An Overlooked Gem? The Traveler's Company Brass Ballpoint Pen

A couple of weeks back I posted the “travel kit” that I had packed to take with me on vacation. As usual, I was overly optimistic in thinking I would write through three fully inked fountain pens, though I did manage to get a bit of journaling in over the course of the week. (This wasn’t necessarily due to a lack of motivation, but rather a lack of privacy/space, as the rental we stayed in turned out to be MUCH more cramped than anticipated.) I ended up spending much of my free time reading, with my annotation pen of choice being the Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint that I kept clipped to the front cover of my book, even on the beach.

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Traveler’s Company (sometimes referred to as “TRC”) is the maker of the ubiquitous Traveler’s Notebook, formerly sold under the Midori mark but spun off around 2015 into its own group of products that includes not just the Traveler’s Notebook but a line of related accessories, including writing instruments.

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A vintage bullet pencil from the 1940s on the left, compared against the modern Traveler’s Company version.

The TRC “Brass Pencil” (formerly known as the “Midori Bullet Pencil”) has been around for several years, and regarded as the modern bullet pencil that most closely imitated the vintage form factor. Although it’s a high-quality writing instrument, the market for true bullet pencils is somewhat limited, and TRC apparently decided to expand the form factor by releasing ballpoint, rollerball, and, yes, even fountain pen versions.

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Today I plan to take a closer look at the TRC Brass Ballpoint. In order to maintain the traditional “Bullet Pencil” form factor, TRC developed a woodcase insert to hold the refill, which is a needle-tip hybrid ballpoint refill that I found thoroughly enjoyable to write with. Reminiscent of a Uniball Jetstream, it dries quickly and maintains a very fine line for a ballpoint pen. Best of all, the refill is relatively inexpensive, clocking in at $1.80 for one that should last you a very long time. I wrote with this pen daily for a week and have barely put a dent in the ink.

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The Traveler’s Company ballpoint refill writes like a cross between the Jetstream and the Hi-Tec-C. Honestly, it may perform better for many people.

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The TRC Brass Ballpoint is also available in the matte “Factory Green” finish, a special edition.

Otherwise, I enjoy the Traveler’s Company Ballpoint because it retains the vintage-style charm of a classic bullet pencil in what many will consider a more functional everyday format. This pen is comfortable to use - it feels exactly like writing with a rounded pencil - and the clip, brass construction, and overall light weight make it an excellent travel companion or pocket pen for when you’re out and about.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

While I’m not a hardcore “everyday carry” enthusiast, I have a soft spot for pocket pens, and lean heavily towards ballpoints for most of my on-the-go writing. The trouble with ballpoints - and pocket ballpoints especially - is that it can be difficult to find a decent fine-point refill. If you write small, and/or prefer needle-tip pens, consider giving the Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint a try.

The Gentleman Stationer Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Traveler’s Company pocket pens and pencils, including the Brass “Bullet Pencil,” the Brass Ballpoint, and now a fountain pen. The TRC Brass Ballpoint starts at $30. In addition to the standard brass versions, I also carry the “Factory Green” pens. Look for additional write-ups on the rest of the line as I put my demos through their paces!

Disclaimer: As noted, the T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

Pen Review: Esterbrook Estie "Maraschino" Is a Welcome Surprise

I’ll be honest: This pen landed in my mailbox out of nowhere and I wasn’t particularly excited about reviewing another Esterbrook just yet, given all the hype surrounding the Esterbrook JR and the deluge of reviews that followed the pen’s release. That is, until I actually got my hands on this “Maraschino” Estie. While I’m a fan of red pens, my tastes typically run to darker burgundy or red-black finishes, not necessarily “cherry” or “fire engine” reds. This pen serves as yet another example of why it’s good to unexpectedly step out of your comfort zone every once in a while.

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I went with an all-red setup for this review. Montblanc Corn Poppy Red is a perfect pairing for this pen (and if I might say so myself, so is the T.G.S. “Aged Red” Penwell).

The bright “end of summer” theme pays homage to visits to your local ice cream parlor for a sundae, including the cherry on top. Personally, I’ll pass on the cherry (I have plenty of others in my house who will eat them), but I appreciate the imagery and the name nails the color of this red “cracked ice” acrylic. Like all of the materials Esterbrook uses in the Estie lineup, the “Maraschino” material is vibrant, feels solid, and packs a ton of depth reminiscent of what you would find on a much more expensive custom pen.

