Fountain Pen Review: 2015 Lamy AL-Star Special Edition Copper Orange

Many of us have heard about the 2016 Special Edition Lamy AL-Star, but before we get our hands on the Charged Green pen — and before 2015 ends — let me turn in my review of the 2015 AL-Star.

Late last year, Lamy released an announcement that made their followers and collectors happy: the 2015 Special Edition AL-Star pen color will be a vibrant and happy Copper Orange! I looked forward to a new Lamy fountain pen, and I looked forward to adding a new orange pen to my growing orange pen collection.

Lamy AL-Star is almost identical to the Safari, its older cousin. It is wider in diameter, though, and somewhat heavier at 22g (the Safari is lighter at 17g). Designed by Safari creator Wolfgang Fabian, the AL-Star was launched in 1997 in polished high-tech aluminum, instead of plastic. 

According to Lamy's news release for the 2015 Special Edition pen, Copper Orange gives a whole new meaning to the concept of luminescence: it is pulsing with energy.

The Copper Orange AL-Star pen in this review is a fountain pen, but the line also includes a rollerball pen, and a ballpoint pen. I received the fountain pen in this review at no cost from Lamy's authorized and exclusive distributor in the Philippines, Times Trading Company.

The AL-Star's cap and barrel are made from high-tech aluminum, and the section is plastic, instead of matching the pen's body's material. AL-Star fountain pens measure 5.5 inches while capped, 5 inches uncapped, and 6.6 inches when posted. The cap with the oversized chrome-coated stainless steel clip is 2.5 inches long, the length from the nib to converter is 4.6 inches, while the barrel measures about 3 inches.

Lamy's proprietary piston operated Z24 and Z26 converters can be used to fill the fountain pen with ink from a bottle, but the Z24 is a more suitable converter because it has two tiny nipples that fit snugly into the small grooves in the upper part of the section. When the nipples are fitted in the grooves, the converter stays in place, preventing messy ink spills.

The AL-Star has the same black top cap (finial) of the Safari, which is also what's installed on all of my AL-Star fountain pens.

The AL-Star has the signature triangular section grip, a feature I find comfortable and helpful especially for newbies. Others find it uncomfortable and annoying, but it is designed to make writing easier, meant for users to have a firm grip on the pen. Near the end of the section is an anti-slipping brake which prevents a user's fingers from slipping into the nib while writing. Unlike the Safari pens’ matching body and section materials/colors, AL-Stars have transparent gray plastic section.

The great thing about Lamy fountain pens is the interchangeability of their nibs across most of their product line. The AL-Star shares the same feed and nib with the Safari, Vista, Joy, Nexx, and Studio. AL-Star fountain pens bought in the Philippines have medium nibs, but other nib sizes are available: extra-fine, fine, broad, and left-handed. The AL-Star can also be fitted with an italic nib ranging from 1.1mm to 1.9mm.

The AL-Star fountain pen's barrel has an ink window that allows me to check on my pen’s ink level without having to screw out the barrel from the section. Towards the top part of the barrel is the Lamy logo etched in aluminum. 

Copper Orange AL-Star with Lamy Safari Flame and Lamy Safari Creme Orange.

Lamy AL-Star pens (from top): Aluminum, Graphite, Silver Green, Ocean Blue, Black Purple, Ruby Red, Pearl, Blue Green, and Copper Orange. A Silver Blue AL-Star has recently joined the lot but missed the photo shoot.

Lamy is now offering matching inks with their special edition pens. We are lucky that the Copper Orange ink in 50ml bottles and cartridges was made available in Manila. I got a bottle long before the fountain pen reached the stores, and I filled the pen with the matching ink as soon as I received it.

The 50ml Copper Orange ink is in a Lamy T52 bottle that comes with a roll of ink blotter to clean the pen after filling, or blot writing. The bottle has a small basin at the bottom, to allow filling when the ink level is low. 

The Copper Orange ink is well-behaved, with excellent flow and lubrication. Shading is visible when used in wide nibs (1.1, at least). It may not be a bright orange, but when I look at the ink color, I see yellow, orange, red, and brown all at the same time. This ink is a keeper and I'm happy I got myself a bottle.

