Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Esterbrook Estie Lilac Fountain Pen Review

There is a style of pen that I have been enjoying immensely over the past year or two. I don’t know if this particular grouping has a name, but they share the same style of design, and fall in the same general price point. Leonardo Officiana and Montegrappa make pens that meet whatever this artificial criteria is, as does Esterbrook, which I am finally getting around to reviewing.

I know, I’m a little late to the new Esterbrook party, but I’m here now. And the Esterbrook Estie in Lilac has been proven to be worth the wait.

The story of Esterbrook is a long one, primarily as one of the great American writing brands for a period of over 100 years. It saw a small, yet ultimately failed, reappearance in 2014, prior to being bought out by US luxury goods distributor Kenro Industries in 2018. And from what I’ve seen so far, Kenro has Esterbrook on the right track as a new representation of the brand, not a direct throwback to history.

Any expectation that Kenro would mimic the past was thrown out quickly with the release of the flagship pen in the lineup, the appropriately named Estie. It is a traditional cigar-shaped pen, made in various acrylics from basic Black, to Tortoise Shell, to the Lilac I am currently using, and many more in between - including some limited editions.

The barrel sizes offer range as well, with a Slim model, a Standard, such as this one, and a few Oversized models mixed in for good measure.

While they may not look like your grandparents Esterbrook pens, Kenro did make sure that you could use your vintage Esterbrook nibs with these new pens by creating the MV Nib Adapter. It’s an add-on, but well-worth it if you have a hoard of vintage Esterbrook nibs laying around (I know who you are!) It’s a great way for the brand to be able to discuss the wonderful history of the product while bringing in a group of new users, like myself.

So let’s get into why I like it, and why I think this range of pens in the overall market is as strong as its been in years. First off, the Lilac acrylic is stunning. That’s what caught my eye originally, but there were plenty that came before it, such as Honeycomb and Blueberry, and hopefully many more to come after.

Secondly, the build quality is excellent. This is not an inexpensive pen at $156, nor is it a budget-breaker in the grand scheme of fountain pens. It uses Esterbrook-stamped Jowo Steel nibs, fills by standard international cartridge or converter, and has a cushion cap to keep the nib from drying out when closed.

Finally, the Esterbrook Estie feels wonderful to write with. It’s a large pen which you won’t want to post, but not too large or weighted poorly to make it uncomfortable to use. The acrylic has some density to it, and even my preferred Extra Fine nib glides across the page. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using it since Kenro provided it to me at the Philadelphia Pen Show in January, and I can see more Esterbrooks in my future.

The one thing I can’t figure out about the Esterbrook Estie - and Leonardo Momento Zero and Montegrappa Elmo that I mentioned above - is why this section of the market is popping off, at least in my eyes. You can buy gold-nibbed pens for cheaper, and you can buy small-batch custom poured and machined acrylic pens for around the same price. And many of the existing designs in the $150-$200 range are considered all-time classics.

Is it that we like the new shiny materials of the pens? I know I do. The louder the material the better as far as I am concerned. And we already have the inks to match. I talk about fountain pens as being the most customizable writing instruments on the market, and these are prime examples. Are manufacturers now willing to break the black and gold mold of yesteryear into more modern styles? And have them perform as well, if not better? Is the modern fountain pen market separating itself from a sometimes stodgy history?

I don’t know what it is, but as a fountain pen fan, I like it. And I want more of it. Show us what you got in 2020, Esterbrook. I’m here for it.

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

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Posted on April 6, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Esterbrook, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Uni SXR-600 Jetstream Ballpoint Refill Review

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

It wasn't that many years ago that the Uni Jetstream ballpoint pen revolutionized the humble ballpoint pen, but that doesn't mean it can't strive to continue being exciting. There's always new pen bodies and cool new multi-pen designs that will further the line, but what about different refill shapes? That doesn't sound very exciting until you hear about the particular shape refill that Uni is experimenting with for their SXR-600 refills: Parker-style.

The Uni SXR-600 is very plain — it's a single refill that is available in only one color and only two tip sizes, black and 0.5mm or 0.7mm, respectively. I prefer availability of color and tip options over everything else, but I'm still excited about this particular black refill simply because of the refill shape. The Parker-style refill is fairly ubiquitous, and possibly one of the most common refill types you come across in ballpoint pens. Up until now, my favorite refill has been the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 due to its smoothness and crisp, dark lines. But, if I could swap in a Jetstream refill of my preferred color and size, I certainly would. That's why the Uni SXR-600 is so exciting: the possibility.

The concept is very simple: if your pen accepts a normal Parker-style refill, the SXR-600 will fit. Aside from the fit, though, does this new form factor feature the same great writing experience as the normal lineup? Yes, it absolutely does. That was my concern before trying this refill out. There was a possibility that the new refill shape could require a different ink formula or something that might negatively affect the writing experience, but that isn't the case here. Whatever Uni did to make this work, I can't tell any difference between this refill and any other regular Uni Jetstream refill when writing.

