Unlike a lot of people, my first fountain pen wasn't a Lamy. I didn't try one out until my third fountain pen, after a Sailor and Kaweco. My first Lamy was a Lamy Vista with a fine nib, and it's a great pen. Since then, I've bought more pens by Lamy and have been very happy with them. The Studio follows that line of customer delight.

The Studio is somewhere between the (relatively) inexpensive Safaris and AL Stars and the timeless 2000. At less than $90, it's not a scary jump into the more costly pens, and you already know if you'll like the nib since they use the same ones.

Keep in mind that I'm reviewing the steel nib version of the pen here. Brad reviewed the gold nib version a few weeks ago, which is about twice the price.

Look and feel

First things first. Personally, I think this is a really attractive pen. I love the sleek matte finish and the polished grip section and accents. I've said it before, but I really have a soft spot for aluminum bodies, and the Studio does a great job using the metal.

I've heard people complain that the grip section is slippery because it's so smooth. There's absolutely no texture to it. I don't have a problem with the way it feels. I think it's quite comfortable, but that's just me. I do get annoyed with all of the fingerprints, though. Being a polished metal, it attracts fingerprints like pen addicts to open inkwells. That's a minor annoyance that's easily solved with a quick wipe down.

My other major complaint is with the clip. It looks really nice and sports a unique design, but it fails to serve its real purpose with any ease. It's an extremely tight clip and has been difficult with every sort of object I've tried to clip it to. Whether it's my shirt pocket, a Nock case, the front cover of a Field Notes book...it resists with an ornery stubbornness. I usually have to move the clip to the side a bit to provide a tad more room for the object to slip between the clip and the cap body. Fine. I can live with that, but there's a downside to that method as well. Sliding the clip across the cap creates a mark in the matte finish. Major bummer, but not a deal-breaker. Just be aware.

Apart from those two annoyances, this is a great pen. It feels great in my hand, has a solid but useable weight, and catches quite a few compliments. The cap posts very sturdily with a satisfying click so you know it's ready.

It's sleek, black, and understated.

Writing experience

Like every other Lamy I've used, this pen writes like a champ. Excellent flow and smooth writing right out of the box. The Studio comes with a converter (unlike other Lamys in the lower price range) that holds the same amount of ink as the regular Lamy converter. The converter included is the silver and black Z26, which I'm thinking of swapping out to use in my Vista.

One issue I've had so far is that there's quite a bit of nib creep with this particular pen. I've never seen this issue with other Lamys (not as much), so I'm wondering if it has something to do with the capping system. I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't hinder the writing experience.

I've used this pen for long writing sessions, and it doesn't create any fatigue and it remains comfortable the entire time. It's an absolute joy to write with.

If you're a Lamy fan, this is definitely a great addition to your collection. Apart from the sultry black, there's a very refined royal blue that looks equally as classy. JetPens only offer a fine and extra fine nib with the Studio, but you can swap the nib out with any Safari nib.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

It's the episode you have all been waiting for. The winners of the #penaddict100 giveaway are announced! 602 entries in total, 5 winners picked. Thank you to everyone who entered!

Not to be lost in all the fun, I also recap my trip to the 2014 Atlanta Pen Show. Lots of great pens, even better people. An amazing time was had.

Show Notes & Download Links

I first came across Mike Bond's pen designs when he sent me a prototype of the Ti2 Pen. It provided a strong, sleek housing for my favorite Pilot Hi-Tec-C refills and I found myself enjoying what he did with the pen. Mike reached back out again recently to show me his latest design - the Ti2 TechLiner Pen - and I was eager to give this pen a try, but not for the reasons you may think.

When Mike first sent me the pictures of the Ti2 TechLiner I expressed a concern to him: "What is up with the truncated nose cone? I don't think I like that." I went a little more in depth in my email and Mike explained his choices around the design. I still wasn't quite sure about it but agreed to look at a prototype. I got the pen in hand a couple of weeks ago and learned one thing very quickly. Never judge a book by its cover.

I am more than impressed by the Ti2 TechLiner. The build quality and design are top notch, making for a good looking, comfortable feeling product. And the nose cone design? I kind of like it. It's a feature, as they say. It gives off the look of a technical drafting pen, like various rOtrings or the Sakura Pigma Micron. I was concerned that visually and functionally it wouldn't work for me, but I was dead wrong.