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Gold trim is also a perfect pairing for the bright red of the Maraschino, IMHO.

Reviewing this pen also gave me a chance to revisit the Estie itself, a pen I haven’t used in a while. I won’t rehash my full review of this pen (which is available here), but suffice to say the Estie remains a supremely comfortable writer with good balance, “all day” writing comfort, and a reliable JoWo No. 6 nib. I have a few more Esties that I picked up at pen shows last year, in both the “Blueberry” and “Honeycomb” finishes, and I’ll be inking them up soon.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

As I’ve said before, and will say again, the Esterbrook Estie is a great pen, and whether or not you’ll want to run out and pick up this particular model hinges on whether you love the color. I do, and I wouldn’t cry if Esterbrook ended up adding the bright red “Maraschino” finish to their standard lineup.

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Three Esterbrook Estie Limited Editions, from left: Maraschino, Honeycomb, and Blueberry. I believe the Honeycomb joined the regular lineup.

The Estie Maraschino is designated as a limited edition, meaning that at least for now, it’s not part of the regular lineup and already has started to sell out. Vanness Pens has limited stock of the fountain pen with chrome trim, as well as the chrome and gold trim rollerballs. Goldspot also has Maraschino Esties available, in both the standard and oversize fountain pens. Regular Estie pricing applies, with the Maraschino priced at $156 for the standard version and $200 for the oversize.

Disclaimer: I received the pen featured in this review from Kenro Industries, Esterbrook’s parent company and distributor, free of charge for review purposes. This post contains links to paid sponsors of the blog.

Kaweco Sport: It's More Than Just a Fountain Pen

The Kaweco Sport long ago solidified its status as one of the best pocket pens available, and most of the attention (deservedly) falls on the fountain pen version of the Sport. But you shouldn’t overlook the rollerball and ballpoint versions, especially if, like me, you appreciate the flexibility afforded by non-fountain pens.

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The Kaweco Sport rollerball looks essentially identical to the fountain pen and has similar ergonomics when deployed for writing, with the only difference being the grip section. The Sport ships with a Kaweco-branded Parker-style gel refill labeled “Gel Ceramic Roller .07,” and since it says “Made in Japan” the refill is likely manufactured by a company such as Ohto. While the stock refill is excellent, you can find many different compatible Parker-style refills if you’d prefer a finer tip size, a liquid-ink rollerball, or even a classic ballpoint.

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The Kaweco Sport ballpoint is a different animal entirely, as it’s a clipless click pen that accepts D1 refills and may honestly be too short for many people. Kaweco has used a variety of different ballpoint formats over the years, including a Kaweco Sport “Luxe” version (now discontinued) that featured a clip and a twist mechanism. Honestly, on a pen this small I think I prefer how the Luxe was set up - I love to clip that pen to my pocket or to the front of a notebook. Without the clip, the Sport ballpoint is otherwise prone to accidentally deploying in your pocket, though if you always carry your pen in a purse or bag this may not present any issues.

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The current Kaweco Sport shown here compared against the now-discontinued Kaweco Sport “Luxe”. I will note that the current version best approximates the vintage Sport ballpoint, like this one I have in my collection.

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If you’re interested in further exploring different refill options for these two pens, check out Ana’s refill guide over at the Well-Appointed Desk for a comprehensive list of compatible Parker-style and D1 refills.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Kaweco Sport remains one of my favorite options for portable, on-the-go writing and a core recommendation whenever someone tells me they’re looking for a reliable pocket pen. The Sport format translates well from fountain pen to rollerball to ballpoint (and even to a clutch pencil), and Kaweco makes these pens in a wide range of materials at pretty much every price point. If you like the look of the Kaweco Sport, you shouldn’t have trouble finding a version that suits you. If you’re interested in reading more on the various versions of the Kaweco Sport and other “Pocket Pen” options, check out my Guide to Pocket Writing, which I recently updated!

You can usually find Kaweco Sport rollerballs and ballpoints sold alongside the fountain pen at any authorized Kaweco retailer, including our sponsor Goldspot who provided the two pens pictured here for review. Both the rollerball and ballpoint are priced at $22. You can’t argue with Kaweco’s value!

