A '22 Top 5 Pens Reviewed + the Year's Fountain Pen Winner, Loser, and Biggest Blunder
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ส.ค. 2024
- I'm wrapping up 2022 today with a Top 5 list of fountain pens I reviewed (and a couple of honorable mentions). I'll also share my take on '22 winners, losers, and a big blunder.
Happy New Year!
Timestamps:
Intro: 0:01
1. Favorite New Offering 1:25
+ Honorable Mention 2:52
2. Favorite Pen Material/Resin I Got This Year 3:47
3. Most Improved Pen Model 4:45
4. Biggest Surprise Pen 5:56
+ Honorable Mention 7:27
5. Most Often Used Pen 8:13
Biggest Blunder of 2022 9:13
Biggest Loser 10:00
Biggest Winner 11:10
What Was Your Favorite? 12:01
Quote of the Week 12:39
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I bought my first fountain pen last week, a Pilot Metropolitan, with some Diamine Onyx Black ink and I am now addicted to fountain pens! I've really been enjoying your videos James, thanks for the great reviews! They've really helped me navigate this new addictive hobby. And I've already ordered another pen, more ink, and some notepads! God bless you friend, and Happy New Year!
Good pen, and I just picked up the Onyx a few months ago and really like it, too. Happy New Year!
Diamine Onyx Black was one of my first too!
New to fountain pens and new to your channel… just found it today! Happy New Year. My favorite pen that I have is my TWSBI Vac 700R in Iris. I just got into the fountain pen game in 2022 and have been learning a lot and there are a lot of pens I want to get in 2023!
Glad you found it! Great pen. Happy New Year!
Excellent work. The positive and honest perspective is refreshing. Thank you. And best wishes for the year ahead. I adore that you speak on the writing experience with these pens, not as common as you'd expect with pen reviews..
Thank you and have a Happy New Year!
Yay.. can't resist year end reviews.. thanks..
Pastor, thank you again for your very informative content this past year.
Thank you James for a wonderful year of reviews. They are insightful, comprehensive, unpretentious and deal with affordable instruments that can open vistas to new fountain pen enthusiasts. My best of the year have been the very inexpensive Jinhao 80, the X159, and the Hong Dian N1S. Continue the with the passionate work and blessings to you and your family in the New Year.
Love all those choices myself
Good list. I’ve had the N1 in orange saved in cart on eBay or Ali for quite some time. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. 😆
Happy New Year and thank you for a good year. Looking forward to 2023.
It’s great to watch your pretty interesting videos. I agree with you listing the Jinhao x159. It gives you much for 5 euros. And there’s another very affordable Jinhao which has an incredible performance, the Jinhao 80. Happy new year.
Great vid. Loved the categories and your commentary. Well done. I hope to see more like it.
Thanks!
Happy New Year James 🎉
Thanks for the reviews this year.
My biggest anticipation for 2023 in terms of the pen world is the possible release of the Kaweco Sport piston filler.
That would be cool.
Great year and video, very enjoyable.
I have enjoyed you reviews in 2022 ,and look forward to this years
Happy New Year to you.
I've just decided to order a Pilot e95s having seen reviews by Doug R and others.
Nice! Happy New Year!
Texan, confirming I understood this phrase to mean jumping over manure only to land in even more manure.
This is the second catchy folk proverb I’ve picked up watching pen videos this week. The other was a German reviewer with English subtitles. He said “I wouldn’t put my hand in the fire that was made by Jinhao” (I think he liked the pen, but was trying to say he doesn’t expect them to make all the parts in house, just to brand stuff made by specialists for Jinhao use, so don’t be offended, Jinhao fans!). I loved that to express not trusting someone to make something rightly.
Great review, really nice selection! I liked your Winners, Losers, & Blunder list, too! I can't pick a favorite pen, but I really like Ranga pens- wonderfully made and excellent writers. Gravitas pocket pens are my everyday carry pen(s), (I have 3... :-0 ) Another wonderful year of reviews from JG3!
I’m looking forward to sharing the Rangas (2). New inks, too!
Thank you for the balanced viewpoints. I am looking forward to your reviews in 2023🙂
Thank you!
Great video and thanks for the Texas Lingo lesson. I’m going to use it for now on!
