I have always loved the color blue. From the light ones — azure, cyan, turquoise — to darker shades — navy, cobalt, midnight — but even more the bright and happy blues of ultramarine, sapphire, and lapis. I always have a blue fountain pen in my daily carry, and my five can't-live-without fountain pen inks are all blue, including the vibrant and intense but notorious Baystate Blue. When I read that
BlueDew Pens' latest
Writer series has a bright blue pen called Lapis, I knew it will be a must-have for every fountain pen collector.
To most of us fountain pen users, collectors, and enthusiasts, our pens can be more than just writing tools. Sometimes we use our fountain pens as accessories, just like we pair our clothes with watches, shoes, bags, and jewelry. BlueDew's Writer series are not only excellent fountain pens, but they are also fine accessories with a unique feature — each Writer fountain pen's clip is adorned with a genuine sapphire!
 |
| BlueDew Writer Lapis was sent in this functional protective pen case. A BlueDew flex replacement nib for the Writer series is also included in the package. |
Last year I had the chance to do a review of one of BlueDew's new
Flex pens. It was a unique experience trying the BlueDew flex nib because it's one I'm not scared to use because they are meant for comfortable flex writing. These flex nibs are proprietary stainless steel, rust-resistant, and most of all, they have a line variation of Japanese Extra Fine to western double broad!
The Writer fountain pens are designed with a vintage feel in mind, but they also have the most classic fountain pen design, the cigar-shaped body. They have straight bodies including caps and barrels, and their ends are rounded. The Writer has gold trims, and it looks perfect with the bright blue Lapis. Classy, stylish, and elegant. The Writer fountain pen has the following measurements:
- Length, capped: 5.7in
- Length, uncapped: 4.9in
- Length, cap posted: 6.4in
- Full pen weight: 28g
- Material: Resin
- Colors: Onyx, Lapis, Rose Quartz, Emerald, and Demonstrator
- Trims: Gold
- Clip: Gold-plated metal adorned with a dew-shaped sapphire
- Cap: Threaded, screw-cap
- Nib: Stainless steel F nib or BlueDew flex nib (sold separately)
- Filling mechanism: Vacuum pump filler
 |
| The cigar-shaped Writer fountain pen has a vintage feel, and the gold trims look perfect with the bright blue Lapis color of the pen's body. |
 |
| The Writer's cap is designed to be fully airtight to ensure that the nib does not dry and it is wet and ready to write every time. |
 |
| Writer fountain pens have a vacuum filler system. It works well, and the pen fills with ink perfectly. |
 |
| The cap has three bands, with a dew-shaped sapphire in the clip. |
 |
| A closer look at the sapphire. BlueDew proudly states that while other brands use plastic as gemstones, those they use in the Writer fountain pens are genuine sapphire stones. |
 |
| The Lapis has a glossy finish and the barrel is almost translucent. |
I am happy that BlueDew offers a regular, non-flex nib for the Writer series. The new gold-plated stainless steel Fine nib has a heart-shaped breather hole, designed to be slightly soft for a forgiving writing experience. This nib is available in F as of writing, but BlueDew promises that new nibs for the Writer series will be available soon. The Writer fountain pens can also be fitted with replacement BlueDew flex nibs for the Writer series pens.
 |
| BlueDew now offers non-flex nibs. The stainless steel Fine nib (right) has a vintage-inspired heart-shaped breather hole. The BlueDew flex nib (left) for the Writer series is not tipped, so it can write finer lines. Both nibs sport the big "B" which is sometimes mistaken to indicate a B (broad) nib. |
The BlueDew Writer Lapis is a full-length fountain pen that shares almost the same length with other cigar-shaped fountain pens — Leonardo Officina Italiana Furore and Esterbrook Estie. It's also about the same length as a TWSBI ECO or Lamy Al-star. Uncapped, though, it's shorter than these four pens.
 |
| From top: TWSBI ECO Cerulean Blue, Leonardo Furore Aquapetra Rose Gold, BlueDew Writer Lapis, Esterbrook Estie Gold Rush Frontier Green, and Lamy Al-star Ocean Blue. |
 |
| Uncapped, the Writer Lapis is shorter than the four pens in this line-up. This does not affect this pen's performance and writing comfort. |
The Writer Lapis was sent to me with a replacement BlueDew flex nib. Again, I am not a fan of flex nibs, but I enjoyed using it this time. I was so scared of using it and writing ugly cursive, so I thought I'd do my own style. I love it! I love that I can use this ultra-flex nib to write in my thin stick font style.
I tested this pen using a wet and matching bright blue ink, J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir. The Lapis wrote nicely, and the flex nib did not disappoint. It did not skip or railroad, and I did not get any feathering or bleeding despite the wet J. Herbin ink. I enjoyed writing with the BlueDew flex nib.
 |
| The BlueDew flex nib writes thin like a Japanese Extra Fine and can go wide as a western BB. |
I wanted to doodle using the non-flex Fine nib, and I tried it on this 90gsm Canson sketchpad paper. The Fine nib wrote well, even wetter than most of my Fine nibs. I'm so happy with this pen and ink combination, they look so perfect together!
 |
| I did a blue doodle! Using the same J. Herbin ink, I swapped the flex nib with the stainless Fine nib. It wrote smooth and not scratchy like other Fine nibs. |
This new series from BlueDew is truly a must-have! The Lapis, as well as the Onyx, Rose Quartz, Emerald, and Demonstrator has a beautiful body and wonderful nibs to try. The new non-flex nib gives people the chance to use BlueDew pens using a regular nib. It's smooth and writes well. The BlueDew flex nib is well-designed for flex writing, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to try flex nibs or calligraphy. It's meant for long use and does not wear out quickly. If you want to try a fountain pen with a vintage feel, that fits flex and non-flex nibs, and fills through a vacuum mechanism, then go for a BlueDew Writer! Get one (or two) for your collection!
Rants of The Archer thanks BlueDew Pens for providing the Writer Lapis for review purposes. The Writer fountain pens are available from BlueDew Pens starting at US$145 each. The BlueDew flex replacement nibs specific to the Writer series pens are available for $35.00 a pair. For inquiries, send an email to bluedewpens@gmail.com. To learn more about BlueDew Pens, visit their website or follow them on social media:
