Pen review: Zodiac Pen Co Pisces

Here fishy fishy fishy

When I was but a youngling, my parents bought a fish tank. If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be a birthday gift for my brother, and if I further remember correctly, he had no reaction to it. It was a thing perched on the chest of drawers in my bedroom, and then it moved to the dining room. My brother had wanted a cat for as long as I remember, and Bob the cat would join us later in life, but when he was a wee lad, a fish tank was what he was to get and that was final. How it ended up in my room is beside the point.

Yo-yo loach (1999-2018) and a Twsbi mini (2017-)

Naturally, I was the one who became obsessed with fishies. One of them, a yo-yo loach, was with us for almost twenty years and passed in 2018, which marked the end of our fish tank era as well. The spot that it used to be at now serves as a cassette player podium (yes, in this time and age, a cassette player), and that is boring and lifeless. During the holidays, it also doubles as a plate holder. Why would anyone have more than one set of plates is beyond me (I eat out of only one plate, of course). Anyway, the fish tank and our fish may have left us, but to this day, whenever I am in a pet store, I seek out fish. Just to see them. They have a calming effect on me, and, well, they also bring tears to my eyes. ANYWAY.

Seeing I have a soft spot for fish and anything aquatic, I told myself a pen that reminded me of them would have to enter my collection whenever I could find one, and, much like the fish tank, the pen found me.

Enter: Zodiac Pen Co Pisces.

Zodiac Pen Co Pisces

It’s not a stretch, by the way. The first time I saw Pisces was at the entrance to the Orlando Pen show, when one of them was waiting in a fish tank behind a glass as one of the five door prizes by five independent pen makers, and when I got my raffle tickets, most of em went straight towards that one pen. It felt natural, especially given the fact the money from those tickets would go towards Reef Relief, i.e. more fishies, and the shape of the pen immediately caught my eye.

Little did I know, that pen ended up in my hands a few hours later.

As Bart from Zodiac Pen Co says, there are only so many shapes one could turn acrylic into, but I would venture to say that some shapes are less common than others. Again, enter Pisces. The back end of the pen looks like fins to me, and if they don’t look like fins to you, you’re wrong.

The finish I brought home is reminiscent of oysters and pearls, and at first glance, one would say, “But,

@idipbananasintocoffee

, that pen is just grey¹”, which is again wrong. You don’t even need strong light to note the pearlescence. Against the light, however, you get to see the depth of color and how grey turns to sand and tan and black and off white. The pen does not glow in the dark, but the way it subtly sparkles reminds me of bioluminescent organisms found somewhere under the sea.

The cap is not flush with the body, which would normally bother me, but in this pen, it makes perfect sense. Bart couldn’t add pectoral fins to the pen, duh. There are also no scales (which I kinda think would’ve been cool), but what makes this pen unique and different from other models of his is the doubloon on the cap finial. Not sure about all of the Pisces out there, but mine has a commemorative doubloon that sports the Zodiac Pen Co logo and the words “Orlando 2023”, and I for one think it’s neat.

The commemorative doubloon.

I have a pen or two that have a “similar” shape, as I mentioned, such as the PENBBS 323 (another masterpiece of ergonomics), but, again, that pen looks more like a coke bottle.

Zodiac Pen Co Pisces vs PENBBS 323

In terms of size, the pen is smaller than a banana, but not even close to a pocket pen. Due to its girth, it won’t usually fit well in some pen cases, unless you stretch the elastic a bit (which you may or may not be comfortable doing), but it fits nicely in your regular pen pouches and, let’s say, Sinclair cases. Or any case that takes bigger pens. Again, the pen is not big, but the shape makes it oddly girthy, which is not a bad thing, but is something to keep in mind when you’re deciding which pen to take fishing to work, a coffee place, a carnival ride (not recommended) or wherever you take your pens.

The pen does not float, by the way. That’s good because if you want to submerge it to clean it after, say, eyedropping it, or taking it to a carnival ride, it will get clean pretty quickly. As it’s an acrylic pen, you can fill the whole barrel with ink, although it seems like too much ink, if I am being honest. I like to change my inks often.

:glances at the several piston and vacuum filler pens:

Speaking of performance, the nib is so absolutely perfect that at this point I ask myself why do I keep getting subpar gold nibs when this unbranded Jowo writes better than most of them. Pisces is amazingly comfortable and molded after one’s hand. It’s light but present in your hand, and the grip section tapers slightly so that your fingers will stay in one spot most comfortably. When you uncap the pen, it might remind you of an amphora, and although it’s a cool thought, the pen does not contain wine (hopefully… but you do you). It is unlikely that you would want to hold it by the threads, and honestly, it’s quite uncomfortable as the pen flares just after them to the widest point of the pen, and at that point, why even use a pen, you barbarian.

The complaint that I have is the fact the pen will not stand on its tail end, and although I am sure it’s on purpose because who’s ever seen a standing fish, I still kinda want to see a fish walking around on its dorsal fins.

Zodiac Pen Co Pisces (middle) lying down as it does not stand, as I said, and you probably did not read. Also pictured other pens for size comparison, also lying down: Benu Euphoria Caffe Latte to the left and Esterbrook Estie Rainforest to the right.

All jokes aside, I don’t have many complaints about this pen. If you want a pen that fits in a small loop in your pen case, a pen that has a clip, or a pen that looks like a pen, you’re on the wrong blog and you should probably check out a Bic or something. Ew. But if you want a pen that will make people do a double take even if the finish is not rainbow or fluorescent or Benuesque², this is a pen for you. It writes well and doesn’t dry out, it looks cool and odd, it’s fun and comfortable, and above all else, it’s basically a fish in the form of a pen.

And those who don’t like animals — especially fish — are bad people. And bad people use Bics. You wouldn’t want to be associated with those people, right?

Bart has an instagram page where he posts about his new pens (@zodiacpencompany) and a website. Go check him out if you haven’t already³.

And ask him to do Aquarius model next, as it is only natural to water your fish.

1. I know Americans spell grey with an “a”, but it looks ugly, so I’m sticking to the British spelling to honor my heritage as someone who learned English from people who learned it from Brits.

2. From BENU, with their sparkles n such. I have good words.

3. Although I won this pen, all opinions are my own and the only compensation I received is the title of the biggest fanboy to fanboy over pens.