If you had asked me 2 years ago, I would have said that fountain pens were a bit pretentious. A bit hipster. Something that people spent far too much money on.
Why bother with them? The risk of ink-stained fingers and smudged notes hardly seemed worth it.
The first time I had tried a fountain pen was back when I was in primary school. I had won a fountain pen in a school competition and it was the scratchiest, driest, most impossible tool to write with.
I hated it. And it was enough to convince me that fountain pens were far more hassle than they were worth.
Fast forward to last year. I was in a local stationery shop where they had some fountain pens set out to test. I picked one up out of curiosity and scribbled on the notepad next to it. My mind was blown. It was so smooth – the ink flowed beautifully and the nib slid across the paper with minimal effort. It was a stark contrast to my childhood memory.
I decided that I would buy a fountain pen in that moment. In my day-to-day life, I do a lot of handwriting. Whether that’s planning my schedule out in the morning, brain dumping my thoughts in the evening, or the copious amounts of meeting notes I take in work – there’s a lot of hand-cramping that goes on when I’m using a roller pen.
But finding the ideal fountain pen wasn’t straightforward. In a true Goldilocks scenario, some pens felt too bulky, others too slight. In this article, I review the four pens I purchased in my quest to find the ultimate fountain pen for note-taking.
Contents 1. TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen in Smoke with Rose Gold 2. Kaweco Sport Collection Fountain Pen in Light Lavender 3. Sailor Shikiori Professional Gear Slim Fountain Pen in Dragon Palace 4. Sailor Manyo II Professional Gear Slim Fountain Pen in Rabbit Ear Iris Final Thoughts
1. The TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen
(The One That Was Too Big)
This is the TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen in Dark Smoke with Rose Gold Trim. It was my very first fountain pen on this journey to finding the perfect one and initially I loved it. The ink flows so smoothly out of this pen and it holds a lot of ink – I only had to refill it once every 2-3 weeks with plenty of daily use.
The pen itself is gorgeous and it has a clear demonstrator barrel so you can see how much ink is inside. This feature, unbeknownst to me at the time, became a very important factor for me later on in this journey when I was using pens that didn’t have it.
The biggest issue with this pen was its size. I found it was difficult to write with when the lid was posted – the lid would create a weight imbalance that affected my ability to write. Even without the lid, I found that the barrel was too thick to write with comfortably for long periods of time.
I kept this one for around 6 months and eventually realised that I was not going to adjust to the larger barrel size. My next pen would be much smaller and lighter to try to counteract the issues I had with this one.
Pricing, Preferred Ink and What I Still Use This For
I bought this pen for £48.00 from Cult Pens. The ink that I prefer to use with this pen is the Pilot Iroshizuku Ink in the shade Yama-Budo. The pen fills using a built-in piston-filler which is an absolute dream to use because of the size of the pen. Unlike with converters, the twistable end means that there is plenty of space to dip the pen into an ink pot without getting ink on my fingers.
I have this pen in the Fine nib size and, despite that, it has the thickest line out of all four pens in this review (the others being Fine or Medium-Fine). This means the pen is great at showing off the beautiful colour of the Yama-Budo ink shade, so I still use this pen when I am writing a letter or signing a greetings card.
Pros of the TWSBI Eco: - Holds a lot of ink - I found the built-in piston-filler far easier to use than the converters in the other pens - Clear demonstrator lets you see how much ink is left - The Fine nib size writes very smoothly and the ink flows well
Cons of the TWSBI Eco: - The barrel is bulky and tiresome to hold after a while - Writing with the lid posted throws off the weight distribution - The ridge on the barrel can dig into your finger
2. The Kaweco Sport Collection Fountain Pen
(The One That Was Too Small)
The Kaweco Sport in Light Lavender was the next pen in my journey and it is remarkably smaller than the TWSBI Eco. Unlike the previous pen, this one needs to have the lid posted, otherwise it’s far too short to write with.
I found the barrel size of the Kaweco much more to my liking. It’s also significantly lighter than the TWSBI Eco, allowing me to write for extended periods without hand fatigue.
