Independent Pen Makers

[Paul-in-SF]

Forgive me if this has already been done, I did a general search and didn't find anything (although a different term might have been used).

 

Inspired by a recent video by jk_pens (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2AkVL-in4I&t=15s) I wanted to assemble a list of independent pen makers, defined as 1) very small outfits, maybe one or two people; and 2) makers of completely custom, made-to-order, or small batch pens; and 3) exhibiting either thoughfulness of design or excellence of execution, or preferably both. jk_pens thought that Franklin-Christoph was too big to be included even though they qualify on the other points, but he included Birmingham Pens (I don't know how big they are) among 13 others.

 

If you add to this list, as I hope you will, please explain why you want to give them this attention. I'll start with three that I have direct experience with through their pens.

 

Schon DSGN - I have a Pocket 6, which is a masterpiece of design (the basic design is very similar to the Moonman Wancai Mini, I don't know which came first). The pen is very short until you post it, when it becomes the right size for long writing sessions, and it includes a #6 nib. The material is aluminum, either anodized or otherwise decorated in a large variety of finishes. It feels very solid, and the cap threading is flawless. Design 9, Execution 10.

 

Monty Winnfield - I have a Highwater pen that was made as a special for Goulet Pens. This also scores both for design and execution. The barrel is made of a material similar to the brand name Micarta - brown linen fabric rolled and encased in a thermosetting plastic; it's very smooth and has a warm feeling. The cap is hand-wound uni-directional carbon fiber that gives it lightness and an amazing matte feel. The appointments are titanium, including the interestingly textured section. It opens in about 2/3 of a turn. I can't take my eyes off of it, and I can't resist picking it up over and over. For me this is all about the materials, but the size and shape of the pen and other design elements live up to them fully. Design 10, Execution 10.

 

Scriptorium Pens - I bought a model called Idyll in the middle size, and in ebonite figured in dark red and brown. This is not an especially unusual design, although she does get full marks for execution. She has a lot of models and a seemingly endless supply of materials to choose from. Most of the materials are acrylics that I'm not interested in, but this ebonite spoke to me. Once I had it I could tell from the balance and the way it felt in my hand that she had put a lot of thought into the details that take a pen from ordinary to excellent. Design 8 (reduction for lack of overall originality, and for too many turns to get the cap off); Execution 9 (for this type of pen, a 10 rating would require that you don't see the join until you start to unscrew it; also because it takes at least 14 months to get one).

 

So that's what I have, I hope other folks have their own favorites to add.

[silverlifter]

• Shawn Newton
• Ryan Krusack
• Jonathan Brooks
• Pen 18111
• Fosfor Pens
• Herbert Pen Company
• Atelier Lusso
• Edison Pens
• John Twiss

...and I am sure there are many others.

[JosephKing]

I'll give a shout out to jj9ball from this forum. He made a custom pen for me which I'd been meaning to review after putting some mileage on it. The interaction was very personal; 10/10 for service. When I asked for dark blue, he asked for more clarification because dark blue might mean something different between us. When I asked for certain design elements that seemed challenging, he worked through them with me and presented options that best fit the spirit of what I was looking for. He kept me posted on updates with pictures throughout the build. He created a backup blank in case something went wrong because the colour was important. When there was a difference in what I was expecting and what he was working, he immediately took it back to the bench and fixed it, with no apprehension or hesitation. And he didn't ask for any payment until I was satisfied with what he had produced and was ready to ship. Icing on the cake is his overall disposition; good humoured, easy going, and straight forward. The pen itself is everything I dreamed it would be, and more... I even stopped looking at other pens (for like 3 whole months!) because it's a grail pen for me. Definitely recommended.

Edited April 23, 2020 by JosephKing

[inkstainedruth]

I'd say have a look at the Pen Turning thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/forum/85-pen-turning-and-making/ (some of the suggestions, like silverlister's list, are for people who are already on that thread, BTW, like Renee of Scriptorium).

Another person not mentioned so far, is Pierre Miller of Desiderata Pens (I forget his FPN screen name). I have a prototype from when he was first getting started and wanted people to test them out and give him feedback on the pros and cons. I had a couple of LONG phone conversations, then got to meet him at a pen show a few years ago when he had a table.

Ran into him again last fall at the Ohio Pen Show, and discovered that he and I were talking about the same person on eBay when he said "I have a good seller in Japan I buy pens from" to another customer and I said "Yeah, I do too!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Rosendust]

I have had a wonderful experience so far with Jonathon Brooks and I cannot wait until I save up just a little longer and I can finally pull the trigger on my custom Fountain pen!

[PAKMAN]

I have several Newton Pens, great designs and a great guy!