I love this AL-Star fountain pen. It is versatile (interchangeable nibs), simple, minimalistic, and helpful to newbies (triangular section grip). The polished metallic finish has a special glow that brings warmth and brilliance to the Copper Orange AL-Star. The AL-Star may be prone to scratches because of its material, but given the proper care, these pens will last for a long time.

If you haven't gotten one of these Copper Orange AL-Stars yet, go get one now!


Lamy Safari pens are widely available from pen sellers worldwide. For a global search of Lamy retailers, visit: http://www.lamy.com/content/find_a_retailer/index_eng.html.

In the Philippines, the AL-Star Copper Orange fountain pen and ink (and other Lamy products) are made available by Times Trading Company, through their kiosks at National Bookstore branches around Metro Manila. 

Lamy products are also available at Scribe Writing Essentials, a specialty store offering fountain pens, inks, and paper products, Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, visit http://www.scribewritingessentials.com/stores/.  

Fountain Pen Review: Kaweco Ice Sport

I'm not a fan of small pens. I find them uncomfortable to use, unlike big, heavy pens with heft and balance. When Arizona-based Pen Chalet owner Ron Manwaring offered to send me a fountain pen to review, he included a Kaweco Ice Sport in the list. I know it's a small pen, and I got curious about it. I thought I won't use it because of its size, but I still said yes to Ron's offer. Who wouldn't? A Kaweco Ice Sport sounded interesting, but an orange Kaweco Ice Sport with a broad nib is simply irresistible!

The Ice Sport, a colored demonstrator fountain pen made by Kaweco in Heidelberg, Germany, is from the Sport Series that includes the Classic, Aluminum, Stonewashed, AC, Art, Brass, and Skyline. It is available in six bright colors: blue, orange, red, green, yellow, and pink. Unlike most pens, Kaweco's Sport pens do not have clips, but clips can be bought separately in chrome, gold, or bronze finishes.

The Ice Sport is a small and lightweight pen, so it's easy to carry in one's pocket, or tuck in a bag. This small pen, however, has a unique design and becomes a full-sized pen when the cap is posted on the barrel. The pen is designed well, and the plastic used appears to be of high quality.

As mentioned above, the Ice Sport is a lightweight pen. It weighs 10g (body - 6g; cap - 4g), without a clip, or a full cartridge of ink. Don't frown yet — a posted Kaweco Ice Sport has exactly the same weight of a Lamy Safari's body!

Many fountain pen users consider it a downside that the Ice Sport is difficult to use without posting the cap. But this pen's faceted cap is designed to be an extension of its barrel to make it a full-sized pen. The cap is also a built in roll stopper. Even without a clip, the pen will not easily roll off a surface.

The Ice Sport's small built consists of the transparent barrel, section (grip + feed + nib), and cap. The nib and feed are friction-fit into the section, and I'm happy that I can easily pull them out for cleaning. It's cool that the transparent barrel shows the ink cartridge and the color of the ink inside, and nice, too, that the cap and section have the same bright, happy, orange color. The cap is threaded and screws securely to the barrel — not typical of small pens in this price range — which is a very practical feature.

Being a small pen, the Ice Sport is filled with ink only through an international standard short cartridge, which has 0.5 – 0.6ml of ink. Kaweco offers a squeeze converter for the Sport pens, but I do not own one, so I'm not sure about its ink capacity of how well it fills with ink. Some people, however, do away with cartridges and convert their Ice Sport into eyedropper pens for higher ink capacity. When converted as eyedropper pens, the Ice Sport's barrel can hold approximately 3ml of ink. For my pen, though, I used an empty short cartridge and syringe-filled it with Diamine Pumpkin to the brim.

I requested Ron to send me a pen with a broad nib, but Kaweco Sport pens have nibs ranging from extra fine (XF) to double broad (BB). Other Sport pens have gold plated nibs, but those in the Ice line have stainless steel nibs. The imprint includes the nib width (B), Kaweco logo, and the words Germany and 1883 under a filigree-like pattern.

