If I Could Only Keep 10 Fountain Pens

The thought experiment of limiting one's fountain pen collection to 10 pens has been weaving through the fountain pen internets for a little while now. At first I thought I'd just let the whole trend blow over because sometimes I randomly and stubbornly rebel against doing something that "everyone" is doing. 😜 But I kept seeing it, and heard Brad and Myke's list on one of the recent Pen Addict podcast episodes, so I was eventually worn down and decided to think on it. But of course, in classic overthinking fashion, I came up with caveats for, or questions about making this list, because: 

• Even though I have been collecting fountain pens for 3 years now, I still feel like I'm a newbie as I haven't tried out as many brands, big or small, as I've wanted yet, so how would I know what actual 10 pens I would keep "forever"?
• I have a few sentimental pens – at least one of which I don't use a lot but probably wouldn't sell – that may take up a bunch of slots in the list
• I don't have lots of pens with a unique story behind them, like I heard from Brad, Myke, and others who wrote in with their lists
• etc., etc., etc...

But of course, y'all are probably saying, "this list can change over time", "you're really putting too much stock in this", "this question is supposed to be fun", or y'all are just facepalming at me, etc. And yes, I agree! So whatever, I'll get on with it. 😅 

The "Sentimentals"

Kaweco Sport Iridescent Pearl, EF nib

This is my first fountain pen. I used the typical Sheaffer (?) calligraphy pen set when I was younger, but I never used fountain pens as regular writing implements until about 3 years ago. I'd seen a line in the Heartstopper comic about how Nick thought using a fountain pen made his handwriting look nice (😅), which made me think back on the calligraphy pens I used and nudged me into wanting to try fountain pens. I think I used one of the Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens a long time ago which feathered terribly because I was using it on crappy, non-fountain-pen-friendly paper, so that was in the back of my mind, but I pushed on and ordered the Kaweco Sport from JetPens because it was cute. Soon after that, I bought a violet Kaweco AL Sport from Goldspot, IIRC, and away I went. I don't remember what nib I chose originally, but I've found that I prefer EF nibs from Kaweco (assuming they're tuned well), so that's what I'd pair with the Iridescent Pearl. 

Kasama Una Takipsilim, Franklin-Christoph F SIG nib

I call this my "Pinoy pen" because it is from a Filipino maker. (For context, if you, Dear Reader, didn't know, I am Filipino-American.) I was lucky that the maker had extras they were selling on Instagram, because it was a Manila Pen Show pen. It's my first and only Ultem pen, which I wanted to buy because it has a cool gradient paint job that masks a lot of the translucent yellow Ultem color that I'm not the biggest fan of. It has an interesting grip shape, and is well-suited to swap different JoWo nibs into. 

I got the pen with a M JoWo nib, but I soon realized that M JoWos are really too broad for my tastes. After a bit of nib swapping, I landed on the F SIG (Stub Italic Gradient; line variation changes with writing angle) from Franklin-Christoph. I don't vary my writing angle too much, so it ends up being pretty similar to the F stub I have from All In the Nib (coming up below).

Skogsy Pens Cholla, Monty Winnfield Utility nib

I went to the San Francisco Pen Show for the first time in 2023. From pre-show research on Instagram, I knew that I wanted to visit the Skogsy Pens table because they had previewed a fountain pen using the "Papillion" blank by Turnt Pen Co that I really wanted to get. I went to their table first and I think I found the fountain pen I wanted to buy, but for some reason, in person it didn't click with me. Either that, or I found a different Papillion pen. 🤷‍♀️ I ended up getting a Cholla using a different Turnt Pen Co blank called Ziggy. This is my first maker pen, and the first pen bought at my first pen show, so yeah, there's a fair amount of "new fountain pen collector" sentimental value here, like with the Kaweco Sport Iridescent Pearl. But also, I just love the design and how the pen feels when I use it. It has a thicker grip section than many of my other pens, but over time I realized that larger grip sections can be pretty comfortable.

When I got the Monty Winnfield Utility nib, a reverse architect, I put it in my Cholla and didn't move it from there until I got another Cholla which I wanted to use it in. But if I'm making this my only Cholla, the Utility nib is going back in it. 

