The Review Project

My current supply of fountain pen, ink, and quality notebooks are currently in the SABLE¹ status. So I think I should do something about it.

So I decided that I should be reviewing pens and ink to force myself to actually use everything in my collection. Yes, I have pens and ink in my collection that I haven’t used even once.

The Rules

When reviewing a new pen, I will fill them with a standard blue ink — the Lamy Blue.

When reviewing new ink, I will be using my Sailor Pro Gear Mini (in Manyonaka no Toudai) with a 21K MF nib.

The paper used will be Midori Patto (white) and Maruman Mnemosyne paper pad.

The first review will be the review of Lamy Blue with the Pro Gear Mini!

Statistics and Index

This post will be kept updated as new reviews are written. As of July 31, 2025, I have 161 pens and 120 bottled inks. However, many of the pens are just duplicates in color, so I picked about 42 non-duplicated pens for review.

The non-review

There are a few pen in my collection that I know I didn’t like, so I won’t be doing a full review. Instead, I will write about them here.

FPR Himalayan V2

Bought this pen because of the ultraflex nib but I can’t really get the ink to stay in the converter long term at all. So, now, I just use it as a dip pen only at my desk. Maybe I have too high expectations but any pen I can’t even throw in my bag to use during the day, it’s useless to me.

Leonardo Momento Zero

This is the only pen in my collection with a custom-grind nib, a CSI Flex F nib. However, I don’t really like how the pen feel in my hand at all. So right now it has been just sitting on the shelf.

To be fair, this is purely my preference and many people do love this pen.

Platinum Preppy

This extremely popular pen was the my first modern fountain pen. But my major gripe with it is that: it had the ridge where the grip meets the body; and that is right in the middle of my hand grip, making it very uncomfortable.

I will be reviewing the Plaisir, however.

TWSBI Swipe

I have a complicated relationship with this pen. I bought my first SWIPE about a year ago and thought it had a flow problem, which I fixed and I thought I quite like it. So, I bought another one.

However, the more I use it, I don’t think the ergonomics are good. It started to cause pain right in my hand, so I eventually stopped using it.

Also, to be honest, I have never really seen anyone who said they liked this pen.