Otto Hutt - For Individualists With Style

You May Not Know This Brand, But You Should!

It all started when I was on my lunch break and overheard Pen Boutique owner Leena and our customer service guru, Joy, discussing the shipment of Otto Hutt Design 06 pens we had just received. Design 06 was a new line for us, so I stuck my head out of the break room and excitedly suggested that I feature it in my next blog article. I love Otto Hutt pens, but it's a brand that's not very well known in the US, and many people in the pen community have never even heard of it. Actually, the fact that most American pen enthusiasts are unaware of Otto Hutt is part of why I love the brand so much. I love being a little different, so its relative obscurity really appeals to me. Today I'd like to share with you why Otto Hutt should be on your radar, whether your taste leans toward the slim and rectilinear Design 04, the slightly more curvaceous Design 06, the hefty and handsome Design 07, or beyond.  Right now, we have many of these pens at an incredible 40% off, so you can get an amazing deal on a stylish gift. 

I discovered Otto Hutt in 2019 when I came across an article about one of the Design 04 pens and fell in love. I could hardly find any reviews of it or references to it in the online pen forums, but the reviews that I did see talked about the incredible craftsmanship of this brand, which was founded in Pforzheim, Germany in 1920 and has maintained its Bauhaus aesthetic and jewelry-makers' precision. 

What is Bauhaus?

I love the Bauhaus style, so I was very intrigued to discover that there is a pen brand that reflects this aesthetic. Bauhaus was a German art school that mostly operated in the 1920s but had a profound influence on modern architecture and design, including buildings, fine art, furniture, industrial design, graphic design, and fonts. It was founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919 and was famous for its attempt to unify crafts, fine arts, and technology. The Bauhaus school envisioned a harmony between form and function, and featured design elements like simple geometric shapes such as rectangles and circles. Bauhaus designs tend to feature rounded corners and rectangular protruding features. Other famous people who taught at the Bauhaus include architects Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and artists Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and László Moholy-Nagy.

You can definitely see the Bauhaus influence in Otto Hutt's pen designs! Compare the Bauhaus logo (left) and the Otto Hutt logo featured on some of their nibs and end caps, and you can see right away the deep connection this brand has maintained to their roots in the Bauhaus movement.

The rounded corners, angular clips, streamlined minimalist shapes of the pen bodies, and geometric shapes used in the designs of the pens are all beautifully Bauhaus. 

[Pictured:  Design 04 White Wave.]

The Golden City at the Rim of the Black Forest

Karl Hutt, the company's founder, translated the idea of the innovative Bauhaus style to new products including smoker’s accessories, toothpicks, and shaving sets in metal.  Soon, Hutt was making fine writing instruments made of silver. He handed over management to his son Otto in the 1960s and they continued with this aesthetic. Pforzheim, the town that the company is based in, is a gateway to the famous Black Forest, and has been known as "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") since the 1700s because of its international reputation for manufacturing jewelry, watches, and useful household objects made from gold and silver. Even to this day, about 80% of the jewelry exported from Germany comes from Pforzheim. The combination of Bauhaus influence, meticulous craftsmanship, and a jeweler's eye for fine detail is very evident when you examine an Otto Hutt pen, and I still remember how intrigued I was when I first read about the brand's history and looked at photos of its lineup.  

[Pictured: Design 08 grip section.]

The Otto Hutt Difference

Back in 2019, I decided I wanted the Floral Creme Design 04 fountain pen for Christmas, but I couldn't find any US pen stores that carried it, so I ordered it from a place in Sweden and waited patiently for it to arrive. When I opened it that Christmas, I immediately started using it to draw and discovered that the precise feel of the nib and the perfect balance in my hand were ideal for sketching. (The people in my silly picture were supposed to be a couple of my relatives, but only loosely!) 

I was blown away by the construction of the pen, with its mirror-like sterling silver cap and unique mechanical spring clip, which is handcrafted from solid brass and coated with a highly polished platinum layer, then checked by hand several times to ensure quality. Everything about the pen felt solid, sturdy, and perfect in its precision and functionality.  Every time I used the pen, I enjoyed its unique look and exceptional quality. I wondered why Otto Hutt wasn't more popular, but appreciated the fact that my pen was little known, which made it feel more special.