My favorite acquisition of 2022 was the BENU Euphoria in "Armenian Pomegranate Wine". It was a limited edition and I was fortunate to get one before they were sold out. BENU brought out a number of new pens in both their Euphoria and Talisman lines (some were dealer exclusives) that I really like. Also I really respect the backstory of their move to Armenia.
I bought a Benu in 2020 that I’ll share on the channel soon. Like you, I respect what they went through in the past year, and am glad they were able to relocate and carry on.
Despite resolving to not buy any new pens in 2022, I failed specularly and bought around ten pens over the year. Apart from adding a few more awesome Aurora pens to my collection, I reckon my favorite of the year is a pen I received just six days ago. It is the new limited edition Platinum 3776 Century 10th Anniversary pen with a Medium nib. Pure delight. Couldn’t have ended the year any better or be any happier for it.
Nice!
A couple of Pilot Preras were my only purchase this past year and I've been very happy with them. I also discovered that I can get a Plumix with a stub and switch nibs cheaper than getting a stub nib Prera in some cases.
My focus was on hiking this past year, so I'm ready to pick up a new pen or two during the cold season. That Asvine is beautiful, and a Ranga, but in ebonite, has been on my list for a while now.
Happy New Year and thank you for the great videos and reviews!
Can’t go wrong with a Prera!
Happy new year James! My fountain pen of the year is the Pelikan M200, brown marbled, I got for my birthday last year. Writes well on good en not so good paper and looks great too.
I do like a brown pen, nice one.
Happy New Year to you and your Mr. James
Thanks! Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year
My pleasant surprise for 2022 was the Jinhao 51A. This cheap pen from China has become one of my favourites. It's well balanced, reliable, never skips or starts bad.
Mine does not work very well, and I end up dropping it in the bin. It skip and have bad start almost every time i pick it up. May be a case of bad qc, I really like the look of it. 😔
I have several, some with swapped “Bobby” nibs (mini Fude). Great pens!
My favourite fountain pen for 2022 was the Monteverde Super Mega Carbon fiber gunmetal trim. Very nicely weighted pen with some decent heft. Flows easily across the paper with a broad nib. It comes with a matching ballpoint.
Gunmetal and carbon fiber is a good combo.
James happy new years to you and your family. My favorite new pen for 2022 is a custom hand made pen by Ryan Krusac. Made from a beautiful exotic burl wood, with an ebonite section and tuned jowo nib it is so wonderful to hold and write with. Picked it up at the pen show in St. Louis this summer. It truly was a great year for pen enthusiasts. Scored a beautiful narwhal ebonite Nautilus, just a fantastic pen with a nice medium nib which also reverse writes so smoothly its like having 2 pens in one
Thanks for your videos and reviews, Lord bless you and yours!!
Ryan's pens are works of art! God bless & Happy New Year!
My favorite pen was actually a recent purchase. A beautiful dark green and black trimmed Sheaffer 300, medium nib (of course), found it on sale for a great price. It's a $90 pen that was way out of my price range but the 70% off sale landed it safely into my hands and with stunning good looks and a buttery smooth writing wet nib... absolutely makes it my favorite pen to beat for my next purchase 😂
Great job James, wonderful list, Happy New Year, God bless you and yours 🙏💕
Great deal! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year my Friend!
Thank you for the excellent suggestions. Excellent because these are affordable suggestions which normal people can afford with clear conscience when spending money on a pen.
Excellent recap of 2022. I've had some real delights - in the form of the Hongdian N6 and 100, the Jinhao 80, and some beautiful pocket pens - C-S Dinkie, Wyvern Pixie, and an ēnsso Piuma Pocket Ti . Inks I discovered this year were Diamine Writers Blood and J Herbin Eclat de Saphir. Lastly, it was the year I started making my own notebooks, and wondering why I hadn't earlier.
My Eclat de Saphir is down to the last 1/2 fill. Great ink. Now you've got me thinking about making notebooks. Good idea.
My favorite In ‘22, Franklin Christoph Model 20 in Midnight plum.
my favourite pen of 2022 was Pilot Custom Heritage 912 EF w Montblanc Ultramarine: this is just a lovely combo - I got the black&silver trim with that perfect no.10 nib:)
My favorite finds of 2022 were: the Chinese pen market in general- I was unaware of the great bargains available,in particular from Jinhao and Chren; my local pen club- everyone is so nice and very generous with their time and letting other members try their best pens, which takes courage; and fountain pen TH-cam. I was a collector and avid user since childhood and didn’t even think to look here until someone on FPN (please come back, bestie site) posted a video.