Another item I was wrong about is the use of magnets to secure the cap on both ends of the pen. I've felt in the past that magnets are gimmicky, but these are strong and give off a great snap when capping and posting. They are very well done.

Mike has decided to use the Uni-ball Signo 207 as the refill model for the Ti2 TechLiner. I like this choice because one, I am a fan of the refill, and two, it is available in 0.38 mm tip sizes, my preferred ultra-fineness. Plus, there are other similar refills that should fit, like the Jetstream.

The best endorsement I can give a pen like the Ti2 TechLiner is to put my money where my mouth is. The Blackwash finish looks amazing but is a little out of my price range at $120. The Gonzodized, on the other hand, is a finish I don't own in any other pen and I was able to get in on the Early Bird for $75. I look forward to seeing this pen in person.

The Ti2 TechLiner has already met its funding goal with three weeks left in the campaign. If you are a fan of good design and the Uni-ball Signo 207 refill then this is a project you should check out.

Big thanks to Mike Bond for sending me this prototype for review.

-- Gentlemen prefer blues: A short review of Sailor Jentle Sky High blue ink (A fool with a pen)

-- Exclusive Look at Postalco's Fall 2014 Collection (Selectism)

-- Pelikan Edelstein Wood Box Ink Set (inklode)

-- Pen Paper Ink Letter Podcast Episode #5 – “The Atlanta Pen Show 2014” (Pen Paper Ink Letter)

-- Building Routines (or, How I Became A Daily Journal Writer) (Patrick Rhone)

-- Fun Find #1: Retro 1951 Tornado Umbra Orange Rollerball (From the Pen Cup)

-- Review: Karas Kustoms Retrakt (EDC is Everyday Carry)

-- Stipula Verde Muschiato – Ink Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Uni Jetstream 4&1 4 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen and Pencil – Purple (No Pen Intended)

-- The Baron Fig Confidant notebook: Unique, well-constructed, and well-hyped (Woodclinched)

-- On My Desk: Uni-ball Jetstream RT 1.0mm (The Newsprint)

-- Parker 51 (That One Pen)

-- BIC AF Accountant Collection (My Supply Room)

-- Pilot Juice 0.38mm Blue Pen Review (The Clicky Post)

-- Pelikan M215 fountain pen review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- rotring rapid PRO: Black vs Silver (Pens And Pencils)

-- New arrival: All three Les Crayons de la Maison Caran d’Ache Edition Pencil Sets (My pencils draw worlds)

-- Stationery-Compositions: Hole reinforcements, Erasers, Pencil Sharpeners (Things Organized Neatly)

Oh Japan, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Only from the Land of the Rising Sun are you going to find a pen that purports to track how studious you are by the percentage of ink you have used in the refill. The Zebra Sarasa Study does just that with percentage markers up and down the ink cartridge with a filling cherry blossom as you reach 100% used.

Obviously the idea behind the pen is so flawed its laughable, but maybe that's the point. Just the idea that this pen is monitoring its own usage may be enough that it actually will get you to study more. Your science homework got you down to 10%, your math down to 20%, your doodling down to - wait, that would never happen, right?

Despite the sillines, the Study has all the elements that make the Sarasa an excellent gel ink pen. The lines are sharp, and the ink is dark and rich. It uses the standard Sarasa Clip pen clip, and has a clear barrel and grip so you can see how proficient you are. It is one of the better looking Sarasa models on the market in fact.

I'd use this pen regardless of the tracking mechanism, but maybe I can trick my kids into studying more.

The Zebra Sarasa Study is available in black, blue, and red 0.5mm gel ink for $2.50 each from JetPens.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

It was a quick turnaround for this weeks podcast so Myke and I fielded an epic list of questions from our Twitter followers. It was an impressive affair and quite thought provoking. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Show Notes & Download Links

Disclaimer: In this article, we discuss methods for altering fountain pen nibs. Alter your own pens at your own risk. Please be careful, but if something goes wrong, don't blame us!