[Paul-in-SF]

 

• Shawn Newton
• Ryan Krusack
• Jonathan Brooks
• Pen 18111
• Fosfor Pens
• Herbert Pen Company
• Atelier Lusso
• Edison Pens
• John Twiss

...and I am sure there are many others.

 

 

I appreciate the list. Do you particularly recommend any of these makers over the others? I'd be interested to know which ones, and why.

 

And thanks, inkstainedruth I will take a look at that thread.

[silverlifter]

 

I appreciate the list. Do you particularly recommend any of these makers over the others? I'd be interested to know which ones, and why.

 

The list was primarily intended as a prompt for subsequent posters...

 

I have only had dealings with Shawn Newton and Manoj at Fosfor. Both were excellent experiences.

[Driften]

I've bought two pens so far from Shawn Newton and it was a great experience as well as excellent pens.

Edited April 25, 2020 by Driften

[zaddick]

Here are some threads to check out...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/173390-pen-makers-who-will-take-commissions/?do=findComment&comment=1738423

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/281024-pen-brands-worldwide-by-country/

[zaddick]

Paul-in-SF if you are looking for a pen maker with certain styles, price range, capability, location, materials, etc. Thst would be helpful to know. There are a fair few people out there who are not on FPN, but can be found on Instagram and other sites.

[zaddick]

These are the custom pen makers I have bought from. Some are out of business, some take years to get a pen made, and some may not be around any more but their pens are.

 

1. Brad Torelli

2. Bruno Corsini

3. Ryan Krusack

4. Shawn Newton

5. Scriptorium

6. Only One Creations - Scott Meyer

7. Romillo

8. Gimena

9. Goldfink - Tom Westrich (also makes cusTom pens)

10. Astoria - Max Schrage

11. Hakase

12. Stylo Art Karuizawa

13. Joe Cali Pens

14. John Albert (used to be Romulus pens)

15. David Broadwell

16. Nivardo from Peyton Street Pens

17. Hello Tello Pens

18. Tintenschnecke Pens

19. Francis Goosens

20. Fred Fagionatto

21. Oldwin

22. Brute Force Designs

23. Ohasido (sometimes spelled Ohashido)

24. Paul Rossi

25. Lambrou Pens (formerly Classic Pens)

26. Chris Thompson Pens

 

I have other custom pens from larger makers, but I'll leave them off the list as they are not one or two person operations.

Edited April 25, 2020 by zaddick

[Paul-in-SF]

Paul-in-SF if you are looking for a pen maker with certain styles, price range, capability, location, materials, etc. Thst would be helpful to know. There are a fair few people out there who are not on FPN, but can be found on Instagram and other sites.

 

I'm not looking for anything in particular for myself at the moment. I had no idea there were so many independent pen makers, most of the ones I know about up to now were from watching reviews on Youtube, which strikes me as a very inefficient way to find out about the genre. So my main, altruistic goal was to centralize this knowledge for newcomers to the hobby. And if I find something wonderful for myself along the way, all to the good.

[sansenri]

You may also add Ranga pens to that list.

Ranga has a wide range of already designed models offered in a wide variety of materials and colours, however if you ask them to customize your pen they will do it a a reasonable additional cost. This is rather interesting, particularly when you find that one of their starting models is almost as you like it but would prefer some slight modification, such as a wider or thinner section, a shorter barrel or cap, less turns to the cap, and ED or CC filling system, and so on, and that also includes a choice of polished or matt finish or even part polished, part matt, etc.

They will also fit your own nib to the pen.

Their ebonite pens are essentially hand made and never identical even for same model, material and finish.

[WLSpec]

Chicago Pen Co. Is a newer one started in 2019

[RM2]

I have one Newton Pen that I like a lot. The fit and finish is superb, and the nib came very nicely tuned.

 

I have three Ranga Bamboo pens that are quite nice.

 

If you are in the EU, then I recommend you check out Wet and Wise , a maker based in Belgium. I have ordered six of the pens he has shown on his website. I enjoy picking out the material myself and it is cool knowing that the pen was made specifically for me. He also usually shows some of the process of making the pen on his Instagram. He spends a lot of time on the finish, which is superb on all of the pens.

 

I hesitate to mention Mythic Pens (because I don't want any competition when new pens are posted!), but I have two of them, and they are both gorgeous.

 

If you are really interested in independent pen makers, then I think Instagram is the way to go. I follow several other makers that are doing some really cool stuff.

Edited April 29, 2020 by RM2

[zaddick]

These are the custom pen makers I have bought from. Some are out of business, some take years to get a pen made, and some may not be around any more but their pens are.

