• Kaweco Brass Sport Ballpoint- I bought this before I was into fountain pens at all and I really liked it, this and the previous mechanical pencil are what really opened my eyes to Kaweco. I really enjoy the pocket sizing of this pen although it does make my hand tired during long writing sessions. I think the weight of this pen helps it a lot and don't really see myself writing with one of Kaweco's regular sport ballpoints just because its a little too small for my hand. This takes D1 refills which are pretty common so finding another refill shouldn't pose a problem and this thing is built like a tank so I usually just throw it in my pocket or a bag and don't have to worry about it breaking or anything like that which makes it a very convenient and reliable choice in my eyes. 

• Retro 51 Tornado Rollerball- I bought this on a whim after starting here because I thought the design was very cool and obviously had a nice tie in to both Pen Boutique and Maryland. I had not owned any Retro's before this and really enjoy this one. The knurled twist mechanism is easy to operate in one hand and the cap-less refills it takes are wonderful to write with. The pen feels pretty solid but I'm still careful with it because I want to preserve the beautiful design on it for as long as I can so this stays in a pen case when I travel with it and I have something more rugged from Karas or Tactile Turn to throw around. Retro's are a solid choice for a rollerball because most are themed and they truly have something for everyone, did I mention they are pretty affordable as well... Whats not to love? 

Fountain Pens:

• Lamy 2000 (OBB)- Although this wasn't my first gold nib pen, I strongly believe it makes for a good entry point into the upper echelon of gold nibbed pens. I also happen to be a massive fan of this design which was based off of some principals of the Bauhaus school of design. The transitions on this pen are seamless and the materials, stainless steel and Makralon, are very durable and will stand the test of time. Thanks to the piston mechanism you get a lot of ink capacity and the ink window, in theory, lets you know how much ink you have left in the pen. The wide variety of nib sizes is also a very nice touch and even the OBB is the same price as the more standard nibs. 

• Pilot Custom 823 (F)- The custom 823 is one of the best choices, in my opinion, for a gold-nibbed work horse pen that will have no problem accommodating longer writing sessions. This is a vacuum filling pen that is also equipped with a double reservoir system to prevent leaks which makes it a good option for someone who travels often. The #15 nibs on these are wonderful to write with as well, the Fine on mine is by far the thinnest line I own which is useful for some specific applications. The only downside I have with this pen is that I wish the clear and FA nib where available outside of Japan. Oh, and did I mention, the ink capacity is massive in this pen and will last quite a long time.

• Aurora Optima (F)- I was very pleasantly surprised when I first purchased this pen and let me come clean, I had my doubts. This pen is rather short but due to the ergonomics it gets "locked into" my hand and is actually very satisfying. The ink window is also one of my favorite parts of this pen as it is by far the clearest, and easiest ink window to see through. The piston on this is smooth and works very well, ink capacity is also deceptively large for a pen of such small stature. The Aurora nibs are also all made in house, paired with their ebonite feeds you should never have a problem with hard starts or skipping, at least I haven't ever had those problems. Another drawback for me was the price, for such a small pen I was hesitant to pay around $450-$550 but after using it for a while I don't find myself regretting it at all and this pen has quickly grown to be one of my most reliable options!

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• Visconti Homo-Sapiens (M)- This pen was the first I considered a true grail pen and I was able to buy it the first day I started working for PenBoutique so in a sense it resembles my first job. I think Grail pens get even more special and personal when you can tie them to personal experiences and accomplishments. I love the Visconti power filler mechanism and think its one of the better vac filling mechanisms, the homo sapiens I have also has the double reservoir system which will be nice once Im allowed to travel again. The 18k nibs are really nice and don't skip or hard start for me which is my #1 pet peeve for pens so its good you don't have to worry about that here. While this pen was expensive, I'm very glad that I was able to pick one up and don't see myself ever letting go of it!

• Pelikan M1000 (M)- Now here we have it, my absolute favorite flagship pen. Yes you heard me correctly, I didn't say 149 and I didn't say King of Pen. While both those pens are very strong options and have distinct benefits, they don't top the M1000 for me. The piston is beautiful and smooth, also doesn't back weight the pen too much. The clip is fun but still professional, the body is an ink window, the nib is wonderfully bouncy. Really what more do you want in a pen, the wet lines it lays down are wonderful when paired with a sheening ink, I really can't describe how much I enjoy this pen and its nib, if you have the option to test one out, do it.

Ink:

• Sailor Ink Studio- Let's just get this out of the way, these are my favorite inks, end of story. During my time spent writing with fountain pens, never once have I inked a pen with black ink and I often find myself looking for not only colorful inks but ones that are interesting to look at when dry on the  page. These inks tick all the boxes I look for and almost all of them have either, exceptional sheen, or beautiful shading. The inks also aren't too dry or overly wet either, I firmly believe that these inks are perfect, at least for my needs and that almost nothing looks better on Tomoe River paper than Sailor Inks. 

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• Montblanc Homage to Moctezuma- This is probably the most expensive ink bottle I picked up and of course some of that is for the Montblanc name but this ink is exceptional. I also am quite a big fan of the psychedelic purple they did for the Beatles but this one takes the cake. I always have this in at least one of my pens because it is the most beautiful turquoise and has some darker shading which elevates it over any other turquoise, also has a great viscosity! I would strongly recommend someone has either this or Psychedelic purple in their ink collection, yes they are that good.

• Pilot Iroshizuku- Possibly one of the most popular ink lines to date, the Iroshizuku line is based off of Japanese nature and the colors that nature produces. These are the first inks that I really got into aside from my bottle of Diamine Oxblood because like many of us, I got started with a bottle of Kon-Peki. I fell in love with the blue of Kon-Peki and its subtle red sheen so I decided to branch out and get a couple more which resulted in Yu-Yake, Yama-Budo, and Tsukushi. Since then I've used them when I know I don't want to experiment because I know that the colors are lovely and that they perform well in all my pens, overall a very solid choice and Would recommend Yama-Budo be in everyones ink collection!