Posts filed under Fountain Pens

PenBBS 456 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 vow to stop being surprised by the quality of PenBBS fountain pens, because they're consistently good. This is my third pen, and I always seem to expect a lower quality from such a budget-friendly pen. Those expectations are always cast aside as soon as I take the pen out of the box. A nice box, too, actually, with a sturdy board and magnetic flap closure.

The 456 model feels solid, with a substantial acrylic body in a gorgeous color. There is a chrome cap ring, a sturdy clip with a lovely art deco silhouette, and another metal band where the end cap unscrews. All of the fittings are flush and smooth with no rough edges or machine marks anywhere. The cap band says "PENBBS 456" and "Shanghai."

The cap unscrews on metal threads. The grip section is tapered at the center to give a comfortable, balanced grip. The threads and step from the grip to the body are all smooth and the pen is very comfortable to hold.

The steel nib is two-toned and stamped with scrollwork and "PENBBS since 2005" as well as the nib size, which in this case is a fine nib. It writes a true fine line, with minimal feedback and a very smooth experience. It's closer to the dry end of the spectrum, but not unpleasantly. The writing experience overall is very good, with the pen feeling well balanced and comfortable.

The coolest feature of this pen is its vacuum filling system, which makes it a high-capacity ink tank. It fills the same way a Pilot 823 or TWSBI Vac does, and likewise needs to have the endcap unscrewed if you want to keep the ink flowing for long writing sessions. When screwed completely closed, the plunger serves as a stopper, which makes this a great pen to carry if you're worried about leaks, especially when flying.

Despite all these cool features, my favorite thing about this pen is the gorgeous material. The flaked acrylic has deep turquoise veins with pearlescent white chips that flash violet and blue and bright green, like opal or moonstone. It's pretty in any light, but when it catches the light just right, it's absolutely stunning.

The PenBBS 456 retails for around $56, which is a great deal for a pen of this quality. It's certainly one of the best pens you can get under $75, especially if you like pretty acrylics and high-capacity filling systems. To be blunt, I have pens that cost nearly $300 that are not as nice as this one. If you want to be financially sensible without sacrificing on writing experience or aesthetics, this is the perfect choice.

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

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Posted on August 25, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under PenBBS, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Mythic Pens The Prime Fountain Pen Review

The Prime is the headlining standard from pen maker The Mythic Pen Co. The owner, Brad, hand-makes each pen and offers 8 different models, mostly fountain pens, with rollerball and ballpoint options as well. Custom pens can be commissioned, though the shop doesn't list any current custom openings. Your best bet for seeing what Mythic has to offer is to head to their Instagram feed, Mythicpens, where it appears pens are sold as they are made. Or if you're lucky, catch them at a pen show.

This model is The Prime. It's quite large with straight sides, flat finials, and only a slight taper to the grip section. There's no furniture or flourish--it's a very minimal design that lets the material do all the talking.

Mythic sources their acrylics from lots of indie blank-makers. This particular material is called Basilisk and comes from Tim Crowe of Turnt Pen Co. In low light the color looks dark and subtle, but when the sun hits it, you get the full effect of silvery-sparkle-red-blue-purple loveliness. It's another one of those pens where I can lose time staring at all the shapes in the color swirls.

The Prime has a twist cap with very smooth threads, and the section unscrews from the body. It can take a cartridge, converter, or eyedropper fill. It writes well, with good balance, though it's a bit large for my hands. The lack of significant taper on the grip section makes the size a little harder to manage for me, but if you prefer larger pens and wide grips, this may be the perfect one for you.

The Prime takes a #6 JoWo nib. This one is a fine point, and it writes perfectly. The flow is good and it writes smoothly while showing fun ink characteristics. I do find that it dries quickly between uses. Even with daily use, it needs some prompting to get started. Once it's going, it's delightful. Perhaps it's a cap seal issue, or a feed issue, or it may be the ink I'm using (most likely the ink, but more science is needed).

The baseline Prime is priced at $175, which can go up if any fancy features are added. That's well in line with similar pens from similar makers and it's the least expensive of Mythic's full-sized fountain pens.

If you're a maker-pen addict, or acrylic-pen addict, Mythic's lineup is well worth checking out.

(This pen was purchased from Mythic Pens at regular retail at the 2022 Atlanta Pen Show.)

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Posted on August 18, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Mythic Pens, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Otto Hutt Design 06 Fountain Pen Review

The Otto Hutt Design 06 is my latest dalliance with the century-old German brand. A century old, and you haven’t heard of them before? Don’t worry, you are not alone. In the US market, for example, they have only been widely available since Kenro Industries inked a distribution deal with them a few years ago.

My introduction to the brand was the all-black Design 03, followed by the Blue Wave of the Design 04. I got along extremely well with both of those pens, so I decided to keep carrying on up the charts and test out the Arctic Blue Design 06.

Being the third Otto Hutt fountain pen to land on my desk, you wouldn’t be surprised to know how consistent the 06 experience has been with the previous two. Right from the first inking, I knew it was going to be good, and that thought has remained the same over the last two months of use.

Let’s start with the build quality of the pen first. With 100 years of manufacturing in their back pocket, Otto Hutt knows what the end user experience should be like. Not only do they manufacture their own lineup of pens, they make pens for other brands you have heard of as well. If you think their pens favor other popular German brands, that’s no coincidence.

The Design 06 features an all-metal barrel that tapers on each end, with a noticeable concave metal grip section. I always wonder if this deep of concave will be too much for me, and it never is. It fits my hand perfectly. The balance is nice, too. For a metal pen, it’s not overly heavy, or off-kilter in any way.

Included in the build quality is the nib. I have a steel Extra Fine nib in my Design 06, and it is glorious. It is firm, which is my preference for any type of nib, and the line right out of the box was perfect. It continues to perform flawlessly with the Wearingul Cheshire Cat ink I’m using with it. The only question I have on the nib is who makes it-Jowo? Bock? Schmidt? I don’t think it matters, because it is flawless. I will say it feels more like a Jowo/Schmidt nib due to the firmness, so I’ll try to get some clarification this week.

Everything related to the build and performance the Otto Hutt Design 06 is unimpeachable. The same goes for the 03 and 04 from my previous reviews. And, as with those previous reviews, that leaves price as the only part of the equation to sort out. It’s an important part, and I believe Otto Hutt’s biggest challenge.

At $236 for the pen as set up in this review, I think it is fairly priced. The challenge is the competition, and where it stacks up to lower priced steel nibbed pens, and equivalently priced gold nib pens. Otto Hutt loses both of those battles.

I’m raving about how this steel nib performs, but you know what other steel nib performs similarly, if not better? The one in the $20 Pilot Metropolitan. Or in the $35 TWSBI ECO. Or any maker pen with a Jowo nib. Steel nibs are fantastic, and it’s costs very little for a great one. On the gold nib side of the ledger, the 06 resides in the same neighborhood as the Platinum 3776 and Pilot Custom 912, two of my most recommended pens. That’s a tough sell from a value perspective.

Then you have to consider the style of the Design 06. Is it $150 better than the very similar Lamy Studio? I’d argue not.

Otto Hutt is not here for your arguments, though. It is a good enough pen to stand on its own, with a price that places it squarely in the premium steel nib fountain pen bracket. Being near the top of that bracket isn’t a negative, but you better bring your A-game when that is what you are shooting for. Otto Hutt does that with the Design 06.

(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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