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors. I received the pens featured in this review from Goldspot, free of charge, for review purposes.

Pen Review: Montegrappa Miya Fountain Pen

It might surprise you to hear that Montegrappa has become one of my favorite pen brands, and we’re talking top three. While the Italian company attracts a lot of attention for its high-profile, ultra-limited edition brand collaborations such as the Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones releases, the best of what Montegrappa has to offer, in my opinion, lies in their classic, vintage-inspired lineup that includes pens such as the Extra 1930 and Miya, which I’ll review here.

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Put simply, I find the Miya one of the most comfortable pens on the market today. I have written with my two Miyas for hours over the past three weeks. The contoured barrel sits perfectly in my hand, and the tapered end allows the cap to post at what is, for me, the perfect depth. The fact that the Miya uses a cartridge-converter filling system reduces the weight of the pen and creates an exceptionally well-balanced writing instrument.

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The versatility of this design makes the Miya more suitable to “dressing up and down” than other Montegrappa pens. As shown here, Montegrappa has offered the Miya in both the “Miya 450” limited edition celluloid variant, as well as the resin “MIA” limited edition sold by shops in Italy such as Casa della Stilografica. While the underlying pen is the same, featuring an identical shape and cartridge-converter filling system, the Miya 450 features celluloid construction, hand-engraved sterling silver trim, and Montegrappa’s 14k “high flex” nib, which I recently reviewed. The “MIA,” on the other hand, still showcases the unique materials that Montegrappa is known for, but with fewer bells and whistles on the trim that allows them to offer this pen at a (relatively) more accessible price without sacrificing the luxury feel.

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The resin on the Montegrappa MIA “Meteor Shower” is a collection favorite. I’ve had to resist getting the other three in different color striated materials. (Links below)

I’ll conclude my review by noting that Montegrappa has been well-served by the move to JoWo nibs. Both the 14k and stainless steel nibs that have shipped on my Montegrappa pens since the company changed over from Bock have written exceptionally well, with none of the hard-starting and ink starvation issues that I sometimes experienced back when they still sourced their nibs from Bock. While some will quibble that they are “boring,” the fact is that they are far more reliable writers than most anything on the market, and easy to customize should you desire a specialty grind.

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Two Montegrappa 14k JoWo nibs. Note that I swapped the steel nib in my MIA Meteor Shower for the 14k gold nib from my Monte-Grappa. Montegrappa JoWo nibs are interchangeable, but they do not use threaded nib units so you will have to pull them manually. (The EF steel nib that shipped on my Meteor Shower wrote perfectly well, I just swapped them out because I wanted to experiment with interchangeability.)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Personally, I would love to see more Miya/MIA models released in the U.S. The comfortable shape and versatility of the cartridge-converter format makes me think this pen would have wide appeal, and in my opinion, it’s more attractive and more comfortable to use than the Fortuna series. Honestly, if Montegrappa wants to continue to target the $200-300 price point for a steel nib pen, the Miya strikes me as a better fit. This pen feels more substantial than the Fortuna, and with limited edition acrylics thrown into the mix, it presents a better justification for the price point.

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I acquired the Miya 450 featured in this review directly from Kenro Industries, the U.S. Montegrappa distributor, at this year’s Baltimore Pen Show. Though a limited edition, Nibs.com has the pen in stock in all five colors, priced at $796. The “MIA” in “Meteor Shower” resin was purchased from Casa della Stilografica in Florence, Italy, which also sells limited edition steel-nib pens in two other striated materials: “Spicy Explosion” and “Adriatic Sea.” Though still expensive, these pens are priced at a more accessible $280 USD (subject to exchange rate fluctuations). I do not believe there is a steel-nib version of this pen currently available in the United States.

Disclaimer: I acquired the Montegrappa Miya 450 from Kenro Industries, the U.S. Montegrappa distributor, at a discount, as part of their sponsorship of this blog. I acquired the “Meteor Shower” MIA from Casa della Stilografica at standard retail using my own funds. This post does not contain affiliate links.

Everyday Writing with a Modern Flex Pen

I’ve always been a “firm nib” person for the majority of my everyday writing. While I enjoy flexible nib fountain pens, my experience has been limited to the occasional review and playing around with vintage flex after-hours at pen shows. I use a combination of italic-style script and cursive for my everyday writing, so firmer nibs typically work better for my handwriting, particularly cursive italics and stubs.

