I’ve done a number of ink reviews as of late, with a few more scheduled in the future. So I thought I’d take a break from those and do a pen review. This is the Ensso Piuma and.. Well, this is certainly new territory for me.

The minimalist Kickstarter pen seems to be something of a trend lately. But just because something’s been done before, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad and should be ignored. In fact, I rather enjoy this pen. I have reviewed another pen in this category before – the Namisu Studio Ebonite which might interest you if this is something that you enjoy.

The Ensso Piuma is a minimalist all metal pen that can be enjoyed in three flavours: aluminium, titanium and brass. I have the brass model for review. Initially the pens were offered on Kickstarter, but you can still catch some of them on Ensso’s website to purchase.

Design

Part of me wants to give in to irony and just simply write the words “minimal” in this section, but I’ll be a bit more useful than that.

There’s something about this pen that I really like in terms of its design. While the Namisu that I have reviewed is also a minimalistic pen, the designs are still different and I like that. Just because they’re minimalistic pens and come from Kickstarter, doesn’t mean they have to be the same. What I prefer about the Ensso Piuma is that it’s more rounded, while the Namisu seemed to bulge in the middle and the finials were conical. Though, both pens do share the clipless design, which can frustrate some people. I did have this roll off my shelf the other day and had I not caught it, it would’ve landed straight on my phone. Due to the weight, it wouldn’t have ended well.

This is no nonsense and very much streamlined.

The cap screws off in just under a fraction of a full turn; the threads are metal on metal. Removing the cap, you see the section. It’s fairly standard, quite a nice size and flares out just before the nib. The threads aren’t uncomfortable or even noticeable which is always a plus.

Nib

Further to the different materials you can have your pen made from, you can also have the pens in three different nib materials: gold, titanium and steel. The nibs are standard Bock nibs (and I have a review here where I go into more detail about Bock nibs, including the titanium one). Bock (and JoWo) are very reliable nibs, I do enjoy some brand specific design on the nib, but I’m really not too fussed. You can also get the nibs in different colours, such as with the black aluminium body you get a black steel nib; this won’t be an option for the gold or titanium, however. Though the gold and titanium (the latter of which is more of a dusty grey colour) will be different colours anyway to the polished steel.

This pen came to me with a broad nib, and it fits the brass model very well in my opinion. This is a damn heavy pen and it seems a fine line would be wasted on it – you want something that’ll leave an impression and this nib does it.

This is helped also due to the fact that it’s so wet and has good flow. I’m not sure if I just lucked out with a very good nib or if Ensso tune their nibs before they’re sent out. I was very impressed.

You can also see how well the feed keeps up during fast writing.

Another thing that really impresses me about this nib is that the reverse writing is really good; better than the other Bock nibs I’ve used, I want to say. Very smooth and you could write a long time as it doesn’t feel dry. I only really use reverse writing very occasionally, but sometimes it’s useful to go down to a finer line – especially with a big nib like this (coming from someone used to Japanese (extra) fine nibs).

Line variation for those of you interested is rather good. This isn’t advertised as a flex nib in any sort of form, so do be careful (be careful anyway, even if it is a flex nib). Naturally, you’ll get more line variation from a gold nib and even more from a titanium. The amount of ink that was put down on the paper was a lot, too. So the feed could definitely keep up with the demand.

Filling

This pen fills using a standard international cartridge or converter. The pens come with a single black cartridge and a Schmidt K5 converter. The K5 converters are my choice of standard international as they seem to be very reliable.

Feel

This pen is heavy. Which may be an understatement. When I first held this I was very surprised, despite already knowing it was brass. Initially I was concerned about long writing sessions with this pen. I was able to handle it, but if I was to handwrite an essay or something I would probably choose to use something a bit lighter, even though I do prefer a bit of heft to my pens.

There’s no need to post it either; the pen sits comfortably in my hands. I’d also be concerned about posting this pen, not just because of the weight, but because it’s metal on metal. You’re likely to get scratches and marks if you do this.

Because it’s brass, you’re going to get the metallic smell on your hands. Unfortunately that’s unavoidable. It does seem to disappear, but this is probably the one thing that would stop me from using this pen regularly, or getting it at all. Which is a shame because I really do enjoy this pen. It is redeemed by the fact that the smell doesn’t linger for too long.

Price

The price of the Ensso Piuma depends on what body material you choose. The brass is $99 (£73~ at time of writing) with the steel nib and you can have a titanium nib at an additional cost of $40 (£30~) which is the same regardless of the body material you choose. Unfortunately I can’t find the gold nibs on Ensso’s website for pricing. But you can see all the prices, including some of their other models on their website. I don’t think the pricing is too steep, though factoring in shipping costs here to the UK and the potential customs fees, it could slowly add up.

Would I buy it?

Umm. Hmm. This really is a difficult one. To look at it one way – I won’t be rushing out to get one of these for myself anytime soon, no. If I had £100 (give or take) to use on pens I might feel more inclined to choose something else – particularly a pen that doesn’t make my hand smell of metal. Though, if I was able to find one at a discount or deal, I might be tempted. But at this price point, while I don’t think it’s unreasonable, just doesn’t do it for me. I probably would keep to a broad nib for the reasons I mentioned above.

Disclaimer: This pen was sent to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation has been provided.