Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Review

I’m always skeptical when a company known for its fountain pen inks decides to make the jump into fountain pens, but credit to Dominant Industry, who I think has done a nice job with their Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen series.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Box

Launched earlier this year, there have been two Keyno Stay.tionery releases so far, the first being No. 014 Cherishment, and the second named No. 001 Serenity, which is the model I am reviewing. Dominant Industry is looking to expand their storytelling beyond their inks, paper, and accessories with these pens. What story, exactly? From their marketing:

“Born from Dominant Industry in 2026, this fountain pen brand aspires to create writing instruments in harmony with beautiful inks. Their story starts at Hotel Keyno, a secluded retreat perched in the mountains of a faraway peaceful island. Each release is created with a a hotel visit in mind through each "key number" assigned to a pen. With a refined touch and balanced weight, each piece delivers an indulgent writing experience. Their pens are fitted with an ebonite feed for a rich and seamless ink flow. Rooted in story-driven design and detail, their fountain pens aim to inspire and nurture creativity.”

I’m the first to roll my eyes at marketing out of thin air like this, and even held off on the Cherishment release despite finding the pen nice looking. I just didn’t feel the overly Instagrammable style of the pen was something I would use regularly.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen 001 Serenity

The second release, aptly named 001, hooked me for two reasons. One, the barrel color landed a bit better for me personally, and two, the short timeframe from when the second pen released in relation to the first. Why does that second detail matter to me? It told me that this pen concept wasn’t going away soon, so I may as well test it out and share my thoughts. Best case, I have a fun pen to add to the rotation. Worst case, I give it away to one of you tomorrow.

Spoiler: This is not tomorrow’s giveaway.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Barrel

Let’s get aesthetics out of the way first, because I think that will be the biggest contention with Keyno Stay.tionery products. I love fun, pretty, colorful, and stylish products, all of which I think are good descriptors for this fountain pen. There is a balance, though, and the 001 Serenity gets right up to that edge for me. On one hand, this pen is on the same style family tree as Pelikan’s popular color editions. You know, the ones with the White caps, Gold trim, and colorful barrels? You can find them in various Pelikan sizes, and I do see a little bit of that in Serenity.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Finial

Upon closer look, Dominant Industry turned that classic style into something more. The details on the clip, clip band, both finials, cap ring, and nib etching show that they wanted to maximize the style of this pen to fit in with their storytelling vision. Keys and key holes everywhere! Overall, it is themed well, but is not for everyone.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Nib

What might be for everyone with this pen is the nib. I say might, because I ordered mine with an Extra Fine nib (Fine and Medium are the other options, all Steel,) and haven’t tried the others. Visually speaking there is not a lot of tipping on this nib, which got me excited for fine lines. It delivered.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Writing

This nib is so good, and was from the first touch on the page. I inked it up with Wearingeul The Blue Castle, and have used it across many paper types. It has been solid, smooth, and controllable. For a “who knows who makes this,” nib, it is perfect. Bonus, it has an ebonite feed, which helps with ink flow and consistency. It hasn’t skipped a beat from first inking.

Dominant Industry Keyno Stay.tionery Fountain Pen Ink

So, who is the Keyno Stay.tionery No. 001 Serenity for? You have to love the aesthetic that Dominant Industry is going for here to even consider it. It’s $115, which seems fair, especially given the performance I’m getting from the nib. The more I use it, the more I like it. Will I need the entire series of Keyno Stay.tionery fountain pens? No, but I do have a hotel room key that needs investigating, so who knows where this will lead.

(This product was purchased from Dromgoole’s at a discounted price.)

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Posted on July 20, 2026 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Dominant Industry, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Esterbrook Estie Nouveau Bleu Ballpoint Pen Review

For when you want to feel fancy but need to be practical, Esterbrook offers some of their prettiest materials in a ballpoint pen. The ultra-classy Nouveau Bleu material, an elegant acrylic in shades of blue with gold veins and flecks, comes with either gold or chrome trim.

Esterbrook Estie Nouveau Bleu Ballpoint Pen

The pen has a faux cap, so that it looks like a posted pen, but the cap section is really a twist mechanism that deploys the tip from the nose cone. This cap-like end pulls off to reveal the cartridge. It takes a Parker style cartridge, so there are a lot of options for different inks and colors to choose from. It comes with the Esterbrook refill, which writes very nicely. It's smooth with no skipping and less smudging than many ballpoint inks.

