They gave it to me, and now I’m giving it to one of you. What exactly? The Goldspot exclusive Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen, which I reviewed yesterday. This is my review pen, so it is lightly used, and it is looking for a new home. Are you interested in winning #97/250 of this pen? Read the rules below and get to entering!
Pairings Party: Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen and Kobe Kitano Antique Sepia
What kind of party features a coffee-themed pen and Brown ink? My kind of party! The pairing of the Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen with Kobe Kitano Antique Sepia has been my most used writing combo over the last month, and has taken the clubhouse lead early into September.
The Retro 51 Coffee House is a Goldpsot exclusive, which they kindly sent me earlier this Summer to try out. The black-based pen features chalkboard-style graphics you can find at a coffeehouse - beans, mugs, presses, cups, steam - the works. It’s a cool design for coffee lovers like myself, and I especially like the all-black hardware.
That includes the nib, which is coated black to match the rest of the pen. Retro 51 switched over to Jowo nibs years ago, and this #6 Fine nib writes nicely. The black coating may add the slightest bit of line width compared to a standard uncoated steel nib, or it could be a placebo effect. There are so many variables to take into account beside nib width - ink properties and paper, for starters. Regardless, this one writes smoothly, and the ink flows well.
This pen also fits my hand well. The underlying barrel is stainless steel, but it’s not heavy. There is some weight to it, but it is well-balanced throughout the tapered barrel. The metal section has a slight concave toward the nib for a solid gripping surface. The cap is threaded, taking two turns to remove or replace, and the clip provides a strong attachment.
In choosing an ink, there was no chance I was inking this pen up with anything but Brown. This shade has been edging towards the top of my usage list for the past year, after years of avoiding it. Antique Sepia was recommended to me by a friend after bemoaning the limited nature of Sailor Tea Time Series Fika Coffee Ink, one of my favorites.
This ink is a rich, dark brown that could easily pass a “normal” ink in a business setting. Some lines lean black, and some of the thinner areas of shading bring in the brown. Let’s keep it on theme here and call it a nice Medium Roast. There is a hint of green sheen with the right amount of ink on the right type of paper, but I rarely see it from my standard writing on Bank paper, PLOTTER paper, or Kokuyo paper - all of which I’ve used this combination with heavily.
The Retro 51 Coffee House Tornado Fountain Pen is $119 from Goldspot, and Kobe Kitano Antique Sepia is $30 at Vanness Pens. The Retro 51 is at a premium from their standard offerings, primarily due to the store exclusive/limited edition nature of the pen, plus the awesome artwork and finishes. Standard Retro 51 fountain pens start around $65 if you are looking to try out a great pen, but don’t need a full caffeine fix. $30 for 50 ml of Kobe (ie. Sailor,) ink is fine by me. Yes, it is still expensive/ml but at least the multiplier is 50, instead of the smaller bottles Sailor loves so much.
I drink coffee every day, often many times a day, so this pen and ink combo has been a blast to use. I just had to make sure I had the real thing flowing through my veins before attempting to write with the pen and ink version.
(Goldspot provided this pen at no charge, and Vanness Pens provided the ink at a discount, to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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Misfill, Blue Black Edition
Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:
— My 10 Favorite Blue Black Inks (Mountain of Ink)
— Frankenpens: the good, the baddies, and the hecking awesome (idipbananasintocoffee)
— Paris 2024 Breaking Sketch and Building New Palettes (Writing at Large)
— Esterbrook Back to the Land (Figboot on Pens)
— STABILO pencil 88 (Lexikaliker)
— Solving a 2,500-Year-Old Puzzle: How a Cambridge Student Cracked an Ancient Sanskrit Code (Open Culture)
— September Planner/Journal Set-Up: Academia (The Well-Appointed Desk)
— Gioia Metis Fountain Pen Review (Blake's Broadcast)
— Fun facts about the BIC ballpoint pen (video) (The Cramped)
— Take a Nostalgic Dive Through a Visual Cassette Tape Archive (Colossal)
— Take a Look at Mind Keeper, Indie Hand-Drawn Game Made in Unity (80lv)
— Visit to Lamy x Ink House in Hong Kong (Inkcredible Colours)
— Parker 21 Pencil (Chronicles of a Fountain Pen)
— Filofax Fountain-pen Frustration (Notebook Stories)
— How French illustrator Lapin turned sketching from a pastime into a way of life (Creative Boom)
— Stationery Intentions (Dime Novel Raven)
— What is precious resin? (Penfount)
Want to catch the rest, plus extra articles, reviews, commentary, discounts, and more? Try out a Pen Addict Membership for only $5 per month!