Explanation of the problem

The Kaweco AL Sport is one of the fountain pens that I coveted since the first time I browsed through the fountain pens section on JetPens. It was sleek, simple, and aluminum. Other people who reviewed them said such great things about them. I knew that I would buy one at some point.

I ended up buying one at the end of the year and was blown away by the build quality of the pen. After inking it up and trying to write with it, I became frustrated. The ink just wasn't coming out consistently. I chalked it up to the fact that it was new and maybe the ink needed a little time to saturate the feed. A few hours later, same problem. Well that's weird.

Several days later, I emailed JetPens to see what I could do about the problem. They suggested giving the pen a thorough cleaning. Sometimes there is a chemical residue on the nib from the factory that can cause skipping and hard start issues. Perfect! After a thorough cleaning and a 24-hour soak, I inked the pen up again and tried writing with it. (I'll also note that they were extremely willing to send a replacement nib if I still had trouble. Thanks, JetPens!)

Again, a terribly frustrating experience. It would never write on the first stroke, and was incredibly inconsistent once it started writing. It felt like writing with a pen that only had a drop of ink left. Downstrokes were usually dry or non-existant, and other strokes were less sporatic but still skippy. I was discombobulated.

My first hunch was that there was a problem with the feed. After a lot of searching online and no real results, I gave up and ordered a new nib unit from JetPens. I thought the nib that came with the pen was obviously a dud and I was tired of trying to figure out the problem. I thought it was too much to ask that a pen that cost $76 needed so much troubleshooting to make it write.

The new nib came in, and I installed it in the pen and started to write.

I started seeing red when I realized I was having the exact same problem as the other nib. OK, that's it. I came close to using the AL Star as a ninja throwing star on my poor office wall.

After I cooled off, I started doing more research on the pen. It was disheartening to find so many glowing reviews of the Kawecos. The negative points I found described the pen as not writing at all, and Kaweco or the seller quickly resolved the issue with a new nib that wrote perfectly.

For a while, I wrote the Kaweco brand off entirely. Never again will I buy one of their pens!

So, baby's bottoms are bad?

Eventually, I stumbled on this article by Evan Brus on his AL Sport. Finally, after so much searching, I found someone with the exact same issue. Plus, he put a name on the issue. Baby's bottom.

Basically, baby's bottom is a problem with the nib in which the tines come together and form a small inverse pool instead of a flat surface where the nib meets the paper. Since the part of the nib that delivers the ink isn't really touching the paper, the result is bad starts and inconsistent ink flow.

Image above via Richard Binder's nib smoothing guide

Now that I knew the name of the problem, I found an abundance of tips and advice on how to fix the issue. Perfect.

I'd watched this video a couple of times about how to smooth a nib, but it doesn't cover baby's bottom. It's still an excellent video and very instructional for making scratchy pens smooth.

After a quick search, I landed on this tutorial by Stephen Brown on how to get rid of baby's bottom on a nib. Absolutely fantastic. The video is about 14 minutes long, in which Stephen demonstrates the technique on a Mont Blanc.

As always, it's extremely important to note that working on your pen is something you choose to do completely at your own risk. Any damage or voiding of warranties is entirely your fault. If you don't want to risk it, send your pen to a professional.

The tools

So, what do you need in order to smooth out that baby's bottom? A few things.

First, you need micro-mesh pads. These are similar to sandpaper, but they're soft and attached to foam. This makes it more difficult to cause too much grinding. Anderson Pens sells a great package of 9 different pads for smoothing and polishing. This is a great package because you need these varying levels of grit in order to properly correct the nib.

I used a nail file that I found at the local store. It has four sides of varying grit and is foam-backed on all sides. It's not the best, but it works well. I plan on purchasing a pack of pads from Anderson Pens with my next order.

Next, you need a small amount of water. I kept mine in a syringe.

It's also handy to have a rag nearby to clean up the water and ink from the pads.

And, finally, you need a pen that is troubled by the terrible baby's bottom syndrome. The pen needs to be inked. Otherwise, you won't be able to test the nib and ink flow after each smoothing cycle.

The technique

Before you start grinding your nib, please be sure to check that the nib tines are properly aligned. This video is an excellent resource that you should definitely watch. If the tines are misaligned when you start grinding, your problem won't get better.

