Top Fountain Pens of 2023

I will confess (do you take confessions?) That the Jinhao 9019 was the surprise of the year for me and my most reached for writer. But I think the real winners here Doug are we the viewers of Inkquiring Minds! (No no, gifts are not required 😊)

A great list -as always! I picked up a PF2 a while back, thought the design was intriguing but at first wasn't crazy about it (certainly not for carry) so let it sit in storage (i.e. "time out"). I took it back out ~ 3 months ago, limited it to desk/table top use and now find I reach for it all of the time! I guess it grew on me, too. I also agree with you on the X159 vs. 9019. I was having fun with the X159 (like larger pens) but stopped using it the INSTANT I laid hold of the 9019 and felt how it wrote. I have to hold off on my thoughts on the Gravitas Ultem Vac - rumor has it one will be waiting under the tree for me Christmas morning. I can't wait!

Asvine P20, you say? To the Google!

Thanks Doug…the pen currently in my pocket as I write ( type ) this is as you so apply described in your first review “ the big ass pen 9019 from Jinhao” writes like a champ, # 8 size nib, and a large capacity converter. Love it❤! Cheers from Nova Scotia…MikeR.

Great list!
I suspect that some of your top ten '23 may make it onto my top ten '24 list...
I think I am done buying pens for the year with my recent purchase of two Hong Dian pens; both are the A3 in black. One will be a gift for my brother(along with a pile of HongDian black ink cartridges since he wants as simple a filling method as he can get) with a medium nib. The second one is for me with their "long knife" nib. And a bottle of their blue ink.
The tough part will be waiting to play with my new pen until after I gift the other one. :D
Thanks for the good, quick overview of your top ten and the links to the individual reviews!

My pen of the year has to be the Leonardo Furore because of how it writes and its build. In terms of worth the price, I would pick my Jinhao 82, because it's so affordable and useable in a variety of settings and the nib required very minimal adjustment to write the way I prefer.

I can’t say enough good things about the Asvine pens. Amazing quality for the money. I’d argue the P20 is probably best bang for the buck piston filler and the V126 is the BBFTB vacuum filler. Now I’m wondering who’s next in the #8 nib movement. Will it be Majohn, Asvine, Fuliwen, Kaigelu or Pen BBS?

Great video! I love your list. So far I haven't spent more than $35 on a pen and couldn't be having more fun. Couldn't agree more with your thoghts on Asvine. I have a V126 and it's my favorite pen so far. I have a trio of x159s each with different colored ink for my journaling. I think I'll give away the black one and replace it with the 630 since I use black ink the most. You also convinced me that I need a 9019. I've been on the fence since it came out. Thanks for the tip on the solid color.

Thank you for your review, and for all you do for us over the years. Always look forward to your reviews, especially your "best of" listing. What color is the Leo pen you showed at the end , Caramel????

Great list!

Great list Doug! Good way to start Christmas shopping. Got a Wing Sung 630 last week.

It’s crazy how similar my top ten list is compared to yours. Great inkquiring minds think alike!

I need to get the 630. Hongdian D5 tops my list … I didn’t expect much of it, was curious about it and love it!

Great list! I love my Asvine P20 in Galaxy. I didn't even realize they call it Milky Way.

Great list, professor. I hope 2024 brings you many many more awesome pens to tell us about! Cheers from MB!

i restrain myself to 1 pen a year and your review of the DV has me considering it. i was pretty set on an m800 but that's looking mighty good

Great video- thank you!

Best of the year already? there's a whole month left!

Thank you Doug

SUPER-DUPER! Am majorly envious. I only got a Platinum 22K with an Infinity symbol on lid. It had a glassy smooth with feedback nib so I swapped in the Platinum 22K with 22 symbol's buttery smooth nib. The next FP will be Sailor 21K with EF for sketching. Mostly, I've been buying gel pens as outlines for my watercolors.

If the #1 pen didn't make the list, I was ready to talk major 🤬🤬🤬😁. I love it and I guess the rest of the list is ok too😉.

Great list!

The only pen missing on this list is the Hongdian C1. It is a wicked good hooded nib pen that, while brass, is light and well coated. Too bad you purchased the Wing Sung 630 with the gold nib -- I have the steel nib and it is fantastic. The Jinhao 9019 Dadao is my pick for the year, however. I also loved the x159 but the 9019 is the better value pen. I have not sprung for an Asvine P20 as I have been burned by an earlier Asvine a few years ago. Maybe it is time to get over it.

Your vids are so fun! 😂🩵✌🏽🩵😂

Hi Doug sir, I really liked your clear explanation about Wing Sung 630 and Jinhao 9019 that made to the top pens list and how they are better with X159 in a couple of aspects. Glad that I have 3 of my pens based on your review in top list🙂.. Asvine p20, Jinhao 9019, Wing Sung 630 ( steel nib version)...I think Hongdian N1S was not included in the list though it was a candidate earlier?

I wished you would write the price down for each model on your pad.

