Thursday, December 22, 2016

Magpie Syndrome: My Favorite Pens of 2016

Believe it or not, I don't have that many pens anymore... here are a few pens that I would rank as (at least most of) my favorites for 2016. Some are newer pens (to me), and others have been around awhile. I have different reasons for selecting these, and I'll do my best to include a short snippet about each, and why I love that particular pen. Don't forget, these are MY favorite pens. Not the best pens on a budget, or pens with great value. I enjoy writing, I love practicing my handwriting, and I like shiny things. Here is my selection for this year:

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 1
Left to right: 
Pilot Parallel + 6.0 mm calligraphy plate nib
Classic Pens LB5 Kouseki + Nagahara King Eagle nib
Classic Pens LB5 Midorigi + Nagahara Cross Point nib
Ken Cavers Cigar Green Swirl + Fude nib
Pelikan Souverän M1005 Clear + Triple broad nib
Montblanc Meisterstück Moon Pearl LeGrand + Bespoke music nib
Omas Paragon Arco Celluloid (Vintage) + Extra-fine nib
Montblanc Meisterstück 146 90th Anniversary + Double broad oblique nib
Namiki Yukari Nightline Skyline + Medium nib
Namiki Yukari Nightline Moonlight + Pilot Custom Heritage 912 FA nib
Waterman 94 Steel Quartz + Ideal #5 music nib
Pelikan Souverän M400 White Tortoise + Double broad Mottishaw stub nib

Pilot Parallel + 6.0 mm Calligraphy Plates

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 2
An affordable calligraphy nib that is super, super easy to clean. It can be taken apart, used as an eyedropper, and the ink capacity is pretty large. It's sharp enough to give crisp, clean lines, but can be turned on an angle to give varying sizes of lines, in addition to using the corners for fine lines. I always have at least one of these inked.

Classic Pens LB5 Kouseki + Nagahara King Eagle

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 5
I'm not really sure what it is about this pen and the next one. It's large and silly expensive. I wouldn't enjoy it as much without such a unique nib, which is great for hand lettering and making ink look really great. 

Classic Pens LB5 Midorigi + Nagahara Cross Point

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 3
Like the previous pen, this one is large and silly expensive, but I thoroughly enjoy the unique nib. It can be used for hand lettering and the line variation is outstanding!
Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 12
This is the first custom pen I ever purchased, from a pen maker in the city I grew up in - Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ken Cavers made this gorgeous pen with a matching pen rest (not pictured). It's simple but solid, comfortable, and it takes #6 nibs so I usually eyedropper it with a wet writing nib like this fude. It's a lot of fun!
Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 10
One of the first pens my dad gave to me - of course, I picked it and he paid for it, but still. It was also one of the first expensive pens I ever got, and I love how it feels, writes, and how ink looks in it. The triple broad nib makes it even more outstanding!

Montblanc Meisterstück Moon Pearl LeGrand + Bespoke Music

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 6
Shiny strips of abalone and a music nib? Don't mind if I do. Expensive, of course, but it is smooth, pretty (in my opinion), and the nib is excellent for calligraphy practice. 

Omas Paragon Arco Celluloid + Extra-fine

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 9
A new addition to my pen case! Yes, I picked an extra-fine nib because it is slightly springy so the line variation is obvious going from extra-fine to about medium. The material is beautiful, this one being a particularly stunning specimen, and I love the shape and size. 

Montblanc Meisterstück 146 90th Anniversary + Double Broad Oblique

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 13
This was a gift from Stephen. It's not about the status or anything of the sort - I love the classic shape and the rose gold trim is perfect for me. The double broad oblique nib is stubby and it's so comfortable. I just love it for daily use. 

Namiki Yukari Nightline Skyline + Medium

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 8
At this point, I discovered I love pens with raden. It's a solid pen because of a brass liner, it's easy to clean, and it feels great in hand. The medium nib is springy and wet, and I like the shape of the pen a lot. I also spend a lot of time rolling it around, enjoying the glitter. 

Namiki Yukari Nightline Moonlight + FA 

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 7
I acquired this one after the previous, and I was taken in by the deep black and glowing raden. It came with a medium nib, but my Pilot Custom Heritage 912 FA nib fit, and I love it even more - flex and a gorgeous pen all in one.

Waterman 94 Steel Quartz + Ideal #5 Music nib

Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 4
This was a gift from a kindred spirit! My first music nib and the one that started it all. The pen isn't all that outstanding, but the music nib is wet, smooth, and flexible. It has wild line variation!
Magpie Syndrome My Favorite Pens of 2016 11
A pen I bought years ago because I loved the tortoise barrel with the creamy white, and I had the nib ground to a stub by John Mottishaw (nibs.com). Great line variation! It's small and comfortable, the nib is interchangeable, and the pen is easy to maintain. It will always be a keeper.

That's it for this year. I'm trying to only keep pens I'm madly in love with for whatever reason. They may be sentimental reasons, or Magpie Syndrome reasons. 

What are your favorites?

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! Thank you for a fine year of your support and readership - here's to many more!

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 
Creative Commons License
GourmetPens by Azizah Asgarali is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.gourmetpens.com.
COPYRIGHT©2010-2024