The technique is fairly simple. You start with the coarse grit pad first, and then work down to the finest grit. You perform the exact same actions on each pad. The idea is that the coarse pads grind the nib down very slightly in order to remove the baby's bottom, and as you move to the finer grit pads, the nib becomes smooth and polished for a glassy writing feel.

• First, start with the coarsest pad you have. Place a drop or two of water on the pad. The water helps lubricate the nib.
• Next, place the nib in the water drop and starting drawing figure-eights. Complete no more than 8 figure-eights. Use a light pressure, similar to when you write.
• Next, draw 8 infinity signs on the pad. Again, use a normal pressure.
• Next, blot up the water and ink with a rag or towel, and move to the next pad. The next pad is the one that is one step below the most coarse grit.
• Repeat the steps. A drop or two of water on the pad, draw 8 figure-eights and 8 infinity signs, blot, and move to the next finer grit pad.

Keep doing this until you complete the process with the finest pad you have. After that, try writing with the pen. Is it smooth and perfect? You're done! Is it still having problems with ink flow? Repeat the process. Keep smoothing until the pen is writing correctly. Don't go overboard. Remember to only draw 8 signs each on each pad. If you grind too much, your pen will develop a different problem that you can't fix.

With my Kaweco, I went through the process 5 or 6 times. After that, it writes like a dream.

Happy writing

I'm happy to say that my Kaweco AL Sport is now one of my favorite pens. I've also tuned up a couple of my other pens that have slight nib smoothness issues. This is a great skill to practice and hone since it seems like a lot of nibs these days aren't quite perfect from the factory.

If you want to try this out, I'd recommend practicing on a cheap pen. With the Kaweco, a spare nib unit costs about $11 from JetPens. The pressure isn't too high in that case. However, when my Lamy 2000 had some slight issues, I let Mike Masuyama fix it. I don't want to ruin a premium fountain pen with an irreplaceable gold nib. Let the experts handle that one! There are plenty of nibmeisters out there who can make that nib sing.

I'd be curious to know if you've had any problems with nibs. Have you tried fixing them or had someone else fix them?

Field Notes Shelterwood Edition via JetPens

Love it or hate it, the latest Field Notes COLORS release Shelterwood is an important one. From a design and technical standpoint it is impressive, and I'm still not sure how they pulled it off. Is it for me? No. Is it for you? Let's find out!

My friends at JetPens now have the Shelterwood edition in stock, and while I know you will be adding them to your cart soon enough, I wanted to give three readers a chance to win a 3-pack of their own. Here's how:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Saturday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and International readers.

2. For this contest, I will pick three winners at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Sunday, April 27th. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

Good luck!

Do you know this pen?

It has been six months since my last Top 5 Pens update and I have learned many things during that time. For example:

-- My fountain pen love and knowledge continues to grow.

-- I have a serious fountain pen ink problem.

-- There is a lack of innovation in office supply stores. (I guess I've always known this)

-- Good pens stay good.

-- I'm perpetually behind on reviews

Seeing a bunch of new pens listed makes me happy, although many old standbys still can't be beat. The fountain pen lists saw several changes, and I added new lists for blue black fountain pen inks and multi pens by reader request.

Read the introduction at the top of the page, explore the list, take it all in, and let me know if you have any questions!

-- Pentel Energel – Point Size Comparison (That One Pen)

-- Sheaffer Student Cartridge Pen (My Antique Pens)

-- Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki (inklode)

-- Capless Speciation (Crónicas Estilográficas)

-- Jawns Notebook and Wallet Review (OfficeSupplyGeek)

-- Review: Sai Watercolor brush markers (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- Zebra Optex EZ Highlighter (East...West...Everywhere)

-- Midori World Meister’s Note Vol. 3 “Grain” Memo Book Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Field Notes Shelterwood: A Review (The Finer Point)

-- Jon Burgerman (The Great Discontent)

-- Ink Review DeAtramentis Black Currant (My Pen Needs Ink)

-- True Blues: A comparison of seven blue inks (A fool with a pen)

-- Favorite 5: Modern Pens (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Featured Pen - Kaweco AL Sport - Stonewashed Black (Pens Paper Inks...Whatever!)

