#review

It's hard to believe I bought the Baoer 507 fountain pen over a year ago. It's been sitting ever since, patiently waiting its turn to be reviewed. Here it is, finally. I've been wanting to try it the moment I laid hands on its substantial heft, but kept delaying it. The Baoer 507 is a fountain...

This was a long time in a-coming but here it is: a review of the Jinhao 599 fountain pen I picked up on eBay almost a year ago for $2.75, including shipping from China. If you're looking for a similar bargain you might have to do what I did: watch several auctions at once and place minimum bids on...

A while back (well, about 2 months ago) I decided to revisit my Jinhao X750 fountain pen. As a quick reminder, Jinhao is a Chinese fountain pen brand and can be found cheaply on eBay. My own pen sports a broad nib, which seems to be quite rare on the X750. Nostalgia dictated that I give this pen...

My new friends at Pen Chalet sent me a very nice fountain pen to review: the Pilot Knight. Like the Metropolitan, this is a newer release from Pilot. Disclaimer: I received the pen free of charge but no other paymentor incentivefor this review, and all the opinions herein are my own. For now,...

Thanks to Goulet Pens who sent me these pens for review, I can present you with two Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens, one plain silver with medium nib, the other plain black with fine nib. Disclaimer: I received the pens free of charge but no other paymentor incentivefor this review, and all the...

In an unprecedented turn of events, a few weeks ago I was swayed by a sale that Amazon was having on Pilot Vanishing Point fountain pens, and decided to buy one. I had noticed the Vanishing Point and lusted for it for a long time but never dared spend so much money on a fountain pen. As a...

I decided that 2012 would be the year when I stopped buying fountain pens, concentrating instead on reviewing the many ink samples that I have accumulated. Jetpens decided to spoil my resolution by sending me a fountain pen for review. I'm not one to refuse such an occasion so here I am, reviewing...

I will admit that I cheated a bit with this review. I tagged it as "fountain pen review" when it should have been "dip pen review" but I figured I wouldn't be reviewing a lot of dip pens on this blog so I might as well bundle it with my regular fountain pen reviews. This particular J Herbin glass...

Today I'm going to talk to you about a fountain pen and an ink that I have already reviewed. The two were reviewed separately but now they've come together, and it is such a good match that I just had to say a few words about it. As you might know, I'm not a fountain pen collector and I certainly...

A long time ago, back in November of 2011, I posted a very short snippet about a new fountain pen that I acquired. Since these types of pens are not very mainstream (to my knowledge), I turned this into a game by masking the photo and asking my readers if they can identify it. It didn't take long...

Noodler's Ahab is the latest fountain pen from Noodler's Ink but it is also their latest pen with a flexible nib. It is a departure from previous models both in price and in how the pen is built. Both are higher: the price slightly, from $14 to $20, but the quality the modularity of this pen is so...

The Noodler's Flex Pen I am reviewing today is the most inexpensive fountain pen with a flexible nib on the market today. At $14 no other flex pen comes close. Not only that, but the overwhelming majority of fountain pen makers do not want to produce pens with flex nibs, probably because those pens...

The Kaweco Sport Classic is a very interesting fountain pen. It is German-made but unlike many "normal" fountain pens, it uses a design that makes it very compact and easy to carry in your pocket. The excellent portability is achieved by making the cap act as part of the barrel when posted. The...

The cool thing about Lamy fountain pens is that many of the different models share the same type of nib. Among them, I would list the Lamy AL-Star, Vista, Safari, Joy, CP1, Logo, Pur, Studio and Accent. Whew, that's a lot of them! Sharing is good, but being able to swap nibs on the go is even...

The Pilot Varsity might be the cheapest fountain pen on the market (even cheaper than the Platinum Preppy) and as a disposable pen some would be tempted to disregard it completely as a real fountain pen, yet the Varsity is more than meets the eye and I'll tell you why I think so. Pilot markets the...

The Pilot Parallel pens, although fountain pens, are not meant for writing novels, journals or to use in the office. That's because they are primarily intended for calligraphy. This is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the Pilot Parallel, but rather an insight into what makes these pens so...

The TWSBI Diamond 530 is the jewel in my crown of fountain pens. This might sound like a cliche but that's how I feel about this fountain pen. Not only does the name hint to its physical beauty but it is also a king among $50 (or less) fountain pens. To summarize this review in one sentence, you'd...

Noodler's is first and foremost known for their awesome, inexpensive inks that are Made in the USA (for now). I'm a big fan of these inks but when I learned that Nathan, Noodler's owner and operator, also tried his hand at creating a cheap piston filler fountain pen, I had to have it. I will spare...

If you're wondering what a "Noodler's creaper fountain pen" is, I don't blame you because currently you can't buy this fountain pen from any store (online or not) on its own. This pen is included with certain inks and mine accompanied the 4.5oz bottle of Noodler's Nikita. These pens come in...

The Sailor HighAce Neo is one of the least expensive fountain pens in my growing collection. I bought it with the intent to use it with a green ink. The green ink I settled on is Noodler's Gruene Cactus Eel which I reviewed in my last post. I thought I would match the pen and ink colors so I got...

The Lamy AL-Star fountain pen was my first of two pens, along with the Pilot Prera I reviewed a while back. I got the aluminum version, with an EF (Extra Fine) nib. I went for the EF nib because I knew European nibs were at least one size larger than their Japanese equivalent. Note:  Note Booker,...

Although the Platinum Preppy is the lowest fountain pen on the hierarchy that is my collection, it is certainly not a bad writer and it does have its uses. This is the pen that was included with the 4.5oz bottle of Noodler's Heart of Darkness ink that I reviewed a few days ago. This particular...

I bought the Pilot Prera from Jetpens, along with a couple of inks and a bunch of other stuff. See my previous post titled 1st Jetpens haul. I fell in love with the Prera the moment I lay eyes on it. The Prera has such a premium look that it can easily fool one into thinking it costs a lot more...