Kickstarter Alert: The Wingback Journeyman Pen

October 19, 2024

It’s always exciting to see U.K.-based Wingback release a new pen! They’re one of my favorite penmakers working with heavier materials like brass and stainless steel, since they pay close attention to the design and balance, with a focus on building pens that are both durable and capable of being used as an everyday writer. Specifically, Wingback pens and mechanical pencils tend to be shorter in order to offset the increased weight of the metals they use. You might think that this is an obvious point, but you’d be surprised at the number of machined pens on the market that end up too heavy to use for more than a few lines of writing at a time.

Wingback Journeyman Pen In-Hand — Introducing the Wingback “Journeyman”!

While Wingback’s latest release, the “Journeyman”, is a touch longer than the existing “Mechanical Pen”, it maintains an excellent feel in the hand and should be on your list of pens to consider if you’re looking for a durable go-anywhere pocket writer. Even better, this new model has customization options previously unavailable.

Wingback Journeyman Clip in Stainless Steel — The new crown/knock incorporates a milled clip.

For those unfamiliar with the Wingback Mechanical Pen, it features a unique “twist bolt action” mechanism that locks down and, with some practice, can be operated one-handed. The Journeyman uses this same style of knock, but incorporates a milled clip into the crown that allows the pen to be secured to a bag, pen case, or pocket. Personally, I also find that the clip makes the mechanism easier to grip and deploy. Wingback has retained other favorite design elements such as the diamond knurling on the grip (neither too sharp nor too slick - just right!) and a comfortable barrel diameter that once again emphasizes the pen’s usability.

Wingback Mechanical Pen and Journeyman Comparison — The Wingback Journeyman (right) is only slightly longer than the Mechanical Pen (right). The Journeyman is shown in a combination of brass and stainless steel, while the Mechanical Pen is shown in Black Steel.

So what differentiates the Journeyman from prior Wingback offerings, in addition to the clip?

Customization. The Journeyman can be customized on a component level, allowing you to mix and match materials. Available in brass, stainless steel, and Black Steel, you can now choose different combinations of metals for the barrel, crown, and clip. The pen I was sent for review features a brass barrel, with a stainless steel crown and clip. A full titanium pen is also available, though you cannot mix and match the titanium components with other materials.
Refill Compatibility. The Wingback Mechanical Pen used a Fisher Space Pen pressurized refill, which is somewhat polarizing as many people don’t enjoy the way that it feels on the page. (I like it, but it’s not for everyone.) The Journeyman offers more flexibility, as it takes an international G2/Parker-style refill. While it ships with a Schmidt Easyflow 9000, you can choose from any number of ballpoint, gel, or even rollerball options in this format.

Wingback Journeyman Internal Components — The mechanism isn’t complex: simply unscrew the knock and drop in a new refill.

Are there any drawbacks to the Journeyman’s design over the clipless Wingback models? In addition to a bit of added weight from the clip and increased length, I should mention that the edges of the milled clip are somewhat sharp, and can snag your hand if the pen rotates while you’re writing. If you don’t tend to rotate your pen, this may not be an issue, but I’ll also add that my pen is a review sample so the finished product may differ as production specs are finalized.

Takeaways and Where To Buy

As with the other Wingback products I have reviewed, I found the quality to be top notch, and fans of machined mechanical pencils and pens will want to check out the Kickstarter page for full details. With two weeks to go at the time of writing, the Journeyman already has received nearly $100,000 in pledges (blowing past its funding goal of $2000), and Wingback has a track record on Kickstarter, so while Kickstarter projects are never guaranteed, there’s no doubt in my mind that the project will deliver. Current estimates have the Journeyman pens arriving in March 2025. Pledges start at £150 (roughly $195), making it a not-inexpensive purchase, but Wingback has always been known for not skimping on the quality of materials or construction.

Wingback Pens: Three Different Options of pens and a pencil — Clockwise from left: Wingback Journeyman, Wingback Mechanical Pen, and Wingback Mechanical Pencil. Check out the patina on the pencil, that’s developed over a couple of years.

