Alright. Let’s talk pens.
I’ve collected quite a few lately with a large range in price so I’m excited to tell you a bit more about each of them. We’ll go in order from left to right in the photo above. Photo credit goes to the wonderful and amazing Rebecca Christine Photography.
Price: $38.54 (with option to add on foil leaf or change flange color for an additional cost)
I got this beauty in “Ocean” and added on a silver flange and silver foil leaf. Photos just don’t do justice to how beautiful Gina’s pens are. This is my newest addition to my collection and I was so blown away with how sweet Gina was. I DM’d her after my order to introduce myself since I’d be blowing up her notification when I tag her in my Instagram photos. She even sent me photos of the leaf placement to make sure that I was 100% satisfied before she sealed it. (Umm.. Can we say AMAZING customer service???) Wait for it. It shipped the NEXT DAY. Yeah, I know. I was freaking out, too. Her sweet nature and prompt service makes you feel like you’re making a serious investment with your purchase but it is really such an affordable price for a HANDMADE pen. She turns them herself! I love getting to support other ladies businesses in this community and I think that for the price, this undoubtedly should be something in your collection. I should also add how beautiful the packaging was. I just want to hug Gina for how sweet she was to me and that’s what I heard from those who recommended her oblique holders to me.
I do tend to have a bit of snagging with some nibs but I don’t think it is actually the pens fault. It is just still new to me and every oblique holder is a bit different and takes some getting used to with how the nib should be placed in the flange and I’m still learning as this is the newest pen in my collection. I especially love this nib holder for my EF66 as with a bit of force, it fits nicely into the flange. I have found that the two of those fit so nicely together and it’s been my favorite combination lately.
Price: $1.49
There isn’t much to say about this straight holder. It’s cheap and a great place to start. Straight holders aren’t my favorite but they’re good to have around. When someone asks me what pen I recommend, I always tell them just to snag the Speedball Straight and Oblique (more on that one in a bit) just as a place to start. It’ll help you figure out which style of pen you prefer and it’ll let you figure it out without spending a lot of money so that you can invest in a beautiful handmade pen once you have your favorite style picked out.
Price: Ranges depending on the pen but average price is $96.79
I love this pen the way I imagine I will probably love my future children. Where to even begin? Krestel and her husband have created the most beautiful pens in the business (in my opinion). The resin they use is hand-poured right here in America (California to be exact) and I love to support things that are made right here in the States (and a company who obviously feels the same way). They have pens for just about anybody’s style. I actually got mine in early 2017 so their pens are actually about an inch longer now. I’ll be ordering a new pen from her very soon and I’ll be doing a post about it and can take that opportunity to compare them. This is my favorite pen. It’s my go-to. It’s a piece of art in itself but the size works extremely well with how I grip my pen and the flange is extremely forgiving when it comes to nib sizes. Kestrel also has a video on her Instagram showing you how to fit it for different nibs and I’ll link that here for those who are curious because it is from quite some time ago. I can’t say enough good things about this pen. Again, they’re all hand-turned by her husband and I just love supporting their business. I cannot brag enough on this oblique holder because it is truly my absolute favorite.
Price: $30
Another extremely affordable pen if you’re looking for a place to start. This holder is thicker and can really help beginners with their grip and allegedly, it can help with hand cramping! If a thicker pen is something that you think would help you, this is a great way to test that out. I like this holder but I just don’t find myself reaching for it very often, to be honest. Side note: I didn’t know originally that it was a non-affixed flange (meaning it can come out with some force) so I actually thought I had broke it at one point (oops). However, I messaged Ash on Etsy and she let me know how to fix it. A lot of people love the flexibility of a non-affixed flange so that they can clean their pen a bit easier and things like that. I’m a bit indifferent when it comes to that at this point though.
I also want to add this is from her Resonate Collection, which is a line of affordable calligraphy supplies. You can actually get fully custom pens from her on her website here. I don’t own any of those but I can tell you that they look absolutely beautiful. I also own the tilted ink holder ($7) and the pen rest ($9) and these are two products that I LOVE! Especially the tilted ink holder. I have really loved that and it is something I use almost daily. I can’t say enough good things about those two products!
Price: $3.19
As I’ve said before, straight holders aren’t my favorite but I added this to my collection for a very specific reason- it has a universal insert. This means you can fit a wide array of nibs into your holder with no adjusting needed on your part. I wanted to test it out for myself and it fits all of my favorite nibs with ease (including the Brause EF66). I snagged this from Paper & Ink Arts so that’s where the link will take you.
Price: $1.99
Just like I said about their straight holder, there isn’t much to say about this pen except it is a great place to begin. It’s cheap and it’s effective. You are a bit limited in how the nib fits because you can’t push it through the other side like with a “normal” metal flange so as you can see the Brause Blue Pumpkin nib does stick out quite a bit but I find that it isn’t a bit issue at all. Just make sure you warm up and practice when you put a new nib in there so you can find what is comfortable for you (how you hold it, angle of it in comparison to the paper, etc.) and you’ll be just fine. I find that it isn’t the most comfortable pen for large projects but again, it’s the perfect place to start if you’re just getting into calligraphy.
IN CONCLUSION:
My collection is pretty small and is in the beginning stages. I’ve got my eyes on a lot of pretty pens and I’m excited to be able to use my business to support these small businesses and continue to grow my stash of pens. (You can never have too many, right?) Once my collection has grown more, I’ll do a follow-up post. If you’ve got a favorite that isn’t listed here, I’d love for you to tell me what it is in the comments below (don’t forget to tell me why, too) so I can add it to my wishlist and purchase it eventually to test it out myself. Until next time, stay bossy y’all.
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