-- Pen Review: Franklin-Christoph Model 19-”1901″ (The Pen Habit)

-- Rotring Esprit versus Rotring 400 (Taking note)

-- Copic Multiliner SP drawing pen review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- For the Love of Pen and Paper (Grounded & Steadfast)

-- Uni-ball Vision Elite Roller Pen Review - 0.8mm Blue/Black (The Clicky Post)

I love giving away Field Notes. They are great brand and one of my favorite portable capture tools. Regardless of if you are a seasoned Field Notes veteran or a complete novice, every edition they make is worth checking out. The Shelterwood Edition has proven to be one of the most popular Field Notes editions ever made so I am glad these three winners are going to get to use and abuse them:

Congratulations to all of you! Please get in touch via the Contact Page and I will get your Field Notes Shelterwood Editions shipped out.

Thanks to JetPens for offering up these great items and stay tuned for more!

As a follow-up to my Top 5 Pens update, several readers have asked me to name names when it comes to the worst pens to come across my desk. Never one to shy away from a challenge, here are a handful of the worst pens I have ever reviewed:

Dude! Sweet! (Image via JetPens)

Ohto Fine Fountain Pen / Ohto Dude Fountain Pen

The Ohto Fine was a nib disaster, and I was still new enough to the fountain pen game to where I didn't have the knowledge or skills to figure out what was wrong with it. I gave Ohto another shot with the Dude, but instead of getting a decent pen I doubled-down on terrible. An Ohto fountain pen will never grace these hands again.

Pentel Sliccies

The hype was big for this one - finally a competitor for the Pilot Hi-Tec-C! I enjoyed it at first and gave it a solid review, but the problems appeared soon thereafter. First off, the ink cartridges come out at an angle. Not an "if you turn it to the right angle in the right light" angle, but an obvious one like you dropped the pen and bent the tip. Secondly, the cartridges do not write nearly as sharp as the single cartridge model. That is a big feature of the standard Slicci that did not carry over to its multi pen counterpart.

TUL Ballpoint

I am a fan of the TUL pen lineup from Office Max, except for the ballpoint. The original design was flat out terrible and the new model is better in barrel alone. Writing performance is a blobby mess, doing everything it can to keep the Uni-ball Jetstream at the top of the ballpoint pen heap.

Bic A1 Gel

I didn't expect much from a Bic but the A1 gel was a new kind of terrible. There are no redeeming qualities to this pen, leaving me no choice but to end the review with "This may be the single worst pen I have ever reviewed."

Caran D'Ache 849

I wanted to like this pen so badly but the refill was horrible. The barrel is excellent though, leaving some room for improvement. Still, it was a poor overall experience.

Well there you have it! Those are some of the worst pens I have ever reviewed. I'm sure I have forgotten several others but these stick in my brain like a Justin Bieber song that I want to scrape out with a spoon.

What are some of the worst pens you have used?

The Kaweco AL Sport seems to be one of the first "premium" pens that beginners pick up after they try a few < $50 pens. I know that a $76 pen doesn't really count as premium, but when you're new to the world of nibbed writing instruments, it seems like a lot.

And I completely understand why the AL Sport is a popular pen. It's gorgeous, well-built, portable, and classy. It's a great all-around pen, and it doesn't break the bank.

Now, I should explain that this review is about the same pen that I had so much trouble with when I first got it. You can read all about those problems, as well as the solution, in the article about correcting baby's bottom.

In this review, I won't let any of my previous feelings and conclusions about this pen influence what I think about the pen now -- the corrected version that I believe Kaweco strives to produce. Although, maybe they could strive just a little bit harder, but that's beside the point. Off we go!

Look and feel

I went with the black model of the AL Sport, but it was a really difficult choice. They all look great. In the end, the matte black sheen won me over, and I'm extremely happy with it.

The AL Sport comes in a fancy Kaweco tin, unlike the regular Classic Sport models. On first picking it up and sliding it out of the plastic sleeve, I was surprised by how light it was. I was expecting something a bit heavier. Upon closer inspection, I was blown away by the build quality of the pen. It seems to be made from a block of aluminum. The pen screams quality and precision. The threads are solid and fine, which make it feel even more secure when screwing the cap or the body. There's no play at all.

