Pocket Pen Roundup

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

One of the more surprising things I discovered during my fountain pen journey thus far is how much I like pocket pens. Maybe they aren’t the best for writing for long periods of time, but for quick notes and to do lists and such, they’re really handy. My first pocket pen was the Kaweco Sport Macchiato with a BB nib. I specifically got it so I could get it ground to an architect to see if I’d like that grind. It may seem counterintuitive to get a grind on an inexpensive pen but that was precisely the point. If I didn’t like architects, at least I would only be out the cost of the grind and a $20 pen. Turns out I ended up liking the architect AND the Kaweco and thus, the rabbit hole within the rabbit hole began!

A few things to note:

• This isn’t a comprehensive list of pocket pens by far, just some of the more common ones as well as a few of the lesser known ones.
• I generally do not post my pens, but when I do, it’s only for ones that are screw-to-post or have some mechanism (like o-ring) to prevent scratching the barrel.
• Prices for some of the pens vary drastically if buying domestically vs overseas. As always, do your homework.

Kaweco Sport - This is one of the most common pocket pens out there and for good reason. They are inexpensive, come in a wide array of colors and trim colors too. The Classic is gold trim and the Skyline is silver trim. They have made some with black nib/trim too. Most folks use cartridges with their Sports but you can also use their piston converter (avoid the mini squeeze converter like the plague unless you like throwing money away). Kaweco Sports are also eyedropperable with a bit of silicone grease on the threads. The nib/feed can be pretty easily pulled from the housing; most of the Sports these days have glued in housings but that wasn’t always the case.

Price: $25-27

Nib: Steel, Bock 060

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling system: Standard international cartridge, proprietary mini converter

Kaweco AL Sport in Golden Espresso (L) and Kaweco Sport, Galen Leather exclusive.

Kaweco AL Sport - I am calling this out separately because of a few differences from the regular Sport. The Aluminum cap/barrel makes this a slightly heavier pen that is also more durable. The nib units are fully removable; they screw in/out vs being glued in on the regular Sports. I don’t have the other metal sports like the Brass or Steel ones, as they are heavier and I don’t like patina. The AL Sports are also a fair bit more expensive than the regular Sport, especially for store or regional exclusives.

Price: $80-90 (more for exclusives)

Nib: Steel, Bock 060, screw-in nib unit is removable

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling system: Standard international cartridge, proprietary mini converter

Cult Pens x Kaweco Mini - Cult Pens worked with Kaweco to design this adorable Mini fountain pen. The first release was grey brushed aluminum and the second/current one is navy blue. It is remarkably well made and very durable, while still being classy and cute at the same time.

Price: £25 (with vat) or ~$27 USD

Nib: Steel, Bock 060, screw-in nib unit is removable

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling system: Standard international cartridge only

The Cult Pens Mini Fountain Pen by Kaweco is one of the smallest and durable pocket pens!

Ensso XS - I first heard of Ensso from Kickstarter years ago and backed their first pocket pen. I really like it because it is a “snap” cap and not a twist cap, making it very convenient for quick note taking or todo/packing lists (my favorite use for them). There is a rubber o-ring on the grip end of the barrel, so it is more of a slip cap when capping, but you get a bit of a snap or pop when uncapping. There is also an o-ring on the other side of the barrel so you can easily post without damaging the pen. I am a sucker for faceted pens and this one is no exception.

Price: $99 for the Titanium XS

Nib: Steel, Bock 060

Cap: Slip cap

Postable: Yes

Filling system: Standard international cartridge-only

Other: The Titanium one is the only one currently available as other colors are either sold out or discontinued.

Ensso XS in Red aluminum.

Conklin Minigraph - I’ll admit that I snagged this because it’s adorably cute. Like many of the smaller, slimmer pocket pens, the grip is very slender so it’s not the most comfortable pocket pen. The screwed-in nib unit is easily removed; “Iridium Point Germany” engraving usually indicates that it is a Chinese-manufactured nib but I don’t have any compatible nib units.

