21 pen questions: 21 pen answers

The air is heavy and humid, every breath feels like breathing underwater. There is no solemn breeze, no shining sun. Clouds seem so close by, almost as if I reached out high enough, I could touch them. A storm is brewing somewhere, and I hope it hits quickly. These are the days I always remember when they ask “Oh, why don’t you like the summer?” And I answer “It’s the weather.”

1- What is the pen they'll have to pry out of your cold dead hands?

It’s definitely the Aurora 88 Big for me. It's a wonderful pen that fits my hand perfectly, but also it is the version with the old style nib, where the longer tines gives it a little softness.

2- What is your "guilty pleasure" pen?

This is a hard one for me, simply because I tend to proudly show off every pen that I have. If I had to pick, it's the Kaweco Sport for me, I will buy pretty much all of the limited new colours, simply because I find them cute and fun. All the wrong reasons to buy a pen…

3- What is the pen or the stationery that you wish existed?

Funnily enough, I feel very spoiled by the current stationery market. I thought about this question for a long time and failed to come up with an answer. Though the first thing, kind of a “default” answer if you will, that popped into my mind was to have more factory nibs simply because contacting a nib specialist for the first time can be a daunting.

4- What pen would you give to a new enthusiast?

Depending on the size of pens they prefer, either a Kaweco Sport or a TWSBI Eco, for different reasons. Sport, simply because it is a cute little pen that comes in so many colours that they are bound to like one. Eco, because one of the great joys in life is all the available ink!

5- What pen or stationery item that you want to get along with, but never clicked?

So far, it is metal barrelled fountain pens for me. I want to like them, I really do, but for some reason or another, they never feel comfortable.

6- What pen do you keep only because it is pretty?

I know this one! It’s the Leonardo x Stilo&Stile Momento Zero Prisma. The pen is super pretty, but I had gotten a soft fine nib on it, which I don't enjoy very much. I think I will have to order a new nib for it from them since they started selling the rainbow coloured nibs separately.

7- What pen or stationery item that you bought because everyone else did?

To be fair, I am pretty good at not doing this. The only thing might be the Hobonichi that

I have at the moment. I did research it pretty well before buying it, but I wanted to try one out before the 2024 edition came out in September, so I actually got a Japanese one. Unfortunately, Japanese is kind of hard to learn in a pinch like that.

8- What pen or stationery item is over your head or baffles you?

It’s the maki-e or any type of super expensive artistically complicated, carved etc pens for me. They are beautiful and amazing, but I could never bring myself to put one into my pen case and take it with me to a cafe. So, I would probably never buy one until I get comfortable with that idea. Maybe that’s why I love my penmeester.be pen so much, the little imperfections on it make it more approachable and make me actually love using it, rather than being afraid that I’ll render a thousand euro work of art unusable.

9- What pen or stationery item surprised you?

Shimmer inks! I never thought they’d become this popular and that I’d enjoy them this much. Dominant Industry and Wearingeul are strong in here, I am trying to keep myself from buying every single ink they come up with.

10- What pen or stationery item doesn’t work for you, but you keep it because it’s a collectible?

I don’t have to even think about this one, it’s the Parker Vacumatic for me. It’s a lovely pen, but for some reason, the pen shape and the nib don’t work for me, so I end up rarely using it.

11- What is your favourite sparkly pen or ink?

I’ll answer both. The ink has to be a tie between Diamine Vintage Copper and Dominant Industry Pearly Lavender. The pen is a pen made by Scribe Pens from the Omas L’aqua di Bologna resin. The subtle sparkle and the distribution of the swirls really shines through in a simple pen shape that’s polished to perfection.

12- Which nib do you love and hate the pen, or vice versa?

Is giving the Leonardo Momento Zero Prisma to this cheating?

13- What pen or stationery gives you the willies?

I don’t understand the appeal of super-flex nibs. I don’t like much line variation that I have to control, that’s why I tend to stick with italic nibs instead of flexy ones.

14- What is your favourite pen for long form writing?

I don't even need to think about this one, it's the Pilot Custom 823. The medium nib I have on mine glides across the page, giving consistent and uniform lines. The large ink capacity means that I can concentrate on what I’m writing rather than the fancy ink and pen I’m using. It literally disappears into my hand.

15- What stationery item or pen do you love in theory but not in practice?

Again, those machined pens from fancy metals or highly engineered plastics. I appreciate that they exist, but I haven’t found one that actually works with my writing style yet.

16- What pen or stationery product would you never let someone else use?

Except for the pen meets and people knowing what they’re doing, it is pretty much all my fountain pens. I rarely give out a pen to people to try if they ask, and I never leave my fancy pens laying around, ready to be just grabbed by anyone. Thankfully, I don't mind saying no to people.

17- What pen or stationery product would you never use for yourself?

Brass pens, or very heavy pens in general. I cannot understand the appeal of them, they just make my hand hurt.

18- What pen or stationery product could you not bring yourself to buy?

Any fancy pen storage. My box is a cheap knockoff from Amazon that keeps my pens away from prying eyes and dust and that’s all it needs to do. Toyooka Craft makes amazing stuff, for example, but I doubt I’ll ever own one.

19- What is your favourite vintage pen?

If we take "vintage" in the sense that it was made before I was born, it is my Harley Davidson pen from the early 90's, which was my first fountain pen. For proper vintage, it is the Sheaffer Tuckaway, or Sheaffer pens in general, I think they’re all neat.

20- What is your favourite EDC/pocket pen?

Well, I’m not really the EDC/pocket pen person, but I usually carry a “purse pen.” It’s a pen that I throw into one of the side pockets of my bag, out of any pen case, so it’s easily accessible and I can use it when I don’t want to pull out all my pens. It’s a tie between the Kaweco Liliput and the Kaweco Sport.

21- What is the pen or the stationery product that got away?

I’m sure there are many more, but the only one that I can think about at the moment is an Aurora 88 demonstrator, rose gold trim, in pretty good condition and for a price I could pay. Two were for offer at the time, the demonstrator and a black and gold trim one. I had gone with the black version simply because I was afraid of staining (I use reds and purples often) and now I miss that pen.

Thank you for reading! 21 pen questions have been going around for a while now, and I just got around to answering them.