The twist mechanism is simple and secure. It hasn't ever accidentally twisted or resulted in ink staining. It also works as a perfectly silent fidget. It lacks the tactile clunk of a click pen, but it's still satisfying.

The clip has just the right balance of firmness and springiness, so it has the perfect hold in a case, pocket, or clipped to a folder.

The Esterbrook Estie ballpoint pen sells for $125 and it comes in many of their most popular materials, like Raven and Seaglass. It's a great way to enjoy some of their prettiest designs at a lower price point than the fountain pen.

This is a good pen for work if you have a fancy job, and also a good pen if you have a regular job and want to feel fancy! And it's the perfect pen if you have a special occasion like a wedding or birth and you'd like to sign the paperwork with something special, but you can't use a fountain pen due to the ink properties. It would also make a great gift for someone who loves pens but doesn't like the maintenance of fountain pens.

I've been really enjoying ballpoint pens for their practicality lately, and pens like this help me meet my daily writing needs while still enjoying fine writing tools. These are pretty and well made, and they elevate a simple grocery list, or bring an important formality to life's big moments. If you haven't tried a fancy ballpoint, this is a fantastic one to add to your pen collection.

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Posted on July 16, 2026 by Sarah Read and filed under Esterbrook, Pen Reviews.

Fisher Space Pen Stowaway 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

This little midcentury wonder is the source of one of my earliest stationery fascinations. That's probably true for a lot of us. A pen that can write underwater or in space, in extreme temperatures or on any surface! In a world where all I had were standard #2 pencils and temperamental ballpoints, the concept of a pen that could not fail and lasted longer than any other was the holy grail, especially for a kid who wrote for fun. Sadly, I wouldn't acquire said grail until I reached adulthood. I bought my first Fisher Space Pen in 2007 and it only recently stopped writing. While it wasn't my everyday pen, it did live in my craft bag for making notes on patterns. Nineteen years of service is a good run for any pen! That pen was one of their bullet-shaped pens. In the past few months, I was looking for a pen that would fit in the slim sleeve of my pocket-sized Plotter notebook, and I saw that the Stowaway model of the Fisher Space Pen is this perfect, slim pocket size. So I decided to give it a try as my pocket notebook pen.

This model of the Fisher Space Pen is basically just a capped cartridge. A magical cartridge, to be sure. The sealed, pressurized ink chamber is what allows it to write even if you're visiting Hoth or Mount Doom. But it doesn't have much build to it. The body and cap are thin aluminum that friction-fit together. There's a brass-colored clip with the word Fisher stamped into it, though this model is also available without the clip. It comes with a medium point and black ink. The cap does post, bringing its wee 3.9" up to a 5.13" which is close to a standard pen length. It's only .25" in diameter, so may be too slim to comfortably write with for long, but it's perfect as a wallet pen, where you're just using it to sign a receipt here and there. Bonus: It will actually write on the receipt paper!

It writes just like a standard ballpoint, but without the fussiness. I have not experienced any skipping or faint lines. The ink does smear a little if rubbed, but that's true of most oil-based ballpoint inks. That pressurized cartridge keeps the ink flowing upside-down, in zero gravity, and in temps ranging from -30 to +250 degrees Fahrenheit. Space? No problem. Wisconsin in February? Might need a different pen for that. But it does fit perfectly in the pen sleeve of my pocket Plotter, so mission accomplished, there. However, getting it out of the pen sleeve can be tricky, as the friction-fit cap slides off too easily, leaving the body of the pen in the sleeve, so I have to wiggle it free. It's still the best non-fountain pen I've found for this use case, though. The Kaweco Liliput is the best fountain pen for this specific pen sleeve, but I've found myself using the pocket plotter when traveling and camping--situations where a water resistant, more versatile ink was needed. I suspect this Stowaway will live in this Plotter for the next nineteen years.

The Fisher Space Pen Stowaway sells for around $17 MSRP, but you can get it in black, blue, or red from Goldspot Pens for around $14.45. That feels like a lot for something so lightweight and tiny, but it is refillable, and if it lasts as long as my previous Fisher pen, it's well worth it. I fully intend on getting another in a decade or two.

(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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