If you’d like to read further on other Wingback pens and pencils, you can check out my reviews of the Wingback Mechanical Pencil and Fountain Pen and Mechanical Pen here. Pocket pens are one of my core areas of interest, and I periodically update the site’s “Guide to Top Pocket Pens”, which I also encourage you to visit.

Wingback provided me with the pencil featured in this review free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases through our own T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Good Made Better Jester Fountain Pen Setup at Chicago Pen Show

Kickstarter Alert: The Good Made Better "Jester" and "Muse" Fountain Pens

October 2, 2024

We’re big fans of Good Made Better products here at T.G.S. The company’s focus on “mindful writing tools” and stated goal of cultivating an intentional space for writing dovetails nicely with our own curation philosophy, as all of the items in our own shop are chosen with a focus on good design and usability. Those familiar with Good Made Better likely know about their first product, the Penwell pen holder, and successful follow-up releases such as the Writewell Portable Desk. It was only a matter of time before they designed their own fountain pen, right?

Good Made Better Jester and Muse Fountain Pens — The Good Made Better Jester (left), shown posted, and the Good Made Better Muse (right), shown uncapped.

Yesterday, Good Made Better launched their latest Kickstarter project, the “Jester” and “Muse” fountain pens. Personally, I’m thrilled that Dan Keller, the maker behind the brand, decided to use ebonite for both pens. A classic penmaking material, ebonite pens have a warm feel in the hand and a distinct vintage-inspired look that’s always appealed to me. When I first saw these pens at this year’s Chicago Pen Show, it took all of five minutes for me to buy one of the Jester pocket pens, in this mottled matte beige ebonite that also features swirls of orange, black, and even light blue, the latter of which is hard to photograph and only really shows up in certain lighting.

Good Made Better Jester and Muse Fountain Pens, shown capped

Every design element in a Good Made Better Product is intentional. For example, with respect to the triple rings engraved in the barrels:

“Both pens feature sets of triple rings (with the Jester sporting two sets), and it’s worth noting these are not arbitrary embellishments. They’re positioned at the point of cap to body contact, so if the cap is turned when at an angle to the body and the edge of the cap rubs the body, it won’t mar the surface of the body over time and leave a line. As a secondary use, they’re positioned to visually break up the transition of any color change in the ebonite so even the natural changes that take place are incorporated into the finished product as subtly as possible—more on this below.”

— Good Made Better, Kickstarter

Good Made Better Jester Showing Faceted Cap — The caps on both the Jester and the Muse feature a single facet rollstop, engraved with the Good Made Better wordmark.

Both the Jester and the Muse are comfortable to use, and oddly enough, despite the Jester being a pocket pen, approximately the same length when in “writing mode”. The Jester, a cartridge-only pocket pen, is designed to post, and threads on the back of the barrel allow the cap to sit securely. The Muse does not post, by design, as posting the cap simply would not work due to length and weight. My Jester features a matte ebonite section, and the Muse textured brass.

The GMB wordmark is even more subtle on the Midnight Black Muse. I consider matte black ebonite one of the most underrated fountain pen materials out there, and choosing this one was a no-brainer.

As you might expect, the overall look and aesthetic of these pens complement the rest of the Good Made Better lineup. The Muse fountain pen fits perfectly into the Penwell, and given that the cap can be removed in 2-3 quick turns, is quite easy to deploy. Both pens also feature a single facet on the cap, which serves as a roll-stop and allows you to rest the pen on your desk without worrying about it rolling onto the floor.

Good Made Better Muse and Jester Fountain Pens Compared Side-by-Side — When posted, the Jester is actually slightly longer than the Muse. Without the brass section and end cap, it’s also lighter. If portability is important to you, the Jester should be your pen of choice.

So which pen do I prefer, in terms of writing experience? The Jester and Muse both use JoWo No. 6 nibs, which arrived perfectly tuned, so there’s little to no difference between the two pens nib-wise. While I have more experience with the Jester, having used it for a few months now, the Muse has grown on me. I have to stress that this is a perfectly balanced pen. I prefer my pens slightly frontweighted, and this combination of the brass section and a slightly wet JoWo medium nib makes for a pleasant writing experience directly in line with my own preferences.

