Posts filed under PenBBS

PenBBS 308 Fountain Pen in Pacific Review

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

It's been well over a year now since I've been to any kind of pen show or gathering, so I was delightfully surprised to see the PenBBS 308 fountain pen show up because it's made of acrylic. The acrylic body reminds me so much of being at pen shows and touring all the unique and creative custom pens that local makers bring in. A lot of these custom pens are turned with colorful acrylic materials, and it's one of my favorite things about going to pen shows.

While the PenBBS 308 Pacific isn't as cool or well-made as the custom acrylic pens I enjoy at pen shows, it's still a solid pen with plenty to love. For me, the bright color and chunky material really sets it off and convinces me to pick it up over other pens 90% of the time.

Let's back up a little bit. Who is PenBBS? It's a Chinese pen company that takes feedback and design cues from its vibrant community, and produces real products to sell to the rest of the world. It's a fantastic concept, and I've really enjoyed the limited number of products I've used from them so far. Prior to this pen, I knew them solely as an ink brand, but I'm delighted to know they make some pretty awesome pens as well.

The PenBBS 308 model is a traditional shape and size that's similar to a Pilot 74, Platinum 3776, or Pilot Metropolitan. It's a great size that should fit most hands and grips without a problem. The materials are acrylic resin and silver hardware accents. The cap band features some script etched in to show the model number and brand. I'm not a fan of the way they styled the "Pen bbs" brand name on the band, but it doesn't bother unless I look closely. I wish they'd used capital "BBS" letters instead of lower case because it otherwise looks like a single word that you can't really pronounce.

The clip is strong and has a classic shape. It fits nicely with the rest of the pen's aesthetic.

The Pacific colorway that I have is light enough to show some of the inner workings of the pen. I love seeing the outline of thread cuts inside the pen body. The light green/blue/turquoise materials aren't smoothly melted together; instead, they look blocky and jagged under the smooth surface of the polished exterior. This isn't a new material style, but I really love the unique combination of colors and textures that it creates. Like I said earlier, it's nearly impossible to pass by without picking it up.

This fairly normal pen has a nice trick up its sleeve. As I was unscrewing the pen for the first time so I could ink it up, I felt the familiar resistance and soft friction of a rubber o-ring. Sure enough, there's a small o-ring on the bottom of the section so that you can easily turn this pen into an eyedropper. Just add a little silicone grease to the threads, and you're ready to go. The o-ring adds a little extra protection against leaks, and also makes it more secure from accidentally becoming unscrewed while in transit or when unscrewing the cap. According to the marketing materials, it holds nearly 3ml of ink! That's quite a lot to work with, but I haven't made the plunge of filling it yet, as I've been very happy with the size of the included converter.

I'm really happy that they include a converter with this pen. In this case, they're using a proprietary cartridge fitting that isn't compatible with the standard international short fitting. Your options here are using the included converter or eyedropping the pen. I'm sure you could also use Parker-branded refills if you already have some, but that's not something I'm interested in doing since it's a fairly uncommon refill type and I have so many more interesting inks to use.

I inked this pen with Diamine Marine, which I only have in international short cartridge form. I used a syringe to extract the ink from the cartridge and then injected it to the converter. I can tell you that this PenBBS converter holds exactly the same amount of ink as a standard international short cartridge.

Writing with this pen is a dream. The steel nib is smooth and dependable. I didn't have to do any adjustments of my own — it wrote beautifully right out of the box. The fine tip is exactly what I expect in terms of line width, and the ink flow is superb. I haven't had any issues with the nib drying up or skipping, and it's also super easy to clean out.

Overall, I've been really surprised by how well the PenBBS 308 writes and feels. It's a beautiful object and feels great in the hand. What really takes this over the top is the price point. At $38, this is a no-brainer. It's a fantastic pen on its own, and this price just doesn't make sense to my brain. If you're interested in this pen and like any of the 8 available colors nab one for yourself and/or a friend. You only get one nib choice — fine — but it's a great performer and fits this pen perfectly. Along with the pen and converter, it also includes a really nice single pen kimono in a coordinated color. Excellent touch! I'm really looking forward to what else the PenBBS community have in store.

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

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Posted on September 22, 2021 by Jeff Abbott and filed under PenBBS, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

PenBBS 404 Fountain Pen Ink Review

Let's go ahead and address this right up front. I'm calling PenBBS 404 “Ink Not Found.” As a life long-computer nerd, this is the way. This is the only way. I was even the proud owner of a 404 area code in Atlanta, which is what the real O.G.’s had prior to the proliferation of 770 and 678 prefixes. But Ink Not Found? That's just too good to pass up.

The real sub-name of this ink is Nightfall, which is pretty darn good I must admit. It's a shade of purple reminiscent of dusk, and a color range I'm generally fond of. This one is no exception, and has jumped up quickly into my frequently used inks.

I first snuck it in to my Benu Pen Euphoria review a few months ago. The pen was certainly the star of the review, but that was my first go with 404, and I was smitten.