Otto Hutt is easier to get in the United States now, but there still aren't that many pen stores that carry it, and I was thrilled when I started working at Pen Boutique and saw our Otto Hutt display case. We currently carry five of their lines--Design 03, Design 04, Design 06, Design 07, and Design 08, as well as their complete lineup of inks.  They all reflect a Bauhaus influence, masterful use of fine metal including gold, platinum, and silver, and small design elements that hallmark their attention to detail.

Each pen has a unique six-digit code engraved on the cap and noted in the warranty card, and the fountain pens feature the beautiful and incredibly smooth Otto Hutt nib, which comes in steel or 18 karat gold. When I bought my pen, I decided on the steel nib after reading reviews about how it was anything but your typical hard steel nib and was in fact difficult to distinguish from a typical gold nib. This is true--the striking bi-color plated Otto Hutt steel nib has a bouncy gold nib feel and even offers a little line width variation. It's extremely smooth and quite wet, but also feels precise and has a little bit of "tooth."  The feel is different from any of my other pens, and I really like it!

Steel Nib vs. Gold Nib

For this review, I decided to compare my familiar Otto Hutt steel nib with the 18k gold nib on one of the Design 04 pens in the store. 

Here's a picture I took in the store of the two Otto Hutt nib choices side by side. The 18k one is on the right. I brought home the medium gold nib in the photo and compared it to the medium steel nib I own, using a Diamine Majestic Blue ink cartridge in both.  Otto Hutt fountain pens come with converters and their own Otto Hutt brand ink cartridges (provided under the tray in the box), and can also use any other standard international cartridges.  Also included in the well-designed box are a leather case, silver or microfiber cloth, instruction manual and certificate.

The two nibs are both extremely nice. There is a difference, but I'd say it's more of a preference for feel than of quality. 

Here are two quick Walter Gropius-inspired drawings I did, one with each pen. The gold nib made me draw a little more messy because it was softer and wetter, so my hand felt freer. The steel nib was also very wet, as you can see from the sheen and slight smearing from my hand, but my drawing was a little more controlled and the light lines of the hair were thinner. I enjoyed the experience of both! (All writing samples in this post are on Tomoe River paper.)

Design 04 Variations

My absolute favorite Design 04 pens are the Wave designs--Black Platinum Wave, Black Rose Wave, White Rose Wave, and Blue Platinum Wave, with platinum or rose gold accents.  They are available as fountain pens, rollerball, and ballpoints, but of course I love the fountain pens most of all. I've often thought that if I were to turn into a fountain pen, I'd be a Black Rose Wave.  It's a whimsical thought, but one that pleases me a lot.

I especially love the way the light catches in the three-dimensional guilloché engraving grooves, which vary in depth as they sinuously weave their way through the multi-layered lacquer barrels.  These pens' shafts are coated with palladium or rose gold and then supplemented with layers of lacquer, which are sanded and polished after each application.  Somehow, the thin wave patterns manage to appear simultaneously random and harmonious. It's mesmerizing and incredibly appealing.

Another especially cool variation on Design 04 is the stealthy Black Matte Guilloché, with a subtle texture like the soft and cool feeling of a reptile's skin. This pen's barrel sleeves are given a guilloché pattern in a checked design, which is followed by multiple layers of black lacquer, and finally with high-quality matte lacquer. The fittings, cap and nib are coated with black PVD. This all-black pen has an especially industrial and technical look, but when the light hits its guilloché barrel, I'm transfixed by its beauty.

Otto Hutt describes Design 04 as "a tribute to aesthetic straight lines," and I love its discreet and understated elegance.  At its purest and simplest form, the solid-colored Design 04 variations epitomize the brand's overall aesthetic. Whether polished Black with rose gold or palladium trim, Cornflower blue, Sage green, or Carmine pink, the Design 04 pens are a satisfying balance of perfect functionality and slender, neat, attractive design.

Design 06 - Form and Function

Okay, so I love Otto Hutt, and own a Design 04 pen. But what about Design 06, the model that inspired me to jump on this blog topic? Along with the gold nib to try out, I also bought home one pen in each Design 06 color that we carry--Ash Grey, Ruby Red, Arctic Blue, and Seashell Pink, and chose a mix of two fountain pens, a rollerball, and a ballpoint. Although I had been admiring our other Otto Hutt pens for several months, this model was entirely new for me and I really wanted to play around with it and get to know it.