The broad nib didn't write well out of the box, but it was my fault. In my excitement to test this pen, I forgot to clean the nib and section before inking. It was dry and scratchy and it took me two ink fills before I realized that I need to prime the nib and section first. After trying Noodler's Apache Sunset and Caran d'Ache Saffron, I finally cleaned the feed with a soft brush and mild soap, spread the tines with a thin blade, and widened the ink channel to increase the flow. I then tried another orange ink, Diamine Pumpkin, and voilà, I got my happy pen writing wet and smooth.

Ice Sport pens have chrome trims, including their finial (top cap), which bears the Kaweco logo.

The Kaweco Ice Sport, capped, measures ~4.10 inches.

Uncapped and unposted, it is really short at only 4 inches. The cap is a bit longer than most fountain pen caps at 2.75 inches.

The Ice Sport looks dwarfed alongside the Lamy Al Star (5.6 inches), Sailor Pro Gear (5 inches) and Pelikan M205 (4.8 inches).

But when it is posted, it becomes a full-sized pen at 5.3 inches long!

I don't usually post my pens, so writing with the posted Ice Sport is somewhat new to me. I tried writing with it unposted, and it was uncomfortable. The cap not only extends the length of the pen, it also provides weight and balance.

The Kaweco Ice Sport is a well-made, compact fountain pen that is uniquely designed to be portable and easy to use. The stainless steel nib writes well, and it can easily be converted to an eyedropper. It's a great pen in the US$30 price range, a perfect companion to small notebooks. If you are looking for a happy fountain pen, I suggest you get a Kaweco Ice Sport. I know it will be a happy fountain pen for you, because it is mine!

The Kaweco Ice Sport fountain pen in this review is courtesy of Pen Chalet, where it retails for US$27. For more about Pen Chalet and their pen offerings, visit www.penchalet.com.

Fountain Pen Review: Edison Collier, TWSBI 580AL, Sailor Pro Gear

In my previous fountain pen review, I included a bit about pen size comparison. I thought that a fountain pen comparison will be useful especially now that more brands are being introduced in the country. I wanted to do a new pen comparison with some details, and chose three of my orange fountain pens for fun. 

The pens in this article are (top to bottom): Edison Pen Co. Collier Antique Marble, Sailor Professional Gear Color (Orange) with Rhodium Trim, and TWSBI Diamond 580 AL orange. It is my first time to have an Edison and a Sailor fountain pen, and I am just glad that I got them. 

Material. The barrels and caps of  these three pens are made from resin. Although all three pens have screw-type caps, their trims are different: gold for the Collier, rhodium for the Sailor Pro Gear, and silver for the TWSBI 580.

The Collier has the same resin for both its barrel and section, or grip. The contoured grip prevents my fingers from slipping as I write. The Sailor Pro Gear has a black plastic section which I find comfortable and easy to grip. The TWSBI's aluminum section is a bit slippery, though. I noticed that I do not have a firm grip on the section when I am writing, because of the material.

Top to bottom: Sailor Pro Gear, Edison Pen Co. Collier, and TWSBI 580AL

Filling mechanism.

The Collier, which belongs to Edison's Production Line pens has a cartridge/converter (C/C) filling mechanism. Long and short international cartridges will fit in the Collier, but a standard international converter is included when I got my pen. It can also be used as an an eyedropper pen because there are no metal parts inside the barrel.

The Sailor Pro Gear also has a C/C filling mechanism, but only takes proprietary Sailor cartridges. Like the Collier, this pen came with a Sailor converter on purchase. Both the Collier and Sailor converters have ink capacities of ~0.7-1.0 ml.

The TWSBI 580AL, however, comes with a piston ink-filling mechanism, with a 1.9 ml ink capacity, which is twice the ink of a converter-full for either the Collier or the Sailor.

Nibs. The nibs on these pens are still factory nibs. I haven't done any modifications or adjustments on them yet.

