Newton Pens, Orange Bands Custom
I've been using this pen pretty continuously for several months now, and it deserves a review! Without Further ado...my custom pen from Newton Pens:
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Shawn Newton is the one-man show that is Newton Pens. He made this pen for me, based on a (rough, rough) sketch I sent to him. I was looking for a pen that was shaped somewhat like a German pen from the 30s with a domed top, but with some aesthetic considerations from Japanese pens, thrown in with some ideas from American vintage pens - specifically, the cool bands on some of the Conklin Enduras. He hit a home run!
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The body is Cumberland ebonite, with orange ebonite bands, and looks shiny and fantastic. I believe he joined the ebonite pieces by threading them and gluing them together, but the joints are seamless.
The pen is roughly the same length as a Duofold Centennial, but is much thicker (so roughly 5.3 inches in length or so, probably .6 inches in diameter. The ebonite construction means the pen feels very light, but I would say it weighs more than my Nakayas - Shawn left the ebonite very thick.
I went with a steel nib - Fine. The nib has the Newton logo on it. I am not sure if Shawn did a grind on this nib, or if he tuned it, but it's exactly how I like my nibs to be! It's finer than most western/European fines I have used, and has the perfect amount of feedback. If I ever did want to change nibs, I believe it's a JoWo nib unit, which should be easy to screw out and swap in another #6 nib.
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It uses international standard cartridges or converters. I still love cool filling systems (fountainbel's bulkfiller is a personal favorite, and I need to review mine soon!), but I think C/C pens have a lot of advantages, especially if you want to switch inks often. There are enough threads on the section to use it as an eyedropper-filled pen, but I didn't think to ask Shawn if the threaded orange ebonite sections might cause leakage.
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This pen makes me smile every time I use it. It has also gotten more comments from people (pen people and non-pen people) than most of my other pens; every time I take it to my local pen shop (Dromgoole's in Houston, TX), it gets plenty of appreciative comments. Shawn was very accomodating and explained a lot of his process, and he does lots of cool stuff for kids in his school (he teaches high school art). If you have a chance to get a Newton, I say go for it!
(Poorly Photographed) Writing Sample:
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Originally Posted by jde
I'm glad you posted your Newton on the blog - it gave me the push to do this review, which I had been meaning to do for a while now. Thanks!
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