Fountain Pen Review: Esterbrook Estie Pink Sands

The Esterbrook Pen Company has introduced beautiful pens and accessories during the last two years.  A number of Esties, JRs, and new writing and journaling accessories have been released one after another. Have you tried their custom nibs? The Journaler is an excellent recreation of a vintage Esterbrook nib. Have you seen the new Bee Page Holder in Brushed Rose? Do you have Patience on your table?

By now, the Esterbrook Pen Company has introduced a number of Estie pen models in two sizes (regular, oversize) and various materials. In November 2021, Esterbrook delighted fountain pen lovers and fans with the release of their first limited edition pink fountain pen called Pink Sands. The all-pink fountain pen is inspired by the pink beaches in Greece, Indonesia, and the Bahamas, and it is a gorgeous coral pink with the proprietary all-pink nib designed in collaboration with Hinze Pen Co.

The Estie Pink Sands in the red Esterbrook box. 

During its first run, 50 Estie Pink Sands fountain pens in palladium trims were sold out in less than 24 hours. Since then, many Esterbrook fans expressed their desire to own one of the rare all-pink Estie. As a second and final limited edition run, Esterbrook has reissued the Pink Sands in gold trims this time. The final run will have 150 pens that are available only through Esterbrook. 

Estie Pink Sands has a unique vibrant color that is a mix of pinks and corals. It comes in a coral pink barrel and cap that sometimes look like red-orange.  

The limited edition Estie Pink Sands in gold trims.

Uncapping the Estie Pink Sands reveals its beautiful pink nib.

The Estie Pink Sands is a light pen even with a full converter. It's easy and comfortable to use for long periods of writing. While some pens need their caps posted for comfortable writing, Pink Sands can be used without posting the cap. I do not usually post my pens because it makes writing uncomfortable for me—the pens become too long and top-heavy. Thankfully, Estie fountain pens can be used comfortably without the need to post the cap. 

The Estie fountain pens also have the cushion cap closure feature that prevents the nib from drying as it provides a secondary seal that ensures the nib does not dry while the pen is capped. 

Pink Sands Estie's cap, section + converter, and barrel.

My Estie Pink Sands is fitted with the unique and one-of-a-kind pink nib made by Hinze Pen Co. I chose a medium nib this time, and I love writing with it. It's wet and has written smoothly out of the box. Estie Pink Sands is also available with standard Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, or 1.1 Stub nibs. They are also available with the custom Gena Salorino “Journaler” nib, or the Scribe nib by Joshua Lax.

Why 1858? In its rebirth, the Esterbrook Pen Company holds dear the history and story of how the iconic company started. 1858 was the year that entrepreneur Richard Esterbrook established his pen company under the trademark Esterbrook Pen Company, which became one of the biggest and most beloved pen makers in the world. 

The Estie Pink Sands is fitted with a pink nib especially made by Hinze Pen Co. My pen has a smooth medium nib and it writes well every time I use it.

The Estie Pink Sands has Esterbrook's cushion cap closure that provides a secondary seal to ensure that the nib does not dry up. The cap is also engraved with the Esterbrook logo. 

The pattern on the Pink Sands barrel is beautiful. The translucence reflects light beautifully with exceptional gloss and shine.

Now here is something I wish all fountain pen manufacturers would do. The metal threads in the barrel and section of the Pink Sands ensure durability and longevity. The barrel and section will stay in place and won't unscrew unnecessarily.  

Pink Sands is only one of the many beautiful Estie fountain pens that the Esterbrook Pen Company has released in the previous two years. Among these beautiful pens is the Lilac Estie released in 2020 and the Frontier Green Estie that was released in May 2021. 

Three beautiful Esties in Esterbrook's antique brass Patience Tortoise Pen Holder.

Oversize, regular, and small: Rocky Top Estie OS, Pink Sands Estie, and Esterbrook JR.

The Estie Pink Sands is a standard-sized fountain pen, sharing almost the same length as the Laban 325 Snow. It's longer than a TWSBI ECO, Lamy Safari, and Pilot Prera. It's a well-balanced pen that is comfortable to use.

To test how this beautiful pink fountain pen writes, I filled it with Robert Oster Hot Pink, a safe ink for the pink nib. The pen wrote smoothly out of the box. The medium nib wrote smoothly, there were no hard starts, and I had no trouble writing at all. I'm so happy that I chose a Medium nib for my Pink Sands because I can use it for regular writing and drawing. Pink Sands is such an enjoyable pen. It's beautiful, classy, versatile, and one that can be used for long periods of writing without any discomfort.

Jesse's Poem is a perfect poem to try writing with Pink Sands.

In the previous two years, Esterbrook has kept the tradition of providing good quality specialized nibs through the Esterbrook Custom Nib Program to highlight exceptional American nibmeisters. Gena Salorino of the Custom Nib Studio in Los Angeles has created the Journaler, the first edition nib in the series. The second nib in the series was the Scribe, done by JJ Lax. 

The third nib in the series is the Needlepoint, done by Pen Realm's Kirk Speer. Esterbrook has sent me one to try and I fitted it with Pink Sands. The Needlepoint is a modified #6 Fine nib, and it is a true Fine nib but I am surprised at how wet it writes. It's also very timely as I have been using more of my Medium and Fine nibs lately. I enjoyed writing with it and it matched my writing style for now.

The Needlepoint writes wet and smooth, I enjoyed writing with it.

The Needlepoint was modified from a Fine nib.

Pink Sands Estie is truly the right pen for the way I write!

I do not have many pink fountain pens and I am very happy to add one to my collection. I love the Pink Sands Estie and  I recommend it to anyone who wants to explore and know Esterbrook fountain pens. It's a beautiful pen and well-built for long-term use. The Pink Sands is on its final run and only a few pens remain. Make sure you get it before it's gone. Get one for your collection!

Rants of The Archer thanks the Esterbrook Pen Company and Kenro Industries for providing the Pink Sands Estie for review purposes. The Pink Sands Estie fountain pen and the entire Esterbrook collection is available at Esterbrookpens.com. 

To learn more about the Esterbrook Pen Company, where to buy their pens, and for other details on purchasing their pens, visit their website at https://www.esterbrookpens.com/ or follow them on social media:

• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/esterbrook_official/)
• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/esterbrookpens)

Fountain Pen Ink Review: Scribe x Troublemaker Inks Tarsier

They did it again! Our favorite local creative team has just launched a new limited edition ink, and everyone's excited about it. After the successful launches of Salomé (2019), Butanding (2020), and Pawikan, ScribePh has again partnered with Cebu-based Troublemaker Inks for their fourth and latest limited edition fountain pen ink showcasing the Tarsier, a small primate living in the islands of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. This collaboration also includes JIM Weaver Design, a local shop that sells silk scarves, reusable fabric face masks, and other home products, with a new offering of a Tarsier-designed pen cleaning cloth. This collaboration is inspired by ScribePh's "support local businesses" initiative, and the ink and pen cloth set is proudly made in the Philippines.

Scribe x Troublemaker Inks x JIM Weaver Design in one package!

JIM Weaver is a business in the Philippines led by four women who share the same passion to make art wearable through fashion. Their products range from silk scarves to reusable/reversible fabric face masks. Butanding and Pawikan were accompanied by reusable fabric face masks, but Tarsier has a green pen cleaning cloth designed with small tarsiers.

Limited edition Tarsier is a rich, dark fountain pen ink with green and gold sheen.

The 6" x 7" Tarsier pen cleaning cloth by JIM Weaver Design accompanies the ink from Troublemaker Inks.

Tarsier is my fourth Troublemaker ink after Butanding, Pawikan, and Blue Guitar. This rich, dark, saturated, and sheening fountain pen ink has a green-gold sheen that also gives it a matte look. Tarsier leans towards the russet-brown ink group. While wet, it is dark brown but dries reddish-brown with a unique sheen. Like Pawikan and Butanding, Tarsier is a wet ink with excellent flow and consistency.

Amazing monster sheen on Tarsier!

Tarsier looks even darker because of its sheen, but without it, it looks a dark russet brown ink similar to Edelstein Smoky Quartz and Laban Demeter Brown. It is darker than the light russet browns of Pelikan, J. Herbin, and Robert Oster. These swatches were done on 90gsm Canson sketch paper. 

For my Tarsier writing test, I used PenGallery's A5 LiveNotes notebook with white Tomoe River Paper. There is nice shading in this paper.

This is Tarsier in Tomoe River Paper.

Project Butanding is an excellent example of brands working together to produce something beautiful and meaningful.

Tarsier is a beautiful fountain pen ink and an excellent product from a collaboration of local brands. It has a lovely shading ink and a unique color to add to one's collection. Get one for your pens now!