I can relate. I had no idea until about four or five years ago that the Chinese market was so active. Very nice you have a local club.
1. Fun video, thanks.
2. My discovery of 2022 was Franklin-Christoph. Beautiful, elegant pens. Somewhat overpriced, but an expert inspects and tunes as needed every pen that they sell, yay! I'm also very pleased with my new Kaweco Special . Just love that nib.
3. Japanese pen makers have a lot of nerve raising their prices right now, when the dollar is up vs. the yen. Jerks.
The fountain pen community has also been well served by YT channels such as yours and your fellow YT enthusiasts, who not only bring honest reviews & knowledge/insight, but deliver with such entertainment and fun! If a few trusted channels give the nod, I know I feel more assured in considering whether a pen/ink/paper might be for me.
A pen that surprised me most was the Jinhao 80 (capped look-a-like of the Lamy 2000, but ironically with standard Lamy nib😂) - the 2 I have write so incredibly well and are pleasant to hold, they rattle about in my backpack daily and I know I’m good for the every eventuality.
The Mahjon A1 let me test out whether I could cope with a Pilot Vanishing Point clip, I could so I bought a VP and indeed another A1 so a win for all!
But for consistent manufacturing and writing quality I have to give my biggest ❤ to Hongdian - they just seem to produce pens that I fall in love with, and have ordered and am awaiting the Carbon Fibre Forest after seeing your review. I wish these companies had a little space for PR aimed at Western audience, so we could read their story and see a little behind the scenes of design and manufacturing. Infact, I’m sure it was yourself who got me to try the Black Forest knurled pen, which remains a solid favourite and literally turns heads in public (a couple of friends have bought them subsequently).
The physical act of writing is firmly now part of my days, after neglecting it until 3 years ago - when I was shocked at my deterioration of literacy, spelling and handwriting (stuff we were drilled on in school). I firmly believe handwriting is a hidden superpower ready to be discovered by all, especially regards learning new things or freely thinking out ideas on paper. This coinciding with what a trusted quality pen can bring, has been one of the major joys of these few difficult years for us all.
So thank you from Scotland
Well said!
My favorite pen of 2022: Pilot Elite95s. 2) Jinjao x159. Happy New Year!
My favorite pen of 2022 was the Platinum Curidas, I was not expecting to like it it that much!
I really like the Curidas. Very handy!
I am going to concur with Benu as a great pen and company. They have an amazing story, what an inspiration
I would have said "Hopped over a road apple and landed in a meadow muffin." As to 2022 FP standouts...
Jinhao 80s and X159, Majohn A1, Hong Dian N6 N7 and N8, and many others.
That’s a new regional twist for me! 😆
Love your choices don’t have the hongdians you mentioned but love the n1s from them
Happy New Year!
2022: Gravitas Pens
My favorite being the Ultem Big Dropper
Nice!
Not sure if you've reviewed it, but for great starter affordable pen to review, I would like to see, Jinhao 82, maybe a Pelikan pelikano Junior?
I just inked up the 82 yesterday!
In world sodden with anguish, your gentle delivery and kind thoughts are most refreshing. Thanks, from a total stranger somewhere in Central Texas. If you run for President, I'll vote for you and mourn for you at the same time.
Regarding the economy's loser status, I fear you are right. The federal debt is about $33.1 trillion.
If you had 33.1 trillion dollar bills, you could cover every square inch of Kansas.
With enough left over to cover every square inch of Maine.
With enough left over to equal the GDP of Italy.
Fortunately, the worth of people, no matter how empty their pocketbooks, is not measured in dollars.
Happy New Year!
It’s it’s staggering, isn’t it? Thanks for your kind words. Happy New Year!
As for pens, it is difficult to choose my favorite for the year, but here you go with my favorites in ni particular order:
Asvine P20
MaJohn C4
Leonardo Momento Zero Grande Mosaico
Nahvalur Schuylkill Dragonet Sapphire
Wing Sung 629 or MaJohn P136
TWSBI Diamond 580 Iris
Hong Dian X159
Some you have, some not but all are fabulous.
My next purchase will be the MaJohn Ti500.
Nice list!