The Good Made Better Muse Fountain Pen with Writing Sample — The brass section on the Muse will patina nicely. For whatever reason, a green ink spoke to me, and I filled this one with Tom’s Studio “New Forest” No. 4. Both Good Made Better fountain pens use No. 6 JoWo nibs, and both of mine arrived as well-tuned, smooth writers.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I’ve had my Good Made Better “Jester” fountain pen in-hand since the Chicago Pen Show in May, and I’ve only become more impressed with Dan’s work over the following months. The Muse is equally good, with the workmanship and quality exactly what I’ve come to expect. These pens earn an unqualified recommendation, especially for those who love ebonite as a material.

Good Made Better Chicago Pen Show Display — While the launch colors on Kickstarter are (necessarily) limited to five options, Dan has been showing off these pens at various pen shows throughout the year, and the range of available unique ebonites is fascinating. You can even add textures, including the “bark” shown here, as an add-on to your pledge.

As I mentioned above, Good Made Better has launched both of these pens on Kickstarter, and the project fully funded on the first day. Pledges start at $250, which is standard pricing for small-batch, bespoke pens. There are currently five different colorways available (Midnight Black, Orion Blue, Herdsman Green, Sunrise, and Sunset). Sorry, the blended beige ebonite that I snagged in Chicago isn’t currently available, so you’ll need to go get yourself to a pen show and visit Dan in person!

Many thanks to Good Made Better for providing the Midnight Black Muse for review. I purchased the Jester pocket pen shown here with my own funds for my own use, and I just backed the Kickstarter for another Muse in Orion Blue.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We are not compensated monetarily for review content such as this one, so if you enjoy our content please consider supporting us by shopping with us directly or pledging via Patreon. Many thanks!

Good Made Better Muse Fountain Pen in Penwell — My Muse fountain pen has a new home in my TGS Aged Red Penwell.

Wingback Fountain Pen Capped sitting on Galen Leather Pen Rest

Expanding the Pocket Fountain Pen Lineup: A First Look at the Wingback Fountain Pen

September 16, 2023

Pocket fountain pens are hard to get right. For starters, it’s extremely difficult to design a pocket fountain pen that works for for a broad swath of the market, because once you start reducing the size and weight of the pen to so-called “pocket-sized” you limit the number of people who can use it. On the other hand, if you make a “pocket” fountain pen too big, it may no longer be truly “pocketable.”

Wingback is a UK-based designer/manufacturer of writing instruments and personal accessories, and I’ve previously reviewed their Mechanical Pencil that won a 2023 Red Dot design award. A hallmark of Wingback’s design is their ability to avoid the pitfalls of so many manufacturers who attempt to work with heavier materials such as brass and stainless steel, by striking a near-perfect balance of width, length, and weight. I now have a full set of the Wingback writing instruments - Mechanical Pencil, Mechanical Pen, and Fountain Pen - and all of them are exceptionally useable in addition to being beautiful design pieces.

Wingback Fountain Pen and Mechanical Pen — The Wingback Fountain Pen in stainless steel, shown next to the Wingback Mechanical Pen in black stainless steel. Both come with a nice cotton sleeve that you can use for pocket carry. I plan to review the Mechanical Pen in the near future.

The Wingback Fountain Pen, which recently launched on Kickstarter, adopts the cylindrical profile that’s probably familiar to many pocket pen enthusiasts, but in a size that’s somewhat uncommon and, in my opinion, fills a need in the market. For example, I loved the idea of the Kaweco Liliput, but that particular pen ultimately ended up being too small for anything more than quick notes. I’d place the Wingback Fountain Pen between the Liliput and the larger Kaweco Supra size-wise, which could be a sweet spot for those who love this type of design but have had a hard time finding a pocket pen that balances well in their hand.

