ellington pen unboxing + review

LINK: ellington pen unboxing + review

An affiliate manager reached out to me, asking if I’d like to try out a Ellington fountain pen and in return, I would post my honest review of the product. I looked on their website to see if it was legitimate and if it would be worth my while. Years ago, I used to PR for small stationery shops so this was kinda up my alley.

My interest was piqued after checking out multiple websites and YouTube. I wrote back to the affiliate manager agreeing to the conditions. We exchanged information: which nib I preferred and my mailing address. A couple of days later, my package arrived. I haven’t had time to write my review till now.

Full transparency: I’m a fountain pen newbie. I have limited experience with these types of pens. I once borrowed my dad’s fountain pen when I was in junior high. I found out quickly how they could leak and smear all over the place. Another instance was a gift from a friend, when we met at a stationery event years ago. I used the hell out of it till until I stopped journaling.

This was the outside box.

This is the inside box.

I received the Midnight Rose, it has a matte black stainless steel barrel with brass trim and clip that look almost like rose gold. Overall, it appears pretty and isn’t too heavy. I chose the fine nib (0.4-0.5 mm) because I like writing with smaller font.

It comes with three cartridges (two black and one blue) and a converter inside for future bottled-ink use. It also comes with a year international warranty, which I think is nice. It’s designed in London and assembled in China.

It’s so pretty…

The nib is engraved with the Ellington “E”, which I think elevates the piece.

I watched a couple of quick YouTube videos to make sure I was popping in the cartridges correctly. It was easy to click into place and as soon as I started writing, the ink was flowing.

I wrote in cursive.

The nib was buttery smooth with zero scratch, even on the first stroke. The ink flowed consistently and there was no skipping or ugly blots on my hands or pages.

I also refuse to write posted (with the cap on) because the pen gets top-heavy otherwise.

I wrote in print.

Don’t judge. I hold the pen resting on my fourth (ring) finger instead of the classic tripod. I just feel like it’s more sturdy and stable when I grip pens or pencils in that manner.

I tested it on my every day notepad by Papier and in my Hobonichi Techo 2026 A6 (Sanzen Tomoe River S 52 gsm paper). I wrote my plans for the day in my Hobo to see if there was any bleeding of the ink.

On my Hobo, there was no feathering or shading. It did however bleed a bit when I wrote over marker ink but that’s because of the marker solvent. I should have let it dry a bit more beforehand.

After a couple of days of using the pen, I can say that overall it is an 8.5 out of 10. It’s a great starter every day fountain pen and I love that it comes fully loaded with the cartridges and converter. It looks beautiful and writes like a dream. It does retail for almost $50 and up, which can seem a bit steep for a fountain pen especially in this economy.

I’ll keep using it daily and see how it holds up over time. If anything changes, I’ll write an updated review on my blog.