My Favorite Pens: 2018 / Fountain Pen Reviews

[@sulahu]

1. Platinum Preppy 2. Wing Sung 618 3. Ranga Model 3 4. TWSBI Vac 700R 5. Platinum 3776 Century 6. Sailor 1911 Large 7. Pelikan M 600 8. Visconti Homo Sapiens

[@meatycamel6775]

List starts at 8:15

[@-il3zv6bt7c]

thanks

[@DD-d6d3]

You're my hero.

[@mirageinthedesert5448]

Meaty Camel than you

[@kyeeeye]

thanks

[@septarap3901]

You have done god's work!😁

[@richardsimms251]

Great video. RS

[@anguswhite8233]

We love your Esterbrook model J w Diamine poppy red(a great ink!)

[@onewithstache3639]

I love the sound of the pens knocking against eachother. Has an ASMR sound.

[@crujones4128]

OneWithStache The funny thing is it had the opposite affect on me. I’m a little OCD about not scratching my things and all I could think about when his pens were knocking against each other was the scratches! Lol.

[@SuperManning11]

Yeah, that sound made me a little crazy, but glad you enjoyed it.. the sound of slurping the coffee almost made me skip the entire video. I‘m just weird, I guess.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

What a splendid list. The two standout pens that I desperately want to have are the Esterbrook J, and the Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator. Neither made it on his list. But they definitely do mine. I gotta get both pens anyway I can.

[@greggregson1365]

I'm a little bit of a ranga fanboy but I've never thought of their lower end pens. Never tried an ebonite pen too. Great list

[@tdawson7689]

I enjoyed this video because it made me feel good about myself. I feel like I have a problem with buying too many pens, but I don't think I have half as many as you do. I'm amazed at the variety of pens you have from the wide spectrum that's available. This was a fun video. Thanks.

[@PuzzledPenguin11]

Nice list and review. Wondering if you have ever considered oblique nibs given the slight rotation you seem to write with - although idk if that’s just the camera/angle

[@rickmichaelson7453]

Hello. I'm new to your channel, and really appreciated your enthusiasm for a wide range of pens. It is refreshing to hear pens that are modestly priced well reviewed. Thanks.

[@danlevene5478]

I do enjoy your videos, thanks. I easily have 30 pens inked up now. One of the ones I am enjoying is my newish penbbs 456 with a 1.4 Knox stub nib. Vac filler at an unbeatable price with shut off valve, lovely acrylic, shut off valve and juicy.

[@pntm2006]

Nice list... Personally I would switch the 618 and 601. Had a 618 build quality issues in the past.

[@jasminemattox8857]

Nice variety. Ordered my first Ranga and will try the 618. Thank you

[@greyareaRK1]

Excellent. Really appreciate the range of pens. My understanding is that well made modern steel nibs can compete with gold nibs, which begs the question 'How do they compare experientially in terms of writing?' Also, what makes an expensive pen worth the money? It's not like the difference is $20, after all. I can see precious materials and workmanship mattering, but often those are not significant factors in modern expensive pens. If anything, high end models seem to suffer more from maladjusted nibs, and often farm out their nibs and/or feeds to other companies. If I'm not brand-conscious, what exactly am I paying for?

[@michaelfernandez3182]

This is probably the longest "did not make it" list I've seen on a Fountain Pen video.

[@anguswhite8233]

could we have the exact designation of that Aurora88 nib please?:)

[@cocosricos5541]

what nib has the sailor 1911 large? you didn't specify. thanks!

[@rafgomez333]

Have you ever tried any Marlen fountain pen? The craftsmanship seems exceptional but there is not a lot of information about them out there. Thanks,

[@WhatIInk]

I have not. Something to add to my list.

[@rafgomez333]

@@WhatIInk Thank you very much for the reply. I look forward to seeing a review from you in the future. In the mean time, there is one I have my eyes on, and since there are no reviews, I will probably just have to give it a try myself. Cheers!

[@anguswhite8233]

Steven Brown can be as popular as he likes: guarantee I’ve watched a lot more of your vid’s than his!:)

[@ishitagupta5959]

Love the pens... Funny handwriting tho😂

[@magnoliamike]

What are some other vintage piston filler pens that are decently priced ...say under $40? I’m very new to Fountain pens I just got my first pen 3 days ago. A White TWSBI Eco with a Medium sized nib. I really like the lever thing in the side of the ester brook

[@WhatIInk]

Piston-fillers are not very common in vintage pens, and I can't think of anything decent and vintage that's a piston-filler in that price range. If you're willing to try a lever-filler, a great starter, vintage pen is either an Esterbrook J or a Wearever Pennant.

[@magnoliamike]

What I Ink yeah I can see why it was pretty long ago. Most of them were lever style huh? They look really cool too !

[@LarsMillberg]

Thanks for the video. Which nib size was it on the Visconti?

[@WhatIInk]

It's a "fine"

[@putteringpenman]

The Pilot Custom 823 is a great pen! Nice video!