Esterbrook Estie Avalanche, F nib

We lost both of our cats last year – Pixel in August, and Sprite in December, a few days after Christmas. I had to take care of them both throughout their illnesses, so it was incredibly draining, physically and emotionally. After Sprite passed, we went to Los Angeles over the New Year's Eve holiday to take a break from the sadness of our cat-free house, and try to decompress from it all. 

I knew there were some stationery and fountain pen stores around, and Flax Pen to Paper was the main one I figured we could go to that wouldn't be too much of a hike from our chosen location. But because of holiday closures, we could only stop there on our way out of town on Jan 2. 

I marveled at all the recognizable stationery and fountain pen brands they had available, which I don't have local access to in the San Francisco Bay Area (ugh, why aren't there more stationery and fountain pen stores around here??). I couldn't convince my husband to let me buy a Platinum Izumo Raden Galaxy (LOL), so I browsed around at the other more reasonably priced pens. 

I came across a couple Esterbrooks in a display case, quickly dismissed the rollerball pen, and focused on the fountain pen with the swirly, sparkly acrylic resin body, which turned out to be a limited edition Estie Avalanche in a Diamondcast resin. I zeroed in on it and made the purchase so quickly that it wasn't until afterwards that my brain processed my brief conversation with the salesperson and realized the pen might've been a return. I probably should've tried to negotiate the price down, but a) I'm not at all skilled in haggling, and b) not sure if there would've actually been a case to be made for a lower price even if it had been a return, as it did look to be in practically new condition (I noticed water on the nib and in the converter when I got home, which led to my realization). 

Anyway, after inked it up and tested it out, I found there was something about the Estie's shape and the performance of the F nib that felt really comfortable. I would like to get one or two more Esties in the future. Strangely, I now link the pen to my cat Sprite or his memory, so I doubt I'll ever sell it on. 😔

The Remaining 6 Pens

Pilot Capless Fermo in Blue, Sallymander Nibs Stacked Architect

The Capless Fermo was a Christmas gift from my husband. It was my first Pilot Capless. The collector in me felt the Fermo was a bit more special because the pen model was discontinued. My contrarian side was also drawn in by the fact that it had a twist mechanism instead of the typical clicky pen knock of the Vanishing Point. Yes, it's less convenient to extend and retract the nib because you can't do this one-handed (at least, I can't), but that's not the point! 😜 Besides, it's a silent mechanism, which is nice.

Later on I came across a nib maker, Sallymander Nibs on Instagram, doing cool things with stacked nibs. I specifically saw a post about a stacked nib unit for a Vanishing Point commissioned by someone else. I inquired about it and got my own commissioned stacked architect nib. It is so cool to see that on such a small nib! And of course, the nib unit can be swapped into other Pilot retractable pens, so it's a versatile option. I love architect nibs because the thin downstrokes and thicker cross-strokes work well with my all caps block printing. 

BENU Euphoria Earl Grey Tea, All In the Nib F stub

I love the transparent warm brown resin with chunky gold and metallic blue glitter that makes up the faceted body of this Euphoria model. This was an exclusive limited edition from a retailer I don't patronize anymore, but I'm happy it's in my collection. The design is lovely. BENU pens are one of my favorites thanks to their more eye-catching and glittery designs. If I didn't have a "rule" to try spread my purchases more evenly across multiple brands, I probably would have a ton more BENU pens in my collection. 

As for the nib, I actually swapped the F stub Schmidt nib from another BENU Euphoria I bought. While I generally prefer architect nibs, this narrower stub nib is great! Over time I found that 1.1 stubs are too wide for my small writing. I don't do enough lettering to use the 1.1 stub in the way that it's meant to be used. Give me F (or even EF) stubs/italics from now on, please. 

Waterman Carène Gunmetal, F nib

I'd been looking at Waterman Carènes for a while, searching for the different versions, because while the amber version was appealing, that novelty-seeker in me wanted a model that was different from the typical versions others were buying. I came across a purple one on eBay, but there was something about the finish that felt a little cheap to me, so I kept searching. Amazingly, I came across the Gunmetal in a Reddit pen swap post at a pretty great price. I tried to haggle a little bit, but eventually bought it for asking price because I didn't want to let it slip away. 

I love the geometric pattern on the all metal body. The heft of the metal body feels substantial, but not heavy. I don't have a lot of metal body pens in my collection, so that alone makes it stand out. To my eye, this looks better than the other models of Carène out there.

