Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Skogsy Pens Cholla Micarta Fountain Pen Review, Featuring Nib Tailor Architect Grind

How’s that for a post title? I could have gone longer, adding in the pen size and material name, plus the ink, but I figured I would stop while I was ahead.

The story of this pen begins on Twitch, where I stream 2-3 times per week. A viewer with the handle “zskogsy” is a frequent viewer and chat commenter. As I got to know this digital presence, I learned more about them, eventually prying out information, such as “oh, I make pens.”

Boy, does Zach Skogsberg ever make pens.

As I got to learn more about the man behind the lathe, I learned he would be making his first ever pen show appearance at the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show. Seeing Skogsy Pens in person was at the top of my priority list that weekend, and I came away with this beautiful Cholla in Black Micarta. And by “came away with,” I mean “I had to pick one out quickly,” as these pens were flying off the table at a rate even Zach, and his wife Amy, were surprised by.

Seeing the quality craftsmanship, fun colors, and unique materials, I am not surprised in the least. Zach admitted that they were undertaking a big home move immediately upon returning from the show, so inventory wasn’t quite up to the levels he wanted, but still, having what, three total pens left by Sunday morning? That’s a pretty great show.

The Black Micarta Cholla is a pretty great pen, too. If you aren’t familiar with Micarta, it is a composite material with different types of fabric, or fiberglass, compressed in different laminates, such as various resins or epoxy. It’s a unique barrel material for fountain pens, and, according to makers who use it, not the easiest material to turn into pens.

From a user perspective, Micarta provides a hard barrel exterior, but with a warmth in the material once you start using it. The exterior is smooth, except for where the threads are cut, leaving some of the material exposed. And yes, if you get ink in that area it will stain. Easily. To buy a Micarta pen is to embrace the wabi-sabi, as not only will ink stain the pen if it gets on the barrel, your hand oils will continue to be absorbed over time, darkening the overall color. Micarta fans call these “features.”

Skogsy Micarta Fountain Pen TWSBI — *My new-ish Skogsy Pen with my well-loved TWSBI Micarta.*

Skogsy Micarta vs TWSBI — *A cracked internal nib housing left this stunning green stain on my TWSBI barrel. Own it!*

My pen features a 16 mm grip section, which would be considered slightly wide. Skogsy also offers a more standard 14 mm grip section in most pens as well. The barrel width is sized to compliment either size grip section.

I’ve had this pen in regular use since returning from San Francisco, and it puts a smile on my face every time I use it. It’s that nice, and I made it even nicer, for me, with the addition of an Architect grind on the Medium steel Jowo nib I chose when purchasing this pen.

When I sat down with JC Ament, aka the Nib Tailor, I knew I wasn’t going with one of my standards (Stub, Cursive Italic, Needlepoint,) and wanted something cool, befitting this cool pen. I settled on a traditional Architect grid, and JC absolutely nailed it. My most-used Architect grind is more of a mini-style, befitting my small handwriting, so having this more traditionally-sized nib has been great.

I like pen and nib pairings, and I think I put together a perfect combination. But my results are only as good as the people behind the products, and Zach, Amy, and JC should all be proud of their work.

Zach and Amy are still settling in after their big move, so follow Skogsy Pens on Instagram for the latest info, and for when commissions open back up. JC can be found at Nib Tailor, and at a pen show, or stationery retailer, near you.

(I was provided the Skogsy Pen at no charge at the San Francisco Pen Show. I paid regular price for the Architect nib grind from the Nib Tailor.)

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Posted on November 7, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Skogsy Pens, Nib Tailor, Nib Grind, Pen Reviews.

Gravitas Delrin 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'm continuously surprised and delighted by Gravitas Pens. I've rarely seen a pen creator dive into the job with such playful abandon. Ben Walsh is trying something new every few minutes and the results have been phenomenal.