Price: $40-50

Nib: Steel

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes, but nothing protecting the barrel

Filling System: Standard international cartridge only

Other: Might be discontinued or difficult to find.

Conklin Minigraph in Purple Dunes.

Gravitas Pens Pocket Pen - Ben Walsh of Gravitas Pens has been making metals pens for some time and added the pocket fountain pen to his line up. It is available in a variety of finishes but I particularly like the flat edge on one side of the cap, so that the pen won’t roll away. The grip section is slightly knurled so it isn’t slippery. There doesn’t appear to be anything protecting the PVD-coated barrel, but the threads are further in the cap, so posting shouldn’t pose too much risk of scratching.

Price: €65 or $70

Nib: Steel, Jowo 6

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Standard international cartridge only

Other: There is a newly released Polycarbonate eyedropper version which is slightly larger and is available for 95EU/$100.

Gravitas Pocket Pen in Skittles Finish.

Namisu N1 Pocket Pen - Released as a Kickstarter in early 2021, the N1 was added to Namisu’s lineup of machined/metal pens. Several finishes were offered but all are currently sold out. They use Bock 250 nibs, which are a bit larger than the ones in Kaweco Sports. The three rubber o-rings on the barrel allow the cap to post without damaging the barrel.

Price: £57-99/$70-125 depending on finish

Nib: Steel, Bock 250

Cap: Slip cap

Postable: Yes

Filling system: Standard international cartridge-only

Other: The Titanium one is the only one currently available as other colors are either sold out or discontinued. Unclear if they plan on making more.

Namisu N1 Pocket Pen in Petrol finish (can you tell I love these rainbow finishes?)

Schon Dsgn Pocket Six - The Pocket Six houses a, wait for it, size 6 nib unit! Originally offered with Bock 6 nibs, most of Ian’s pocket pens are now outfitted for Jowo 6 nibs, though you can still buy Bock 6 sections. I really like that you can make your own Pocket Six as well as getting different grip sections if you wanted the rollerball attachment (which uses fountain pen cartridges!). There are also faceted and anodized aluminum versions as well as brass and copper options too.

Price: $125 and up

Nib: Steel, Jowo 6

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes, screw to post

Filling System: Standard international cartridge-only

Schon Dsgn Pocket Six with a Jowo 6 nib on the left and a rollerball attachment on the right (currently inked with a Montblanc Pop Pink cartridge)

Pilot Petit 1 - One of the early fountain pens that I had discovered was this little inexpensive gem of a pen called the Petit 1. It comes in a Petit Marker format as well. The internal cap seal is incredibly good and I’ve misplaced my Petit 1s for several years, only to find out that they didn’t dry out and wrote immediately!

Price: $4

Nib: Steel

Cap: Snap

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Proprietary mini cartridge-only

I forgot how good the Pilot Petit 1 is!

Sailor Pro Gear Mini - A smaller version of the Sailor Pro Gear, the PG Mini has the same size cap, grip and nib as the regular PG, but a shortened barrel. There is also a Pro Gear Slim mini as well. Earlier models of the mini were screw-to-post but current models of the mini do not require screwing the cap to post. Mini converters are also available if you don’t want to use cartridges.

Price: $180

Nib: 14kt gold for PGS Mini or 21kt gold for PG Mini

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Proprietary Sailor cartridge or mini converter

Sailor Pro Gear Mini (early version with screw-to-post end)

Sheaffer Tuckaway Valiant - I will be the first to admit that I don’t know a lot about vintage, but I wanted to include an example of what the vintage world has to offer by way of pocket pens. I saw this beauty on PaperWantsAPen’s IG account and had to get it. The Golden Brown material is stunning and the little clip is there for a purpose. My understanding is that, back in the day, the military did not allow adornments on uniforms (other than medals and such), but folks needed to be able to pocket carry their pens so the little clip allows them to hold a pen upright in their pocket while still being discreet.

Sheaffer Tuckaway - one of many pocket pens available in the vintage arena.

