How a Professional Pen Expert Makes a Living

Expert? On a few topics.

Professional? In having fun.

Questionable title aside, I had a blast talking with June Thomas for Slate’s Working Podcast. She is so easy to talk to, and the true expert in this scenario. Go here to listen, or subscribe to Working on your podcast platform of choice.

Thanks June!

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Wingback Fountain Pen Review

After enjoying Wingback’s previous releases, the Mechanical Pen and the Mechanical Pencil, I was happy when they reached out to send me a review sample of their current release, the Wingback Fountain Pen.

Like their previous two releases, the Fountain Pen features various metal barrels - in this case Brass, Stainless Steel, and Titanium - plus a knurled grip section. This style is consistent through all of Wingback’s writing lineup, and, while these are simple, classic designs, I appreciate the refinement and clarity of the final product.

Being a stainless steel fan, I was happy that was the material I received for my review model. Like with previous Wingback designs, this pen is on the small side of the ledger, but it is not a small pen. At just under 10 mm in diameter, and 117 mm in length when capped, it is a perfect pocketable, portable size.

Weight-wise, the stainless model checks in at 39 grams. That’s on the heavy side, but to be expected given the material choice. Heavy is fine if it is balanced, but this one is not. When unposted, the pen is too short for anything but quick notes. That means the cap needs to be posted, and when it is, the weight shifts too far to the rear.

Having the weight towards the end of the pen means that as you lighten or adjust your grip, the pen twists in your hand. That also means you have to re-adjust your grip to get the nib back to the proper writing angle. As it turns out, I do this a lot, so the weight imbalance was very apparent to me. If your grip is on lock and stays that way, you won’t run into this as much as I have.

Designing a shorter cap is obviously a solution, but that breaks the design symmetry it looks like Wingback has gone for with this pen. Is there an easier solution if this looks like a pen you will like? Yes. Choose the Titanium option.

*#TeamStainless, from top to bottom: Wingback Pencil, Pen, and Fountain Pen.*

I’m a huge stainless steel fan, but at less than half the weight (19g for Titanium, 39g for stainless steel,) I know which pen will work better for me. Even though the design doesn’t change, there is so much less weight that I’d wager the balance issue will be negated almost completely.

As I obsess over the balance, it is easy to forget the writing aspects of the pen. In short, it’s great. I’ve become a fan of Bock’s #5 nib ever since I got one in my Hardy Penwrights Model 10-R Retro Fountain Pen. As I mentioned in that review, it is around a 5-1/2 size, which works well for this pen.

My initial inking of this pen was with the included black short international cartridge. That’s something I rarely do - use the default cartridge - but I accidentally engaged it when unboxing so I went for it. I should do that more often, because this ink is great! Maybe it’s because I haven’t used a smooth, rich, black ink in a while, but I’m sure enjoying it.

The included ink cartridges should never be part of your buying decision, but it does bring up another consideration: what filling options do I have for this pen? Short international options, mostly. If you are feeling frisky, Wingback mentions the possibility of eyedropper-filling this pen, but you go first and let me know.

*#TeamStainless, Part 2, from top to bottom: Kaweco Liliput Ballpoint, Kaweco Steel Sport, Wingback Fountain Pen.*

What should be a consideration is price, and the Wingback Fountain Pen is priced right. £95 for Brass or Stainless, £135 for Black Steel or Titanium. That’s completely fair for a pen of this quality.

The Wingback Fountain Pen is now available on Kickstarter, and is well past its funding goal. There are aways risks with Kickstarter, but so far, Wingback has run great campaigns that have gone smoothly. This one ends 17 days from the time of this post, so be sure to check it out if this fountain pen fits your needs.

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

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