The newest model to cross my desk is the Delrin. It's similar in design to the Sentry, but made of engineered plastic, with an Orange Cerakote-coated stainless steel grip section. The body is slightly tapered, and both finials come to an angled point. The cap screws on and it posts securely if you're the posting type.

The body of the pen feels smooth but it's lightly textured, so it's easy to grip. It's also extremely lightweight. Nearly all the weight of this pen is in the steel grip section. It feels perfectly balanced when writing, as the weight of the pen sits in your hand and the length helps keep it stabilized.

The grip section is gently ridged to keep your fingers from slipping, and the Cerakote has a rough texture to it. It's comfortable and gives great control when writing, but it does get ink in it, leaving some marks that are a little tricky to wash away. It doesn't bother me, but if you like your pens looking pristine, this one might not be for you.

My pen came with a medium nib that writes very well, with smooth writing and great ink flow. It's a #6 Jowo nib, with some scrollwork but no branding.

The pen comes with a converter, though it can also take standard cartridges, and it can be eyedroppered (though some additional silicone grease is recommended if you do this).

Like many Gravitas pens, this one is underpriced at 95 Euros. I appreciate and admire the affordability, even if it feels a little wrong.

Of all the Gravitas pens I've tried, I like this one a bit more than the metal ones, and only slightly less than the polycarbonate ones. It has a special quality to it that when I pick it up, it makes me want to write even when I don't feel like writing. Maybe it's all of Ben's wild creativity traveling through his creations to other creators. Whatever it is, I can't get enough of it.

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

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Posted on November 3, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Gravitas, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Faber-Castell Fast Gel Z 0.5 mm Gel Ink Pen Review

(This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.)

How important is the grip when choosing a pen?

For some, it is the first or second consideration. If you fall into that category, then you will want to read on for my thoughts on the Faber-Castell Fast Gel Z ink pen.

Before I dig into the grip, let’s talk about the first thing I want to know about any traditional ink pen: the writing performance. How does it write? In this case, pretty well!

I shouldn’t be surprised, as Faber-Castell has been making pens for decades, and have been in business as a stationer for centuries. Yes, literally. But I have far more experience with their fountain pens and inks-even pencils-that I do their standard pens.

The Fast Gel Z, along with many other recent Faber-Castell products, were sent to me by Faber-Castell Malaysia, who had a strong belief that I would like what they are selling. And so far, they have been right. This pen is an 0.5 mm black gel pen with a needle tip, and writes very well. The ink is dark and smooth, although the lines need to be slightly sharper if it were to crack any Top 5 Gel Ink Pens list.

That’s rare air, as I don’t even rate the Pilot G2 or the Sharpie S-Gel that high either, but I would rate those two pens ahead of this one.

That line sharpness is a real differentiator at the 0.5 mm tip size, and finer. If you aren’t a tiny print writer like myself, I think you will enjoy this pen, or it’s 0.7 mm tip relative. Heck, I’ve really enjoyed it myself when I want to leave some dark marks on the page.

As far as that Fast Dry time claim? Yeah, it’s pretty good. I lined it up against the Uni-ball Signo DX 0.5 MM, Pilot G2 0.5 mm, and Pentel Energel 0.5 mm, and, despite being the widest, wettest line, the Faber-Castell had the lightest smudge mark in my quick dry time test.

While writing with the Fast Gel Z is good, the grip makes the feel of the pen great. This is the softest, most comfortable gel or ballpoint ink grip I’ve tested in recent memory. It’s soft and cushioned, and you can feel it give under your grip with each word. I love it. I do wonder how it will hold up over extended use, but I see no reason that it wouldn’t outlast the refill in essentially the same condition it started in.

The Fast Gel Z is currently available on Amazon for around $17 for a 10-pack of pens, which is accurately priced in my mind. This is a good, solid, middle of the pack gel ink pen, with a couple of minor features (soft grip, fast drying) that may push certain users toward it as opposed to the competition.

(Faber-Castell Malaysia provided this pen at no charge for the purposes of this review.)

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