Nightfall is a light-colored ink, without a deep color saturation you see with many inks. Normally, I prefer that color depth, but something about this ink has grabbed me. It is dark enough to use in wide or narrow nibs, and fun enough to wonder what color it really is.

If you told me this was a grey ink, you wouldn’t get much argument from me. In fact, the most comparable ink it reminds me of is Sailor Chu-shu, which is mostly a grey ink, but leans purple. I’d say 404 is a purple that leans grey.

With this lighter color I do still see some shading. It’s subtle, but when the ink dries I see a mix of light and lighter lines. It looks best with a lot of text on the page. Speaking of drying, it dries ultra fast. There was barely any smear on my five second test on Clairefontaine Triomphe paper. The thinness of the ink helps with that. It’s not a dry ink, but isn’t very lubricated either.

I added PenBBS 404 to a Vanness Pens order on a whim. At $8 for a 15 ml bottle it is a good enough price to take a chance on (I’m not much of an ink sampler,) and you won’t be stuck with a big bottle you won’t use. This is also my first PenBBS ink and review, and I’ll certainly be looking for more to try out soon.

(I purchased this ink at a discount from Vanness Pens.)

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Posted on February 15, 2021 by Brad Dowdy and filed under PenBBS, Ink Reviews.

PENBBS No. 85 Fountain Pen Ink Review

I never cease to be amazed at how much I miss after so many years attending pen shows and following pen-related news. Inevitably, there's always a product or even an entire company that has floated below my radar for a significant amount of time. In some ways, it's really exciting to discover something that other people have been enjoying for years, but it's also a bit embarrassing!

This is exactly the case with the ink company PENBBS. Based in China since 2005, this is an ink company that has a very simple naming process for their inks — they're all numbered. This makes it easy for stock and inventory, but it can be a bit taxing to keep track of the actual color-to-name mapping.

Number 85 is the one that I have the privilege of reviewing today, and it's one that will remain in my regular rotation. Since the name doesn't offer any indication of the color, I feel it's important to start out with a quick description of this ink's color. 85 is a dark blue with slight green hints in certain light, but it also features an amazing red sheen that isn't difficult to tease out.

I've really enjoyed using this ink in my medium cursive italic nib (ground by Mark Bacas), and I feel like it really shows off the possibility of shading this ink offers. If you're using a nib that's any smaller or drier than this, you really won't notice much shading at all. This is expected out of a dark ink, but just something to mention if high levels of shading are important to you.

The sheening factor is what really draws me to this ink. Sure, you also have to use a fairly wet or broad nib to see this feature, but it really is worth it. The red sheen that dries on top of this ink is fantastic. It's really prominent in ink swabs, but it also shows up in ordinary strokes as you're writing. It's a delightful little surprise when the light catches the page just right. If you're a fan of red sheen, this ink does not disappoint.

Writing with this ink has been a joy. Like any italic nib, the one I used to photograph this sample can get a bit scratchy if you hold it a bit off its center stance. With this ink, I could tell that the scratchiness wasn't as prominent when I was holding it a bit off the right angle. This is a huge testament to any ink; the lubrication and flow really are wonderful and can do wonders for a dry nib or slow feed.

In my testing, I didn't experience any bleed or feathering on my Rhodia, Leuchtturm, or Apica papers, but I did notice some feathering when I used this ink/nib comination in a Baron Fig notebook. Now, the Baron Fig paper is very different from the Japanese/German fountain pen papers in that it is also meant to handle some light sketching. The paper is really absorbant and has a lovely tactile feedback that I love. But, it also displays feathering and bleeding more often than other notebooks I use. That being said, I don't think this ink exhibits an unusual amount of feathering or bleed for a dark blue ink on this paper. On the typical papers I use, there were zero issues, but you should take this into consideration if you primarily write on absorbent paper.

Dry time for this ink isn't amazing, but it also isn't horrible. At around 15 to 20 seconds, it's typical for most fountain pen inks that don't already advertise an unusually quick drying time. It's quick enough to mostly dry before slapping your notebook shut, but you should be careful of the previous sentence or so while writing.

This ink doesn't advertise any type of water resistance at all, so I wasn't expecting much. As you might expect, it bleeds like crazy when exposed to water, but the main line doesn't wash away. It's not permanent by any means, but it can withstand an accidental spill or rain torrent if you can prevent the paper from getting smeared.

I really like how this ink performs in the pen and nib, but the cleaning process is equally important for your fountain pens. The PENBBS 85 ink is extremely well-behaved. It is incredibly easy to wash out and doesn't leave behind any residue or stains in the converter. I have no worries about leaving this in my pen for months on end!

PENBBS 85 is available at Vanness Pens in a couple of different options. If you want to go all in, the 60ml bottle will cost you just $16. This is a great deal for the volume of ink you receive. But, if you're not ready to commit just yet, you can also pick up a 4ml sample vial for a couple bucks.

85 is a lovely dark blue with a hint of green and a lot of red sheen. I've become a really big fan of this ink in the few short weeks I've been using it, and I'm excited to see what else this ink maker has to offer.

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