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The Unsharpen Editorial Team handles writing and curation for Unsharpen.com. This includes writing most articles, writing pen, paper, etc. reviews, and building out the site's data catalog.

You can learn more about the team at the Youtube channel, as well as watch the catalog of over 500 video reviews and guides with over 10 million collective views, which will give you some insight into our pen expertise and our 20+ year history geeking out about pens, pencils, and paper.

Have a question? Reach out and a team member will get back to you.

Best Chinese Fountain Pen of 2022

Wing Sung 3003 Fountain Pen

If you are shopping for a very affordable — as in sub-$30, sub-$20, or even sub-$5 — fountain pen and you want high-end features like screw-on cap, included converter, or piston-filling mechanism then you will almost certainly want a Chinese fountain pen.

These pens have made incredible advances in the last decade and now offer a set of features and a price range that makes them distinct and interesting type of fountain pen unto themselves.

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The Best Retractable Fountain Pens of 2021

If you want a retractable fountain pen, you have to understand that you are diving into a niche within a niche. Only a tiny subset of fountain pens are retractable, so there isn’t as much competition as you’d expect, but this is still a rich and interesting segment of the pen market.

Let’s review today’s top retractable fountain pens.

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Rotring 600 vs Rotring Newton Comparison

Rotring 600 vs Newton

When discussing vintage pens and pencils, the Rotring Newton is often confused with the older — the original — Rotring 600. Both are great pens and mechanical but they are quite alike. Even so, they are distinctly different models and while the Newton echoes the design of the 600 it is not a Rotring 600.

Sorry to say it, but there is no “Rotring Newton 600,” that’s just something people write on Ebay auctions.

Does any of this matter though? Are we just splitting hairs? Or is there a real difference between the Rotring 600 and the Newton models. Let’s find out.

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The Best Fountain Pens Under $50

Kaweco Classic Sport Fountain Pen

If you are looking for a great fountain pen under $50 you are going to have a lot of options… too many in fact! You might feel the pressure to spend more, but you certainly don’t have to if your goal is simply to get a great, highly usable pen.

This article will run through some of our favorite sub-$50 fountain pens sold today. These are pens we’ve tested, owned, and lived with long enough to form an opinion.

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How To Choose An Everyday Fountain Pen (And Some Recommendations)

Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen

Many people see fountain pens as occasional writing instruments, maybe for doing some before-bed journaling or writing a letter, but that doesn’t have to be the case. The right fountain pen can be a great everyday tool, even if it never approaches the no-nonsense functionality of a ballpoint pen.

Continue reading “How To Choose An Everyday Fountain Pen (And Some Recommendations)”