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Fingers Were Meant to be Inky

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TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen Review

The TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen, with the uncapped pen laying down and the cap standing up behind it

Straight outta Taiwan, check out the chillin’, killin’, piston-fillin’…

TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen

Price: $29.00
Nib: Extra Fine
Filling System: Piston

About the Company

TWSBI is a brand of writing instruments produced by the Ta Shin Precision manufacturing company, headquartered in Taipei City, Taiwan. Ta Shin has been around for several decades, although historically, they served as more of a white-label manufacturer, producing products for other companies to slap their names on and sell (The Korean company LG emerged the same way). Also similar to LG, Ta Shin decided it was in their best interest to develop their own brand, and in 2009, TWSBI was born.

TWSBI is a bit of a different animal in the fountain pen world. Their aim is to create attractive, high-quality, workhorse-level fountain pens that are also

… Read More

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Jinhao 3005 Fountain Pen Review

The Jinhao 3005 Fountain Pen, uncapped, with the pen resting on the cap

Inexpensive. Chinese. Fountain pens. Some are gems; some are disasters. How does this one measure up? Let’s mess with the…

Jinhao 3005 Fountain Pen

Price: $1.58
Nib: Fine / Extra Fine (Hooded)
Filling System: Cartridge/Converter (Standard International)

About the Company & Pen:

There is a huge number of Chinese fountain pen brands. Some, like Hero and Wing Sung, have been around for several decades. Others, like Duke and Kaigelu, are relatively new, but considered among the high-end of options from the Middle Kingdom.

Jinhao—a property of the Shanghai Qiangu Stationery Co., LTD—is another new-ish pen brand that came storming onto the scene in 1988. Okay, so maybe “storming” is a bit of an exaggeration. But at the present time, Jinhao produces a large number of fountain pens that are considered to be of… Read More

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Nemosine Neutrino Fountain Pen Review

The Nemosine Neutrino Fountain Pen laying on top of the writing sample, which uses Pelikan Edlestein Aquamarine ink

The most overachieving fountain pen ever…

Nemosine Neutrino Fountain Pen

Price: $20.00
Nib: Extra Fine
Filling System: Cartridge/Converter (International Standard)

About the Pen:

I can’t say that the Nemosine Neutrino really surprised me, as I had high hopes for it before I even had it in my grubby little hands. It looked nice in all the pictures I had seen, and the one or two reviews I saw for it were favorable. What did surprise me, though, was just how fine and smoothly it writes. The EF nib is touted as “Made in Germany,” so I expected a broader line (I seriously need to stop doing that). But this nib is beautiful! It’s maybe two or three molecule-widths broader than my Sailor 1911 EF & Pelikan M200 EF, and definitely finer than my Lamy 2000 EF.

And in addition to how fine it is, it’s also extremely smooth. The nib just glides across the paper – no catch, no scratch, no real feedback, and barely any noise.

A close shot of the Nemosine Neutrino Fountain Pen nib, showing the design and grade (EF)

This is the second Nemosine pen I’ve used, and I’m very, very happy with both of them. While the Singularity is, by all counts, a “cheap” pen (i.e., not the best materials or build quality), the Neutrino is definitely a pen that looks and feels premium, and it performs far above its modest $20 price tag.

A photo of the Nemosine Neutrino Fountain Pen, uncapped, with the cap laying down and the section of the pen resting on top of it… Read More

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Nemosine Singularity Fountain Pen Review

Nemosine Singularity Fountain Pen, uncapped, with the cap standing up behind the pen, which is laying down

An interesting, little $15 wonder…

Nemosine Singularity Fountain Pen

Price: $15.00
Nib: 0.6mm Stub
Filling System: Cartridge/Converter (Standard International)

About the Pen & the Company:

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this pen. Opinions around the InnerNets are very mixed. Some love their Nemosine Singularity. Others have found them unusable. I’m definitely in the “love” category, but it does have some potentially large flaws that could be considered deal-breakers for those shopping for an inexpensive fountain pen.

Before I get into the pen too much, though, let’s chat for a spell on the company, Nemosine, as they’re sort of a big mystery…. Read More

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Knox Galileo Fountain Pen Review

Knox Galileo Fountain Pens (Black and Orange)

Price: $15.00
Nib: Extra Fine
Filling System: Piston / Cartridge (International Standard, I think)

About the Pen

Knox is an interesting brand. They’re only available from one retailer (XFountainPens out of Pittsburgh, PA, USA). They appear to be commissioned from a Chinese manufacturer, but outfitted with German nibs. I heard some great things about the Knox nibs and noticed that the Galileo came with a free bottle of ink. For $15, I figured I’d take a chance on it (okay, the fact that it comes in a nice, shiny orange may have had something to do with it, too). With the exception of one rather large flaw, I absolutely love this pen…. Read More

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Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen Review

Two Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens: one Bronze Lizard and one Black Crocodile

From the “I know there are a million reviews of this pen already, but I’m writing one anyway” files…

Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen

Price: $15.00
Nibs: Fine & Italic
Country of Origin: Japan
Filling System: Aerometric / Squeeze-Type

About the Pen:

The Pilot Metropolitan is undoubtedly one of the best “starter” fountain pens out there. The street price is $15, making it very affordable. But it’s also a hallmark of quality: durable, dependable, reliable, and comfortable. The Metro is available with either a Fine or Medium nib; however, it used the same nib as several other Pilot pens, which are available in other grades: the Pilot Plumix has an Italic nib, and the Pilot Penmanship has an Extra Fine nib (Note: the Plumix and Penmenship cost about $8 each). The nibs can be swapped from those pens into the Metropolitan, giving a total of four nib options.

For this review, I’m using two different variants of the pen:

  • Bronze Lizard with a Fine nib
  • Black Crocodile with an Italic nib (that I swapped from a Plumix)

… Read More