Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Diplomat Magnum Asphalt Gel Pen Review

For me, a big reason that I like any pen is the color and type of material used in the body. In short, this is the aesthetic appeal of the pen, and I would guess that this also drives a majority of pen purchases for other people as well. But, the aesthetic appeal can only carry the pen so far — it also needs to function well as a writing instrument.

The Diplomat Magnum gel pen is a sleek and stylish click pen that features an asphalt gray finish. The finish is a sleek combination of dark gray material with silver flecks mixed in. It's a pretty material that I enjoy quite a bit.

The Magnum also uses a standard Parker-style refill, which is a really good thing since the included refill is quite an under-performer.

When I pick up a gel pen, I usually don't have any concerns about skipping, hard starts, or other issues that typically crop up with ballpoint refills. With the Diplomat, I was bound for disappointment in the refill area.

The gel refill in the Magnum is unlike any others I've used. Picking the pen up and writing with it isn't normally possible without doing a few seconds of scribbling on scratch paper to get the ink flowing. Once the ink starts flowing, the delivery is skippy and inconsistent. If you stop writing for more than 10 seconds, the ink has already dried up and requires more scribbling. All told, it's an incredibly frustrating refill.

The fact that this pen accepts all Parker-style refills really saves its bacon. This is a truly attractive pen that feels good in the hand, and it's also a pretty good value at $20. My only advice is that you need a replacement refill from the beginning if you choose to purchase this pen. There's a chance that the refill I have is a dud, but gel duds usually refuse to write altogether in my experience.

With all this in mind, it's hard to recommend this pen unless you're absolutely in love with the aesthetics. Like I said, it feels great in the hand and operates perfectly as long as you discount the refill performance. Replacing the refill is a must, and this is an extra cost if you don't already have some Parker-style refills lying around.

If you like the style of the Magnum, I suggest you take a look at the Retro 51 Tornado lineup. They're a tad more expensive, but they're better pens that also feature much better refills. Plus, with the wide variety of styles, you're bound to find one that matches your fancy.

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

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Posted on January 17, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Diplomat, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl Special Edition: 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 Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl is a special edition with gorgeous turquoise swirls against a black background. The pen is complemented with palladium accents and a rhodium-plated 18k nib.

Although Pelikan calls the material used for this pen “unique,” they must mean the color, as the material appears to be common acrylic, albeit with a distinctive color and pattern. It is quite striking, especially in sunlight. It exhibits depth and chatoyance, and the color changes from turquoise to blue depending on the light.

Pelikan’s packaging is elegant, although I never know what to do with fancy boxes other than store them in my office closet in case I decide to sell the pen one day. Nevertheless, the wood-grain-like box is sturdy, and inside is a faux-leather envelope encasing the pen. I suppose you could use the envelope as a carrying case if you wanted, but it seems rather flimsy, especially the elastic band. I much prefer Franklin-Christoph’s genuine leather, zippered pen envelopes.

I used to think the M8XX series pens were too large for my hand, but over the years of pen collecting, I’ve been drawn to larger pens. I now find M400s and M600s too small, and I prefer the M800 size. It is 140mm capped, 127mm uncapped, and 165mm posted. It fits perfectly in my hand and it is well-balanced and not too heavy (29 grams). I don’t write with my pens posted, but you certainly can post this pen. I think it throws the balance off, but others might find the extra weight more comfortable.

Like most (if not all) Pelikan pens, the M805 Ocean Swirl is a piston filler. The piston turns smoothly, as you would expect from German engineering. It holds about 1.5 ml of ink. One thing I really love about Pelikan pens is that you can remove the nib easily and thoroughly clean the barrel.

The screw-on cap sports the usual Pelikan beak clip with a palladium ring engraved “Pelikan Souverän Germany.”

The cap finial is different from other Pelikan pens I own in that the birds are etched into a matte silver background. My other Pelikans have shiny finials, but I like the matte finish.

Although you can see some translucence in the cap with you hold it up to the light, the barrel is opaque. So, unlike some of the other Pelikan pens, you can’t really see the ink level.

I ordered a fine nib for my Ocean Swirl. It has Pelikan’s usual gorgeous scrollwork and bird motif.

It writes smoothly. The line is closer to a medium in width, but that’s not a surprise. Pelikan nibs tend to be wider than Japanese ones.

There’s nothing fancy or special about this fine nib—no flex or line variation, but I wasn’t expecting any. I may eventually send this nib off to have it ground into a stub or italic because those grinds make my handwriting look 100% better.

My only disappointment with this pen is the color variation. My pen has two swaths of gorgeous swirly turquoise and two swaths that appear much darker with a little turquoise. (The color difference is much more noticeable when the pen is not in direct sunlight).

*Note the beautiful swirls on this side of the pen.*

*Yet this side of the pen is much darker with glimpses of turquoise.*

I wish my pen had more consistent turquoise swirly goodness than it does. Apparently, this varies from pen to pen. So, if you want an Ocean Swirl with lots of color, I suggest that you purchase it from a brick and mortar store where you can choose a specific pen. Or, if you are ordering online, ask the retailer to send you photos of the Ocean Swirls they have in stock, and pick one with lots of turquoise.

