Clarto Lavie Gray Tabby Cat Glass 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

A good glass pen is such a great thing to have around. They may not seem practical at first thought, but they're perfect for testing new inks. It's so much easier to clean off a dip pen after testing an ink than it is to fill a regular fountain pen. And with the ink retention that dip pens have now, it's hardly an inconvenience to re-dip the pen for another half page of writing. The trick, though, is finding a good one. I've used a lot of them that didn't quite work for me. Either the ink didn't flow nicely, or it didn't hold enough ink, or the glass tip was scratchy and tore the paper, or they were too delicate and fragile to use effectively. This Clarto Lavie Glass Pen overcomes all those obstacles and is dang cute while doing so.

Clarto pens are handmade in Japan, so each is unique and they feel like works of art. There's a definite special feeling that one gets while holding something handmade. It's a kind of connection to the maker, from one creator to another. It makes the use of that item all the more special.

This handmade glass pen is a smooth rod with a spiral flame-shaped nib at one end, and the cutest ever blown glass grey tabby cat at the top. It has cute little ears, and wee eyes, and a sweet curling tail, and soft stripes. She looks a bit like my grey tabby, Ursula, which is why I chose grey. It's a very simple construction, and the minimalism of it is definitely part of its charm. The other part of its charm is how well it works.

My favorite use for a glass pens is in ink testing. Y'all know I hate cleaning my fountain pens, so inking up a whole pen just to test an ink feels like a chore. I was excited to have a new tester pen. What I didn't expect, was that it would give me such a fantastic writing experience. I thought it was cute, fine for the short-term use of an ink review. But I would write with this for hours. In fact, in this pen, I've found this year's November challenge. My November-extra-focused-writing-month (formerly NaNoWriMo) will be done with this pen, and I'm excited about it.

The nib writes smoothly with no snags or catches. It has a nice texture on the paper, no dragging or squeaking. It feels just like writing with a good steel nib--and smoother than many. And the ink from one dip lasts for half of an A5 page, so there's rarely an interruption to your writing to re-dip. The spiral design stores ink around the nib, so as one side runs dry, you rotate the pen for some fresh ink. By the time you work your way around the whole nib, you've been writing for ages.

And to clean it--just run the nib under some water for a a second. Presto, done. I love it!

The smooth glass of the pen body is a bit slippery as a grip. That's really the only issue I had with using this pen. I might wrap it in a bit of washi for longer writing sessions. Also, the pen is expensive. The Tabby Cat version costs $140, which is a bit shocking at first, until you remember that it is handmade, and then you write with it and go "OH OKAY I GET IT." There are some more complex designs that cost as much as $179, and they'd be worth it, too. Y'all, there's one with a frog. An axolotl. A manta ray! As well as other seasonal designs. I'm smitten. With this kitten. Sorry, I'll see myself out.

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

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J. Herbin Round Glass Dip Pen Giveaway

My foray into the world of glass dip nib pens has surprised me as much as anyone. Turns out, they are fun and functional stationery items, good for quick ink testing or longer letter-writing sessions. I have one J. Herbin Round Glass Dip Pen to give away this week, in the Turquoise colorway, so read the rules below and enter away!

J. Herbin Round Glass Dip Pen Giveaway

Wancher Shizuku Glass Nib Fountain Pen: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

A few years ago, I reviewed the Wink Pen, a glass nib fountain pen with a converter fill. That pen didn’t meet my expectations due to problems with flow and a less than satisfactory nib. Now Wancher, after years of research, has produced a glass nib fountain pen with a converter filling system. It is called the Shizuku, and it will be available in several colors named after the planets, moons, and space.

Shizuku is a Japanese word that refers to water dropping onto a surface. The Shizuku pen is made from Duralumin, which is a material used in aircraft. It’s lightweight and durable. This material is anodized with incredible colors and also has a tiny bit of texture.

The pen arrives in a large black-velvet-lined box with a red kimono and bottle of Wancher purple ink.

My Shizuku pen is called Earth. It bursts with swirls of colors: yellow, pink, blue, turquoise, orange, purple, and silver. It’s really gorgeous in sunlight.

Unfortunately, the pen has a visible seam on the body and cap. This may simply be how the anodizing process works with this material, but I would prefer a seamless finish.

The pen is, indeed, light in the hand even though the metal itself is quite thick. It weighs 26.5 grams capped and 18 grams uncapped. The cap does not post. The pen is relatively small in length, about the same size as the Kaweco Student: 5.4 inches/137mm capped, 4.7 inches/120mm uncapped.

I’m not too fond of the major drop from the barrel to the grip. Plus the grip is very short--only 10mm. But you can hold the pen by the barrel rather than the grip, so it’s not a deal breaker. I just wish the grip was longer or the step-down smoother. I do love the classy gold/copper color of the grip, and the metal extends all the way into the barrel where it meets the converter.

The nib is a work of art. It is hand-crafted from glass and is an extremely smooth writer. I’ve never been much of a fan of glass nibs, but this one has changed my mind. It writes beautifully, and I love the color of the ink on the clear glass.

The really cool feature of the Shizuku is that it is not a dip pen. This is a glass-nibbed pen with a converter. Unlike the Wink Pen that I reviewed previously, this converter system works perfectly. The ink flows from the converter onto the nib seamlessly, and the nib has just the right amount of wetness.

The nib writes like a fine steel/gold nib. It doesn’t offer any line variation, but it writes smoothly and works well for writing or drawing. I experienced no skipping, blobbing, or hard starts, even after leaving the pen unused for several days.

Wancher is now accepting pre-orders for the Shizuku pen. The options include eight styles: Blue Moon, Saturn, Earth, Mars, Venus, Pluto, Eclipse, and Jupiter. You can choose between a clear glass nib or a black glass nib (for $50 more). There are other add ons, such as pen pillows and pen cases. The base price for a Shizuku is $300, though the Blue Moon model is $350.

I am thoroughly impressed with this pen. And it’s not just me. My daughter, who normally rolls her eyes at my fountain pens, saw the Shizuku and said, “Oooooo! I like this one!” I let her give it a try and she (an artist) was wowed. I suspect she’ll steal this pen from my collection as soon as I’m done reviewing it.

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

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Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!