Search the Community

Introduction My father had only one fountain pen, which he retired when they switched to ballpoints at the office late in the 1960s. That became my first pen, too. Fast-forward to the 2020s and I have too many pens, quite a few inked, more resting and even more waiting to be repaired. Still, every now and then I become restless and look for something new. The latest acquisitions come from a very 21st century source, Etsy. Several handmade pens I’d seen there over the years had made an impression but I didn’t act on it until 2022, when I decided to explore what was on offer in continental Europe. In the US and the UK there’s more to be found but those sources have become less attractive since Brexit and the tightening of import controls that took place around the same time in the Netherlands. The import duty itself isn’t unreasonable or unjustified, unlike the additional processing fees, but my main peeve is the generally lengthy delay at customs. Thankfully, there are a few good penmakers active in the EU, who offer the kind of pens I prefer: large, with a stub nib (for flex I go vintage). Gondor by Shizet pens (Kevin Hill, Augsburg) The first Etsy-sourced pen to arrive in 2022 was a Gondor by Kevin Hill of Augsburg, Germany (https://www.etsy.com/shop/shizetpens). It is made out self-case polyurethane resin, mostly turquoise blue, with some shiny copper and a hint of magenta. It is a c/c filler with a Bock 250 1.1 steel nib. The clipless cap can be posted but this isn’t necessary for such a large pen. The pen is 147 mm long capped; 133 mm uncapped; 103 excluding the nib; and 191 mm posted. I quite like the tricolour scheme both aesthetically and practically: it allows me to match the pen to a range of ink colours (matching of the two isn’t an obsession but a useful mnemonic to someone with a lot of pens and inks). In this case, the initial choice was easy: Pelikan 4001 Turquoise, a favourite ink I hadn’t used for some time. Despite the known dryness of this ink, the pen dealt very well with it straight out of the box (or rather the nice soft sleeve it was shipped in). A minimal bit of time alignment was all it took to make the nib perfect for my writing habits. Having used the Gondor as my daily writer at home for several weeks, I’m perfectly happy with it in all respects. Flow is good, the pen starts immediately and sits comfortably in my hand for any length of time. I rather surprised Kevin with my request for some details of his penmaking but he obliged with some lines after putting the kids to bed: I have been making pens for about a year now. It started after getting really inspired by one of the Figboot on pens videos with Jonathan Brooks of Carolina Pen Company. I looked for the materials and tried epoxy thirst. That was a failure but I learned a lot using it. Then, after searching a lot for alumilite (which is what I use now, despite not being easy to find in Germany), I arrived at the perfect material for my pens. Everything I know was learned through trial and error, testing and just doing. I enjoy the most the creativity in pen making (I came from an art background - drawing and painting are my thing): you can use and try colours, shapes, nibs. Thats what I love about it, to create something from nothing. My plans and hopes are to try and use urushi and get even more creative. The challenges are always present, e.g. when you turn the pen and some breaks or chips occur, or when it is not working as planned but that is another thing I enjoy: solving problems and overcoming challenges. … to be continued In subsequent posts I’ll present the rest of my new, Etsy-sourced pens and conclude with a comparison.