In my hand, the pen feels well-balanced and easy. I've written for periods of 30 to 45 minutes with this pen. I wasn't uncomfortable, but I did find myself wanting a longer pen after a long period. This isn't so much a hit against the Kaweco as it is my own preferences. Besides, when you make a portable pen, it's understood that you sacrifice part of the writing comfort. Overall, it's a completely comfortable pen.

Being metal, the pen is susceptible to scratches, but it hasn't scratched or scuffed nearly as much as I expected it to. This is a delightful surprise, but I also won't be upset when it starts developing more character over the years.

This is an attractive pen that feels good in the hand, looks good on the desk, and won't break in my pocket or bag.

Writing performance

When I first received the pen, the writing performance wasn't the best. Again, you can read the article for more details on that. After tuning the nib for a while, it writes really well.

The EF nib puts down a line that is on par with other EF nibs from German manufacturers. Lamy might be a hair finer, but not much. Putting pressure on the nib results in a slightly wetter, broader line that resembles a medium nib width.

The nib flows across the page with little effort. Due to the size of the pen and the way I usually hold my pen, I tend to choke my grip toward the nib, resulting in scratchy writing. When I notice this, I back off my grip and lighten my touch. When I'm using the proper grip, the nib feels like silk. The proper grip for me means that I'm gripping the threads for the cap. I know that some people really dislike this, but I actually like it. It provides a nice grip. I'll also note that the threads are shallow and very close together, so it feels more like a texture instead of ridges.

Due to the size of the pen, the weight of the pen tends to go more toward the nib side. Again, the fix for this is mental, meaning I have to mindfully keep my posture and grip on check. It's a small, metal pen, so some imbalance is expected. Like I said earlier, I can achieve a great balance if I back off my grip and loosen my hand.

Ink filling mechanism

The Kaweco accepts international short cartridges. This means you have lots of options available outside of what Kaweco offer. They also offer a converter, which is fairly new to the market as far as I know. I haven't tried it, but it looks like it won't hold much ink. I've been happy with just filling old cartridges with a syringe.

Conclusion

This is a great pen that delights me every time I use it. That wasn't always the case, but I'm glad it is now. I wouldn't recommend this pen until you've tried a Classic Sport. In my opinion, the writing experience for the Classic Sport and AL Sport is nearly identical. If you find that you don't prefer the Classic Sport, you likely won't enjoy the AL Sport either.

The Kaweco AL Sport has a multitude of color and nib options. The hardest part of buying one is figuring out which one to pick. Black, blue, gray, silver, and raw finishes all look fantastic. Plus, you can easily swap out the nib you purchase with the pen with another fairly cheaply.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)

My friend Patrick Rhone has a new online venture that I am extremely excited about. Introducing The Cramped:

If you are the sort of person who appreciates nice paper, a decent pen, a well-crafted notebook, a solid pencil, writing and receiving handwritten correspondence, beautiful handwriting, or the clicky-clack of a dependable typewriter, you have come to the right place. The Cramped is a site dedicated to the pleasures of writing with analog tools (the name is purposefully ironic).

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! And with the promise of contributions from other internet friends like Harry Marks and talks of a podcast down the line I am all in.

Congratulations to Patrick on the launch. I cannot wait to see what the future holds.

Myke is back from the Ull conference in Dublin, Ireland and regales us with tales of pen addicts hiding out everywhere! I recap my Top 5 Pens list and dig into the worst pens I have ever reviewed. Important question: Would you use a Nakaya with burger grease hands?

Show Notes & Download Links

Mini pens are difficult to get right. For a product that, by design, should be very simple, it is tough to nail all the important elements and have those elements work together as a cohesive package. Size, feel, fit, finish, refill, mechanics - all of these things have to be considered, and the small size of the pen leaves no room for mistakes. The Move, designed by Oliver Sha succeeds where others have tried and come up ... short.

The premise is simple, right? Make a small pen for pocket or keychain carry. I've tried many, such as the Fisher Space Pen, Kaweco Lilliput, Lamy Pico, and more. None are able to bring to the table what The Move can. Oliver sent me the polished Titanium Move Pen to check out and I knew it was a winner the moment I opened the package.

