Esterbrook JR Pocket Fountain Pen Review

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

If you've ever been to a pen show, you've certainly seen a few Esterbrooks on the tables of various vendors. Back in the 40s, these pens were as ubiquitous as the Bic ballpoint or Pilot G2 gel pen today. They were affordable, dependable, and offered enough variety to match your personal sense of style. Even today, decades later, they still work and offer a fantastic writing experience as long as they've been cared for and/or restored properly.

Esterbrook has made a comeback in the past couple of years. Under the ownership and direction of Kenro Industries, this classic brand has been reborn into the 21st century. This idea of rebirth runs deep in the company's new vision, and is baked into the name of their JR Pocket Pen. Modeled after the classic Esterbrook J, this petite pen bears a striking resemblance to the J while also offering the amenities that modern manufacturing and materials provide.

If you've ever handled an Esterbrook J, you'll know just how petite and slim those pens are. The JR doesn't fall far from the tree in this case. The body of the pen is just as slim as the classic J, and it's similarly lightweight and comfortable to hold while writing. One small deviation from the original that I'm still not sure about is the cap. It's quite a bit larger in diameter than the body of the pen. While this doesn't change anything functionally, it does make it look a bit different than the original J. That being said, there's no reason that the JR has to be a complete replica of the original J. This pen is quite attractive as an individual piece of art, and I completely adore how it looks on my desk. Any decision to deviate from the classic form — either aesthetic or functionally — is completely acceptable because this pen is just what Esterbrook says in their marketing materials: a rebirth of the J.

Writing with the JR is quite a pleasant experience. The lightweight acrylic is comfortable to hold and quickly warms up to your touch. The grooved section has a convenient place to rest your fingers while writing and is small enough to stay out of your way if you use a different grip. I've used this pen for some fairly long writing sessions, and it's been extremely comfortable.

The nib is what really stands out to me on this pen. It's a medium point, but it's just so smooth and crisp. Writing with it is such a pleasure because of how smoothly it glides across the surface of the paper. Straight out of the box, it was a fantastic writer and I'm always really appreciative to this level of quality control and attention to detail.

Along with everything else that makes this pen so great, the colors and materials are so pretty. I have the Capri Blue version with gold trim, and the depth and variety of blues in this material is gorgeous. I still think it would look amazing with paladium trim and wish that was an option, but the blue and gold combo is also quite nice. I've found myself staring at this pen and discovering new pockets of color under the surface of the body that just fascinates me.

Along with Capri Blue, you can also choose from Carmine Red and Tuxedo Black. Each color has a similar depth of color and shading that adds a lot of visual interest to the pen.

The MSRP for this beauty is $175, but you can normally find it for about 30 bucks cheaper. I think this is a fair price considering the buttery smoothness of the nib, the quality of the body/cap materials, and the amount of finish and attention to detail that went into this product. Oh, they also include a nice box and a full size cartridge converter as well so that you're ready to ink it up and go as soon as you get it out of the box.

The Esterbrook JR Pocket Pen is an adorable and highly useful reincarnation of the classic Esterbrook J. It doesn't matter if you're new to Esterbrook or just trying out the reborn offerings, this is a fantastic representation of what I think the traditional brand offered. It's a well-made pen that look sharp and writes beautifully.

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

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Pineider Avatar UR Demo Fountain Pen in Amber: 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 Pineider Avatar Fountain Pen is made of a new material called "UltraResin" (thus the UR in the title). According to the pamphlet included with the pen, UltraResin is a mother of pearl compound resin that is resistant to breaks, oil, ink, variations in temperature, and UV rays. The company compares it to celluloid, stating that it has all the features of celluloid without the problems, such as crystallization and susceptibility to heat.

The pen comes in a classic-looking cardboard box, which contains the pen, the pamphlet, and instructions.

The Avatar is 3D engineered so that it can be assembled without any glue. Trims are palladium plated, including the bottom tip.

The clip is designed to resemble a quill and is spring loaded.

The cap band is engraved with the Pineider name and the skyline of Florence, Italy.

Using a sealed magnet, the cap locks securely merely by placing it onto the barrel--no twisting or fiddling necessary.

A converter is included with the pen. It has the Pineider logo on it and an ink level gauge as well.

Measuring 5.79 in/147mm (capped), 5.24 in/133mm (uncapped), and 6.46 in/164mm posted, the Avatar is a medium-sized pen. It is rather heavy at 30 grams (capped/posted) and 17.8 grams uncapped/unposted. The cap posts securely but makes the pen unbalanced in the hand. I liked the weight and balance of the pen unposted.

For comfort, the grip is covered in rubber, which does make it easy to hold while writing. However, ink somehow seeped beneath the rubber grip and stained it. Pineider's website states that the grip can be replaced easily, but I have no idea how to remove it.

