Last week I was contacted by Alizza, from Ellington Pens. She had read my post about traveling with pens and she wanted to know if I would be interested in reviewing one of their fountain pens. If you follow this blog you know there is no way I would say no to a free pen. Thankfully she encouraged me to do as honest of a review as I could, which I will attempt to do here.
The pen arrived on Saturday.
Their web site says – “Ellington Pens, Luxury fountain pens without the premium price tag.” The packaging is quite nice and similar in quality to a number of other pens I have bought. If you gave it as a gift the recipient would easily think it was high quality.
It came with three universal cartridges, these are easy to find. It also had a converter which is of course important for me. I filled it with Platinum Carbon ink, this is my go to ink for sketching as it is the best waterproof ink out there. This way I could try it for both writing and sketching. Alizza sent me a Fine nib as I requested. The line it produced was comparable to my TWSBI, the pen I use for ink and watercolor. The TWSBI is at a similar price point so it seemed like a far comparison.
The first thing I noticed when I started writing was that it was quite smooth, similar to a Scrivner pen that I have. Just a note about smooth or not. Some writers actually prefer a pen that has a touch of scratchy feel to it, some like smooth, so it is a personal preference. The Ellington is quite smooth. This is a function of the nib and it is also influenced by the brand of ink.
In my thinking there are three categories of pens: writing pens, sketching pens, and pens that do both. The Ellington easily passed the writing pen test, it is a delight to write with, especially for someone like me who writes in cursive. I did notice that it required a bit more pressure, however that may be simply because it is new and fountain pens do take a bit of time to break in.
Next I did a quick, very simple sketch, on the same smooth paper I was writing on.
One thing that may mean that this is more of a writing pen than a sketching pen for me is that it skipped when I did fast lines with light pressure. I tried it a few times on different paper with the same result so I did a comparison with the TWSBI, attempting to use the same speed and pressure with each pen.
I then changed the ink to Diamine’s Writers Blood ink. Diamine is an old UK producer of fine ink. Here are the swatches as a result of the test.
On the left is the Ellington and the TWSBI, both with Platinum Carbon ink. Then the Ellington after I changed the ink. So at this stage it seems the ink made the difference. I may try the Platinum back in the Ellington at some future date and see if time makes a difference.
So what is my conclusion? The Ellington is a fine pen, it is a pleasure to write with, and may one day even be used for sketching. I am sure I will use it quite regularly. It does measure up to their motto of “luxury fountain pens without the premium price tag.“
If you are new to fountain pens this would be such a good place to start, and when you go to their website you will find that they have some beautiful pens to try. You can also find the link on the Ellington Pens page on this site.
Since we are also in a season of gift giving I can easily recommend Ellington Pens as a gift you could proudly give.
I have attempted to be completely honest in my thoughts here. As part of the review they allow me to offer anyone who buys through the link on my site and use the code word TERRY a 20% discount, and yes I do get a bit of remuneration, so thank you in advance if you do acquire an Ellington Pen.
theTravelsketcher 
Lovely writing style 😀
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Hi Terry, I’ve purchased several Ellington pens. The first one was the Urban Hunter. I fell in love and proceeded to buy more: Alpine Rose – still in the box because I purchased it by mistake instaed of the Ivory Suede, which is my favourite for journaling and then the Silver Sonata which I gave to my granddaughter. Then, I wanted one specifically for sketching, so I snagged the Black Stealth which I outfited with their Bent Nib a few weeks later. Of course when they released their pocket size versions, I bought one, the Emerald Sterling. Just a couple months ago, I purchased a Bent Nib for it for urban sketching.
Needless to say, I love these pens – the size, the weight, the ink flow. I enjoy a “scratchy nib” but I love the smoothnes of the Ellington nibs. Every time, I get an email with some special offer/discount, I hop over to their website and salivate over all their juicy colours. Sure I am tempted to buy more but I’ve been able to resist the temptation, so far.
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Thanks so much. I didn’t know they had bent nibs, will check it out.
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Cheryl, what ink do you use? I most always use Platinum Carbon black, and the Ellington was the only pen I have that skipped with that ink.
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Terry, I use Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink in my Ellington pens. However, a few months ago, I filled the Stealth with DeAtramentis Document blue gray ink. I’ve had no issue with skipping with any of the pens or either of those inks.
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DeAtraments seems to be a second favorite with most Urban Sketchers. For me only Platinum Carbon is waterproof enough to use with watercolor. I have had it for many years. So far i am quite happy Ellington as a writing pen, I have three fuse pens as well. Thanks for all your thoughts, good to have dialogue.
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I have a bottle of Platinum Carbon which I use to refill my Platinum Carbon Pen. I think I also have it in one of my Sailor Fude pens – the Bamboo(green) one and another pen. I can’t recall which one though. Too many fountin pens I guess. The ink is wonderful – very consistent, not too wet and dries quickly.
Yes. Yes. Lovely chat.
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Interesting – I have a relative who collects and repairs fountain pens – must send this on to him.
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Thanks, so much.
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I do wish that more people would adopt the fountain pen. My writing is atrocious with a ballpoint and when I write with a fountain, I find myself just needing to take care with my writing. I learnt to use them as a boy, but I do worry that it is becoming a dying art in these modern times with Emails etc. So please be a friend with a fountain pen…
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Thankfully in my circle fountain pens are the most used pens. What I do know is that cursive is dying, it is like a secret code only us old folks can read. I even found a sight where they want volunteers t translate cursive documents.
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You’re joking!!!! We learnt Italic script at school, taught by Mr Lorimer the Latin Master
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Thanks for this post Terry. And also, belated congratulations on your thoughtful wedding anniversary post.
Just to add, my brother discovered Ellington pens before I had, and surprised me with a gift of a royal blue version, in the mail. I do appreciate the writing experience with it.
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Mine is The Nautilus.
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Ellington was new for me as well, a pleasant surprise.
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Well written review. It’s obvious you know pens!
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I have too many, find I end up using the same few, so I am on a ban of pen buying. Thanks so much.
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