@@JG3Reviews thanks. I do have the PenBBS Pen of the Year and honestly, it is one of the ones that did not impress me, except for decoration.
Yes, the economy is definitely putting a break on my pen acquisitions. It’s not so much price rises of pens and various currency fluctuations, but interest rates. My mortgage repayments have ballooned! Oh well, I was able to buy plenty of pens during the pandemic. East come, easy go! At least I have plenty of pens to keep me busy until economic conditions improve. James, at the end of the day the most important thing we do is put words on paper and a $5 preppy will do that just as well as a $1000 Mont Blanc.
Yes, indeed.
Thought the Pigeondu Splat would make the grade. Maybe next year.
I missed an opportunity there, didn't I?
5:34 hmmm 🤔 it did look like he twisted the cap 3 turns to uncap the pen which suggests to me that is from the first run. Unless the first batch of pens took like 6 turns or something. I purchased one of these last week and it also takes 3 turns of the cap and when I paused the video at 5:39 his pen has the same number of threads as mine.
I assumed I had one from the first batch because it takes 3 turns. And I'm sure the gold nib is on the gold trim variants and doesn't signify the newer batch
It’s possible. I have the blue and black pens as well. I grabbed them x159 that was handiest.
I do not believe that I'll have another year like this for getting great writers. Pelikan m805 Stresemann, F 18k. ensso Italia (copper) F titanium nib. Pineider Avatar UR iperflex 14k. 10-T Traveller - Dupras "Middle Earth" #22138 Jowo #6 F steel that does so well there's little point in upgrading the nib! Jinhao x159 F steel. And, my Asvine P20 and Hong Dian N7 would have made this list any other year. I've got to slow down and write some!
Kind of knocked it out of the park there, huh? 🤣
@@JG3Reviews whoosh..... Yep. I do recall that when my father was about my age (64 --he was right on schedule), he got himself a vintage Mustang, drove it some, thought about what it would take to get it in optimum condition, and . . . held it for a few years, and then sold it. At least I write with my pens! Now, I look for new enthusiasts among the lovely hospital staff with whom I am privileged to work, and try to "pay forward" a generous friend with pens and ink. The only extravagance I can imagine moving forward is a Namiki Emperor with lots of maki-e. It would be an art investment for the world, with which I would not hesitate to write. Probably only a few times, given how old I would be, and then pass it on to the son who loves fountain pens, too.
First of all: the best of wishes for 2023 for you and your loved ones, James. May this year be as dud-free as the last. If it isn't, I'm sure a hilarious video will ensue. My favorite acquisition of 2022 is a recent one: I finally pulled the trigger on the Pilot Custom 823 after I saw it on sale. I can confirm that the pen is every bit as good as everyone says it is. The honorable mentions are the Jinhao 80 and X159.
Thank you. Congratulations on the 823!
My favorite pen purchases this year are the Narwhal Schuykill, Pilot 823, and the Jinhao 80 (biggest surprise).
Good pens! That 80 took me by surprise, too.
Sir please make a video on Bahadur 266 fountain (Bahadur) is a Pakistan company
That's new to me, I'll have to track that down for my "Pens Around the World" list. Thanks!
Only heard of the Kaweco Lilput. All the rest are “who?”
I want to add a quick note about the economy. Yes, the economy is having problems with the inflation and we all can see it at the store. BUT, as important as economy is, it is still something that is an indicator of materialistic value and wealth, or lack thereof. More important things are the things which affect people directly such as natural disasters, horrible wars, violence in schools, various social issues. Those things are more important in the end than the material wealth that is here today, gone tomorrow, and which none of us will take into the afterlife (whatever the religion of the person is, so I think this the view of all major religions)
Absolutely. I mentioned the economy because it has an impact on how people enjoy the pen hobby (and cutting back is sometimes quite positive). The wars, violence, and big-picture issues warrant, to me, a more serious conversation than a pen list can provide, so I purposefully didn't mention that particular impact. The war in Ukraine, particularly (and its impact on innocent non-supporters in Russia as well) is close to my heart, since it's about names and faces for us, not just headlines.
Thanks for your comment!
FYI: I think this setup is making for poor focus, James. the mic looks sharp, but your face is blurred.
Yeah, I think it was the lighting. I've changed lights and a few other things since then, so hopefully that doesn't happen again. Thanks for watching, and for the feedback.