Hi Doug. Jim from Madrid, Spain (a New Yorker expat living abroad).
It's been a while since I posted a mssg, though I usually watch your videos (very busy lately making Art... 😁👍).
Great list and picks for 2023.
I have a question, though, that I hope you can help me with...
I have bought already +15 Fountain Pens (FPs) throughout the year... but I always find myself with the same problem...
- "Fountain Pens where the Nib easily dries up" -
All of my Jinhao's have this problem. Even my Lamy Safary, though it is easier to restart with water. This never happens, though, with my TWSBI ECO nor with my Platinum Preppys.
Additionally, I do need a good/large ink reservoir because I use my FPs for writing as well as to create Art, and I need them to be able to work at any given time (when needed depending on the ink they're filled with - colour and type - watersoluble or non-watersoluble and always using ink for FPs only) even if I don't use any one if them individually speaking for over a week (I use FPs every day, but I use the ones that I need for such day). I do my due dilligence in servicing and maintenance on a regular basis (once very 2-3 weeks) and I cannot afford expensive FPs (I wish I could but as an Artist, my budget needs to be stretched to many different materials such as paint, inks, special paper for each medium, brushes, pencils, charcoal, watercolors, gouache, palettes, etc, etc, etc.).
So... my question is double, per say.
1. Witch FP would you recommend that has a big ink capacity (using an <EF>, <F>, <Stub> and/or <mini or full Fude> nibs) where the nib will NOT dry out easily (at least for a week or 2 if possible)?
2. From your list... what's your opinion about the Asvine P20 & V126, as well as for the Pen BBS 495 w/ mini FUDE nib, based on my 2 main parameters (ink drying & price or, also called, BBFTB)?
I know I'm not asking an easy question (actually 2 but totally related) but I hope you can help me out selecting my next purchase(s).
Thank you in advance for your help and Cheers from Sunny Spain!!!
😁👍😎✌

Great, you're going to make me buy even more pens next year, grmbl. Only joking, the V126 is the best pen yet in my fledgling collection (7 so far). I'm going to spend the Xmas holidays studying the individual reviews you made of your top ten and then buy pen no.8 in the new year.

I know you said you do not favor heavy pens.......but this year I have been on a heavy pen bender.....all Diplomats....2 vintage Classics, 2 medium size vintage Attaches....and to top them all ....on a penday sale, I got a new Diplomat Exellence A2...with an EF nib for $88.00.....I did buy the jinhao 9190, but it was a bit too big for me to use, except for short journal entries. Thanks for all your Great Videos!!!

The nib on the Asvine P20 is described as a long knife, but was a Medium in your earlier review. Did you change the nib between reviews, and where did you get the Kaigeul Long Knife nib? Thanks.

I bet that the Hongdian N11 with the “rhombus,” aka “lozenge” pattern would have been on this list if you had gotten it in time. It’s a wonderful writer with perfect balance, weight and comfort in my hand. And it’s beautiful. I got the green, and I bet you choose the green-leaning blue. Ever since I got it, I have found myself reaching for it for routine writing. A true pleasure to use and so beautifully made. I got the fine nib, and it is very smooth with just the right amount of feedback. Taking rapid notes was never so effortless. The only flaw, if it can be considered that, is that it uses a converter, albeit a well-made one. (I hope more pen makers adopt Jinhao 9019 style enormous converters, which makes them comparable to piston- or vacuum-fillers in ink capacity.) I’ve inked my N11 with Diamine Green Black and am loving the results.

Hi what nib is that on the p20? doesnt seem like the stock asvine

Does the Wingsung 630 hold the ink wet when you close it or does it dry after a couple of days like most Chinese pens? I am just tired of cheap pens that dry after a couple of days. My Pelikans may be left there for a month, you open them and you write with no hiccups.

Thanks for yet another top notch video, my friend. I am in the market for a piston filler. Would you say the Asvine P20 is your favorite piston filler overall? I also will buy a 9019 because the x159 I got came with a hopeless nib. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your vidoes and help you give me individually!! God Bless, sir!!🦽🦼🎶🎶🎵

Hi, can you make a video of your favorite fountains pens from your collection ? Maybe top 10 or top 15 . Thank you

The P20 has a serious design flaw. If you firmly post the cap, it locks onto the piston filler knob very snugly. If you twist it to get the cap off, the piston filler cap turns and ink shoot out of the nib all over the place. I gifted this to a close friend at lunch who did this and ink went everywhere including hands and all over the table. This needs to be fixed!!!

Great list!!🫶

I am not a friend of knockoffs or copycats. Even more when they are so obvious. 😒

Again, excellent video. Agree with the ASVINE P20, I too have the Galaxy in <F> and the Amber in <M>. They are both exceptional performers with little difference between the nib sizes. I also have the X159 and 9019. Of the less expensive pens the only one I really want (not need) is the Wing Sung 630. The only nib size I see it offered in is 0.5mm (which I think is <F>, but my Jinhao X159 <F> lays the thickest line of all my half dozen pens). I would indeed like to sample pens in the $300-$600 range, but that's well outside my budget by an order of magnitude and I'm getting 'similar' look and feel from China for $40. And, as I keep saying, not a collector simply an enthusiast. Good work, again.

My p20 has terrible inkflow. I used waterman serenity ink

Great list. Have you tried the 9016? Seems like a thiner 9019 with the same features.

This guy is out of his mind.

Th is was my first time watching your channel and low and behold you reviewed an Asvine that i was looking to buy. Loved the review and you have great penmanship.

How about asvine p20 vs p50?🌍🌍

Thank you Doug. I loved pens and have English listening practice with your videos. I bought Asvine p20 purple red after your review watching.

Do you know that pininfarina PF 2 is made by a car brand pininfarina

Hello ;=) This is amazing all what you share, so i wanted to Thank you ! All this Fun reservoir ^^ I'm catching up :=) I'm experiencing Jinhao line so far, this is already amazing imo.

but do you like deftones doug?