Fine Writing International: Fenestro Kuroshio Fountain Pen with 1.5mm Stub Nib Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Fenestro fountain pen is one of those newcomers that really caught me off guard. I hadn't heard of the brand — Fine Writing International — let alone have any awareness of the pen before it showed up on JetPens. With any new brand, there's always a hefty risk with trying something for the first time. In some cases, that risk turns out to be negative. In the case of the Fenestro, it turned out to be a positive risk.

The Fenestro Kuroshio is a beautiful fountain pen that sports a colorful resin body and a glorious 1.5mm stub nib. The Kuroshio part of the name refers to the specific colorway of this model, which is a combination of swirled blue and turquoise that creates a beautiful flowing water effect. I'm mesmerized by the depth of the material and love looking at it while it's on my desk.

Along with the gorgeous resin material, there's a massive ink window (turns out "fenestro" means "window" in Esperanto) that shows you a clear view of how much ink is remaining in the converter cartridge or in the ink reservoir if you've chosen to fill the pen as an eye-dropper, which is completely supported by the Fenestro. There's a beefy o-ring above the threads of the section that connect to the ink reservoir, so you don't have to worry about any ink leaking out if you choose to fill it with an eyedropper. According to JetPens, you can fill 3.6 ml of ink into the pen this way!

The pen is as versatile as it is beautiful. It can be used with nearly any standard international cartridge or converter, or you can fill the barrel directly with up to 3.6 ml of ink using the included plastic eyedropper. The durable resin barrel is acid resistant and alkali resistant, making it safe to fill with any fountain pen ink.

Moving on to the size of the pen, it's not exactly a pocket pen. It's fairly large at just under 6 inches when capped, and a whopping 7 inches when posted. I haven't posted this pen at all because I find the uncapped length (5.3 inches) to be perfect for me.

The grip section on this pen is small compared to the rest of the body size, but it's still very comfortable to use. The material is slick and polished, but still provides a great surface to grip when writing. The transition from the grip section to the ink window is soft to the touch and provides a nice tactile indicator for where your fingers are resting when writing with the pen. Due to the length and fairly lightweight nature of the pen, it's extremely comfortable to use for long writing sessions. I've had zero issues with my standard tripod grip, but your experience may vary depending on how you grip the pen.

The nib is a #6 JoWo with a custom stamp for the FWI brand. Like all JoWo nibs, it performs well and I've been really happy with it. The 1.5mm stub outfitted on this model is velvety smooth and dependable. The edges are delightfully soft while still providing plenty of sharp variation between horizontal and vertical stroke line widths. It's a fantastic nib, and it's also easy to swap out with any other JoWo #6 nib.

The one thing that I really dislike about this pen (and I mean I really dislike it) is the size of the clip on the cap. It's comically small and just feels so out of place on a pen of this size. It could easily be another 0.75" long to fit the length of the pen better. I'm not sure why FWI chose to use such a petite clip on this pen, but I think it was the wrong choice. At any rate, it works great as a clip in terms of pure functional design. If only it complimented the aesthetics of the pen!

At $85, the Fenestro is a good deal. The materials and components are top notch, and the pen is an absolute stunner when it's sitting on your desk or in the right light. It brings me a lot of joy to use, and I think the price is fair for what you get, especially considering the massive amount of ink you can store in it. The shape isn't anything special, but it's a classic shape that should fit many grips. In my few weeks of use, it's performed well, and I expect it to continue holding its own. When comparing this to the likes of a TWSBI 580 or Kaweco AL Sport, I'd be hard pressed to pick either of them over this beautiful Kuroshio model.

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

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Fine Writing International Fenestro Fountain Pen in Aurora: 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.)

Fine Writing International is a Taiwanese company established in 2011. Their Fenestro series is named after the Esperanto word "window" because of the large ink window in the design. The color way, Aurora, alludes to the northern lights and is a mixture of turquoise and brown luminescent resin.

The pen arrives in a black cardboard box engraved with the company's motto, "To Experience the Joy of Writing." In addition to the pen, inside is a plastic eye dropper and a converter. The pen can also take a standard international cartridge.

My initial reaction upon seeing the pen for the first time was, "That's hideous!" There's something strange about the proportions of the pen. The smaller than normal clip, long cap, and the large ink window seem out of proportion with the pen's length and girth. Obviously, this is a purely subjective opinion. The sense of disproportion is lessened if there's ink in the pen, and it looks normal with the cap removed. Aside from the proportions, the resin is quite beautiful and displays chatoyance in the sunlight.

Flat finials and a slight taper make for a simple, almost angular design. As stated earlier, the clip is quite small compared to the cap. Metal rings encircle the bottom of the cap and the bottom of the ink window. The cap is lined to prevent the nib from drying between uses.

The Fenestro is a lengthy pen when capped or posted, measuring 5.9 inches/150mm capped and 7.0 inches/178mm posted (it's absolutely unwieldy posted). Uncapped it measures a reasonable 5.3 inches/135mm. The grip is 10.5mm and the pen (uncapped and filled with ink) weighs only 14 grams. It's quite comfortable as a writer.

