I have two Viceroys in my collection: the Victorian finish and this Barley finish. Both pens are made out of solid Sterling silver and have wonderfully smooth nibs that are a joy to use. This finish is a little bit more subdued than the Victorian, but both are wonderful pens.
Let’s have a look at the OMAS Paragon in the beautiful Arco Bronze celluloid. I love this pen: it has a very smooth 18k gold nib, and it holds a lot of ink. The fine nib is very smooth and an absolute pleasure to use, and the pen has a great size. The Arco celluloid is hard not to love. I have done a full review of this pen too, if you’re interested.
The Namiki Emperor is a great pen, in every sense of the word. It’s a giant ebonite pen, which is then lacquered with urushi. The nib is Namiki’s #50 – and it’s enormous and a little springy (contrary to the modern Emperor nibs, which are stiffer, as I understand). A behemoth, this eyedropper-filled pen with a one-way shutoff valve holds about 6 ml of ink – so I can use this for weeks without having to re-ink it. If you are interested, I have also recorded a full review of this pen. This beautiful pen was a gift from Azizah, which makes it all the more special.
This Stipula Etruria Magnifica in the Alter Ego finish is a nice, large pen with a clever piston mechanism. Although I like the finish, this pen is particularly special to me because of the very fascinating titanium nib, which is very springy and has excellent “snap-back”. This pen was limited to 351 fountain pens. I have not yet done a full review of this pen, but I will record one when I get a chance.
The Visconti Opera Elements Fire has been in my collection for a very long time. I absolutely adore the finish of this pen: it’s a wonderful pen that just looks beautiful. The smooth and springy 14 karat gold nib is particularly special. This pen is quite a bit smaller than its big brother, the Opera Master, but it is also lighter and more portable.
The Classic Pens LM1 Flame Red is a large pen, but it is smaller than the Classic Pens LB5 made from the same diffusion-bonded acrylic, and it was limited to 500 pens (375 fountain pens and 125 roller balls). I love this pen, and I believe it is a great pen for everyday carry. I have not yet done a full review on the Classic Pens LM1, but I will record one as soon as I have time.
This beautiful pen was sent to me by John, which is clearly an incredible generous gesture. I love this pen: the weight, size, and feeling of it are magnificent and it writes just beautifully too. I have also done a full review of this pen.
This is one of my favourite pens of all time. You can watch the full review here.
Today, we will have a look at what has been my grail pen for years. I have not yet done a full review of this particular pen, but I have done a full review of the Visconti Opera Master Demo, which is the same pen in a different finish.
The first pen in my series of personal pens videos is a special edition of the Parker Duofold, which was launched by P.W. Akkerman in The Hague to commemorate their 100 years of being located in the Passage “mall” (actually, more like a covered shopping street). In this video, I discuss why I love this pen so much; if you want more information, you can watch the full review.