The feel and finish of the pen were noticeable immediately. Smooth lines, well machined seams, and one of the best bolt action mechanisms I have used highlight the design of The Move. I could really tell the time and thought that was put into this pen by the smooth grinding around the keychain attachment hole. It is silky smooth and honestly I couldn't stop looking at it I was so impressed.

To keep the profile of the pen as small as possible, Oliver chose to design it around the Lamy M22 refill. I recently picked up a Lamy Pico (review coming soon) which was my first M22 experience and I was plesantly surprised. I especially like that there is an 0.5 mm blue option which is my preferred ammo. The lines are smooth, clean, and mess free. The M22 is not a pressurized refill like the Fisher Space Pen so keep that in mind if that is a requirement for you.

From L to R: Kaweco Lilliput FP and BP, The Move, Lamy Pico, Kaweco AL Sport

When writing with the pen unattched to a keychain it is just long enough for me to use comfortably. I have average size hands and could see an issue for those with larger hands than myself. Attaching it to a keyring would probably help with that. You can see where it falls in the size spectrum compared to many popular pocket pens in the picture above, although I will say The Move is in a different product category than some of those.

Right now, Oliver is weighing his options to see if it is worth making another production run. He still has some inventory left from the Kickstarter campaign so email him at osdesignstore@gmail.com if you are interested. Prices are the same as the Kickstarter campaign: $52 for the aluminum versions and $98 for the titanium, both with free US shipping.

Thanks again to Oliver for sending me this review sample. Be sure to follow his work at OS Design Store and get in touch with him soon if you would like to pick up The Move.

-- Nakaya Naka-ai Negoro Shiro-tamenuri Fountain Pen Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Caran d’Ache 849 Metal Ballpoint Review (Pen Pursuit)

-- My Journey to Better Penmanship (The Cramped)

-- The Colors Challenge (The Newsprint)

-- Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pen Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Lamy Safari (inklode)

-- Easy Green: A short review of Waterman Harmonious Green Ink (A fool with a pen)

-- J. Herbin Cacao du Bresil (Inkdependence!)

-- Unboxing of my Midori Traveler's Notebook Passport size (Seaweed Kisses)

-- Review: Palomino Prospector (Comfortable Shoes Studio)

-- Pen Review: Omas 360 (Old Version) (The Gentleman Stationer)

-- Fun Find #2: Monteverde Invincia Deluxe Nighthawk Ballpoint (From the Pen Cup)

-- Review: Hightower Pen Case by Nock Co (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Kaweco Classic Sport: A Review (The Finer Point)

-- Davis Leatherworks Simple Notebook Cover Review (I Laike Pens)

-- Jaw-Dropping Pen and Ink Cityscapes That Seem to Sprawl into Infinity by Ben Sack (Colossal)

-- A Quick look at Nock Co (Pen Paper Ink Letter)

-- Review: Copic CIAO Markers (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- The beautiful M101N tortoiseshell brown (Bleistift)

-- Organics Studio Nickel Teal ink review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Pensieve: Caran d’Ache Delicate Green (A Review | Scribalishess)

-- Pelikan M205 (the Illustrious) Fountain Pen - F Nib (The Clicky Post)

-- Pen Review: Montegrappa Espressione - (The Pen Habit)

I have yet to find the perfect paper. There are sacrifices to be made, even with brands and styles many consider to be the best on the market. It all comes down to what sacrifices you are willing to make when choosing paper. Ogami Stone Paper is asking me to make too many.

Stone paper has become all the rage across the blogosphere, even spawning a Kickstarter project. It's a great idea in principle: A paper made from a natural byproduct of water and limestone that is tear-resistant, waterproof, and fully recyclable. It is the ultimate paper, right?

Wrong.

To have any stone paper product become a regular part or your writing arsenal you will need to limit the types of writing instruments you use. Ballpoints work well, and pencils are fine. Anything else is going to take some thought and consideration. Plastic and fiber tip pens are ok, but something like the Montblanc Fineliner is terrible. Gel ink pens are passable, but any fine tip that breaks the top layer of the page will bleed, and the paper is so pliable that your letter shapes are transferred to the page behind the one you are writing on. It's like the spy letter game you played as a kid. Run the pencil lead over the blank page lightly and you will see every letter you wrote on the previous page.

