YEAR ROUNDUP: MY FAVORITES OF 2018

2018 has almost come to an end (time goes fast!). To round up the year I made a shortlist of the products I used and loved most in the past 12 months. I get to try out a bunch of new products each year, a lot of which are great, but only a select few really stand out and resonate with me. The products I listed below are of course heavily influenced by my personal preferences, so I'd love to hear from you which products you liked most in 2018!

1. TACTILE TURN

Not at all new to the market, but certainly one of my favourite discoveries of this year. Tactile Turn creates metal pens, which has been an ongoing obsession of mine in the past few years, but I never got around to trying this particular brand. That changed when I recently bought a titanium Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen (now replaced by the new and improved Gist 2.0!) from my friend Mike at The Clicky Post. It was pretty much love on first sight, or rather first touch! Because all Tactile Turn products are characterized by their unique textured surface finish, giving their pens a pleasant 'tactile' (what's in a name!) and grippy feel in the hand. All pens are 100% made in the USA, and prices are actually quite reasonable considering the excellent quality you get. 

(Spoiler alert: expect a bunch of Tactile Turn product reviews in 2019!)

WHERE TO BUY: Tactile Turn, available in Europe through Writing Turning Flipping (German website)

2. LEONARDO OFFICINA ITALIANA MOMENTO ZERO FOUNTAIN PEN

The Italian fountain pen scene has been going through changes in the past years. Old brands went, and new brands came in their place... Ciro and Salvatore Matrone from Delta (RIP) -one of my all time favourite pen brands- started a new adventure in late 2017, and Leonardo Officina Italiana was born. Their first design, the 'Momento Zero' collection, immediately made an impact in the community. With a style that's heavily influenced by Delta, a wide variety of beautiful materials, excellent build quality and a well-tuned bock nib to round things up, they manage to provide a fantastic package (at a very reasonale price too!). I look forward to what they'll come up with in 2019!

(Read my full review)

WHERE TO BUY: Casa Della Stilografica

3. GOOD MADE BETTER PENWELL

I also got acquainted with Good Made Better this year, and took a look at both the original Penwell and their latest Penwell Traveller. The Penwell is a desk accessory that lets you turn any capped pen into a desk pen. It's a simple concept, and a seemingly simple product. This little accessory has received a permanent spot on my desk, making multitasking and jotting down quick notes a lot easier.
(Read my full review of the Penwell and Penwell Traveller)

WHERE TO BUY: Good Made Better

4. SCRIBO WRITE HERE FOUNTAIN PEN

Three years after Omas' sad demise, a group of ex-Omas employees launched their own brand: Scribo - Scrittura Bolognese. They experimented around with a few very high-end models back in 2017, which didn't cause much of a stir. I was more interested in their first retailer-exclusive with Write Here in the UK: the limited edition 'Write Here' and 'Write Here 2' caught my attention because they utilize the same excellent nibs that Omas was so famous for. I got a 14k 'extra flessibile' nib, which is an absolute dream to write with! Just recently, Scribo also launched their first production model (not limited or store-exclusive): the 'Feel'. Definitely another brand to keep an eye on in 2019!
(Read my full review)

WHERE TO BUY: Scribo Write Here Exclusive: Write Here. Other Scribo pens: Appelboom, Casa Della Stilografica, La Couronne Du Comte

5. MILLIGRAM STUDIO LINEN NOTEBOOK

There are a lot of excellent paper and notebook options on the market, but the Milligram Studio Linen Notebook has been my favorite in the past year. The linen cover is pleasant to the touch and sturdy, and it sets this notebook apart from the rest. The B5 size completely won me over, despite my usual preference of slightly smaller A5-sized notebooks, and the Fabriano paper is some of the most consistent and reliable paper I've ever used. It handled everything I threw at it with ease, little to no bleeding/feathering and shading and sheen show up nicely. In the past year that I've had the Milligram Studio Linen notebook on my desk, I consistently reached for it when writing review drafts. I actually finished this one a couple weeks ago, which doesn't happen very often because I usually have two or three notebook in use at the same time!
(Read my full review)

WHERE TO BUY: Milligram

6. ASC BOLOGNA EXTRA ARCO FOUNTAIN PEN

Another brand to tread in the footsteps of Omas is Armando Simoni Club (ASC). I always regretted not buying an Omas pen in the fantastic arco brown celluloid, so I ordered the ASC Bologna Extra almost immediately when it was released in 2017 (and received it early 2018). It's a gorgeous pen in perhaps one of the most gorgeous celluloid materials of all time. On top of that, it's an absolute joy to write with: very smooth, wet and with a nice bouncy 'magic flex' nib (similar to the Superflex nibs found on the Wahl-Eversharp Decoband). ASC now owns pretty much all remaining Omas celluloid stock, which unfortunately reflects in their prices. Nevertheless I'm really glad that I now own a piece of this iconic material (and still for a lot less than what second-hand Omas arco pens are going for these days!).
(Review to come...)