Wingback Pocket Fountain Pen Showing O-Rings

The Wingback Fountain Pen adopts a minimal, streamlined design with no branding other than the subtle “Wingback” engraved on the cap. Diamond knurling is perfectly centered on the barrel when the pen is capped, and well-executed in the sense that it’s comfortable to hold this pen for long periods of time. (More on that below.) Finally, both ends of the section feature an o-ring on the threads, which protects the user from any ink leakage and prevents the nib from drying out. Interestingly, Wingback implies that this pen can be eyedroppered, stating that with the o-ring, “you can convert the pen’s chamber within its body into a reservoir for your ink of choice,” and that “we have tested and approved the stainless steel for corrosion resistance to inks, and are currently testing brass and titanium in longer long term trials.” I don’t personally eyedropper metal pens, but I do know people who have done so without incident, and as long as the metal resists corrosion long-term you should be fine. I lump this one under the header of “proceed at your own risk.”

Wingback Fountain Pen, Mechanical Pen, and Brass Showing three finishes — Three of the four finishes. Sorry, I don’t have an example of the titanium (yet).

The Wingback Fountain Pen is available in four materials/finishes to start: stainless steel (pictured here), brass, tungsten-carbide coated black stainless steel, and titanium. Custom laser engraving of up to 50 characters is also available, if you would like to personalize your pen.

Wingback Fountain Pen Bock Nib Knurled Section

Nib and Overall Writing Experience

The Wingback Fountain Pen uses a standard Bock 076 stainless steel nib, and the one I received (a fine?) arrived perfectly tuned. According to the Wingback Kickstarter page, five standard nib options will be available, including extra-fine, fine, medium, broad, or double/extra-broad. I would consider the Wingback a pure cartridge pen - while one of the mini converters from Kaweco or Monteverde might fit, those don’t hold much ink and you’re likely better off refilling a standard short international cartridge via syringe if ink choice is important to you.

Wingback Fountain Pen Shown Unposted — *The Wingback Fountain Pen measures 95mm unposted / 135mm posted.*

Though I personally find them well-balanced, some have remarked that the Wingback Mechanical Pencil and Mechanical Pen are a touch short. The Wingback Fountain Pen is indeed quite short unposted, but offers a workaround since the cap posts, much like the Schon DSGN Pocket Six or the aforementioned Liliput. While the Wingback Fountain Pen might be just long enough to jot quick notes unposted, longer writing sessions will probably require posting the cap unless you have very small hands.

Wingback Fountain Pen Posted Shown In-Hand

I’ve been using the Wingback Fountain Pen for the past two weeks, and haven’t experienced any of the hand fatigue that sometimes comes with machined metal pens of this weight. The knurled grip eliminates any slippage, while remaining subtle enough not to hurt your fingers. This pen will stay in my pocket pen rotation, and I’m considering whether to back the Kickstarter for a Black Steel or Titanium version.

Details on How to Get the Wingback Fountain Pen

As of the date of publication of this post (September 16, 2023), you have 19 days remaining to back the Wingback Fountain Pen on Kickstarter. While pledges are listed in £, they start at around $120 (which may fluctuate a bit due to the exchange rate). Wingback estimates that this will represent a 25% discount off the eventual retail price, which seems about right since both the standard versions of the Mechanical Pencil and the Mechanical Pen currently retail for around $158 USD.

Wingback Fountain Pen in the Plotter Pen Holder — Yes, for those of you who will ask, the Wingback Fountain Pen does fit in the Plotter Pen Holder!

Wingback is a company with a long track record of successful Kickstarters, so I have no concern about backing this one, but anyone considering backing a crowdfunded a project should of course be aware that Kickstarter offers no guarantee of timely delivery (or of any delivery, for that matter). Projects do hit delays, and by funding a project you are supporting the project itself, as opposed to “purchasing” a unit. That said, this project already has raised nearly $78,000 of its $2,500 funding goal, so I wouldn’t anticipate any issues here.

