Kill winter with orange.
I do a lot of testing before my reviews, especially with fountain pens. This episode serves as a first look for a few new-to-me pens, and a peek into the process of learning about them.
This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:
Pen Chalet: Click the ‘podcast’ link at the top of the website and enter the password ‘penaddict’ for this week’s special offer, and to get your code for 10% off.
Kanilea Pen Co.: Choose your Aloha today!
(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!)
If you’re reading this, you survived NaNoWriMo! And since I’m writing it, I suppose I did, too. I did not win this year, but I didn’t think I would. What I did do is write about 30k words, which I certainly would not have done if I hadn’t given myself the extra productivity nudge that NaNoWriMo provides. I’m happy with that!
My book is still far from done, but progress is progress and momentum begets momentum, and despite the fact that I spent most of my spare time on that project this past month, I’m excited to keep moving forward with it and keep devoting time to this manuscript till it’s a full draft. Usually I’m sick of a project by the end of November, but I’m ready to NaNo my way through December as well. And probably January. This is going to be a long book.
The best part of NaNoWriMo this year was getting to see some writing friends in person again. I attended five group write-ins this month, and a huge chunk of my progress is a result of that revelry. Working quietly in a room with other writers, with chat breaks and snacks and prizes, is the perfect blend of friendship and accountability to keep the words flowing.
Another highlight, of course, is getting to use my pens and paper. I emptied eight pens and made good progress emptying another three that were all eyedropper pens (my Omas will never empty. I’m convinced). I rotated a new pen for each writing sprint or session, so they all got equal use. As I emptied them, I added them to my to-be-cleaned pile, which was already WAY out of hand. Now I have a mountain of pen cleaning to do. Maybe December should always be NaPeCleMo. I am now left with only five pens inked, which is a very low number, for me! I’m going to try and empty the rest before I ink any more…
The last highlight of the month for me was my now traditional holiday weekend writing escape. The hardest part of writing is finding the time, space, and silence to actually do it. I now make a point of claiming all three by running away to a quiet hotel by myself for a long weekend where I can devote all my time to writing for those days. It became necessary last year when I was home-schooling my kids through the pandemic and hadn’t had time to write for a number of important deadlines. This year hasn’t been any easier, turns out. My youngest was home in quarantine most of the month, so daylight hours were spent with him and night hours had to be for my own grad school homework, leaving no more hours for writing. More than a third of my writing for the month happened at the lake.
My NaNo kit worked well for me this year. The pens I used were all excellent. I thought for a long time about which one I enjoyed writing with the most this month, but it was impossible to choose. Each one was the best while I was using it. I did realize that my planning notebook for this project, the FIeld Notes Dime Novel Edition, will be a bit too small to contain all of the notes for this book, so I’ll have to add an additional volume. It’s not ideal, as it will mean carrying an extra notebook around, but it does mean I’ll get to use up another fun notebook from my stash.
And speaking of carrying around, my writing kit has now been effectively wrangled by a new bag, the Tom Bihn Parental Unit. I resisted this bag for a long time, as it’s marketed as a diaper bag and my kids are out of diapers, but when they announced that this recent update might be the last run of it for a while, I decided to cave. I’m so glad I did. This is the perfect writing bag. I won’t launch into a full review here, especially as I’m not sure if/when it will be available again, but it is now my favorite bag that I own, and I do not say that lightly.
I hope your NaNoWriMo was successful by any measure, even if not by words. Remember that you get to decide your own definition of success when it comes to art. Whether you participated or not, I hope you got to spend some quality time with your writing tools this month.
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If there's one thing that the stationery world doesn't lack, it's pocket fountain pens. There are a few go-to models, but not a ton of choice. That's why it's always exciting to try out new pocket-able fountain pens when they come out. They're a niche that not everyone is into, but for those of us that love a good fountain pen in a small size, it's just our thing.
I've had the opportunity to use the Namisu N1 for a few months now, and I've been really happy with it. The Namisu N1 is a small pocket fountain pen made from machined metal. It's sleek, simple, and durable, and the small size is just the cherry on top.
Measuring just 104mm (4.1"), it's roughly the same size as a capped Kaweco Sport. The pen body by itself is just under 100mm (3.9"). But, when posted, it can vary between 123mm (4.8") and 146mm (5.75") thanks to the triple o-ring friction fit design that keeps the cap in place. Due to the perfect amount of friction, you can easily adjust the length of the full pen without worrying about it sliding while you're writing. I've really enjoyed being able to adjust the length of the pen so easily — you can quickly change the feel of this pen by just extending or reducing the length.
The o-rings slide against the aluminum easily enough, but they also have plenty of friction to keep the cap in place when capped or posted. I don't have any worries about the cap moving around unless I want it to. The tolerance is just right. This pen would be terrible if the friction was any different.
The model I have was a limited run made from aluminum. The two-tone contrast of the bright polished aluminum body and the anodized blue cap is awesome. The matte clip is sleek and strong, and the knurling along the top of the pen body and the grip section is fantastic. It has a great texture and feels great when writing with the pen or when pulling the pen body out of the cap for use.
The grip section unscrews from the rest of the body, and this is where you can replace the cartridges. I'm using an international short cartridge right now, but you could fit something up to 68mm long. Some cartridge converters will fit, but it really depends on the length as well as the diameter. You should probably surrender to using cartridges with this pen if you decide to pick one up.
Writing with the pen is such a great experience. The weight of the pen is just right, and the knurled grip provides fantastic grip and comfort. On top of that, you can adjust the overall length of the pen by sliding the cap up or down the body to find that perfect fit for your hand.
The pen is fitted with a Bock nib unit — EF in my case. The nib is okay, but I wish it flowed a little better. I could fix this pretty quickly, but it's worth pointing out that it was perfectly tuned out of the box. It writes fine, but the line feels a little dry compared to other EF nibs I use consistently. There isn't any Namisu branding on the nib — it's a standard Bock nib.
While you can't get the two-tone aluminum version any more, you can grab a new titanium version of this pen. It is surely lighter than this aluminum version, but I don't think will detract from the writing experience at all. In fact, I think I'd like the lighter weight even more than this one.
Normally £98.50, this feels like a fair price for a custom machined pen that has been designed well and feels great in the hand and while writing. You can find them on sale or even nab some prototype units for a little cheaper (50% off) while they're available. Either way, this is a fantastic pen. If you like the aesthetic, try one out!
(This pen was purchased from Namisu via Kickstarter.)
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!