WHERE TO BUY: Sakura Fountain pen Gallery

With the year coming to a close, it's also the perfect time to thank my loyal sponsors for their continued support in 2018. Go give them a follow on social media, browse their webshops, and don't forget to use the discount codes that some of them provide for readers of The Pencilcase Blog!

Disclaimer: I received some of these products for review. However that doesn't change the fact that I reached for these products the most during the past year, this list is based solely on which products I used and enjoyed most throughout the year. There are no affilate links in this post.

TOP 5 BEST BEGINNER FOUNTAIN PENS

As with any hobby, starting out with fountain pens can be a bit scary. Where to start? The wide variety of brands, materials, sizes, nibs,... can be difficult to choose from. Even pricing and price differences can be confusing. It's perfectly possible to find a very decent pen in the 15-50$ price range, but you need to know where to look.

In this buying guide I'll show you around five of the best fountain pens to start off with. These are some of my personal favourites in the 15-50$ range. They should give you a head start into the fountain pen world, without breaking the bank.

Something mportant to keep in mind though: These are five pens that are generally quite well-regarded, but your mileage may vary. Personal taste and preference plays a huge role in finding the perfect pen, so you might have to experiment with a few different styles, sizes, materials before you find out what you're looking for.
At the bottom of the page, you can find a few size comparisons. More in-depth reviews can be found through the links underneath each section.

You can purchase all the pens discussed above from any of my sponsors. As an added bonus, some will give you a small discount when you use the provided discount code at checkout!

KAWECO SPORT

PRICE: 17.5 EUR / 25 USD

PURCHASE: Appelboom | Scrittura Elegante | Fontoplumo | La Couronne Du Comte | Penworld

Kaweco's 'sport' pens are recogniseably by their distinct pocket design with the large cap. This small plastic pen (more expensive metal versions are also available) is meant to be used with the cap posted on the back to transform it into a full-sized pen that is comfortable to use. If you're looking for a valid EDC choice, you should look no further and go with one of these! They come in a wide variety of colors and finishes (Each finish has it's own name: Classic, Ice and Skyline), and you can choose from a bunch of nib sizes (extra fine to double broad).

Read my review of the Kaweco Sport fountain pen HERE

LAMY SAFARI

PRICE: 18.5 EUR / 29.6 USD

PURCHASE: Penworld | La Couronne Du Comte | Appelboom | Fontoplumo

Lamy is one of the most widely recognised brands in the world, and part of their succes is based on the iconic Lamy Safari fountain pen. The Safari is a sturdy plastic fountain pen with a unique, modern design, and comes in a bunch of bright colors (shown above is the transparent 'Vista'). The grip section has a triangular shape, which helps you to hold the pen at the correct angle. Nibs can easily be replaced and are sold separately, so you don't have to buy a completely new pen if you want to change the nib size. 

Read my review of the Lamy Safari fountain pen HERE

PILOT METROPOLITAN

PRICE: 19 EUR / 15 USD

PURCHASE: La Couronne Du Comte | Penworld

Moving on to the Pilot Metropolitan. Possibly the best value for money of all the pens listed here! For just 15 dollars you get a stylish metal pen with a japanese quality nib. The benefit of Japanese pen brands is that they make really fine and precise nibs. If you like to write small, you might want to check out the fine nibs on the Pilot Metropolitan. 

Read my review of the Pilot Metropolitain fountain pen HERE

FABER-CASTELL LOOM

PRICE: from 29 EUR / 40 USD

PURCHASE: Fontoplumo | Penworld | La Couronne Du Comte | Appelboom

We're moving up the ladder with the Faber-Castell Loom. If you are willing to spend a little more, the Loom will provide you with a modern and cool design and a sturdy metal body. The nibs are the biggest selling point for me. Every pen in this top 5 writes good, but Faber-Castell knows how to deliver just that little bit more! Not only do the steel nibs look good, they write super smooth, and can easily compete with pens many times its price! 

Read my review of the Faber-Castell Loom fountain pen HERE

TWSBI ECO

PRICE: 35 EUR / 29 USD
PURCHASE: Scrittura Elegante | Fontoplumo |  La Couronne Du Comte | Appelboom

Last but not least, a pen from the Taiwanese company TWSBI. As one of the younger pen manufacturers around, they gained worldwide popularity for their affordable piston-filled fountain pens. What that means is that you can fill this pen directly from a bottle of ink with the plunger system inside (You can't use it with traditional ink cartridges like the previous pens, which is something to keep in mind). They use transparent materials which allow you to look at the piston mechanism inside the pen, and you can keep track of how much ink is left.

Read my review of the TWSBI ECO fountain pen HERE

Lamy 2000 as a reference on the far right.

Note: This post does not contain any affilate links.