Disclaimer: Wingback sent me the Wingback Fountain Pen pictured here for review purposes, free of charge. T.G.S. has not otherwise been compensated for this review and is not being paid for referrals or advertising. T.G.S. is supported financially via purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

My Experience with the Drillog Metal Dip Pen: Hype vs. Reality

February 12, 2022

For those unfamiliar with Drillog, it’s a Japanese CNC-machined dip pen designed to look like a drill (hence the name) and advertised as being machined with “aircraft grade precision” (hence a hefty price tag). The pen launched last year on Kickstarter, and with as much hype as this product received, I couldn’t NOT back it. I’ve had my Drillog machined dip pen in hand for a few weeks now, and wanted to provide my initial impressions of this niche product that, while certainly interesting, I unfortunately can’t recommend until the manufacturer either works out the quality control issues or provides additional clarity on what ink and/or techniques need to be used to get the advertised performance.

As a preliminary note, I backed this product on Kickstarter and paid full price for it with my own money. I was not asked to review it or promote the Kickstarter in any way. You’re reading this as an unvarnished review from someone whose information comes from personal experience and the Kickstarter page, with no communications with the manufacturer.

My experience with dip pens and calligraphy is rudimentary at best, so I came to the Drillog as a true novice, and mainly saw this as a tool that could help me sample inks and experience writing with more “high-maintenance” formulations without having to worry about cleaning them out of a fountain pen. I was especially intrigued by Drillog’s claim that a single dip can “fill a sheet of A4 paper with writing lines”, even though I could never really see myself actually using it for that long of a session. So does Drillog live up to the hype and promise? In short, no.

Drillog Dip Pen Writing Sample — The top two writing samples were done with Ink Institute’s “Cat at Dawn,” a shading ink that’s on the watery side. The top paragraph was written with the Drillog, and I circled in red the two points at which the nib ran dry and I had to re-dip the pen. The middle paragraph was written with a glass pen, using the same ink. The last paragraph was written with Noodler’s Blue, a slightly thicker, more saturated in that performed better, but I still didn't get close more than a quarter page.

“Ink Retention Structure for Uninterrupted Writing”: I’ll start here because this is what drew me to the Drillog in the first place. I write very small and like to take notes and make annotations in tiny handwriting, so there was something attractive about the (theoretical) ability to quickly switch inks and play around with different colors in my journals and notebooks without having to flush and refill multiple fountain pens. And to be honest, the Drillog does allow you to do that, to a point. My issue is that despite testing a half-dozen inks with this thing, I’ve never been able to get more than a quarter page of writing out of the .5mm Drillog, much less the full “A4 page” touted by Shion, the manufacturer. That’s similar to what I get out of a $25 glass dip pen, which writes a much wetter line and lays down more ink. I’ve also experienced consistent hard starts and other problems with getting my Drillog to write, often having to dip the pen multiple times to get it started. Upon close inspection, the tip of my pen appears ever-so-slightly bent or curved, and one side of the pen won’t write at all because ink doesn’t flow through the grooves. While I plan to reach out to Shion to request a replacement (or an explanation), I’m disappointed something like this made it through QC at this price point.

Drillog Nib with Ink — The drill-bit-like grooves in the nib are designed to hold a large volume of ink and, theoretically, allow you to write for a full A4 page before having to re-dip the nib. I’ve been unable to duplicate that in real life.

Ability to Use All Sorts of Inks and Easily Change Them. Drillog doesn’t expressly represent that the pen is intended to be used with fountain pen inks, but let’s be honest, that’s why many people ordered this pen and there needs to be more transparency around what users can reasonably expect. Jacob (writing at Fudefan) has done more extensive testing with the Drillog, and remarked that the nib appears to be sensitive to surface tension/ink viscosity, with certain inks performing better than others. Drillog also has a proviso on the Kickstarter page stating that “the area that can be written on may change due to the ink drying up.” I don’t know what they’re specifically referring to here, since there’s no context for the statement, but I suspect that because many fountain pen inks are water-based, with varying degrees of viscosity, surface tension, and saturation, thinner ink formulations may dry out on the nib before you have the chance to write the nib dry. This could be the source of the issues I’ve had with my pen, though I suspect that it has more to do with a manufacturing issue given the hard starts and scratchiness. Given the massive discrepancy between what I’ve experienced and what was advertised, I can’t get past that, especially where I can get similar performance in a less expensive product.