I'd seen a video review for Carène Gunmetal (there are surprisingly few reviews, video or otherwise, for this pen out there) and the pen had a stub nib. I couldn't tell if that was a separate available nib unit, or if the F nib had a stubbish shape. When I got the pen, I found out the F nib is just a standard Western F. I was able to find an online retailer selling the stub nib unit, but when I got it I found it entirely too broad and thick for my writing. It was probably a 1.1 stub, but the nib had extra thick tipping that made it into a small rectangle rather than the regular stub nib shape. I have the nib unit around, but I don't know what to do with it. Perhaps someday I'll ask a nib specialist to modify it. 

Pilot Elite in Blue, script nib

An online pen friend most graciously asked if I wanted him to get me a couple of the older Pilot Elites he saw at the Taiwan Pen Show a few years ago, and I happily jumped at the chance. One is a metallic dark blue, and the other is a shiny dark magenta. 

I prefer the blue one because it has a dark blue section matching the cap and the rest of the pen body, while the magenta has a creamy white grip, which I don't like the look of as much. If the magenta had a matching grip section, I'd probably have picked it over the blue, given that purple is my favorite color, and this is kinda close. I think the nib on the blue one performs a little better than the magenta's, but that can be fixed. I have a couple other vintage Pilot Elites with an EF and a SF nib that might write a little better than the blue Elite, but I can't help wanting the burst of color vs the traditional black and gold designs. I feel like Pilot could sell a lot of Elites now if they offered them in different colors! C'mon Pilot, do it!

TWSBI ECO Caffé Bronze, EF nib

For the most part, I am a cartridge converter pen person because I like changing inks frequently. The TWSBI ECO Glow Purple was my first piston filler, I think, and while its demonstrator and glow-in-the-dark cap and piston knob novelties appealed at first, its ink capacity kind of worked against it, because I would quickly bore of the ink I put in it and either clean it out because I wanted something new, or I just wouldn't use the pen as much. But its seal is very good, so unless I cleaned out the ink, it wouldn't just dry up over time like my other pens do. 

When I got the Caffé Bronze with the EF nib, I really liked its performance. The EF nib is broader than a Japanese EF, but it is smooth and has a good balance between a nice thin line for my small writing, and still showing off ink shading. I've learned to put my favorite shading or chromoshading inks in it, because then I won't mind that the ink lasts for months and months in the same pen. I consider this pen one of my "workhorse" pens that I can fill and not worry about. Plus, brown pens for the win. 💪

Lamy Lx Marron, cursive nib

I don't mind the triangular grip on some of Lamy's pens. This is actually my first Lamy that I bought secondhand, again from r/Pen_Swap. I'd seen this pen online before and really liked the satin metallic bronze color, not least because I have an HP Spectre laptop with a similar color scheme that I really like. 🙂 I guess I really like bronzey colors! Anyway, the Lx wasn't really that expensive new, but the fact that I found it at a small discount was a nice bonus. I think it originally came with a black EF nib, but after I discovered the Lamy cursive nib, it quickly got swapped onto the Lx. 

Funnily enough, because the Lx was my first Lamy, later when I bought a Safari, I was kind of disappointed by its fully plastic construction and lighter heft. It felt cheaper than the Lx, but of course, the Lx is marketed as a premium level above the AL-Star, so it's not the Safari's fault. Between the cool color and the awesome cursive nib -- which annoyingly is now discontinued?? -- the Lx Marron makes it into this list as another workhorse pen with a bit of flair. 

The Cruelty of It All! :waving fists at the sky:

Ugh, I have a few other pens I wish I could include! I am kind of annoyed at having the Kaweco Sport on my list because I really don't use it a lot these days, but I also just can't let it go due to its "FIRST!" status... And while I stand by the inclusion of the TWSBI ECO and Lamy Lx workhorse pens because it just makes sense to include a couple of those, I also wonder if I should swap them for a couple other pens I would really like to include... Bah.

Well, I will say that in the future, should I be able to get a grail pen or two added to my collection, this list would change anyway, so let's just call the list done for now. 

I will write a follow-up sometime with the honorable mentions that I really wanted to include but decided against, for whatever reasons.