York Minster 13Th Century Firewood Oak Handmade Fountain Pen

November 28, 2014

Hi everyone,

this is my first review. I'm doing it because I have purchased a pen that has a history and also has emotional significance for me because of where the material used to make it came from.

Name: York Minster 13th Century Firewood Oak handmade fountain pen

Price: £49.99 from www.yorkandbeyond.com (no affiliation) who also have an ebay store. The pen is also available from www.yorkminster.org

Overall performance: quite smooth (fine nib)

Video of my review at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Nf0kFbO48

The pen is made by a Yorkshire craftsman using 800 year old wood from York Minster that was reclaimed after the fire there in 1984. York and the Minster mean something to me and so that is what motivated my purchase.

The pen came in a large white cardboard box embossed with the seal of the Archbishop of York. Inside the box was a book (and I mean book) about the Minster and the fire as well as a certificate of authenticity from the Dean of York Minster.

The pen came with a standard international cartridge and a standard international converter, a velvet pen-slip and a spare nib (so I have a fine and a medium gold-plate iridium-point german nib for this pen).

The pen is capped and posted via a screw mechanism (the capping process was a little stiff). There is a large polished black, pointed finial (stone or metal?) on the cap which also has a large cap ring with a thin piece of the same black material embossed on it (it may be 2 thinner cap rings separated by a thin piece of the black material.

The section is gold-plate to match the rest of the trims (which are also available in chrome and gunmetal finishes) and is a lot thinner than the barrel and cap (but not as thin as on my Waterman Hemisphere 10 which I find to be too thin).

I have compared the fine and medium nibs supplied with the pen. Both are fairly smooth. The fine nib offers a bit of feedback which I find helpful but felt a bit on the dry side when using Waterman Florida Blue. The medium nib is considerably smoother, wetter and a joy to use.

It feels a privilege to be touching history every time I use this pen and it was purchased for its history and to pass on when I'm not here. The fact it is so pleasant to use is an added bonus.

Friendly and fast service when buying this pen and which helped make a contribution to the ongoing restoration and upkeep of one of the UK's finest cathedrals (no affiliation).

Best wishes

James