Performance aside, the Drillog is visually stunning, and a gorgeous piece of machining.

Comfortable and Convenient Nib Holder. I give credit where credit is due, and one area where Drillog did a nice job was the design of the nib holder. I opted for the longer round barrel, as opposed to the spiral or grooved designs, and I love the cap, which means that I can transport this dip pen easily to pen shows. Honestly, this is why I’ll probably hang on to the Drillog - so that I can sample different inks after hours in my pen show notebook. That said, you can find inexpensive capped glass dip pens by Moonman and other brands for much less money, and even if you have to buy a few to find one that works reliably, you’ll have spent much less money than on the Drillog.

Takeaway and Final Thoughts

I hate to say it, but I consider the performance of my Drillog dip pen to be unacceptable for the price. At ¥25,692, which equates to roughly $225 at today’s exchange rate, that’s a huge premium for a dip pen that promises performance based on precision engineering - the source of the astronomic price tag - but fails to deliver a writing experience consistently better than much less expensive options. If I paid $50 for this pen, I might say it was “ok” and recommend that people pick it up if they’re interested in using it for testing inks or are looking for a machined dip nib with a very small tip that might be advantageous for certain types of lettering and other artwork requiring a great degree of precision. That said, I’m not sure what this offers the typical writing and ink enthusiast over a glass pen or inexpensive traditional XXF calligraphy nibs, other than the Drillog will last much longer and comes with a capped holder (which is quite cool).

This purchase was intended as an experiment, and I went into it suspecting the Drillog would likely not live up to the lofty promises, having read a handful of online reviews and comments similar to my own. Still, I expected more than this. I’ve also had the opportunity to test a handful of early-release “tester” Drillogs sent to other bloggers and reviewers, all of which worked much better than the one I received. That leads me to suspect that these review units were subjected to a higher level of QC testing than the ones that ultimately went out the door to paying customers, which is disappointing. A quick scan of the comments on the Kickstarter page confirms that I’m not the only one who’s had problems. I’ll be keeping on eye on Shion and Drillog to see if there are manufacturing tweaks made to a “version 2.0”, and whether they offer to take back any malfunctioning pens. So far, I’ve not seen any outreach in the Kickstarter comments.

UPDATE: Following this review, Drillog reached out, confirmed that it looks like something is wrong with my pen from the writing sample, and offered to send a replacement. I plan to take them up on it and will report back on how the new nib functions.

Disclaimer: As noted, I purchased the product featured in this review with my own funds, for my own personal use. All opinions expressed here are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links, and I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Kickstarter Alert: 22Pen by Mario Shimodaira

March 29, 2019

I wanted to do a special short post this Friday to let everyone know that there’s just a little more than 24 hours left in the Kickstarter for the 22pen, a unique pocket pen that readers should be sure to check out. The pen holds two D1 refills in a flat format, allowing you to easily switch between two colors without clicking, and also allowing you to easily clip the pen inside a notebook. I have a review unit (in a prototype material) that I just now received, so I don’t have a full review ready to go, but my initial impressions are very favorable and I’m really looking forward to seeing how I can work the 22pen into my daily workflow, especially with pocket notebooks! I backed for the blue version. You can check out the full details of the 22pen here on the Kickstarter page. Many thanks to Mario for sending this pen over for review.

The 22pen may look a bit awkward, but it’s surprisingly easy to use.

The reverse of the 22pen features a clip to attach the pen to the inside of a notebook.

Disclaimer: I received the pen featured in this post free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review and I’ve backed this project with my own money.

Takeaways and Where To Buy

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Nib and Overall Writing Experience

Read More on Pocket Writing at T.G.S.

Details on How to Get the Wingback Fountain Pen

Takeaway and Final Thoughts

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