However, I ultimately felt this pen was too small. I prefer a pen with a bit more heft, and the Kaweco’s lightness made the writing experience less enjoyable. It lacked the substantial feel I was looking for, feeling somewhat ‘plasticky’. Perhaps the metal-bodied Kaweco Steel Sport would have been a more suitable choice for me.
I also found that the thread on the barrel (where the lid screws on) is quite hard and is positioned right where I would place the pen on my finger. I tend to hold my pens more firmly and found that this was digging into my finger quite a bit.
Ink leakage into the thread was another problem I encountered, leading to frequent ink stains on my fingers. I found the thread difficult to clean, and you can see from the picture that some ink is still in there.
Pricing, Preferred Ink and What I Still Use This For
I bought this pen for £24 from Hunter Paper Co. The Kaweco cartridges for this pen are also very affordable, but I purchased a converter to be able to use Pilot Iroshizuku ink as I love how this ink flows and the pigment of it on paper. I bought this pen in the Fine nib and it writes beautifully with the Pilot ink – it also dries much quicker in comparison to the Fine-nib TWSBI.
Thanks to its compact size, this pen is perfect for throwing into a tech pouch or a purse as a back-up pen. I always keep it in my work bag when I’m heading into the office in case I forget to bring my preferred pen with me.
Pros of the Kaweco Sport: - Comfortable to hold and light in the hand - Very affordable pricing - Option of using ink cartridges or a converter - The Fine nib size is smooth to write with despite being a thinner line than the TWSBI
Cons of the Kaweco Sport: - The thread ridge is hard and uncomfortable if you hold the pen firmly - It feels a little too light and very plastic - Easy to get stained fingers
3. The Sailor Shikiori Pro Gear Slim Fountain Pen
(The One That Was Nearly Perfect)
The next pen on my journey was the Sailor Pro Gear Slim Fountain Pen in the shade Dragon Palace. This is a seriously beautiful pen. The nib is a 14K gold Medium-Fine and the yellow gold detail goes so well with the light jade green. There are the tiniest little gold flecks running through the jade green which makes the pen sparkle in the sunlight.
The size and the weight of this pen are absolutely perfect for me. I found that it completely addressed the size and weight issues that I had found with the TWSBI and the Kaweco. This is a pen that I can write with for a full hour and have little to no hand fatigue – it’s absolutely effortless.
The ridge of the thread is much softer on this pen and so it doesn’t dig in at all when I hold the pen. I also absolutely love that Sailor pen nibs make a feedback noise when writing – like the sound of a pencil lead on paper – yet the ink flows completely smoothly. It is such a pleasure to write with this pen that it makes me want to write even more, purely for the enjoyment of using it.
I thought that this was the final pen on my journey to finding the perfect fountain pen. Except, it wasn’t. I found that I was not diligent enough to remember to check the ink levels in the pen and would often find myself running dry in the middle of a meeting.
That’s when I realised just how useful the clear converter in the TWSBI pen was (not that I ever really needed to rely on it back then, as the TWSBI holds SO much ink in comparison to the much smaller converters in the Kaweco and Sailor pens). I knew that if I could just keep an eye on the ink level in the Sailor, then I would have the perfect fountain pen that wouldn’t leave me short.
Pricing, Preferred Ink and What I Still Use This For
I was very hesitant to spend a lot of money on this pen when I hadn’t used or seen one in real life. Luckily, I was able to purchase one from Japan at a discounted price of £112 on Ebay. Normally, this pen has an RRP of £170 in the UK.
At first, I tried using the Sailor Shikiori ink cartridges with this pen – I did not get on well with these at all. I found the Shikiori ink to be very dry, faint and scratchy to write with. I tried the shades Sakuramori and Shitoshito and could not get on with either of these.
The Sailor pen came with a converter and once I loaded that up with the Pilot Iroshizuku ink then it was a complete transformation. I definitely prefer the wetter consistency and richer colour of the Pilot ink.