One of the best features of the Fenestro is its multiple filling mechanisms. You can certainly use a cartridge or converter, but the pen can hold a whopping 3.6ml of ink if you eyedropper it. There's an o-ring seal, so you do not need any silicone grease.

The nib is a standard #6 JOWO steel EF with scrollwork and Fine Writing International's logo--a quill. My nib was perfect out of the box--tines aligned, smooth, and good flow.

I inked the pen with Scribo Blue Capri, which matches the turquoise well. The EF nib is not at all scratchy and writes more like a fine than an extra fine. It's definitely a nail of a nib, offering no line variation or flexibility. I tested it on Tomoe River Paper (review here), Cosmo Air Light (review here), and Ayush Paper (review here). Interestingly, on the Cosmo Air Light paper the line seemed wider and wetter than on Tomoe or Ayush paper.

The Fenestro comes in four colors: Kuroshio (royal blue and green), Aurora (turquoise and brown), Winter's Night (silver and black), and The Snow Scene (white swirls). Nib sizes include extra fine, fine, medium, broad, and a large 1.5mm stub. Currently, JetPens only has Aurora and Kuroshio, each costing $85.00 and they are running low on stock. This is cheaper than another eyedropper pen, the Opus 88, which runs between $115 and 120.

Although I'm not a fan of the Fenestro's aesthetic, the pen itself is well made and is a good writer. If you're looking for a pen that holds lots of ink and you're happy with standard JOWO nibs, this is a good option.

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

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Fine Writing International Bronze Age 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 first saw the Fine Writing International Bronze Age in one of its many Instagram glamour shots. There was definitely an element of love at first sight--it's a really beautiful pen. But I was a bit wary, too. I had never heard of the brand before, and it seemed a bit underpriced, actually, for a brass pen. While I thought it was lovely, I was suspicious of its quality. So when the opportunity arose to review it, I was doubly excited--excited to try out this mysterious beauty of a pen, and excited to satisfy the lingering curiosity I'd held onto since I first saw it.

My curiosity is happily satisfied, and this pen is as nice as it looks. The first thing you can't help but notice, when you hold this pen, is that it is very heavy. The cap, end, and grip section are solid brass, and the pen weighs in at 53g before it's even inked. Most of that weight alone is the cap. Because of that, I worried about what it would feel like to write with, but the grip section and end cap are very well balanced, so I didn't actually experience any hand fatigue, even during a longer writing session. The cap is lined with a special plastic sleeve that seals the pen when closed to prevent dry-out. It works very well, but it does prevent the cap from posting at the back end. You really wouldn't want to post this pen, though. It would be incredibly back-heavy if you did.

The body of the pen is clear acrylic. It bears the claim of being nearly indestructible. It's a bold claim, and I get a bit nervous any time I see metal pen parts that thread directly onto plastic ones. But so far, I see no signs of any stress to the acrylic. Despite the fact that I forgot I put this pen into a pocket of my notebook cover, and then it fell out of the pocket inside my backpack and spent an afternoon tossed around in my bag like in a tumble dryer. I had a moment of panic when I realized what had happened, followed by surprised delight when it was entirely unscathed. There wasn't even the slightest leak from its eyedropper fill.

I was also nervous to eyedropper fill this pen. The brass is exposed to ink inside the pen, which I thought was a big no-no, but apparently it's okay with brass. And so far, so good. I also thought that the metal/acrylic join would probably leak, but it doesn't. There's a slender o-ring at the join that is there for reinforcement, but no ink has ever even made it that far up the threads. The body holds a whopping 4ml of ink, which will last even the most devoted scrivener a good while. The pen even comes with its own syringe for filling. It also comes with a converter, which it can use--or it can take any standard international cartridge. Lots of options! The included converter is pretty, and looks good inside the clear body.

The nib is gold-plated steel, and is available in EF, F, M, B, and 1.1 stub. This model has the stub nib. The nibs are made by Jowo and are engraved with the lovely quill design for Fine Writing International. My nib writes perfectly, with a consistent line that's just wet enough to show off the ink, but not too gushy. The feed keeps up with the stub very well. It's a #6 nib, and it can be interchanged with any other #6 nib that you like.

Despite all those very practical details, my favorite thing about this pen is the beautiful engraving. The images represent the Taotie, a beast from ancient Chinese mythology that often appeared on bronze vessels during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Taotie is one of the four evils of the world, said to be representative of gluttony and known for eating people, namely human sacrifices. While all that sounds a bit scary, that's the image intended for those on the outside of the mask. For those inside, the Taotie is a symbol of strength and protection. It is believed that the alarming visage would serve as a warning for those who were covetous.

That warning didn't come through on Instagram, where I think we all became a bit covetous of this pen. And, fortunately, it's very fairly priced at around $100. That's still an expensive pen, but reasonable, given the build and materials. I've certainly paid more than that for pens that are not as good as this one. This is one I see myself continuing to use on a very regular basis, especially when I travel for writing, where I'll need a durable pen with a high ink capacity. I'm delighted that this pen exceeded my expectations.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!