TWSBI Mini - The TWSBI Mini is the smaller version of the 580. (There is also the Vac Mini, which is the smaller version of the Vac 700R, but it is slightly longer than the Mini). This screw-to-post mini pen is great for folks who want large ink capacity but their reputation for cracking barrels makes this not the best pen to carry in one’s pocket. I like that their nib units are easily swappable and that you can buy Mini nib units separately.

Price: $50 for standard Mini, $60 for the AL version, $85 for Rose Gold trim

Nib: steel, screw-in nib units

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes, screw-to-post

Filling System: Piston

TWSBI Mini in Rose Gold - Hard to find a higher capacity pocket pen than this one.

Franklin-Christoph 20P - The Model 20P is the pocket version of the Model 20, both of which are Franklin-Christoph’s only slip-cap model (other pens are screw caps). The 20P takes a size 6 Jowo nib and takes a cartridge or it can be eyedroppered with a bit of silicone grease (just don’t uncap too forcefully or you may expel a little ink). One other thing to keep in mind for eyedroppering this model is that people often forget that it’s a slip cap and will start to twist the cap, which will unscrew the section from the barrel and potentially make an inky mess. I like that the slip can be capped/uncapped single-handedly. If you can’t uncap it in one hand, you’ve cranked it down too hard.

Price: $145 (more for other grinds or gold upgrade)

Nib: steel, Jowo 6 screw-in nib units

Cap: Slip

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Standard International Cartridge or eyedropper

Franklin-Christoph Pocket 20 (or 20P)’s slip cap is one of my favorites for quick notes.

Pilot Elite E95S - The Pilot E95S is a great example of Japanese pocket pens often called “short-long pens”. These pens have a short barrel and long cap; the pens are also short when capped and long (nearly full-size) when posted. Also, the slip cap makes it easy to open/close/post. All 3 of the major Japanese brands (Pilot, Sailor, Platinum) had a variety of short-long models, some had steel nibs and others had 14kt or 18kt gold nibs. Vintage short-longs can vary in price from $20 to several hundred dollars, especially for the more sought-after/discontinued models like the Pilot Myu, M90, Volex and Murex.

Price: $136

Nib:14kt gold (for the E95S)

Cap: Slip

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Proprietary Pilot cartridge-only

Pilot Elite E95s (left) and Pilot Myu (right) are examples of “short-long” fountain pens.

After this point, it is difficult to categorize these pens as pocket pens as they are not marketed as such, but they are fairly small, so I am including some of the more common ones.

Pilot Prera - The Pilot Prera is an acrylic alternative to those who like the Pilot Metropolitan nib, but don’t like the heft or the grip. It has a wonderful snap cap and uses the same steel nib and feed as others in the Pilot lineup (which are easily swappable via gentle pull). Solid colors are harder to come by in the states but can often be found on Ebay and Amazon.

Price: $40-56

Nib: Steel

Cap: Snap

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Proprietary Pilot cartridge or converter

Sporting a great snap cap, the Pilot Prera is a nice (but pricier) alternative to the Metropolitan.

Pelikan M2xx/M4xx - The Pelikan M200 and M400 series are the same size with the former having steel nibs and the latter 14kt gold nibs. Both models are readily available from many retailers at a variety of prices depending on color, limited edition, etc. The nibs are swappable between them; this is also true with the M600s as well too but not necessarily the other way around, due to the M600 nibs being longer, there may not be clearance in the cap.

Price: $200 for M200s and $300+ for M400s

Nib: Steel for M200s, 14kt gold for M400s

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Piston

Pelikan M215 Rhombus is one of many styles available in the M2xx and M4xx size.

Sailor Pro Gear Slim - The regular sized Sailor Pro Gear Slim is often mentioned as a pocket pen because it is on the smaller size. Their 14kt gold nibs have a pencil-like feedback that is loved by many. And if you don’t like a particular color/style, just wait a bit and chances are high that more designs will come out to tempt your wallet.

