Fountain pens are my weakness and my wallet hates me for it. But I don’t only buy them for myself, I also gift them to others. Even the people who don’t regularly write appreciate the pens and start writing more. What a small gift can’t do.
TWSBI ECO
Limited edition fountain pens aren’t necessarily a great idea for people who aren’t into fountain pens yet, but some are cheap enough. TWSBI regularly has limited editions for an affordable price. Their ECO and ECO-T range are just 25 Euros. The limited editions are mostly colours in addition to their standard black, white and clear versions. Two limited edition colours are blossom red (see right) and green, very fitting with the holiday season.
I’ve also just seen the announcement of two pastel colours that will arrive on the 14th, although I don’t know which shops will carry them. These two colours, pink and blue, remind me of hydrangea flowers and are only available with an F or EF nib.
TWSBI is still a fairly new brand and new colours come out regularly. Check out which one is limited and which isn’t. Some limited editions that launched earlier this year are still available in some stores.
Pelikan
Pelikan has a new colour of the year and this year it’s Olivine. A military green that mimics the colour of the olivine gem. They have set of a pen (their M205 model) and ink bottle (50 ML) which is a perfect gift. The pen and ink won’t be coming back again, so take this chance to get this Christmas green pen!
The M205 is my personal number 1 pen and I even bought a second one this year. It’s a light, semi-transparent, smooth writer that doesn’t shy away from hard labour. The broad nib brought out the beautiful sheen of KWZ’s Walk Over Vistula. There was no need to force the ink to flow without being too wet. It’s a great pen for someone with small hands since this is the smallest of the Pelikan models.
Sailor
This Japanese brand has many limited editions, often bound to territories. They just released a new North-America exclusive colour, Key Lime, but they have so many more beautiful colours. Since it’s a Japanese brand, their nibs are thinner than their Western counterparts. Sailor has pens in every price range. As cheap as $25 and above $2000. I can imagine that the more expensive pens are out of your range, but even the lower priced pens are loved by many fountain pen users. Sailor’s nibs are celebrated for their smoothness.
A limited edition Sailor is a perfect gift for someone who loves the colour and a classic design. Check out Pensachi for a great selection and discounts (see their Instagram).
Benu Pen
Benu Pen, a Russian brand, has a beautiful limited edition of their new Hexagon model. It’s bright green with silver glitters, to celebrate the new year. The Benu pens are made of acrylic and are light since the only bit of metal is the nib. They’re also fairly sizable in your hand. If you don’t like wide pens, these might not be the best option. Any Benu pen falls into the category of showstopper pens. When someone sees it, they will ask questions. All of their pens have distinctive shapes and surprising colouring.
Exclusives at Goulet Pens
If you’re in the USA, Goulet Pens has a ton of colour exclusives. They collaborate with a handful of pen makers to create new colours for favourite models. One of my favourite Goulet exclusives is actually not a fountain, but a rollerball. They are the Retro 51 Pie vs Cake pens. They made a fun promotional video, but the pens themselves look fun as well.
These are just a small selection of everything that’s available. If you’re looking for pens below $50, the TWSBI is a great pen. The Pilot Metropolitan is another favourite of mine as well, available in bright colours as well as sleek black or silver. If you’re looking for a fountain pen stocking stuffer, check out the Jinhao Shark. A very cheap Chinese pen shaped like a shark. It’s of surprisingly good quality for that price.
Are you looking for a limited edition pen? Which one is your favourite or hoping to get? Leave your answers in the comments below!
These are great pens. I’m used to love these, however, my handwriting is so bad that I don’t bother with fancy pens anymore.
The writer in me gets excited by stationary. Great post.