2023 in Pens

This time next year I’ll be a millionaire in pen purchases and that’s basically like being rich but opposite

Happy New Year! It seems like 2023 was just a few days ago, right? It also seems like someone else used my credit card as there’s no way I bought that many pens. Totally.

I would like to think I had started the year relatively innocuously. There were pens I liked and bought, but also pens I liked and didn’t buy (I’m sure that happened). The worst thing that happened to me was the Orlando Pen show, as that was when I really got into custom makers’ pens and my wallet asked for divorce (don’t worry, we’re in couples’ counseling and things are looking up).

I am actually embarrassed by how many pens I bought and I blame said pen show and Endless Pens for their sales, honestly. Instead of admitting everything (wallet can’t know), I will just highlight some notable purchases. I definitely didn’t buy more than a couple of pens anyway.

A remark before I begin: I will break up the pen talk in categories, as that will give me and you some perspective. Not all pens are the same.

Pens I planned for but got disappointed

Esterbrook Raven is a pen I expected and bought within the first hour of it showing up. I really wanted it. I was super excited about it. And yet, when I got it, the nib was just… subpar. Now, I am not saying that’s the case with all Esterbooks, as it’s not; I have two other ones and the Journaler nib is one of the greatest grinds ever. But perhaps because of the black coating, this nib feels stiff and unpleasant to write with. There is nothing wrong with it; it writes consistently and first time every time. I just don’t care for it. I’ll have Kirk Speer grind it into something super cool next time I see him, and I’m hoping that will make me fall in love with the pen. The full black furniture is awesome. I think I have a thing for matte black pens, as you might see further down the list.

Quoth the idipbanansintocoffee: Of course I swapped the nib for a skull nib for the cool effect… and more.

BENU Euphoria Iced Caramel Latte maybe doesn’t belong on the “planned” list, but I kinda knew it was coming out so let’s keep it there. Why am I disappointed with it? Well, I have the Beam Me Up (which was planned, and also a way better purchase) and the Latte has an odd stain after having been inked once with a brown ink. Literally cannot explain the red stain on it. Discoloration? Pink discoloration after a brown ink? What? Plus, honestly, doesn’t remind me of a latte. I’d know. I do things to coffee no sane individual does, and let me tell you, the coffee doesn’t change into gold flakes when you add any type of bananas to it.

I cannot explain the green on my finger, but roll with it.

Impulse buys that I kinda regret but maybe only 50:50

Sailor Imperial Black wasn’t really on my radar at all. I don’t even know when it came out. The only thing that I know is that people went nuts over it and that it retails for over $400 in the US. Well, I love my US retailers, but the pen is sold for just over $200 on Amazon Japan, and for the difference, I can get a custom maker’s pen, which makes one of them basically free. So, when I saw this one, I just got it. And it’s lovely. But, of course, as it so happens, the M nib that I got, probably again due to it being black plated, is nothing to write home about. At this point (this would be my 4th black coated nib), I am convinced they just don’t write well by nature. It’s okay. Just… not great. You’ll see later that this is not the case with other Sailors, but sadly is with this one.

Lamy Dialog 3 is a pen I have literally told my wife I’d never get. She liked it years and years ago, when I was super against Lamy because I am a Pilot fanboy (think Lamy Safari vs Pilot Metropolitan aka go back to the Battle of Starter Pens post and you’ll understand), and the Vanishing Point is superior in every way. Well… there was a hella good deal on Endless Pens who apparently hate me because they always have hella good deals, and I ended up with one of these. The pen is super heavy and uncomfortable to use, but boy… does it write well. I’m talking butter on ice skates in an ice ring covered in oil smooth.

Not really planned but man am I glad I got these

Zodiac Pen Company probably takes the cake here with the Gemini in Teal Agate; not sure if it should be on the list that I bought as I didn’t really pay for it (was a gift), but this pen literally has almost a grail status in my collection. It’s definitely one of my top ten pens. If you wanna know why, go back to the review I wrote about it a few weeks back. Love love love this pen.

Tailored Pen Company Churchill/Rave in the Honeycomb is one of them pens that I wasn’t sure if I wanted but when I got it I realized I would’ve been so sad that I didn’t have it. I’ve gotten so many compliments on this one. As for why… same thing… go check out the review. I’ll wait.

Sailor Kure Azur is… well, wasn’t planned. Again, Reddit’s r/pen_swap will be the death of me. The person who listed it didn’t tell me (and I was stupid not to have researched it) that they had swapped the original nib for a music nib, but I still went for it because a) it was super super super affordable and b) I don’t have a 21k music nib. I love it. I love the color, the nib, the size. Love everything about it.