Price: $180+

Nib: 14kt gold

Cap: Screw

Postable: Yes

Filling System: Proprietary Sailor cartridge or converter

Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Bungubox special edition for the 2019 San Francisco Pen Show.

Here are some comparison photos showing the pens while capped, posted and unposted (for folks like me).

L to R: Schon Dsgn Pocket Six, Ensso XS, Conklin Minigraph, Gravitas Pocket Pen, Namisu N1, Cult Pens Kaweco Mini, Kaweco Sport, Kaweco AL Sport, Pilot Petit 1, Sailor Pro Gear Mini, Sheaffer Tuckaway, TWSBI Mini, Franklin-Christoph 20P, Pilot Elite E95s, Pilot Myu, Pilot Prera, Pelikan M215, Pelikan M405, Sailor Pro Gear Slim.

It always surprises me to see how much a pens length can change when it is posted.

Well, that’s about the extent of my pocket and pocket-adjacent pens! I know there are way more out there, even in my own collection, that wasn’t included in here but hopefully it gives you an idea of the variety of pocket pens that exist in our little rabbit hole.

(Disclaimer: All pens are my own and links used were based on where I could easily find the products.)

Conklin Duraflex Elements Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

I have a small family of Conklin pens, and I have been lucky with them in that I haven't experienced the inconsistent quality that some users have. (Essentially the reverse of my luck with TWSBIs). All my Conklins have been beautiful and well-performing, so I was excited to try the new Duraflex Elements Fountain Pen, especially when I saw the fire color. I am happy to say that my luck has continued--and I must call it luck, as our own Susan had a very different experience with her version of this edition.

I'm really enjoying this pen. The color of the acrylic is fantastic, with black, charcoal, red, dark rose, and clear all tossed like a flow of lava. The pen is sturdy, and very solidly made. It does not feel light or cheap, and the cap, clip, and finials are well fit. The cap screws on securely, and I haven't had any leaking or drying out, even when the pen sat for a few weeks without use. The clip is springy but firm, so it fits well over a stack of paper, but won't slip too easily.

The pen is a nice medium size--bigger than a Sailor Pro Gear but smaller than a TWSBI 580, so it should suit most hands comfortably. The grip section is made of the same acrylic as the body. It's a little slick, but it contours nicely to keep your grip in place. It takes cartridges or a converter, which comes with the pen.

A lot of the criticism Conklin receives concerns the quality of their nibs. It's not unearned--there's a lot of inconsistency in user experience, and you don't know if you've gotten a good one or not until you try it. My Conklin Word Gauge is one of the best writers in my collection, but others have had experiences so negative that they've sworn off the brand altogether.

This Elements pen has the Conklin Omniflex nib--a semi-flex nib with cutout wings designed to allow for some degree of line variation. Of course it does not flex the way we all want it to. It can't meet the bendy standards of vintage pens or dip nibs designed for fancy script. But it does flex a bit, and it adds some lovely character to your writing. Much like a stub nib adds a little bit of italic flavor to writing, this Duraflex nib adds a little bit of flex flavor. Not enough, it could be fairly argued, but I don't think it ever promised that.

My nib performs about how I expected it would. It's wide for a fine line when writing normally, largely because it is a very wet writer--a feature it needs in order to keep up with ink flow when flex writing. When pressure is applied on downstrokes, the line widens, creating an effect that would be very graceful and beautiful if I were any good at this at all. But even with my poor handwriting skills, I like the way this pen makes my writing look, and that's enough to make me reach for it when I need to fill a page. (Note: the slight feathering on the flexed strokes is a result of the paper I was using. I had better experiences with fountain pen friendly paper.)

While my friends' experiences make me hesitate to recommend buying this pen, my own experiences lead me to encourage you to try one, if you have access. If there's a pen store or pen show near you, this is a great pen to try in person, before you decide whether or not to buy. It's a total bargain at $60--so long as you get a good one.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Conklin Duraflex Elements (Water) with Omniflex Nib: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Conklin has a new series of fountain pens called Elements, which includes three pens: Earth (black and brown translucent resin with black trim), Fire (black and red translucent resin with silver trim), and Water (blue and green translucent resin with copper trim). Today I’m reviewing Water.