[@AdrianPI]

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing

[@MukeshGupta-mk4bh]

Good job please keep making

[@Tauruz01]

Thank you for this exellent video! A lot of good information. I’m new to fountain pens, purchased my first about one year ago. Have tried a lot of cheap chinese pens, some very good for the price, Lanbitou 3059, Wing Sung 3008, Delike Alpha, Jinhao 992, X450, X750 etc. Then I step up to Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Al Star, Twsbi Eco, Kaweco Classic Sport and a few more in that price range. Now, as a christmas gift to myself, i’ve ordered a Twsbi Diamond 580 ALR from Appelboom in the Netherlands (I live in Sweden). Next fountain pen on my purchase list is Platinum 3776 Century, as you say, seems to be a great pen. The price on Ebay, shipped to Sweden, is about $80 which I think is a good price for that fountain pen. Keep up the good work! Subscribed.

[@WhatIInk]

Thanks very much. The 3776 is a great choice and that's an even better price. You're going to enjoy it!

[@neilpiper9889]

I love the looks of the clear demonstrater 618. I wonder how it will hold up as I only just bought one. I prefer the Pilot Pluminix with the B stub nib to the Preppy. But then I like stubs. I have a 1.1 on my Twsbi eco. Great Jowo nib. Really smooth. I like my Pilot Decimo with a 18k gold stub nib in the under 200 group. I don't go above 200 for any pens. I have a Pilot Custom heritage 912 with the fa nib which was 170. If I was rich I would get a Visconti pen. I like the London fog. As I am poor I love my Wing Sung 3008 with a Lamy 1.1 nib on it. Cost 9 most of that on the nib. I am surprised it didn't make your list. My favourite vintage is a Waterman's 515 lever filler from the 1940s Made in England. 14k flex nib. Awesome. My friend gave it to me as he has no grip in his hand anymore. Best gift ever. A pen I am very attached to is my Pilot 78g with the B stub nib from a Pluminix that I swapped into it. I have an Indian pen, the Fpr Indus with the full flex nib.

[@arunabhalahiri4931]

Platinum preppy ef nib is one of my fav, but the pen cracks too easily..

[@meh8982]

Get a Platinum Plaisir - it's the aluminum version of the Preppy and very durable. The sections are interchangeable and you can switch your EF into it and have a lightweight, non-cracking pen. I use them all the time at work. (You can't eyedropper it though.)

[@InGratitudeIam]

Thanks for making this video! Next time (slurp), skip the (slurp) coffee. :))) Otherwise, good video! I'm curious though, why do you think a 21K gold nib is amazing? 14K nibs out perform 18K nibs in terms of flex and durability. For me, I find most pens balance better in the hand not posted. Also, depending on the construction of the cap, not posting a pen avoids the cap getting cracked. As far as ink, Noodler's is tough on older pens and tends to clog ebonite feeds. Ask any pen pro and they'll tell you that new pens tend to fare better with Noodler's, but not always. Thanks again. You have a wonderful collection!

[@WhatIInk]

Thanks! I don't think that the high gold content is what necessarily makes the Sailor nibs so great, I think they just make amazing nibs. I have had no issues using Noodler's inks with ebonite feeds, but I don't use them in any sac filled pens. For sacs is pretty much just Waterman, Mont Blanc and certain Diamines.

[@laurameszaros9547]

I don't like pens that don't post. So easy to put the pen down whilst picking up a cup of coffee and then it rolls over and ruins an expensive nib. But you have an interesting selection.

[@jpl2475]

Thanks for the video. Looks like you have some great pens there. Ironically though I had the exact opposite views to the lanbitou, I just couldnt find a comfortable grip with it, and i thoight the wing sung 3008 was nicer to use. Happy holidays :)

[@guyonaruba]

Thanks for sharing this valuable information on pens and ink. It hurt me a bit to see that you handle your pens a bit rough.

[@hmApollo101]

Lambitou? You haven't tried the Wing Sung 3008- $2.50

[@WhatIInk]

I sure have. It's a good pen. I just liked the Lambitou better.

[@anthonycolosimo5699]

Is that vac700 inked with Lamy Azurite? Because, same dude. Same.

[@WhatIInk]

No. As it says in the video, that's Waterman Tender Purple.

[@anthonycolosimo5699]

@@WhatIInk yeah, I ended up watching the rest and was in the process of deleting that comment. Lol.

[@carolevilleneuve7411]

Liked your video and opinion. For visual appeal, please try to move a little less when showing the pen (too much jiggling).

[@vwood2]

Excellent! Very interesting and enjoyable to hear your thoughts on each of the pens - thank you!