My Edison Collier has a two-toned steel #6 broad (B) nib, but other two-toned nibs available for this pen are: extra fine, fine, medium, and 1.1 and 1.5 italic. 18k gold nibs in extra fine, fine, medium, and broad are also available.

A 21k gold nib in hard-medium (H-M), which is surprisingly soft, is what's on my Sailor Pro Gear. Other nibs for the Pro Gear are: 21k gold in fine, medium, and broad.

The TWSBI 580AL in this set has a chrome #5 Jowo B nib. It can also be fitted with an extra fine, fine, and medium nibs.

Size. The Edison Collier is definitely the largest fountain pen among the three. This long and fat cigar type pen measures 5.9 inches when capped! Writing with the Collier is still comfortable, though. The section's diameter is only .38 inch, almost the same as the TWSBI 580AL's .39 inch.

The TWSBI is 5.6 inches long, and weighs 32 grams, a tad heavier than the Edison which only weighs 30 grams.

The Sailor Pro Gear, a smallish pen by my standards, measures 5.07 inches long when capped, and weighs 21.6 grams. 

Posting. I do not usually post my pens, but I am including this here as a useful detail for those who do post their fountain pens. Among the three pens, only the Sailor Pro Gear posts properly. If anyone gets a Collier or a TWSBI 580, do not try to post the pens' caps, because they will fall off.  

Writing performance. I am very lucky to have these three fountain pens since they all write so well out of the box. The Collier and the TWSBI both have broad factory nibs, which are round and very wet. I plan to have the Collier's nib modified into a stub later. 

As I mentioned earlier, the Sailor Pro Gear pen is new to me. It is my first Sailor and I am amazed at how nice it feels to write with a supposedly hard (but turned out to be soft) nib. I am glad I bought this pen and got to experience writing with a Sailor nib. 

Now that this review is done, do not be surprised if I will not identify my favorite fountain pen among the three, because all of them are excellent writers. I have presented all the details available to me, and included my own experiences using each of them. I do hope, though, that every fountain pen user can experience writing with a Collier, TWSBI, and Sailor fountain pens.

These pens are sold by a number of official resellers worldwide, but in the Philippines, Edison, TWSBI, and Sailor pens are all available at Scribe Writing Essentials, a specialty store selling fountain pens, inks, paper products, and calligraphy supplies. 

Scribe has stores in Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, click here.

Fountain Pen Review: Edison Collier Antique Marble

Edison pens are now in the Philippines! Woohoo! 

A few years ago, when I was still new to this hobby, I liked white fountain pens. I recall a time when I grew so fascinated with a white fountain pen that I saw on the internet. Google later revealed that the pen is a Mina from Edison Pen Co. I didn't take the pen, for a number of reasons, but an Edison fountain pen has always been on my list. When I found out that our beloved pen store Scribe Writing Essentials will be the official reseller of Edison pens in the country, I was more than excited to get one.

When Scribe posted the photos of Edison pens that will be available in their stores (read Edison's announcement here), the Collier in Antique Marble finish caught my eye. Its rounded form is very pleasing to look at, and the color is just irresistible. From the photos, the Collier looked like it's a big pen, and I thought it would be heavy, but the amber resin is simply unforgettable. I can't get it off my mind, and I counted the days before I could get one.

The Collier has been with me for more than a week now, and I am very happy I got it. Here's why.

The Edison Box. Having collected a few fountain pens myself, I have seen a number of pen boxes from different pen brands. I'm happy to see that Edison pens are carefully presented in the same elegant box covered in patterned maroon faux leather. While this well-made and elegant box contains a fountain pen, it could easily be mistaken for a jewelry box.

I like the Edison box because it is not oversized, yet the Collier, a long and fat pen, fits perfectly inside. While the box has no markings outside, opening it shows the Edison Pen Co. logo printed on the inside of the cover. Inside the box is the Collier, a wonderful work of artistry in a medley of warm and happy colors, lying on a bed of padded soft fabric held in place by a satin ribbon.

The Edison Collier. The Edison Collier is an award-winning pen. It's Goldspot's Pen of the Year in 2011. The Antique Marble is from Edison's Production Line of fountain pens (available only through resellers). It is made from translucent amber-colored acrylic resin, buffed and polished to a high gloss. At approximately 5.9 inches long (capped), the Collier is my longest (and probably the fattest) fountain pen. 

