up (also more on that in a bit), but putting a paper towel or two in your case wouldn’t hurt either.

• Where to put it all - Quite simply, put your pens in your carryon, unless theft or loss is not a concern (like you’re bringing two inexpensive pens or something). You can also carry a vial or two of ink in your carryon. Use good vials that many of the online pen vendors sell versus the super inexpensive ones you can get on eBay. I get a little bit paranoid about leaks, so I also use parafilm to minimize any leaks, but it won’t save a vial that has a bad seal/cap. I then put them in individual little baggies, which are all placed in yet another bag. You don’t want to have a vial leak all over you or your carryon. More on vials in this article.

• If you are bringing more ink than the 3-1-1 TSA limits will allow, they will have to go in your checked luggage. If I know I might come home with ink (or other items), I will pack a small box with some bubble wrap or packing peanuts and put that in my checked luggage.

I have two carryons when I fly - a large Rickshaw tote (which is massive and barely fits under the seat in front of me, lol) and my rollaboard suitcase. My inked pens go in my tote and any uninked pens go in the suitcase. If I’m carrying ink, they go in my rollaboard since I’m not going to ink up during the flight.

Before flight

• TSA/Security - Don’t be alarmed if the TSA agent takes a longer than usual look at the x-ray machine. Remember that most folks out there aren’t pen addicts and can’t fathom why anyone would need more than one pen. And there are many folks who have never seen a fountain pen before, let alone more than one or two of them.

• If you like to pocket carry your pens, whether in your pant pockets or shirt pockets, you should take them out and put them in your carryon before you go through security.

• If you get pulled aside and the agent asks to inspect your pens, you should keep a watchful eye to make sure your pens aren’t damaged during inspection. You can let them know if a certain pen is a twist cap before they start to pull on it. I have only been inspected once and they just opened the pen binder and did a visual inspection. And yes, I counted my pens before leaving the area. (Tip: if you fill your case to capacity, it’s easy to see if pens are missing)

• And no, inks inside the pens don’t count for as part of the liquid limit for carryons, but anything in vials or bottles do. The current limit is 3-1-1, which is a max of 3 ounces of liquid. That’s one Noodlers bottle or 88ml of ink (1.5+ regular bottles of 50ml ink), which is a lot of ink for regular travel, but it also means that you could carry on some ink that you bought during your travels, as long as you’re under the limit.

• Checking in your carryon - Sometimes flights run out of room for the larger carryons and you have to check them in at the gate. Before you hand over your bag, remove your pens and put them in your other carryon (purse, backpack or briefcase). This is to avoid potential theft as well as damage since we’ve all seen luggage getting thrown around.

On the plane

• Storing your pens - Keeping your inked pens nib up is key to minimizing leakage and burping. So I keep my tote under the seat in front of me (which is just good thing to do if you’re flying with two carryons, so you’re not an overhead bin hog) and my uninked pens are in the overhead compartment. Yes, you can put your inked pens in the overhead compartment too but there is a greater risk of burping versus nib up.
• Takeoff and Landing - These are the times when the cabin’s air pressure changes most dramatically, resulting in a greater likelihood of burping. Save the writing for when you’re waiting for the plane to push back from the gate, when you’re at cruising altitude, or after you’ve landed. It’s also a good idea to put the pens away if there’s a lot of turbulence on the flight. Burping issues aside, it’s kind of difficult to write legibly when the plane is making your lines look like jagged scribbles.

After flight

• Check your seating area - If I pull out my pens during the flight, I sometimes put the case in the seat pocket in front of me. And the first thing I do after I’m done with writing is immediately put the pen(s) back in the case and then put the case back in my tote. Regardless, I always check the seat pocket before we are landing, and make sure I don’t have any pens or papers left behind. Those of you fortunate enough to travel in the business/first case sections that have the fancy sleeping pods should definitely spend time looking through all the nooks and crannies. This is good practice even if you’re not flying with pens - I’ve seen folks leave behind passports, cell phones, iPads, etc in their seat pockets.

• Post-flight writing - Depending on where you’ve flown to, you may also wish to be careful when using a pen after flight. We often fly to Colorado, where it’s more than a mile higher up than home, and the change in air pressure can cause burping. So, keep the pen nib up when uncapping to minimize any inky messes that may happen. Ditto when unscrewing the valve on a vac filler (ask me how I found that out, lol).

Non-plane travel

• Trains - Whenever I’m in the East Coast, I often travel by train. Thankfully, I don’t need to worry about TSA/Security but most of the above tips still apply. My attention is focused on keeping my pens nearby. My tote is always with me at my seat and my carryon is either right above me, or I find a seat close to the luggage section of the train car so I can keep it in view. If I want to visit the dining car, I carry my tote/purse with me.

• Car/Bus - Often easier than travel by train (especially if you’re in your own car), same tips apply. Tips up for inked pens, though it’s less critical than with plane travel. The one exception would be for travel involving altitude changes as mentioned above.

I’m hoping that things settle down enough for it to be safe for more folks to travel soon. And when that time comes, I hope these tips help you feel more comfortable about traveling with your pens.

(All products pictured in this post were purchased by me. I received no compensation for including them in this article.)