Even though this pen isn’t the one that I use for the vast majority of my writing, I still use it every day as it writes and feels exactly the same as my holy grail pen. It is absolutely stunning to write with and I could not recommend this more.
Pros of the Sailor Shikiori Pro Gear Slim: - The ideal size and weight for my hand size and writing preferences - It feels solid and is beautifully made - The pencil-like sound of the nib on paper is a pleasure to hear
Cons of the Sailor Shikiori Pro Gear Slim: - I did not enjoy the writing experience with the Sailor Shikiori cartridges - The converter does not hold a lot of ink and I often ran out mid-meeting - This is an expensive pen with an RRP of £170
4. The Sailor Manyo II Pro Gear Slim Fountain Pen
(The One)
And so, the journey finally comes to an end with the Sailor Manyo II Pro Gear Slim Fountain Pen in the shade Rabbit Ear Iris. This is the pen. The holy grail. The pen I never knew I needed and that I now know I could never do without.
It is, essentially, identical to the previous Sailor Shikiori Pro Gear Slim – the size and weight of both pens are the same. They both have the 14k gold nib and the lovely pencil-scratch sound on paper. The difference here – and, for me, it’s the key difference – is that the Sailor Manyo has a transparent demonstrator barrel so that the all-important ink level can be monitored when using a converter.
For me, my fountain pen has to be a work horse that can get me through a 9-5 of meetings and then more brain dumps in the evening. I can’t practically whip a bottle of ink out half-way through the work day and start refilling the converter – so for me, it’s essential that I can always keep an eye on my ink level without having to take the pen apart to check.
So this is the holy grail fountain pen for me. I can write and write and my hand does not tire, and it is an absolutely beautiful pen to look at when I’m thinking of what to pen next. Compared to when I was using ball-point pens, I no longer have hand-cramps after writing furious meeting minutes for an hour straight. This is the perfect pen for note-taking for that reason. The size, the weight and the sound of the nib make it an absolute pleasure to use.
Pricing and Preferred Ink
This pen is priced at £185 from Cult Pens. However, unlike the Sailor Shikiori pen, this pen comes with a 50ml bottle of Sailor Manyo ink in the shade Kakitsubata, which does justify the higher price.
Unlike my experience with the Sailor Shikiori ink cartridges, I found that the Sailor Manyo ink is absolutely fantastic to write with and on par with the Pilot Iroshizuku. I have had this pen for a couple of months now and I have stayed with the Manyo ink for that time.
The Manyo ink writes just as smoothly and with the same vivid colour as the Pilot ink. The Kakitsubata shade is a soft and slightly purple-hued blue. It has replaced the Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo as my favourite blue shade.
Pros of the Sailor Manyo II Pro Gear Slim: - The perfect pen for me in terms of size, weight and writing experience - The clear demonstrator barrel means it's easy to see when ink levels are low - As with the Sailor Shikiori, I love the sound of the nib on paper
Cons of the Sailor Manyo II Pro Gear Slim: - This is another expensive pen with an RRP of £185
Final Thoughts
I did not expect to become the convert that I am to fountain pens. Before embarking on this journey, I really felt that a pen was just a pen, but this experience has definitely changed my view. For someone like me, who relies heavily on pen and paper every day, finding the right fountain pen has significantly enhanced my writing. It’s about more than just avoiding hand cramps – it’s about enjoying the entire experience. There’s something special about using a well-crafted fountain pen that you just don’t get with a regular BIC.
When looking for the perfect pen for yourself, consider the pain points that you are trying to address. Consider the size and weight of the pen if you intend to write for long periods of time. Consider, too, the cost of the pen if you are prone to losing pens. For some, the idea of using converters and ink will be too much hassle – in that case, check the reviews of the cartridges that go best with the pen.
My adventure in finding the right fountain pen was relatively brief and highly rewarding, with only four attempts to discover ‘the one’. Your experience may lead you down a different path. You might find joy in starting a collection or, like me, you might prefer to find that one perfect pen. As for expanding my own collection… I’m not sure if I will, but let’s revisit that thought in a year to see!