My Top Ten Pens of 2025

When I was a working reporter, year-end always filled me with dread. Editors, including me after I became one, always commissioned top-ten stories. And nothing sums up reporting’s intellectual laziness like top-ten stories. You want filler content to tide you over while the holidays are still going.

Here I am, doing that very same thing again. Sort of. This time, I am not doing it for any purpose other than to make a list for myself. Of my many new pens acquired in 2025, the ones listed below have attained “staying” status in my collection. I share them with you here in no particular order. If you get a chance, share your favorite pens of the year with me.

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Montblanc 256 (with OB nib)

Between 65 and 75 years old, with an oblique broad nib that fits my writing style perfectly, it’s one of the best pens in my collection and a true joy to write with every day. I love its simplicity, ease of use, and overall design vibe. It was the best $400 I spent in 2025, and it’s clearly one I’m going to keep forever.

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Atelier Lusso’s Carina Hapalua 15 (in vintage celluloid acetate with sapphire-blue resin)

Carina Hapalua 15 is my favorite model from Eric Sands’s Atelier Lusso. Its accent material is Sapphire Blue by The Pensmiths. The trim is subtle stainless steel, finished with an amazing stainless Damascus steel clip.

I love this pen; it checks all the “vintage” boxes for me. I ink it with the Scribe Indigo and use it every chance I get. It features an Aurora 14k Cursive Italic nib by John Mottishaw, and it is now on my list of forever pens. This has been one of the best additions to my collection this year. I am glad Eric was able to find the material and make it for me.

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Hooligan Pens’ Big, Brown, Beautiful Pen

Well, that’s not the name, but let’s run with it, for there is no other way to describe it.

It’s crazy-patterned SEM orange-and-black ebonite, paired with a matching, handmade Mokume Gane waterfall clip. The finial carries a hand-engraved HG logo. It features an HG #8 nib and a matching ebonite section. This is as bespoke as you can get. And it is the handiwork of Tim Cullen, the man behind behind Hooligan Georgia Pens. (More on him to come, so stay tuned.) This pen is very special. The nib, the color, the clip, and the whole body are sublime. Everything on it — the nib, the clip, the pen itself — is made by one man. The only thing that’s mass-produced is the converter for the ink.

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Rockster Pens’ Rascal Honey Noire

The color. The material. The finish. The throwback vibe. This pen totally hits the spot. From the minute I picked it up to write, I have loved how it feels in my hand. Wonderfully comfortable, with girth in a good way. The grip section is so sublime I can go almost ten pages without changing my grip. Not too long. Not too heavy. Easy to use on a daily basis. Ilove the vintage material. It is a great pen for my growing collection of vintage nibs.

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OMAS Blue Royale Paragon

Blue Royale is my favorite color and material, and the Paragon’s design is often imitated but never surpassed. It’s no surprise, then, that the Omas Paragon in Blue Royale celluloid is one of the most beautiful pens in my collection. To top it off, this pen has an oblique medium nib by Mike Masuyama that writes like a dream; it feels as if you are floating on a cloud. I’ve been really enjoying this pen, and it, too, is in my forever collection. The vintage vibe and the writing aresuperb.

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Urushi Studio India’s Butterflies

Vivek Kulkarni, a retired engineer from Pune, India, is quite the urushi artist. I have a handful of his pens, and I find he excels when he combines urushi techniques with Indian motifs. Like this one: butterflies in Maki-e over a backdrop of exquisitely applied Aki-Tamenuri. It is one of the most beautiful pens I own, a subtle reminder of my heritage.

It’s paired with an amazing Waterman oblique nib from the 1950s, a unique object of beauty, and a unique one. I love writing with it. Creating with it gives me an immense sense of calm. It is permanently inked with Octopus Fluids’ Bordeaux ink.

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Leonardo Momento Zero: The Cosmic Shame

Leonardo is by no means my favorite brand. I don’t like that they’re essentially selling a replica of the classic Omas design, and they rip off ideas from smaller makers. I very reluctantly buy their products. This pen is one of those caseswhere I overcame that reluctance. This model is a collaboration with a small retailer, Pen Chalet. I like Pen Chalet as a company, and their collaborations with pen brands.

If I had to keep just one MZ, this would be my pick. It’s a very understated pen that fits my hand so well, and the purple-gray color suits all the inks I like in that hue. It would really belong in my everyday mix. It’s the best bang for the buck.

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Montblanc 149 Origins Edition (with O3B nib)

I am particularly biased toward the Montblanc 149; it was my first and, for a long time, my only “expensive” pen. Back then, no one cared about fountain pens, so I picked one up rather cheaply and wrote with it through the 1990s. The size, the girth of the section, and the extra-fine nib were perfect for me. Over time, I yearned for a different nib and a heavier version of the 149. My prayers were answered with the Montblanc 149 Origins.

The “Origins” model feels better balanced, thanks to the metal piston knob and new internals. It sits very nicely in the crook of my hand, and I find myself writing with it for long sessions. I have it inked with Around The World in 80 Days, Coal Blue. The ink is on the dry side, and the nib is juicy. The whole thing works, especially on the Bank Paper note books I use for my journaling.

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seY Pens’ Cherry Tree Bark (in brown)

Tsugaru-nuri is a traditional Japanese lacquerware technique with a long heritage, dating back to the middle of the Edo period, the 1500s. This is the technique to show off a pattern of cherry tree branches. I was smitten with it from the minute I saw it on seY Pen’s Instagram feed. I liked it so much, because it reminded me of trees that have lost their foliage in winter. They’re my favorite subject whenever I get out into nature with my camera. I pinged Satoru-san, the artist behind seY Pen, and a few days later I had it in my hands.

Made of Japanese ebonite with Urushi lacquer, the pen feels warm and pleasant to the touch. It is bigger than I expected, yet it fits my hand very well. As always, the pen and its aesthetics are only half the story. Equally important is the nib. I paired it with a Franklin-Christoph BB SIG 14k nib, ground by the very talented nib artist Dr. Audrey Matteson, and it’s perfect for all kinds of writing. It’s inked with my all-time favorite reddish-brown, Diamine Ancient Copper.

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Schon Design’s Faceted Pen (in Black Ultem and Blue Titanium)

Last, but not least, is Schon Design’s Faceted Titanium (plus Black Ultem) pen. It is my most admired, if not most-used,pen of the year. It features a Cursive Italic Monoc nib, and Ian Schon brought the nib and pen into perfect harmony for me, finished in a cerulean blue gradient. If you are an X-Files fan like me, then you know the meaning of cerulean blue even better. Fun fact: that is why the original GigaOM logo and business card were cerulean blue. So whenever I feel blue, I know which pen to pick up.

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Final confession: Blue is my favorite color, so it’s no surprise there are many blue hues among my pens. I am making a strong effort to diversify my color palette with deep purples, deep browns, and grays. All with a hint of blue, of course.

December 31, 2025