This summer, Esterbrook launched their new line of fountain pens: The Niblet ($175). This pen is definitely designed to compete with the Kaweco Sport and other small, pocketable pens.
I got the Sea Glass model and the color is stunning and definitely reminds me of sea glass, oceans and hints of creamy shell and a little pearl oyster shimmer. This is the color combo that will totally work for my annual Mermaid month next year.
The Good Stuff:
I got the medium nib which is a little too wide for my microscopic handwriting so I may swap out the nib with a finer or extra fine nib in the future. The wide nib sizes available make this a very good option for anyone looking for a small fountain pen but want a unique nib. The standard nib options are extra fine, fine, medium, broad, stub 1.1, extra-fine flex, fine flex. For an up-charge, you can also get a double broad, needlepoint, mini stub, journaler, scribe or fude nib.
Some of the selling points for the Niblet is a full No. 6 nib compared with Kaweco which use a smaller No. 5 (or 5-1/2-ish) sized nib. The Niblet also allows the cap to be screwed to the barrel using the same threads that are used for capping the pen. The little roll stop corn nugget may be how the pen got its name.
The medium nib was smooth and easy to use, even for an overhanded left-handed writer.
The So-so stuff:
The Niblet comes with one cartridge but no converter. I think all fountain over $100 should come with a converter. It costs the manufacturer probably less than $1 to include one, they should be included.
The name. Sigh. I am not a fan of the name Niblet. I cannot get past the association with baby corn and the Jolly Green Giant. There’s so many other diminutive descriptors that could have been used: Bijou, Dainty, Mini, Elf, Petit, Pipsqueak. And that’s just me and a thesaurus and five minutes. Imagine how many better names I could think up with time. I think Bijou is more sophisticated and classy. The Estie Elf is cute and charming. Call me, Kenro, before you name your next pen.
Now, for some of the down sides:
The Niblet is a branded version of the Fine Writing Pencket Fountain Pen ($74.50). Yes, the Niblet is available in different, potentially finer quality resins and a branded Esterbrook No. 6 nib which appears to have a higher quality feed (ebonite maybe?) than the Fine Writing lower priced pen. I’m not sure the branded nib, pretty resin, felt pouch and packaging warrant a $100 mark-up over the Fine Writing Pencket Fountain Pen.
The felt sleeve that ships with the pen is not very high quality. The pumpkin orange color of the sleeve does not coordinate with the Sea Glass pen at all. The edges of the felt are burned and that makes it very scratchy when it touches your hand. Maybe my physical synesthesia is too sensitive but I do not like the sleeve provided. It was not necessary to include it and if leaving it out would have reduced the price a bit, that would have been preferable.
There is an American flag label on the felt sleeve. Yes, Esterbrook is an American company but the pen and the sleeve are unlikely to be made in the US. (Knowing that the Fine Writing Pencket was produced in Taiwan, its definitely misleading. Nowhere else is there indication of where the pen or case was produced so I think its a little misleading and unnecessary.
In the end, its a lovely pen and the nib quality is good and easy to swap with a custom nib if you choose that option. The price though? Eh.
Tools:
- Paper: Odyssey Notebooks A5 Dot Grid 68gsm Tomoe River and Ink Swatching Guidesheets
- Pens: Esterbrook Niblet Sea Glass M Nib ($175)
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Esterbrook (Kenro Idustries) for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Thank you for reviewing the Niblet. When I saw it introduced in an email, I hoped it would be $150 or less. Instead it is the same price as the Estie cartridge/converter pen. I have a Levenger True Writer Sea Glass pen. I looked up Sea Glass ink, and Troublemaker has it in a green tone with interesting shading. Looks like a good match for both of our Sea Glass pens. By the way, Levenger reintroduced the Sea Glass pen, and it is still available at their website. I’m not affiliated, just a fan of the True Writer, which was based on the vintage Esterbrook pens.
I wonder if you got an early release. I just bought one yesterday at the Colorado Pen Show and it has a converter.
I passed on the sea glass swirled resin cousins and got the Raven color. It’s black (duh) with a matte surface that somehow makes feel like it needs to do serious work.
I’m delighted to hear that your pen shipped with a converter. It seems like such a little thing but it definitely makes me grumbly when they aren’t provided.
Good luck with your serious raven work!
I ordered one.. it came with a converter and a cartridge.
I LOVE this little pen!! So far is writing everytime without fuss!
Maybe since I was sent a review pen they skimped on the converter. I’m glad you are loving it. It is a lovely little pen for sure.
I had a similar feeling after handling the Niblet recently – cool little pen but I can’t see where it commands that price. The last round of Art Sports were $125 MSRP and Esterbrook wants $50 more for, as you point out, a different version of a pen someone else already makes.
With discount, I could have gotten mine for $130ish. As I wanted the custom nib and didn’t want to wait six months or however long it may have taken, I paid the premium.
Not everyone is able to go to pen shows or have someone provide a nib for free or a greatly reduced price and so sometimes you pay more. My purchase was a success buy yeah if it had been a failure I would not be a happy camper.
I’ve been happy with my Raven Niblet with a Scribe nib. I think Esterbrook is a premium brand and I also think that prices have been going up for most everyone. My experience so far with the Esterbrook Jowo #6 nibs is that they’re better. And of course a custom nib is not only going to cost more because you’re paying both the nib grinder and Esterbrook.
If you’re unable to go to pen shows and maybe the nib grinder is busy forever, there’s something to be gained from buying the nib from say Esterbrook.