Fountain pens are a non-starter. The ink bleeds profusely and takes a long time to dry. I could barely finish my sample sentences in some cases. And the feel of the paper is just weird. It's marketed as "rich, creamy, and luxurious" but read further: "super fine nibs / points may "grab" the paper a little." It's more like writing on a cushion, which is not as neat as it sounds.

Another devil in the details is a big issue in my mind. Stone paper is far from archival. In fact, "Repap is photo-biodegradable. It will break down after 14-18 months exposure to UV light." I don't store my paper directly in sunlight or necessarily concern myself with archival paper qualities, but some people do. Keep these things in mind where considering stone paper.

The Ogami brand makes some of the best looking notebooks on the market, stone paper or not. The covers are beautiful, the size and layout are nice, and the attention to detail is top notch. The usability is not there for me though, and that's what it is all about. There are too many sacrifices I need to make to use stone paper on a regular basis.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

With my latest Top 5 Pens update I added several new pens into the fold and JetPens wants to help you add some of them to your writing arsenal!

Two winners will each win a $55 JetPens gift certificate, where you can pick out some of my favorite items, like the Ohto Graphic Liner, Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Mangaka, Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Kai ink, or Tomoe River Paper. What will you add to your cart?

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and International readers.

2. For this contest, I will pick two winners at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Friday, May 9th. The winners will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

Good luck!

I'm a sucker for strange and unique designs. So, you can imagine my intrigue when I spotted the E+M Shaper on JetPens. It's a wood-body ballpoint pen with a very low cost of entry. It was a no-brainer purchase that I tossed into my cart along with some other things. I remember thinking, "It probably won't write like anything special, but I have to see this thing in person."

The pen came in, and I was pretty impressed by the look of it. The wood appears to be raw, and the model I got – the Zebrano – has some contrasty wood grain. It's nice to look at. The only marking on the pen is toward the back – a small brand that says "e+m Germany" in silver ink.

Picking it up was my first disappointment. It's incredibly light in a way that makes it difficult to use. But, hey, I can get used to that for a couple of minutes. So I grabbed some paper and began to write. Like any ballpoint, it took a few strokes before the ink started flowing regularly, and it was just as I expected. It writes like a ballpoint. Dry, skippy, and a little scratchy.

The real hang-up I have with this pen is the way it feels in my hand when I'm writing. I just can't find a comfortable grip. Nothing I do with my grip changes that feeling. The pen also feels a bit brittle when I'm using it. That is probably just a property of the wood, but it adds to the general bad feeling I get when writing with it. To compare it with something you're probably familiar with, this pen is lighter than a new, freshly sharpened #2 pencil.

Unlike your average Bic, this pen is not very portable. It's long and seemingly fragile. I can't imagine this pen would fare well in a bag or a pocket. My guess is that it wouldn't be long before you heard an audible snap.

Also, it's worth mentioning that this pen only has one ink color option: blue. So, you better like blue ink if you plan to use this pen because you probably won't be able to fit anything else into the body.

So, how do you refill a pen with a wooden body? It's actually pretty simple. It works just like a Bic Cristal – you just pull on the tip of the refill to remove it from the body, and slip in a new one. Like all pens with this refill method, this is easier said than done. Of course, Bic Cristals aren't made to be refillable (I was once a bored kid in class where the challenge of removing the ink cartridge was entertaining) because they're dirt cheap to begin with. The Shaper is refillable because it costs a few dollars and (here's the kicker) the refill is tiny. It's just under 2.5 inches in length. This is because the shape of the pen body becomes too narrow in the middle to accommodate a longer refill. Tiny! A Bic refill is easily twice as long, with some change.

It was a fun experiment, and I'm still glad to own the pen because it's unique. Maybe I'll meet someone that really loves the pen and I can make their day by giving it to them. Who knows. It writes like a Bic, feels awkward in my hand, but looks pretty on my desk. At this price, it's still an incredibly affordable decoration.

The model I got is $4.60 on JetPens. There are 4 other colors that are all two dimes cheaper than the Zebrano. Refills are $0.80, which strikes me as a bit expensive when you consider a pack of 12 Bic Cristals or Stics for less than two dollars.

Anyway, if they look interesting to you, try one out!