Top Ten Pens

1. Scriptorium Pens Idyll in Tibaldi Impero Celluloid

This pen fits my hand exceptionally well. The girth and the section make this my most comfortable writer. But it’s the material of this pen that set it apart from all the others. The blue in this pen is the perfect blue: it’s absolutely stunning.

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2. Franklin-Christoph Model 66

This is a fantastic desk pen, and it looks terrific when the barrel is full of ink. The girth and length are exceptionally balanced, and the nib is superb. The italic fine nib on this pen is my favorite nib in all my collection.

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3. Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age

This pen feels like it hugs my hand in a warm and loving way. The Dreamtouch nib is so enjoyable that I do not think I will ever have this ground down to an italic.

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4. Conway Stewart Churchill Walnut

This pen is big, bold, and beautiful. It looks vintage but is modern. I am particularly drawn to the details of the cap, and adore that this is a modern lever filler.

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5. TWSBI Micarta Pendleton Point Angel Wings Hot-Tip Semi-Flex~Italic Elegant Butter~line Fine Stub

This pen continues to surprise me. Micarta is a material that is quite tactile, as such I find it hard to put this pen down. All to often I will hold this pen with no intention of writing with it, just to enjoy the feel of the material.

The nib on this one is something special. It is an italic nib with some added flex. I don’t often take advantage of the flex, but it is there when I want some fun. It’s a fine italic, and one of my best everyday nibs.

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6. Pelikan Souverän M605 Black-Blue

This is, without a doubt, my most beautiful pen in all my collection. I have been tempted many times to get a pen rest just for this pen and display it as a work of art. I love that it is a piston filler, and that the barrel is translucent obviating the need for an ink window.

Sadly, the pen is a little too slim and a tad too light to be much higher in my top ten.

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7. Aurora Optima Demonstrator

I love demonstrators and this is by far the most gorgeous demonstrator I have ever seen. More than that the pen is shaped such that it fills my hand wonderfully, despite being having less girth than my other favorites. The material feels solid and sounds lovely; this is a pen that I enjoy posting just to hear it. It doesn’t sound like any plastic pen I’ve ever heard.

The nib on this pen is perhaps the best feature. Not only is it stunning to look at (Aurora knows how to decorate a nib) but the performance is something unique. There is a feedback to the pen that feels like it is the result of a performance tuning. I can feel the paper through the pen to such a degree that it feels like I see the paper. This nib will never be reground.

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8. Lamy 2000 M

This pen is a classic and I enjoy it. This is one of those pens that I can identify by touch alone, and I enjoy the tactile nature of this pen. Amazingly, this is one of the few slip caps that I enjoy. I’m not generally a fan of hooded nibs, as I like to see wonderfully decorative nibs, but the overall sleek design of this pen compensates quite nicely.

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9. Franklin-Christoph Model 40P

This is a darling of a pen. It’s a pocket pen, clipless in my case, that when converted to an eyedropper has a generous amount of ink. The ice look of the pen is beautiful to behold. So far I have had no problems cleaning out the pen. With the addition of a Masuyama cursive italic nib, this is perhaps the best pocket pen in my collection.

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10. TWSBI Diamond 580AL Orange

I love all my TWSBIs, and the 540 & 580 are great pens. This one stands apart with the orange aluminum. These pens fit well, look sharp, are priced well, are demonstrators, and piston fillers. It pushes all the right buttons with me. I modified the nib on this pen, and it is one of my better crisp italic pens.

If I am allowed to nitpick, the pen body does get a bit slippery during longer writing sessions, and were it 1mm-2mm bigger in diameter it would fit quite a bit better.

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