Pelikan recently reduced their prices, which is a welcome change for pen collectors. Whereas last year the retail price for the Pelikan M800 Renaissance was $800.00, this year the M805 Ocean Swirl retails for $650. Actual purchase price varies a bit between retailers. You can purchase the Ocean Swirl from Goldspot Pens for $519.95.

Pros

The Ocean Swirl is a beautiful pen with eye-catching colors. It’s one of those pens you can stare at for a long time just for the sheer pleasure of enjoying the design.
When you buy a Pelikan, you know you’re getting a terrific piston filling mechanism and this pen is no exception.
The M8XX size is a good size for many people. The pen is well balanced and comfortable in the hand. People with small hands may find it too large, but I have small hands and the M800 size is perfect for me.
My nib wrote perfectly, straight out of the box. This is usually my experience with Pelikan pens, but there’s always a possibility of getting a dud. Just make sure you buy from a retailer that can test the nib for you prior to shipping or that has a good return policy.

Cons

My only complaint about this pen is that mine doesn’t have enough turquoise color to it. It has two swaths of turquoise and two swaths of black, and if I don’t screw the cap on just right, the swaths don’t match up, which makes me crazy. I strongly suggest that you ask to see the Ocean Swirl before you purchase it.

(I purchased the Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl with my own funds with a discount from Vanness Pens.)

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Posted on January 12, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under Pelikan, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

ATELEIA Stainless Steel Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

When it comes to machined pens, I’m always game to try another one. In most cases, machined pens follow a lot of the same rules, which I assume is due to the medium. With the ATELEIA stainless steel pen, it manages to deliver a compelling pen in a unique, sleek package.

ATELEIA is a small shop that operates out of Phoenix, AZ under the direction of Chris Williams, the mastermind behind the designs. Like so many crowd-funded pens and stationery products, the ATELEIA pen was born from a personal need. Since 2014, Chris has been designing products and growing his business, but the simple pen was what started it all (after the hand-made journal cover, of course).

The pens offered by ATELEIA are all the same design, but are available in different types of metal. From aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and brass, all the popular options are there. There aren’t any titanium versions of the pen yet, and I hope that might be a future campaign due to the lightweight characteristic of the metal.

So, what’s special about this pen? Well, to me it’s all about simplicity without sacrificing function. When you first look at the pen, it looks like a smooth piece of metal stock with slightly concave ends. When you unscrew the cap, that’s where you start to notice the high level of quality and care put into the product. Under the cap, there’s a small piece holding the refill in place, but nothing else. I wasn’t sure how I would like the feel of the pen when writing, but I was surprised to find that I really enjoy writing with it. In most cases, slim, slick metal pens usually don’t suit me. With the ATELEIA, I found myself reaching for it every day because I just like how it feels in the hand—both when writing and handling it.

Along with the pen, there’s a small wrench and a couple of lengths of hard tubing for matching up different refills with the pen body. According to the site, you have two variations of the pen that cater to several different popular refills. One version accepts Pentel EnerGel, Uni-ball Signo 207 and DX, and Monteverde rollerball refills, while the other (the one used in this review) accepts Pilot Hi-Tec-C, Pilot G2 (or Juice!), Schmidt Rolling Ball Line, or Fisher Space Pen refills. Externally, the two variations are identical.

To remove or replace the refill, simply use the provided wrench to unscrew the refill bit. In some cases, you might need to trim down the plastic tubing to get the perfect fit, but this isn’t new territory for machined pens that are intended to fit a variety of refills. In the case of the version I have, the Pilot G2, Juice, and Hi-Tec-C refills fit perfectly without any additional plastic tubing. The included spring is enough to keep the refill in place when writing.

As a quick side-note, I did try to use a Parker-style refill with this pen, but it didn’t work. Unlike the Fisher refill, Parker-style refills don’t have the necessary increase in the refill diameter to keep the refill from protruding too far past the bit. It technically fit in the pen, but I couldn’t screw on the cap because the refill was too long. Still, with this list of compatible refills, you have plenty of color and size options to last a long while.

I’ve really enjoyed using this pen, but there has been one minor niggle that I notice almost every time I use the pen. The piece that threads into the cap is only partially threaded, meaning there are two flat sides that accept the wrench. In theory, this is an efficient and clean solution to the refill replaceability problem. In practice, the pen cap tends to get mis-threaded or stuck when trying to screw it on due to the interrupted threads. As long as you’re careful to screw the cap on evenly and be patient when it does get stuck, it’s not a big deal.

The other thing to consider is that you cannot post the cap with this pen! Since I rarely post the cap on my pens, this isn’t a big deal for me, but it might be a deal-breaker for some.

Overall, I really love the simple and efficient design of the ATELEIA stainless steel pen. It’s great that the pen is compatible with about 7 different popular refills, so you’re not locked down to a single type. The packaging and general aesthetic is nice and adds to the high-quality feel of the product. At $79.00 for the raw aluminum model and $105 for the stainless, it’s a bit on the expensive side, but it’s not too far off from other metal pens offered by other small companies. With the amount of fit and finish, I think the price is fair, especially considering the material (stainless steel in this case). Obviously, the prices vary based on the material you pick, which includes brass and copper as well.

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

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