The Collier's resin is strikingly beautiful with rich swirls of black, brown, and in some parts, silver and pearlescent orange in amber. It's amazing! It's like seeing thin strips of satin suspended in lovely amber. Also notable is that the Collier's parts — barrel, section, and cap — are made from the same translucent resin. It's as if the pen came from a huge blob of real amber!

For such a long pen, the Collier is surprisingly light at 30 grams. Uncapped, the body is only ~5.2 inches long (barrel, section, converter), and lighter at 20 grams, which makes writing comfortable. The pen fits so well in my hand, and the contoured grip keeps my fingers in place as I write.

Like all the pens in Edison's Production Line, the Collier has a cartridge/converter (C/C) filling mechanism. Short and long international cartridges will fit in the Collier, but a standard international converter is included in the box. It can as well be used as an eyedropper pen because there are no metal parts inside the barrel.  

The Collier's screw on cap is ~2.8 inches long and weighs 10 grams. It was not designed to be posted on to the pen's barrel, but I don't usually post my pens, so I don't mind at all. The simple, unobtrusive gold-plated clip of the Collier is the perfect complement to its translucent amber. It feels just right: not too long, but not too short, and flexible enough to easily clip on to a shirt pocket, or to a notebook pen loop.

Here is another photo of the Collier's cap. The glossy rounded top of the cap is just lovely, free from any markings, and the translucent amber just seems to glow and change color according to the intensity of light.

The Collier is a big pen. Its cigar-shaped barrel has a diameter of 0.6 of an inch, almost equivalent to the barrel diameter of a Pelikan M1000! And again, that pattern in amber is just awesome. The other side of the barrel has swirls, while there are black and brown stripes on this side.

The slightly pointed (but still rounded) end of the Collier's barrel is equally beautiful, complementing the rounded top of the cap. 

Brian Gray, President and creator of pens at Edison Pen Co., has designed the branding of his pens carefully. The Collier's branding is so discreet that it took me a while to find it. The laser engraved words "Edison Pen Co. Collier" are so small and hard to see. I had to look very closely at the barrel with a pen light so I can see it. 

The Edison Nib. The Collier has an oversized #6 nib, and I chose a steel, two-toned B (broad, bold, big) nib for my pen, which would probably get a grind soon. It wrote smoothly out of the box, and I am very happy I selected a broad nib. Edison nibs are sourced from Germany, and Brian is known to personally check the nibs on his pens before they are sent.

In an homage to Thomas A. Edison, whom Edison Pen Co. shares birthplace with (Milan, Ohio, USA), Brian designed a logo that shows a light bulb and a fountain pen nib. Clever and ingenious. 

I'm a blue fountain pen ink addict, and I so badly wanted to fill my Collier with Eclat de Saphir, my favorite blue ink. But this pen is begging for a same-color ink, so I filled it Pelikan Edelstein Amber. 

Amber for amber. The Edelstein ink is a perfect match for my Collier's broad nib! 

I thought that a fountain pen size comparison would be useful, especially now that new pen brands are being introduced frequently in the country. I would like to show that the Collier is a large pen. Its length and girth are very prominent and imposing. The other pens are: Bexley Intrepid, TWSBI AL 580, Lamy Safari, Platinum 3776, and Pelikan M400. If you're planning to get an oversized pen any time soon, keep the Collier in mind. You definitely won't regret it. 

The Collier is also available in three other colors: Persimmon Swirl, Silver Marble, and Blue Steel. #6 nibs for the Collier are available in single tone or two tone steel, and in 18k solid gold. Steel nibs are available in EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm italic, and 1.5 italic. The 18k solid gold nibs are available in EF, F, M, and B.

Edison pens are sold by a number of official resellers worldwide. In the Philippines, they are available at Scribe Writing Essentials, a specialty store selling fountain pens, inks, paper products, and calligraphy supplies. Scribe has stores in Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, click here.