Rants of The Archer thanks ScribePH for providing the fountain pen ink in this review. Visit the Scribe.ph website to learn more about their products, promos, and new brand offerings. Scribe.ph now offers worldwide shipping. Follow them on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScribePH/

Instagram: https://https://www.instagram.com/scribe.ph/

Fountain Pen Ink Review: Wearingeul Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde

I may have skipped reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde in my high school and college English classes, but they later caught up with me—twice! The first time was in 1998 when I saw Julia Roberts playing Mary Reilly with John Malkovich as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde. I loved that film. John Malcovich was superb, and young Julia Roberts was impeccable. 

The second time Stevenson's story caught up with me was in December 2021 when I came upon Wearingeul, a new brand of fountain pen ink from South Korea. Wearingeul has an impressive selection of standard, sheening, and shimmering fountain pen inks with interesting literary inspiration, including a two-bottle set called Jekyll to Hyde.  Jekyll to Hyde Fountain Pen ink set is an expression of the "good and evil separation experiment" carried out by Dr. Henry Jekyll in Stevenson's story. The Wearingeul set has a DIY setup that allows the user to make Hyde by injecting a conversion solution into one of the two ink bottles.

Wearingeul Jekyll to Hyde fountain pen ink set.

Jekyll to Hyde is an ink set that includes two bottles of ink, a conversion solution, and a syringe. The two inks, Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde are presented in 30ml bottles. A 6ml conversion solution in deep purple for the ink DIY is also in the box and the instruction card notes that it should not be used with other fountain pen inks. I was hesitant to mix the ink and conversion solution at first, but I realized that it was fairly easy. See how I did it in the photos below.

The Jekyll to Hyde ink set includes two bottles of ink (Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde), a conversion solution, a syringe, ink swatch cards, and an instruction card.

Two inks, conversion solution, and syringe with blunt end needle.

Mixing the Henry Jekyll ink and the conversion solution using the syringe supplied in the box. I think it's also possible to just pour the conversion solution into the ink bottle.

Once the conversion solution is poured into the ink bottle, give it a gentle shake to fully mix them together.

From Jekyll to Hyde — the ink is now mixed, it's time to reveal Edward Hyde!

The two inks in the set: Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde.

Henry Jekyll

Henry Jekyll is a toned-down deep red ink inspired by the gentle and calm character of its namesake, Dr. Henry Jekyll from Stevenson's story. Wearingeul says that this red ink focuses on the co-existence of good and evil that exist within the gentle and idealistic character of Dr. Henry Jekyll who is not a completely good figure. This blush-red ink looks like a darker version of J. Herbin Rouge Opera or a lighter version of Diamine Syrah, more of a deepened red with a pinkish undertone. It has medium saturation and excellent flow. In wider and wet nibs, Henry Jekyll shows off some nice shading.

Wearingeul Henry Jekyll is a toned-down deep red ink.

Henry Jekyll looks closer in color to J. Herbin Rouge Opera and Diamine Syrah.

I used a Leonardo Momento Magico on Jaquere Reservoir Note to test Henry Jekyll. This red ink has moderate saturation and writes well with excellent flow. 

Edward Hyde

Edward Hyde is the DIY part of this ink set. It starts out as Henry Jekyll and turns into Hyde with the addition of the conversion solution. Edward Hyde is a thick, dark purple ink with a green sheen. Wearingeul says that this ink expresses the evilness of the character as well as the mysterious, dark, and gloomy sentiment. This dark purple ink looks closer to Laban Greek Mythology Zeus Purple and J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune. Similar to Henry Jekyll, this ink has medium saturation and excellent flow. It's also a shading ink, especially when used in wide, wet nibs.

Wearingeul Edward Hyde is a thick, dark purple ink with a green sheen.

Edward Hyde looks like a darker version of two popular purple inks, Laban Zeus Purple and J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune.

I used my Esterbrook Estie Lilac with a Journaler nib on Jaquere Reservoir Note to test Edward Hyde. This purple ink has medium saturation and writes well with excellent flow. 

I enjoyed testing Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. They are unique ink colors with fascinating backgrounds and inspiration. They have excellent flow and write well in different nibs. Jekyll to Hyde ink set is a great addition to a fountain pen user's ink collection. Get your set now! 

Rants of The Archer thanks Wearingeul for providing the Jekyll to Hyde fountain pen ink and Jaquere Reservoir notebook in this review. To learn more about Wearingeul and its ink offerings, visit their website or follow them on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/wearingeul/).