First of all, the colors! They are quite different from the other Otto Hutt pen colors, but very nice. I love them all and really can't pick a favorite. They all have a sophisticated and slightly industrial feel that I love... even the pink looks cool and astute. I especially like how the metal trim thoughtfully complements each color. The icy Arctic Blue pen's trim is silvery platinum plated, the Ruby Red is a warm gold plate, the Ash Grey's trim is a steely grey PVD, and the soft Seashell Pink has rose gold plating. I kind of want them all!

The sandblasted style texture feels very satisfying in the hand and is a pleasure to hold. It's milled with special diamond tools. I love the way it plays with the light, and how easy it is to get a grip on. Form follows function! The body and cap of the pen are made from solid aluminum, finished with a lacquer coat, so the pen is lighter weight than it looks, and strong. The pens are a nice weight for me--neither light nor overly heavy. They are much heavier than a resin or cellulose pen, but feel well balanced to me both posted and unposted; however, I have a smaller hand and I prefer the unposted weight.

The shapes are a little more curvy and organic than other rectilinear Otto Hutt pens I was familiar with, but they are extremely androgynous in character, especially when capped. They look very modern, almost futuristic.

Design 06 - How Do They Write?

So, how do the Design 06 pens write? Well... beautifully, of course. I was not surprised, but, at the same time, I was surprised by aspects of each one.

First I tried the rollerball, and was astonished by how wet and smooth it was. It looked like I was writing with a fountain pen, minus the shading and line variation. I'd had no idea what color ink the pen would have, and it was crazy how closely it matched the color I had chosen to test the fountain pens, further emphasizing the fountain pen ink illusion.

Next: the handsome grey ballpoint.  Writing with this pen felt comparatively more ordinary, but it was very smooth, too--not sticky feeling like a lot of ballpoints. I also liked the feel of gripping the slightly rough finish. The ballpoint is the only one of the three where you hold the textured part of the pen rather than a smooth metal grip. When I looked more closely at the writing, I was surprised by the line variation in what I had written. Very unusual for a ballpoint pen! Look at the tails on those ys and gs. (Pardon my messy handwriting--I wanted the writing samples to be natural and spontaneous.)

The two fountain pens were pure pleasure to use, of course. Again, both the steel and 18k gold nibs are available for the fountain pens, and I had one of each. I used Otto Hutt brand Ocean Blue ink to dip test both. 

Strength and Balance with Design 07

The coffee brown limited edition Design 07 pens that I got to know after originally writing this article are a very handsome and substantial-feeling model designed by Mark Braun, a German designer with a close affinity to the Bauhaus school.  His focus on manufacturing precision and attention to detail made him a natural fit for Otto Hutt.  Design 07 is Otto Hutt's flagship, and it shows.

Design 07 is perfect for those who love to feel the satisfying weight of a well-constructed metal pen.  The fountain pen version of this model weighs in at 61 grams (even when empty of a cartridge or converter), the rollerball is a hefty 67 grams with refill installed, and the slimmer ballpoint is 48 grams.  A large proportion of the weight in the rollerball and fountain pen is in the cap, and the pen is actually quite comfortable for me to hold when uncapped. Even with the cap posted, the balance is perfect, and the sensation of holding the pen in writing position has a relaxing effect, somewhat like the weight of a heavy blanket.

Design 07's barrel and cap are made from hand-painted lacquer on a platinum-plated brass body, and have a matte texture with a chalkboard feel that I love, along with subtle vertical guilloché grooves that further enhance the feel and the streamlined look with an elegant pinstriped effect. Otto Hutt's distinctive spring clip was further developed for Design 07, and is coated with high-quality brown PVD, along with the other trim and the large, impressive 18-karat gold nib.

Everything about the design and packaging of this pen is harmonious and balanced like a strong German coffee. We also have a few matte black Design 07 pens available, but I love the earthy brown version best because the beautiful texture shows more and gives this pen a very special simultaneous softness and strength. 

Well, I guess the, "HELP! I LOVE these pens!" that I wrote with the gold nib pretty much says it all.  I haven't met an Otto Hutt I don't like.  The motto on the signage in our Otto Hutt display case at the store says, "By individualists. For individualists. With style." I love that. I like to think of myself as an individualist with style. How about you? 

-Laura P.

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