Retro 51 Tornado Black Acrylic Fountain Pen Review

Retro 51 fountain pens have been on the market for a while now and I finally got my hands on one from JetPens. I went with the Black Acrylic - Fine Nib model and while it is beautiful and has a fantastic nib, there are a couple of issues keeping this pen from being a daily writer.

First off, the grip section is exceedingly poor for a pen of this quality. It is a cheap, slick plastic that does not fit in with the overall design of the pen. I'm assuming Retro 51 made this choice for a good reason, but for the life of me I don't know what it could be. Awkward looks aside, it is a bad gripping surface. My fingers slide constantly when writing.

Secondly, the balance is wrong in both posted and unposted writing modes. Unposted, the pen is too short, too light, and uncomfortable to write with. It is very close to an unposted Pilot Prera. I don't like writing with the Prera unposted either, but the difference is the Prera is perfectly weighted and balanced when posted. The Retro 51 is not. The sexy cap bling and knurling make the pen too top heavy.

The Schmidt nib, on the other hand, is good. As in really, really good. I chose a fine nib and it is smooth, consistent, and a true joy to write with. The barrel design outstanding as well, as we all have come to expect from this popular pen maker.

In the end, the problem with this pen is there is no middle ground. The nib and design are 10's, the section and balance are 1's. I expect a more functional pen than this from Retro 51.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Tactile Turn Mover Pen Review

Will Hodges and I have played email tag since he launched his first Kickstarter campaign for the EiMIM Pen in 2012. We have never been able to get in sync for a product review until now but the wait has been worth it. The Tactile Turn Mover is one of the best machined pens I have reviewed.

Will sent over a sample of the Dark Red Mover pen for me to check out and I was impressed right out of the envelope. First of all, the Dark Red finish is spotless. Admittedly, this would not have been my first color choice but I am glad I got to see how nice it is in person. Pictures don't do it justice.

Color aside, what really stands out with the Mover is the overall fit, feel, and finish of the pen. In the hand it feels outstanding. The weight is good, the balance is solid, the clip is tight, the knock is quiet, and the grip - wow - the grip is awesome. Will calls the grip a "custom lay pattern". The conical grooves start at the tip of the pen and run about an inch up the barrel. When gripping the pen it feels like your fingers lock into place, but it is comfortable at the same time. Much more so than a traditional knurled pattern which can get rough to hold over time if not done right.

Dat Grip.

The Mover ships with an 0.38 mm Pilot G-2 refill, and fits a wide variety of other refills as well. Will can add another to the list: The Pilot Juice. I recently bought a few 0.38 mm blue black pens to have on hand so I swapped in that refill and went to town. It fit perfectly with no modifications and no gap around the tip opening. The tolerances seem to be spot-on.

Along with the Mover, Will is offering up the Shaker which takes Fisher Space Pen and compatible refills. Both models come in the standard aluminum machined finish, as well as Black, Dark Red, Desert Sand, and Green anodized finishes.

While I received this review sample at no charge I am so happy with it I put my money where my mouth is and backed this project for an additional Mover. Well done Will, and for your next Kickstarter I would like you to manufacture that bitchin' jacket you are wearing in the video.

For more reviews of the Tactile Turn Mover and Shaker check out posts from Ed Jelley and The Clicky Post.

Guest Review: Vintage 1950s Montblanc Meisterstück 146 Fountain Pen

If you are reading this blog you likely have a grail pen, something that you think is beyond or in some way more exciting than what is in your current collection. I have been collecting fountain pens for almost 10 years now and I strive to buy great writers over anything else. With the help of some friends at the Fountain Pen Network I landed on the Montblanc 146, specifically one from the early 1950s as the pens of this era had the most appealing features of the Meisterstück (masterpiece) line: a celluloid body, a softer 14C gold nib, and the flat ebonite “ski slope” style feed.

The 146 is a piston fill fountain pen that is larger than the 144 (Classique) and smaller than the 149. Compared with the modern 146 (often referred to as the “LeGrand”) the vintage 146 is slightly shorter with a shapelier barrel and deeper engravings on the gold furniture. The vintage 146 also has a larger more attractive two-tone 14-carat gold nib.

Vintage 146 Nib on the left, modern 146 nib on the right.

The 146 fits comfortably in my hand and weighs approximately 26 grams full of ink, and 18.5 grams uncapped. This pen does not post well. I have to apply more pressure than I would like to get the cap to sit straight on the body so I usually write with it uncapped. At 4.75” uncapped and just under 5.5” capped (not posted) it’s average sized and will be comfortable for most people to use.

The nib is the softest non-flex nib that I have used and provides some mild line variation. The buttery soft springy writing experience makes the 146 one of my favorite fountain pens. The nib writes wide and wet for a fine. The pen always starts right away and does not skip. I have left the cap off for over a half hour and it started without a hitch.

The vintage 146 uses a unique two-stage piston filling system that holds a lot of ink. You unscrew the piston knob, which will come up away from the body, but this does not move the piston. You keep twisting until you feel a transition at this point the knob becomes harder to turn (but still smooth) and no longer moves away from the body; it is at this stage that the piston moves. The mechanism behind this is complicated and likely discontinued due to cost. One weak point is the cork piston head; it is likely less durable than the synthetic ones found in most modern pens.

Being around 60 years old there is some loss of plate on the gold furniture but overall it is in great shape. If you look closely you can see that the nib tines are not in perfect alignment but the pen writes without a hitch so I haven’t been in a huge rush to get it to a nibmeister.

The prices of these pens have been going up and can be bought between $500-$700 on auction sites and for around $900 from a reputable dealer of vintage pens (I highly recommend the latter option). I bought mine on an auction site and got lucky as my pen turned out to be in great shape and functioned wonderfully.

To me the price is worth it as it offers a fantastic writing experience with an elegant high quality body but these pens can be tricky to buy and even trickier to fix if you get a bad one. I highly recommend the vintage 146 to experienced fountain pen users.