 

1. Brad Torelli

2. Bruno Corsini

3. Ryan Krusack

4. Shawn Newton

5. Scriptorium

6. Only One Creations - Scott Meyer

7. Romillo

8. Gimena

9. Goldfink - Tom Westrich (also makes cusTom pens)

10. Astoria - Max Schrage

11. Hakase

12. Stylo Art Karuizawa

13. Joe Cali Pens

14. John Albert (used to be Romulus pens)

15. David Broadwell

16. Nivardo from Peyton Street Pens

17. Hello Tello Pens

18. Tintenschnecke Pens

19. Francis Goosens

20. Fred Fagionatto

21. Oldwin

22. Brute Force Designs

23. Ohasido (sometimes spelled Ohashido)

24. Paul Rossi

25. Lambrou Pens (formerly Classic Pens)

26. Chris Thompson Pens

 

I have other custom pens from larger makers, but I'll leave them off the list as they are not one or two person operations.

27. Manu Propria uruahi pens

[eciton]

I posted a list here some time ago. A few are out of business since.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2018/03/25/european-pen-makers-youve-probably-never-heard-of-but-should/

 

I had a generally good experience with Clavijo, but the pen was a bit too small and light for me in the end and I sold it.

 

I'll second the positive comments about Jonathon Brooks and Carolina Pen Co...

https://ukfountainpens.com/2020/04/25/carolina-clyde-and-classic-montblanc/

 

and of Ian Schon and Schon Dsgn.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/10/10/the-tardis-like-schon-dsgn-fountain-pen/

 

There's Jake Lazzari out of the UK, although I've only used one of his pens a few years ago.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2017/06/17/review-applied-pens-streamline/

 

John Twiss, of course, a pen show regular.

 

Milim out of Poland, if I remember correctly.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2018/10/08/pocket-essentials-milim-fountain-pen-first-impressions/

 

Pierre at Desiderata Pens, although he has become quite unresponsive of late, due to being busy.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/04/27/at-last-reviewing-the-desiderata-soubriquet/

 

Eureka pens from Korea

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/10/27/introducing-eureka-fountain-pens-from-south-korea/

 

Leonard Slattery from Ireland:

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/09/08/going-against-the-grain-leonard-slattery-pens-a-haon/

 

and the guys at Kasama certainly count as a small operation:

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/08/07/the-kasama-una-isnt-perfect-but-its-certainly-different/

 

Lots of great makers out there.

[PrestoTenebroso]

I'd say have a look at the Pen Turning thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/forum/85-pen-turning-and-making/ (some of the suggestions, like silverlister's list, are for people who are already on that thread, BTW, like Renee of Scriptorium).

Another person not mentioned so far, is Pierre Miller of Desiderata Pens (I forget his FPN screen name). I have a prototype from when he was first getting started and wanted people to test them out and give him feedback on the pros and cons. I had a couple of LONG phone conversations, then got to meet him at a pen show a few years ago when he had a table.

Ran into him again last fall at the Ohio Pen Show, and discovered that he and I were talking about the same person on eBay when he said "I have a good seller in Japan I buy pens from" to another customer and I said "Yeah, I do too!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Oh, I'm me.

[PrestoTenebroso]

I posted a list here some time ago. A few are out of business since.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2018/03/25/european-pen-makers-youve-probably-never-heard-of-but-should/

 

I had a generally good experience with Clavijo, but the pen was a bit too small and light for me in the end and I sold it.

 

I'll second the positive comments about Jonathon Brooks and Carolina Pen Co...

https://ukfountainpens.com/2020/04/25/carolina-clyde-and-classic-montblanc/

 

and of Ian Schon and Schon Dsgn.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/10/10/the-tardis-like-schon-dsgn-fountain-pen/

 

There's Jake Lazzari out of the UK, although I've only used one of his pens a few years ago.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2017/06/17/review-applied-pens-streamline/

 

John Twiss, of course, a pen show regular.

 

Milim out of Poland, if I remember correctly.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2018/10/08/pocket-essentials-milim-fountain-pen-first-impressions/

 

Pierre at Desiderata Pens, although he has become quite unresponsive of late, due to being busy.

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/04/27/at-last-reviewing-the-desiderata-soubriquet/

 

Eureka pens from Korea

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/10/27/introducing-eureka-fountain-pens-from-south-korea/

 

Leonard Slattery from Ireland:

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/09/08/going-against-the-grain-leonard-slattery-pens-a-haon/

 

and the guys at Kasama certainly count as a small operation:

https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/08/07/the-kasama-una-isnt-perfect-but-its-certainly-different/

 

Lots of great makers out there.

I'm trying my best to keep up with email and production.