Hinze Custom-Made

[writepen]

 

I ordered a second fountain pen from Custom Penmaker Jim Hinze and it just arrived. The visual appearance is extraordinarily attractive, and I consider Hinze Pens to be works of art which appeal to our senses and perform a daily purpose. The friend who recommended that I experience a Hinze fountain pen, remarked..."his handmade pens have a lot of personality." Based on one of the definitions of hooked--addicted to, devoted to, enamored of, obsessed with, taken with--it is fair to say that I am hooked on Hinze pens. I specified preferred dimensions, and Jim created this writing instrument treasure exactly as requested. The result is that the pen's proportional balance and comfort when writing is optimal, and indeed it is a wonderful writer thanks to an enjoyably smooth, JoWo 6mm-size nib and feeder which the celebrated craftsman installed. In fact, the quality of all components is top-notch. Filling is via cartridge or included, Schmidt converter. Another feature--the cap posts securely.

Lastly, price is a number. Value is price relative to product. Considering the market prices of all bespoke fountain pens available to us for purchase, The Hinze Pen Company offers unmatched value, IMHO. hinzepensdotcom

[GardenWeasel]

Great looking pen! I especially like the section, clip and barrel shape! Nice!

[steve50]

I wish penmakers would pay more attention to the threads inside the grip section so that the nib unit sits flush with the end of the section. A lot of them, like this one, has a tiny bit sticking out and it annoys me a fair bit. It's just a bit sloppy work in my view.

[sansenri]

Not sure what you mean.

My concern usually is that I prefer section and barrel to be on the same plane with no step downs.

Many pen makers (both custom and commercially establish firms) nowadays tend to favour the aesthetics of the pen when it is closed so that barrel and cap are flush when the pen is closed. Unfortunately when the pen is uncapped that causes an often steep step which makes holding the pen very uncomfortable.

That can really put me off buying any pen. I prefer old time design, cap over barrel.

[steve50]

Not sure what you mean.

My concern usually is that I prefer section and barrel to be on the same plane with no step downs.

Many pen makers (both custom and commercially establish firms) nowadays tend to favour the aesthetics of the pen when it is closed so that barrel and cap are flush when the pen is closed. Unfortunately when the pen is uncapped that causes an often steep step which makes holding the pen very uncomfortable.

That can really put me off buying any pen. I prefer old time design, cap over barrel.

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm talking about the nib unit not screwing in all the way so you see the housing sticking out. This is a flaw rather than a design choice. Like in this photo:

 

 

I think it should look like this instead:

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by steve50

[Gloucesterman]

Looks interesting.

 

Wish you had given a more detailed review with added pictures and perhaps a writing sample.

Thanks for the posting and the picture.

[Paul-in-SF]

I have a Hinze pen, a special that they made for Papier Plume called The Blues. It is made from a very nice acrylic (I presume) and it came with a flex nib. It's basically a cylinder with flat ends. It seems well made, as far as I can tell, but they sort of compromised on that issue that sansenri was talking about. There is a very slight step down from the cap to the barrel when it is capped; there is also only a slight step-down from the barrel to the section.

 

The slightness of both of these stepdowns appears to have been made possible by the last 2 mm of the cap lip being shaved very thin so as to be translucent (my micrometer says it is 0.37 mm thick at that point, compared to almost a full mm thick just inside that point, where the inside threads are).

 

The thinness of this cap lip actually makes it possible to keep screwing the cap on past the barrel stepdown point, which doesn't seem like a good idea, and which makes me nervous about that cap lip cracking eventually. So I am very cautious when re-capping the pen. This design decision is one that seems very curious to me, and something I would like to ask the pen maker about if I ever get the chance.

[sansenri]

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm talking about the nib unit not screwing in all the way so you see the housing sticking out. This is a flaw rather than a design choice. Like in this photo:

 

Opus+88+Omar+Tiger+Eye+Fountain+Pen+Barrel.jpg

 

I think it should look like this instead:

 

maxresdefault.jpg

ah, yes, I see what you mean, probably just needs a little more internal threading in the section for the nib collar to screw in all the way

[s60m23]

I recently bought the Elementar, and am very happy with this pen - I think the craftsmanship is excellent. Mine is non posting, and no clip. I quite like the fact that the nib collar does not screw in completely, I think the step is aethetically quite nice.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1603971814__elementar_small.jpg

[amberleadavis]

@writepen and @Paul-in-SF You two motivated me.  I look forward to mine arriving soon.

[Paul-in-SF]

Hmm, I wouldn't have thought my remarks were particularly persuasive towards buying one, but they only applied to a particular design. 

 

Anyway, I hope you like it. Photos please when it arrives. 

[amberleadavis]

On 1/25/2022 at 6:37 PM, Paul-in-SF said:

Hmm, I wouldn't have thought my remarks were particularly persuasive towards buying one, but they only applied to a particular design. 

 

Anyway, I hope you like it. Photos please when it arrives. 

 

I really liked the material. I think he fixed the part about the nib not fitting in flush. I had him polish the interior so it will be more demonstrator than it is now.

[amberleadavis]

[essayfaire]

Old thread, but I was doing research because of all the custom pens we will be ordering from Mr. Hinze based on the invent-your-perfect pen thread.  

 

So a question for those who may have ordered pens more recently:  has anyone ordered a pen that does not have a big step down from the barrel to the nib?

 

@amberleadavishad said he could make me a retractable, which I imagine would take care of the step-down issue, but I'm still curious. @Paul-in-SF, do you find yourself using your pen often or not?

[Paul-in-SF]

5 hours ago, essayfaire said:

do you find yourself using your pen often or not?

 

Not, but reasons: I have a lot of really good-writing pens, so use of any one of them is not frequent; the pen is a good pen but the thin-ness of the cap where it meets the barrel makes me nervous (so I'm careful when I use it not to screw it on too far); if I recall, the nib is really more flex than I can use easily for ordinary writing, and I don't do calligraphy. On the whole, buying this pen was a mistake for me, but that doesn't make it anything other than a good pen. Just not great for me. 

 

Oh, and this isn't a recent purchase (depending on how you view time), it's from over 2 years ago. I've probably had it inked up 3 times during that period. 

[essayfaire]

14 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

Not, but reasons: I have a lot of really good-writing pens, so use of any one of them is not frequent; the pen is a good pen but the thin-ness of the cap where it meets the barrel makes me nervous (so I'm careful when I use it not to screw it on too far); if I recall, the nib is really more flex than I can use easily for ordinary writing, and I don't do calligraphy. On the whole, buying this pen was a mistake for me, but that doesn't make it anything other than a good pen. Just not great for me. 

 

Oh, and this isn't a recent purchase (depending on how you view time), it's from over 2 years ago. I've probably had it inked up 3 times during that period. 

Thanks.  I think we all have purchases that aren't bad pens, just bad pens for us.  

 

I was curious because sometimes I have found that when I stretch my comfort zone and buy a pen that is different from my others in a significant way, that over time it grows on me and I come to appreciate it wholeheartedly.  Other times I decide, as you apparently have, that it wasn't the right purchase no matter how much I loved the design/nib/filling mechanism.  

 

I don't think I would be made nervous by the thinness of a pen cap, I suspect if I ever had a problem because of it I would trust a reputable company to be able to take care of it. A thin cap would also prevent the pen from becoming too back-weighted when posted.

[Blahblahbal]

Nice