After my last post, I received dozens of messages asking me to keep ukfountainpens.com live as a resource for the community. For a variety of reasons, I couldn’t commit to doing that. But I’m excited to announce something even better. Feng Li of Onoto will be taking the reins of UKFP. I’ve known Feng for … Continue reading An exciting new start for ukfountainpens.com
Month: Mar 2022
Goodbye: for real this time
Today is as good a day as any to wind up ukfountainpens.com. Unlike my previous end-of-year writeups and other similar posts, I'm not going to indulge myself in a lengthy review of what I've achieved or learned over the past five years. Don’t worry: I have a wonderful tray of pens, I enjoy writing with … Continue reading Goodbye: for real this time
Icon, maker or lux?
Regular readers will know that I spend a lot of my collecting energy trying to spot patterns in my own behaviour, interrogating why I buy, keep and sell the pens I do. It's resulted in scoring methodologies and taxonomies aplenty. I have a new one for you today, one that has been nagging at me … Continue reading Icon, maker or lux?
The Onoto Scholar was worth the wait
UPDATE: The Scholar is live on the Onoto website to order. I've been singing the praises of the Onoto Magna for at least three or four years now (Flanders, Shakespeare, Sequoyah, Mammoth...), and still I find that people don't see the value proposition until they've held one. A plastic converter filler with steel nib for … Continue reading The Onoto Scholar was worth the wait
Orange Leatherworks: flawless craft for a premium price
The first thing I should tell you about this three-pen fountain pen case from Orange Leatherworks is that it costs 649 CAD, or about £390. That's before shipping and import duties. This is unashamedly a luxury item, but a luxury item by the purest and least vulgar definition: an item that's made with no expense … Continue reading Orange Leatherworks: flawless craft for a premium price
State of the collection: March 2022
Culling the grails My last state of the collection post was in December, and this is what my main tray looked like then. https://ukfountainpens.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/img_1705.jpg?w=2048 From that tray I've sold the Nakaya 17mm, Namiki Urushi 20, Radius, ASC arco, Graf Classic and Aurora 88. Six of 18. Some really really good pens there! Honestly I probably … Continue reading State of the collection: March 2022
Silverburl hybrid pens: creative, but with quirks
I dunno about you, but my Facebook feed is absolutely swamped with people pouring epoxy resin on to pieces of wood. Often it's a coffee table. But you can also get phone cases and myrid other objects, large and small, made using this technique. While this 'hybrid' effect is on the verge of being overdone, … Continue reading Silverburl hybrid pens: creative, but with quirks
My take on the Gravitas Pocket Pen
The TL;DR of this review: if you're in the market for a robust and comfortable pocket pen, Gravitas offers an excellent option. But there are a few things you should be aware of. Let's unpack it a little. The Gravitas Pocket Pen has very obvious shared DNA with the rest of the Gravitas range. Conical … Continue reading My take on the Gravitas Pocket Pen
Straits Pen Honest Inks: come for the bottle and the sense of humour, stay for the ink
The lovely people at Cult Pens recently sent me a bottle of ink to review. I asked to try one of the new inks by Straits Pen (new because although they've been around since 2018, Cult has just started to stock them), and didn't specify which colour from the range. My mistake. Cult sent me … Continue reading Straits Pen Honest Inks: come for the bottle and the sense of humour, stay for the ink
Four and a half hours at a pen show goes alarmingly quickly
I snuck out of the house today at 7.30, and cruised under sunny skies to London for the pen show with a sense of anticipation. By the time I walked in the door of the Novotel ballroom at 8.30, many tables were already set up and I saw several familiar faces. Jose Munuera and his … Continue reading Four and a half hours at a pen show goes alarmingly quickly
UK fountain pens 
