Fountain Pen Review: Atelier F F2 Titanium Gr. 5 Teal and Light Gold

In March 2023, I wrote about a new and upcoming pen brand in the Philippines, f-inks. After more than a year, the brand has created F1 pens in various designs using Titanium and stainless steel. With the success of the first pen design, the creator behind f-inks (now Atelier F) introduced a new and unique pen—a pocket fountain pen made from Grade 5 Titanium with a #6 JoWo nib and an ink cartridge designed specifically for it.

Pocket pens have several advantages that make them useful for everyday carry. They are portable and their compact size is designed to fit comfortably in pockets or small bags. While pocket pens offer portability, they have some downsides, too. They have limited ink capacity due to their compact size, they can be easily misplaced and could be prone to ink leaks. These challenges have been addressed in the F2 pocket fountain pen.  

Atelier F's presentation box is crafted from wood and features an elegant floral design, along with the ink drop and stylized "F" logo. 

The F2 Titanium fountain pen in the presentation box alongside an extra ink converter made by Atelier F and an international short cartridge.

The F2's Certificate of Authenticity. Atelier F  now includes a Certificate for each of the pens that they sold.

I've had the chance to review numerous fountain pens, and I am truly impressed by the innovative designs created by individuals. One of these remarkable individuals is Francesco, the brains behind Atelier F. He has a unique approach to pen design, resulting in exceptional and well-crafted pens. In one of our conversations, Francesco e mentioned that his fountain pen design incorporates elements from some of his favorite pens. He named his pens the "F" pen, inspired by his name and the qualities he aims to achieve in his products: friendly, fine, flawless, fantastic, fabulous, and fair. I think he should also include functional, fascinating, fearless, and futuristic on that list!

The F2 fountain pen is sturdy but lightweight. Don't let the size fool you!  

Here's another brilliant idea from Francesco. Atelier F produced the F2 using Titanium Grade 5, the most widely used titanium alloy. This material has a very high strength, scratch- and crack-resistant up to 300°C, with outstanding corrosion resistance. Titanium Grade 5 is the perfect material for the F2. I tried keeping it in my pocket with keys and some loose change. I also added it to my carry-all pen pouch that has sharp tools—clips, scissors, a metal ruler, a craft knife, and tweezers—it did not get any scratches and still looked shiny and new every time I used it.

If you think this pocket pen is short, you are right that it is. However, this pen transforms into a full pen when the cap is posted. The F2 pen measures 3.9 inches only while capped, but becomes a long pen at 5.9 inches when posted. It weighs 35 grams only, a light pen that is very comfortable to use.

Here are some useful measurements and specifications of the F2 Titanium:

• Length, capped: 3.9 in | 9.9 cm
• Length, uncapped: 3.6 in | 9.1 cm
• Weight, whole pen: 35 g | 1.2 oz
• Body material: Titanium
• Cap: Titanium, screw on, need to post
• Clip material: No clip
• Nib: #6 JoWo available in F, M, B, or elastic EF or F
• Filling mechanism: Proprietary ink converter from Atelier F
• Accessories: Pen syringe, Leather pen sleeve

The F2's cap, section, ink cartridge, and barrel. The ink cartridge was specially made to fully fit the F2's short barrel and has three times the capacity of short international ink cartridges. 

The compact design of pocket pens makes them very convenient, but their small size also presents some challenges. For instance, their size might not provide the most comfortable grip for extended writing sessions. Additionally, their ink capacity is greatly affected by their small size, and it can be tricky to fit a decent amount of ink into a small pen, leading to pens running out of ink faster. Most pocket pens use short international cartridges that hold around 0.7ml of ink. However, Atelier F addressed this design challenge by creating its own ink cartridge for the F2 fountain pen. When you purchase an F2 pen, it comes with two of these cartridges, each capable of holding three times the amount of ink found in short international cartridges.

The F2's ink cartridge fits perfectly inside the pen's short barrel. This design avoids the common problem of accidentally misplacing ink cartridges in wider pen barrels.

The F2's cap top bears Atelier F's logo of ink drop and the stylized "F".

Francesco uses #6 JoWo nibs in Atelier F pens, including the F2. The F2 is the first pocket pen I have seen with a #6 nib as most only carry the smaller #5 nibs.

At less than 4 inches, the F2 fountain pen is a compact pocket pen that is almost the same length as a Kaweco Sport, but longer than the tiny Majohn Wancai Mini. When the F2's cap is posted, it is longer than the Sport and is the same length as a capped TWSBI ECO or Lamy Safari.

The F2 and two other pocket pens that I have, the Kaweco Sport and Majohn Wancai Mini. The F2 is almost the same length as the Sport when they are capped...

...but becomes a full-length fountain pen once the cap is posted.

The F2 is a full-length standard-sized fountain pen like the TWSBI ECO or Lamy Safari when it is  uncapped and posted.

It's even longer than these two pens without their caps!

The F2 fountain pen with its older sibling, the F1 SS pen I reviewed last year. 

To test how the F2 fountain pen writes, I filled it with one of my favorite wet blue inks, J. Herbin Éclat de Saphir. The medium nib wrote smoothly, and I had no discomfort or fatigue writing this piece. The F2 pen is lightweight and easy to use. I'm happy that I can use this pen for regular writing. The F2, like its Atelier F pen sibling F1 SS316, is such a unique and remarkable pen that I am proud to have in my collection.

The medium JoWo nib in the F2 fountain pen wrote so smoothly! 

I am happy with the F2 Titanium pocket pen! The design is amazing and people are always curious about this pen. It's a well-designed pen that's sturdy, lightweight, and easy to carry around. The F2 is meant for long-term use and I definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to explore and know this brand. I'm excited to try and see Francesco's new designs in the coming months! Get one for your collection!

Rants of The Archer thanks Francesco and Atelier F for providing the F2 Titanium fountain pen for review purposes. Atelier F fountain pens are available for purchase from Atelier F or from Kailash Ramchandani's PenGrafik.

To learn more about these beautiful and well-crafted pens, follow Atelier F on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/f_inks.22/).