Sailor Stellar Black Hole — take a wild guess if I got the nib I wanted on it. At this point, do I even have a 21k nib that I originally wanted (MF)? Of course not¹. However, I love how the 21k F writes, so it’s fine (ha… ha). Plus, again, stupid pen_swap, stupid good price, and I love everything about it. I need to unsubscribe from that subreddit. The awesome thing about Sailors is the fact they make sparkles so subtle and so pleasant to look at. I am apparently a sucker for painted snow and sparkles both. The black and gold is a classic combo with a twist in this model. The F nib is so beautifully wet — the true “controlled leak” and is the perfect example of Sailor feedback. Perfect pen.

Straight from Australia, as proven by the free bottle of Robert Oster Muddy Dragon the person sent to me. Thank you, kind Redditor.

Collectibles

Retro 51 Apollo is my second Retro 51 fountain pen; I actually do not own a rollerball, but I got the Mustang one for my brother for his birthday a few years back, and the fountain pen version of it for myself just to match. I love these pens. When I saw the Apollo on r/pen_swap, I didn’t think much; the price was great, the seller was looking to get rid of it, and I got it. That was at the beginning of 2023, and I still haven’t opened it. Why, you ask? I don’t know. I like how it looks in its box, never having been opened. Again, it’s something that reminds me of my brother, whom I get to see once every two years, so it’s special to me. He wrote about the Apollo program for a thesis once upon a time, and unlike him, who never ever reads my stuff, I read his thing. It was super cool. Plus space is my jam. Geddit? Love me some millennial jokes.

TWSBI Eco Blossom Red is another one of those pens I was going to buy and then convinced myself I didn’t need it because I have food at home a black Eco already, and then it went away and I was sad and then I paid double the original price when I finally found it on r/pen_swap because no way am I paying $90 on eBay for it. And I love it. It’s been filled with Diamine Writer’s Blood ever since, because I’m a writer (lol) and it bled me dry.

BENU Euphoria Beam Me Up is my best space pen purchase ever and I have an amazing Tanto grind on it and I love it and I would’ve cried if I didn’t manage to snatch it the second time it came around. I thought these were actual limited editions, but apparently, they’re editions that are limited, which is different as they pop up from time to time, and each time I just wonder why they don’t just… stop…

Pens I will never regret plus I got a Grail

Black Robin Pens Ophelia in Neon Reef Trio — I wouldn’t call this pen a grail per se, but I wanted a pen by Black Robin and I refreshed her damn Instagram page so much I got dizzy and I almost didn’t manage to snag it and that would’ve been a shame because I am obsessed with it; the pen is dainty and beautiful and so much more. Go check out the review on this blog too.

Sailor Angel’s Delight is a pen I’ve wanted since the moment I saw it — too late to actually buy it when it came out, of course, as I had no funds back then nor ways to import it without paying a super hefty customs charge. I really, really, really wanted an MF nib on it, but all the listings I’d been seeing on eBay were stupidly expensive ($450+ for a used pen, come on). I ended up getting mine when I couldn’t take it any longer, and I got the M nib from none other than Fountain Pen Memes… a week before I found the MF one for a bit cheaper. Super upsetting. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. In fact, this M nib is the best Sailor nib I won, bar none. I am so in love with it that I will absolutely never let it go. I don’t even care I don’t have the papers for it (well, I kinda care but can’t do much about it). It is in fact a grail pen for me (2/3 obtained y’all), and there is no amount of money I would accept to sell this one.

Unless it’s $800 so I can buy it again and get another pen.

Conclusion

I ended up with thirteen pens on this list, which is a bit surprising, but I quite like that number. In 2023 we had two Friday 13ths (I think) and I used to live on the 13th floor, PLUS that was one of the numbers I had on one of my jerseys once upon a time when I was an aspiring basketball player. So let’s keep it at that. Would I have done things differently from this perspective? Perhaps. There were pens that I sold that are not on this list, and there are pens on this list I could live without, but as of right now, I am relatively content with my collection. It could stand a trimming, but that is also an ordeal, and I do not believe in spring cleaning, so I am not planning on selling many any time soon. Perhaps just those old, beginner pens (like the FPR Himalaya I used exactly once two years ago), but not really any of these big purchases.

They kinda explain why I am the way I am.

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next week.

Unless the debt collectors get to me.

1. It’s in transit and I am sure I’ll have it when this post is live. Won’t tell you what pen I got but guess if it was planned. Guess.