I chose the smaller 0.5mm refill for my tests, and it features the same ultra-fine and crisp lines that I expect. In every way, it meets my expectations based on using other Uni Jetstream pens. If your concern is that this uniquely-shaped refill won't feel the same as your beloved Jetstream pens, you can go ahead and file that worry away for good.

Now, that doesn't mean it's all roses and good times. This refill is expensive. At $7.25, it's a good deal more expensive than my lovely Schmidt EasyFlow refills, which are five bucks a pop if you buy them individually. I'm not sure why the refill is so much more expensive. Sure, it uses a metal cartridge over plastic, but I can't see that driving the price up by multiple dollars. Still, this isn't completely out of the ordinary for Parker-style refills. Five to ten dollars is a fairly common price per refill in this category, so it's not so hard to swallow when put in that context. What is hard to swallow, however, is that normal Jetstream refills are less than a couple of bucks.

The other current problem with this product is the lack of color and size variety. I'd be willing to spend a lot more money on several of these refills if there were (any?) more color options. Offering only black and only two size options feels like a market experiment more than a full-fledged product launch. Maybe Uni is seeing how these do before they invest more in building out the line? Maybe the availability in Japan is much larger and it's just the US market that they're experimenting with? I'm not sure what the reasoning is behind this, but I hope they decide to ramp it up soon!

With all that in mind, you really can't go wrong with the Uni SXR-600 refills as long as you like black and either a 0.5mm or 0.7mm tip. These refills can quickly spruce up an old ballpoint pen you have laying around, providing that lovely hybrid ballpoint ink writing experience that we've all come to love so much because of Uni and the marvelous Jetstream.

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

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Posted on April 1, 2020 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Uni, Jetstream, Pen Reviews.

Conway Stewart Lustrous Burgundy Pearl Fountain Pen with a Fine Semi-flex Nib: 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.)

I reviewed a beautiful Peppered White Conway Stewart Churchill awhile back for Pen Addict. Because I was so impressed with that pen I’ve kept an eye out for another Churchill in a different color scheme with a more interesting nib. I constantly monitor Fountain Pen Hospital’s “The Back Room,” and I’ve gotten some really great pens at terrific prices from them. When I saw this Conway Stewart, I snapped it up.

My first Conway Stewart came in a rather simple box, so I was quite surprised when I received an enormous package from FPH. Inside was a large, green, hinged box with clasps.

A tiny book about Winston Churchill, a cigar (!), the pen, and a bottle of Conway Stewart orange ink were tucked inside the white sateen interior. I wasn’t expecting such a fine tribute to Winston Churchill! However, I’m not quite sure what to do with these items other than store them in the box. I guess I have a cigar handy for some special occasion . . . when people smoke cigars . . . which is basically never?

The pen is exquisite. Lustrous Burgundy is a good name for this acrylic with deep burgundy and lighter pink swirls exhibiting lots of chatoyance. The luminescent color only appears in two vertical swaths down the barrel. The other sides of the pen are dark burgundy. I’d prefer more consistent color over the entire surface, but the dark and light contrast is beautiful, nonetheless.

The barrel is engraved with “Conway Stewart ‘Churchill’ Made in England” along with the limited edition number out of 500.

The Churchill model is distinctive with its slightly rounded top finial, bold lines, and tapered bottom finial. It’s definitely a large pen, measuring 5.71 inches/145mm capped, 5.4 inches/137mm uncapped, and 7.1 inches/180mm posted (as if!).

Deep grooves encircle the cap finial, and the 18K gold clip is engraved with the Conway Stewart logo.

A total of five 18K gold rings adorn the pen: two on the cap and three on the body. This is one classy looking pen.

I wish a pen of this size and price was a piston filler, but it’s a cartridge/converter. That’s not the end of the world, because a converter is a bit easier to clean than a piston filler. However, a pen this large could do with greater ink capacity.

The 18 karat fine, semi-flex nib is adorned with the Conway Stewart logo and name. I prefer this nib design to the more recent version that has the British flag on it--not that I have any problems with the British flag, mind you! I just prefer this simpler design.

When I first started to write with the nib, I was quite pleased with how smooth and bouncy it was. As a fine semi-flex, it doesn’t have a huge amount of line variation, but there’s enough to enhance my writing. I inked the pen with Iroshizuku Yama-Budo, which is a well-behaved ink and a good match for this pen.

Unfortunately, the more I wrote, the more frustrated I became. The nib writes beautifully for about one page, and then it exhibits skipping and hard starts. I have to unscrew the barrel and push more ink down into the converter, which is unpleasant and interrupts my writing. I don’t know if this is a converter problem or an issue with the feed, but it’s disappointing.

This limited edition Conway Stewart was produced in 2007 and is not readily available for purchase. In fact, my Google search resulted in one hit--an eBay listing for this pen (without the ink) for $1,800! “Holy &##@!” said I. I’m happy to report that I did not pay anywhere near that much, thank goodness. I realized that I got a Churchill Burgundy Pearl at a super price from FPH! Now I just need a nibmeister to work some wonders with the ink flow.

(I purchased this pen with my own funds.)

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