But I’m still intrigued by the new “flex” nibs pen companies have been releasing over the past few years. I use the term “flex” loosely - in my opinion, there is no such thing as a modern equivalent of true “vintage flex” like you would find in a vintage Waterman pen from the first half of the 20th century. What you have today, rather, are softer nibs that can provide a fair bit of line variation if pushed, but you need to be careful and manage your expectations.

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Both of these nibs are No. 6 JoWo. The one on the left is a 14k fine nib custom engraved for Montegrappa, with carve-outs on the side to increase flexibility. The one on the right is a Franklin-Christoph stainless steel nib with an elongated nib slit, which also increases the ability to flex the tines.

For today’s post, I’m not so much interested in further discussion of “whether these nibs are truly flex nibs.” Each person tends to have their own opinion on that issue, influenced mainly by how much line variation they like in their writing and whether they have experience in the vintage market. I’m more curious about the practicality of these softer nibs and whether or not I can actually use one as a daily driver. Will I spring the nib? Will the pen write too wet, creating a feathering, bleeding mess? Given that I don’t write in pure cursive, will I even be able to notice a difference?

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Review Pen No. 1: A Montegrappa Miya 450 with a 14k Fine Flex.

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Review Pen No. 2: A Newton Shinobi with a Franklin-Christoph HPSteel Flex Extra-fine nib unit.

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For this experiment I chose two pens that sit on the firmer end of the flexibility scale: a Montegrappa Miya 450 with Montegrappa’s 14k “fine flex,” and my Newton Shinobi with Franklin-Christoph’s HP Steel Flex nib. I picked both up at pen shows earlier this year before everything shut down. As it turns out, I’ve enjoyed using these pens, including as daily writers, though I would advise anyone interested in these pens to take a few things into consideration:

• Use a lighter hand. Not only will this create more noticeable line variation, but you’ll avoid springing the tines. Less writing pressure will also result in less ink being poured onto the page - a key consideration if you need to take notes or do a lot of other writing where you need the ink to dry quickly. If, like me, you tend to use a fair bit of pressure when you write, consider a drier steel flex nib. I’m still getting the hang of writing with the Montegrappa 14k flex, and the Franklin-Christoph steel nib offered a more seamless transition for my writing style.

• Pay attention to your paper. Because softer nibs tend to lay more ink on the page (especially gold nibs), you will likely experience feathering and bleedthrough on cheaper and/or more absorbent paper. The writing samples for this review were done in a Write Notepads Dot Grid Spiral, which performed beautifully. Other paper options include Tomoe River and Clairefontaine. I’ve had mixed results on Rhodia with super-wet pens, and sometimes get spots of bleeding.

• Pay attention to your ink. While you might be tempted to use more flexible nibs to show off your highly saturated “super sheeners” and “super shaders,” be aware that these inks might not be the best choice for everyday writing in a super wet pen. If you plan on using the pen for notetaking or office work, consider an ink that dries relatively quickly and is known to behave well. Sailor and Montblanc make excellent inks, and the two used for this post (Montblanc Irish Green and Sailor Ink Studio 140) worked quite well, without complications.

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Takeaways and Final Thoughts

So could I see myself using either of these nibs as a regular everyday writer over the long haul? Yes and no. Since it takes more pressure to flex the nib, the Franklin-Christoph HP Steel Flex nib writes like a slightly softer, standard extra-fine JoWo steel nib that has the option to add line variation if you so desire. I could easily use this particular nib all day, every day, and it may have found a permanent home in my Newton Shinobi. While I enjoy the 14k “fine flex” nib in the Miya, it’s still slightly too wet for me to use as an everyday work pen. I typically have to take notes quickly which doesn’t allow enough time for the ink to dry before I need to turn the page. For me, the Miya will mainly be used for personal writing in my journal.

I acquired the pens featured in this review directly from Kenro (the U.S. Montegrappa distributor), and from Franklin-Christoph. Kenro provided me with the Miya as part of their generous sponsorship of The Gentleman Stationer; the Franklin-Christoph was acquired with my own funds for my own collection. This post contains links to paid sponsors and affliates.