The pen comes packaged in a clamshell box with an outer cardboard sheath that is brightly colored and printed with the Conklin Duraflex Elements label. The box itself has a cream, suede-like interior.

Included with the pen are several cards with information about the filling system, the Omniflex nib, and the Conklin brand. In addition you receive two ink cartridges and a converter.

Water is a beautiful resin. It reminds me a little of the black and gold celluloid on the Omas Lucens. Water is translucent with blue and green flecks (and it’s resin, not celluloid). Still, it’s quite striking. Even my daughter, who often looks at a fountain pen I have in hand and says, “That looks like clown vomit,” remarked on how pretty this pen is.

The barrel is engraved with “Duraflex Limited Edition” and the number. Mine is 711 out of 1898.

This pen comes with copper trims that complement the resin well. The clip has a simple curve with a teardrop-shaped tip. The cap is a screw top and requires only two turns for capping and uncapping.

The cap ring is engraved with “Conklin” on one side and “Duraflex” with moon shapes on the other.

The Duraflex is a medium-sized pen, measuring 5.5 inches/139.7 mm capped, 4.8 inches/121.92 mm uncapped, and 7.0 inches/177.8 mm posted. The grip is a comfortable 9.9 mm in diameter. It weighs only 11 grams unposted, which makes it light in the hand. The pen is well-balanced uncapped, but posting makes it rather unwieldy.

The pen fills via cartridge or converter. The converter is pretty standard, made of mostly plastic, but it pulls up the ink adequately.

I’m always excited to try flex nibs, so I was looking forward to writing with the Omniflex. The nib itself is pretty cool looking with cutouts on the sides, a heart-shaped breather hole, and the word “FLEX” inscribed on the surface, along with “Conklin Toledo, USA.”

The Omniflex Nib instruction card states that the nib is “intricately designed and cut for maximum performance, resembling a bird taking flight . . . . The nib flexes with significant ease . . . .”

Well . . . I would beg to differ on the “significant ease” part. This nib is stiff. Very stiff. And getting any flex out of it requires a good amount of pressure. That said, you can get some decent line variation if you work hard. I inked Water with Kobe University Town Green and wrote out the alphabet in a Midori MD notebook. You can see the line variation in the photos below. In addition, you can see where the pen started railroading and stopped writing when I did line tests.

I added some Vanness White Lightning Ink Additive to the ink and refilled the pen. This helped ink flow significantly and I was able to write at my normal speed (without flex) without any skipping or railroading.

However, this is one of the worst nibs I’ve ever used. Not only is it difficult to flex, when you write normally the nib is rough and extremely unpleasant. I took macro photos of the nib in an attempt to see what the problem was. The tines did not look misaligned from the front.

But the photos I took of the nib’s top and bottom revealed two issues. First, one tine is slightly shorter than the other. Second, one tine is quite a bit thinner than the other. It appears to me that this nib was just poorly made. Unfortunately, these sorts of issues can’t be fixed with a little micromesh.

It’s quite a shame that the nib is in such bad shape out of the box. If this weren’t a review pen, I’d return it and request a replacement. I read quite a few reviews of the Omniflex nibs, and most were negative, which suggests to me that there’s a quality control issue here. Some owners replaced their Omniflex nibs with regular Conklin nibs with good results, but, as far as I can tell, there are no copper-colored regular nibs that would match the trim on Water.

I’m sad that I finally have a fountain pen that is "Daughter-Approved™ but is unusable due to the nib. I may just grit my teeth and write with the nib for now, but I’ll likely wind up buying a regular Conklin nib to replace the Omniflex.

You can purchase any of the Conklin Elements pens from JetPens for $60.00. Keep in mind that right now JetPens is not offering free shipping for orders over $50.00 and shipping takes quite a bit longer than normal.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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