I'm quite confused about the nib. The pamphlet included with the pen states that the nib is a "large N6 Demi Flex." However, both the Pineider website and Goldspot identify it only as a steel nib. It has a futuristic look to it with the Pineider name engraved decoratively on both sides of the nib.

If this is supposed to be a "Demi Flex" or "Semi Flex" nib, it certainly does not live up to the name. There's absolutely no give to it at all. I tried applying some pressure to produce line variation and this is what resulted:

Otherwise, the fine nib writes smoothly, even though the tines are a bit misaligned.

I used Bungubox Sweet Potato Yellow to create my writing samples. The ink flowed well, and the writing experience was pleasant. However, the cap apparently doesn't seal completely, because after leaving the pen unused, I experienced hard starts--actually no starts. I had to force ink down into the nib unit in order to begin writing again. Other than that problem, I experienced no skipping, scratchiness, or other issues.

The Pineider Avatar is a beautifully designed pen. You can really appreciate the engineering that went into it when you examine it closely. The palladium plated accents complement the pen, and I particularly like the easy on and off cap.

Although the rubber grip offers a soft and stable surface for your fingers, the fact that ink can get underneath and stain it is disappointing. I'm not particularly fond of the ink level measurement on the converter and don't see why it's necessary at all, especially with a demonstrator pen.

I haven't tried dropping the pen to see if it lives up to its "almost unbreakable" description, but the UltraResin material does seem substantial in the hand. That said, the company's claim that UltraResin is comparable to celluloid isn't convincing, at least for the demo models. The opaque models (in various colors) look a bit more like celluloid.

You can purchase the Pineider Avatar UR in Amber for $157.95 from Goldspot.

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

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Sailor Compass 1911 Fountain Pen Review

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

The sub-$100 price range can be difficult for a lot of pen manufacturers to succeed in. For some, this is where they excel at offering great value and excellent writing instruments for the price (ever heard of TWSBI?). On the other hand, being able to deliver high-end luxury writing instruments doesn't also make you an expert at delivering lower cost, affordable items that compete well with brands that operate exclusively in that space. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, though! And that's exactly what Sailor is doing with the Compass 1911 fountain pen line.

The Compass 1911 borrows a familiar shape from the high-end 1911 fountain pen line, but uses more affordable materials in order to hit a much lower price bracket: $50 MSRP. On top of that, the Compass 1911 even comes with two black ink cartridges and (wait for it) a cartridge converter. I've definitely criticized Sailor in the past for not including a cheap converter with their $200+ fountain pens. At that price range, it seems petty to discount it from the hinged box that contains the pen. In the $50 price range, it's a fantastic bonus that I would never expect.

But the value gets better from there since no one really sells goods for the MSRP. As of now, you can find the Sailor Compass 1911 for just under $40 at Goldspot. For that price, is an excellent value for a beginning fountain pen kit. But, how does it perform as a pen? Can Sailor scale down their excellent writing to an ultra affordable, entry-level pen?

Across the lineup, the Compass 1911 feature semi-transparent materials in a variety of fun colors. The trim is silver in every case, and there also aren't any nib choices to make. Every pen comes with a stainless steel medium fine nib. While this is a bold decision, I certainly agree with this being a default option for a nib size. Others won't appreciate it and will look for larger or smaller alternatives, but for most people that don't really know what nib size to use yet, it's a pretty good starting point.

The pen is fairly lightweight, but doesn't feel brittle or delicate. It can definitely withstand some abuse from being thrown in bags and pockets. The screw-on cap posts securely to the back of the pen, and I find it extremely comfortable to write with the cap posted or non-posted. Both lengths are great for writing. In all, the materials used in the body and cap feel great for such an affordable pen. Even the converter seems well-made.

Moving on to the more important part of the pen, the nib is incredibly plain compared to Sailor's more expensive options. Even though it's plain and looks a little cheap, this nib is a solid performer. The MF nib is stiff as a nail and writes smoothly and reliably. It's always such a joy to ink up a pen straight out of the box and find that it writes beautifully without any fuss. The Sailor Compass 1911 is one of these pens, and an excellent first option for those that are curious about the world of fountain pens. I also enjoy that the material used for the feed is transparent as well, which shows off the ink color you've chosen. For my Olive version of the pen, I went with Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku-rin to compliment the light green transparent color of the body. The green feed just makes it even better.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this box. I've been disappointed in the past by some of Sailor's sub-$100 offerings, and I thought this might be another lackluster attempt to break into that price range. The Compass 1911 won't disrupt what TWSBI, Pilot, Lamy, Kaweco, or other brands that offer pens in the same price range are already doing, but it is a fantastic offering from the brand that directly translates what kind of quality and dependable writing experience you can expect from their more luxurious offerings. Here's to hoping they continue experimenting in this fun category.

The review unit featured here is the Olive color option, but you can also pick from Clear, Brown, Yellow, Green, Purple, Blue, Pink, and Red. At $40, they're a fantastic deal for a gift or a personal treat.

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

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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!