Doctox
June 7th, 2023, 02:24 PM
Let's have a look at some of the smaller pens.
Starting with the smallest, the Dinky. I actually have seen smaller pens, that almost actually work, but they are novelty items. The Dinky was presented as the smallest PRACTICAL pen ever. This particular pen was purchased at the re-opening day event at Fountain Pen Hospital on Warren St. in TriBeCa, after the 9-11 closures of the area. If the Churchill is big, this one is small. They came in several colours, this one being Tiger Eye. It is cartridge almost-only, there being no readily available converter, though if you were fortunate enough to have bought one in the 1990s, the small-size Waterman squeeze converter will fit. My wife has one of those in her Waterman Lady Agatha, but prefers to use cartridges in the Dinky. She also likes the handy-dandy purse-size pouch.
781507815178152
In the medium size range, small for my hand but very suitable for my wife, are the Dandy and Series 58. The Dandy came in (I wish it were not in the past tense) in very bright colours. The Series 58 line is still there and has some special versions, such as the Seamus Heany with a lever-fill. Most have cartridge - converter fill. The same screw in standard international converter as the bigger pens fits. The 58 colour depicted here is "Nebula". You might also note, of you look closely, that it has a med. stub nib, which performs very nicely. It is my understanding that these series 58 nibs are JoWo #4, 14kt. The same degree of custom nib work and tip size range is available, as well as custom engraving.
78154
78155
The Dandy is sadly no longer made (at least by BBP - there are a few other brands that call themselves "Dandy"). The lever-fill is sturdy and effective. It is only 22 years old, so I have no experience trying to change the sac.
Just for fun I include an "X-ray (just transilluminated) photo to show the translucent glow of the resin
78149
Bottom line: I wish I could use and review every one of the BBP pens, but I'm not Jeff Bazos or that Twitter guy in real life. That said, I think BBP makes extremely good pens. They are not cheap, but less expensive than many "premium" pens, and IMHO a better value. In particular, I have found the customer service very very good. The customizations can take a bit of time, but try getting Pelikan to make a custom pen, let alone having one made by Santa Claus himself. And the fact they will supply nib units, replacement converters, etc. is a bonus in my view.
The one "downside" for some is that these are truly bespoke pens. They don't have a thousand clones sitting in a warehouse ready to ship. They make them by hand when you order. Or is that the "upside"? After all, it does take a bit more patience to use a beautiful premium fountain pen, n'est-ce pas?
Starting with the smallest, the Dinky. I actually have seen smaller pens, that almost actually work, but they are novelty items. The Dinky was presented as the smallest PRACTICAL pen ever. This particular pen was purchased at the re-opening day event at Fountain Pen Hospital on Warren St. in TriBeCa, after the 9-11 closures of the area. If the Churchill is big, this one is small. They came in several colours, this one being Tiger Eye. It is cartridge almost-only, there being no readily available converter, though if you were fortunate enough to have bought one in the 1990s, the small-size Waterman squeeze converter will fit. My wife has one of those in her Waterman Lady Agatha, but prefers to use cartridges in the Dinky. She also likes the handy-dandy purse-size pouch.
781507815178152
In the medium size range, small for my hand but very suitable for my wife, are the Dandy and Series 58. The Dandy came in (I wish it were not in the past tense) in very bright colours. The Series 58 line is still there and has some special versions, such as the Seamus Heany with a lever-fill. Most have cartridge - converter fill. The same screw in standard international converter as the bigger pens fits. The 58 colour depicted here is "Nebula". You might also note, of you look closely, that it has a med. stub nib, which performs very nicely. It is my understanding that these series 58 nibs are JoWo #4, 14kt. The same degree of custom nib work and tip size range is available, as well as custom engraving.
78154
78155
The Dandy is sadly no longer made (at least by BBP - there are a few other brands that call themselves "Dandy"). The lever-fill is sturdy and effective. It is only 22 years old, so I have no experience trying to change the sac.
Just for fun I include an "X-ray (just transilluminated) photo to show the translucent glow of the resin
78149
Bottom line: I wish I could use and review every one of the BBP pens, but I'm not Jeff Bazos or that Twitter guy in real life. That said, I think BBP makes extremely good pens. They are not cheap, but less expensive than many "premium" pens, and IMHO a better value. In particular, I have found the customer service very very good. The customizations can take a bit of time, but try getting Pelikan to make a custom pen, let alone having one made by Santa Claus himself. And the fact they will supply nib units, replacement converters, etc. is a bonus in my view.
The one "downside" for some is that these are truly bespoke pens. They don't have a thousand clones sitting in a warehouse ready to ship. They make them by hand when you order. Or is that the "upside"? After all, it does take a bit more patience to use a beautiful premium fountain pen, n'est-ce pas?