[@bieberninja1]

just some random thoughts: i've never understood why pen companies pair off a cap that looks completely different to the actual pen, it makes me think that they had some spare parts laying around and just threw them together because they were too lazy i was excited to buy the opus until i found out it doesn't post, why take that option away from us? i don't know why but the vintage and modern esterbrooks just turn me off i bought the 717 dollar fountain pen for $3.99 thinking i would only get 1 pen but it turns out i got 3 pens in different colors and all the nibs were stub nibs and they were all piston fillers, so that's $1.33 for a piston filler and stub nib, kinda puts things into perspective when sbrebrown lists off the piston filler as one of the reasons to justify the high prices of some of the pens he reviews for your vac700r, i had the same problem with posting but i just took a tiny piece of scotch tape and put it on the underside at the back of the barrel, it posts securely and i sometimes forget it's there since i can't see it unless i turn it over thank you for the video

[@petrisz]

It's totally subjective but I'm not sure why the Vac 700 needs to be posted. It's not a small pen by any means and though it's plastic it certainly has enough heft... Just my 2¢...

[@petrisz]

Ok, I get it, you post the oversized Homo Sapiens as well :)

[@WhatIInk]

It doesn't *need* to be posted, I just prefer to always post so I don't lose the cap.

[@colinmartin9797]

You know the 3776 is only $65-80 on Amazon and eBay?

[@carolevilleneuve7411]

Are you sure it had a gold nib? I've seen some as well and discovered that they are also offered with steel nibs. Pilot Vanishing Point does this as well (called an 'alloy' nib), at a lesser price, but still great pens and workmanship.

[@collecter3456]

carole villeneuve I got my 3776 for 72 dollars on amazon. It is a 14 karat gold nib, it even says it on the nib. So yes, it does have a gold nib! Great price, I suggest you look on their for stuff like that.

[@meh8982]

@@carolevilleneuve7411 There is a 3776 Platinum pen looking similar to the Century that does have a steel nib (the Maestro or Balance PTB-5000 (not the more well known Platinum Balance/Cool)), which is a little cheaper than the Century. But all the 3776 Century pens have gold nibs, and they do sell at that price on Amazon.

[@carolevilleneuve7411]

@@meh8982 I think I had forgotten the price conversion for the canadian dollar... so you're right about the price.

[@barbarawhipple6979]

Absolutely loved the videos and recommendations!

[@lancefellows6391]

A very interesting list - thanks for sharing

[@ahumphr]

A very enjoyable 36 minutes. The Aurora 88 makes me green with envy, The Lotus seemed to be having some rail roading issues - was it just having a bad day or is it prone to rail roading?

[@WhatIInk]

Nah.. It's just me writing the cross strokes at a bad angle.

[@jd7713]

Suprised Pilot C 823 didn't make it. It is one of the best ones I have. Pilot Preppy burps ink blubs on the paper if it is not full and also cracks all over-Not good quality.

[@DD-d6d3]

Preppy is made by platinum

[@Lowkster]

Would have swapped the 823 and the 700R myself but overall very well balanced list. Keep it up!

[@WhatIInk]

Ahhh, but they are at very different price points. The 823 costs quadruple what the 700R does! Thanks!!

[@Lowkster]

What I Ink ah I stand corrected then, forgot about that criteria.

[@harryrad3823]

Great video! I have an Aurora 88 also, amazing pen, on the feed of mine it says the nib size but it’s really hard to see. I don’t know if yours will be the same but have a look. Again good video

[@j.e.7028]

great review

[@alexlee4588]

Great video - watched to the end. Took some notes. Many thanks and happy holidays

[@ryujeffrey5735]

Good selection, but seems like you can work on your hand writing. My advice is dont hold the pen side ways, hold it nib side up.

[@archie_en]

Интересное видео, но почерк не позволяет расшифровать названия. Лучше печатать их.

[@lenorebreen3394]

Great Great video!!

[@mlhm5]

Top 100 from the NY Magazine - I have serious doubts - nymag.com/strategist/article/best-pens-gel-ballpoint-rollerball-felt-fountain.html?#comments

[@なま文字]

こんにちは♪・Visconti is the best・ビスコンティーが一番。

[@Nick-cp3sr]

Great Video - Subscribed! 👍

[@byronzhao2962]

A great list for people don’t know how to hold a pen correctly. SUGGESTION: Improve your handwriting :))

[@Jacebeaner]

All the downvotes are from people with misophonia

[@Jacebeaner]

Coffee slurp

[@alexmood6407]

I would like your video if it would start at 1:08. First minute is horrid but it gets better.

[@cliffyeager1051]

Oh my god!!! I was losing my mind by 20 seconds in with the annoying voice and coffee slurping. Why would you have camera zoomed in on coffee. You suck!!

[@richardc6932]

Looking at a coffee cup and listening to an annoying slurping are not what I expected to see. The tight shot of the pen and fingers is a little hard to watch.

[@drdiptangshudas]

Nice and informative video. But you really need to work on your writing skills. It's terrible !!!

[@manuelsalazar3938]

Nice videos you post but it really bothers me to watch your cup or coffee or your glass of wine, the sound of your sipping makes my brain cells commit suicide each time you do that, takes a great part of my attention away to what, otherwise, would be really nice videos...

[@jeongminhyeong1938]

all the knockoff penssssssssssss