MUJI Aluminum Fountain Pen

I first tried one of these fountain pens a few years ago. I love how, even though being a fine point, the ink just flows without skipping. It is an excellent pen for inking drawings, and it's never given me any troubles. Until I lost, misplaced, or had it stolen. When I couldn't find my pen, I decided to buy another one, which I did and I was VERY happy that it's quality, look and feel and writing experience remain the same. I like how thin this pen is and how the cap slips onto the back of the pen while in use. It's a flat aluminum colored pen and it comes with cartridges filled with black ink. They look to be international standard type so I imagine you could get any color ink refills you'd like, I usually just use black in mine. This is a good beginner's fountain pen because of how easy it is to use, it just works without issue -- there is no "breaking in" or adjusting the nib, of the several I have purchased and used over the years, none have given me issues or need to be adjusted. Writing is comfortable and not a strain, much like writing with a regular pen or pencil. I likely will buy it again.

I have a collection of 20+ fountain pens ranging from $11 to $350 each. This is in the top three quality-wise, and bottom three price-wise (so inexpensive for what it is!). It’s very smooth, it behaves very well on many types of paper, the grip is fantastic (not slippery or stepped like a Pilot Metro), writes very consistently with stock ink (although my favorite ink is Platinum Carbon Black, which you can refill the cartridge with using a syringe), does not leak and is easy to clean if it does, is very giftable, etc. I have had 10+ friends and family members test out all my pens on FP-friendly paper, and this pen almost always falls into their top three as well. I recommend getting a refillable piston-style cartridge for it and a bottle of your favorite ink to prevent wasting the plastic cartridges (and the money needed to keep buying them). Hot tip: Muji’s notebooks are also FP friendly, specifically the tan 184-page “POCKETNOTE” book with the red ribbon (pictured). There is no bleed and very little ghosting even with black ink. Do yourself a favor and get this pen if you are just getting into fountain pens — you will not regret it, and will likely keep coming back to it even as your collection grows :)

The first thing I noticed when preparing to write with the Muji pen is its lightness. At 20 grams it not light for a pen, but lighter than I expected for a metal pen. Then I noticed its clean, simple design. When prepareing to write you can’t help but notice the unique way it posts: the last 4 mm of the cap actually slide into an all but invisible groove in the end of the barrel. The nib is not particularly wet although you couldn’t call it dry. The Muji writes smoothly but does have a bit of what I call “phantom drag”. That happens when the iridium part of the nib is very smooth but the tines are stiff. It’s like writing with the nail with a smooth point. If you write with any pressure the nail moves smoothly but meets resistance because the paper is being pressed down in order for the tip to move forward. Because the resistance is quiet and smooth I call it phantom drag. A more flexible nib would simply bend up to avoid pushing the paper down. I admit that I write with a heavier hand than most – too heavy really. If you write with a light hand you may not notice any drag. I will that say there was minimal flex when I tried the figure 8 test for line variation. I was able to coax out some variation, but not much. Having said all that, I’ve got to add that the pen is really cool. It looks cool (reference MOMA design recognition) and feels cool in the hand. And I love the way the cap posts. Because it clips easily into the pocket, is inexpensive and is stiff enough to make carbon copies, it is a good pen to carry with me most days. For longer writing sessions though I like a pen with a little more size, heft and flex.

Awesome everyday fountain pen for sketching and writing. No flex in the nib, don't try to either, but it's not for calligraphy. It's just a solid, minimalist design that has so far not given me any flow issues. A "wet noodle" of fine tipped nibs and takes other inks well. For about the same price as a Pilot Metro though, the Metropolitan is the better pen. For that matter though, a jinhao fountain pen also looks good, writes well, and only costs like $6, plus has a little flex to the nib for a little bit of what's probably a surprising, welcome spencerian script flair to add to your writing. This is more a workhorse pen you wouldn't feel too bad about losing or breaking for the price point, but being made all aluminum- breaking it (unless it's the nib tines or threading maybe) might be a hard task. I do think $15 and up is still kind of priced too high. I'd own a ton of them if they cost the same as my beloved parallel pens. Muji's do start up their ink flow pretty reliably each time though. Even after being capped for a long time and using different ink types. I've had Noodler's Apache Sunset, Pelican's Black, Diamine Oxblood, and even Maribu Aqua ink in them with no issue so far. It gunked up a bit here and there using Jacques Herbin's Emerald of Chivor, but kinda expected that with all the shimmer, and it still put out ink more reliably than a lot of pointed dip pens would with the Chivor. They're really best to me for sketching, filled with some good old Noodlers Heart of Darkness.

Love the fountain pen, brings back memories from school

The Muji aluminum fountain pen is fairly comfortable in the hand. It is lightweight due to the aluminum construction. This pen is designed to be posted. I’m not really a poster of my caps. I will usually hold the cap in my free hand when writing unless the cap posts deeply and securely. However, the design of the Muji aluminum fountain pen seems to make the writing experience better when the cap is posted. I tend to hold my pens at the very bottom of the section, close to the back end of the nib. Holding the Muji aluminum pen this way is uncomfortable because of the rather sharp step down between the section and where the cap slides into it. When I post the cap, technically making the barrel longer (due to the virtually seamless design of the cap and barrel) I grip the gnarled section a bit higher up, thereby avoiding the sharp step down completely. I really like the functional design of this pen. What I don’t like so much, is the fact that a convertor is not included. However, an ink cartridge is (an international short). Because of the design of the Muji aluminum fountain pen, there are a few crevices that would have to be cleaned every time the pen was filled from a bottle of ink. Or to avoid the messiness, a blunt tipped syringe could be used to fill the converter with ink as needed. Of course, the use of ink cartridges, avoids all the messiness and helps to keep the Muji aluminum fountain pen, looking pristine. I am currently using a Waterman long ink cartridge, which is working quite well and has much more in capacity than an international short. When I use the ink in this cartridge, I will refill it with bottled ink. This is the only cartridge/converter pen I own that I will probably use cartridges only. Bottom line, these are pretty nice pens. UPDATE: The bottom finial collapsed. This disabled the ability to post the cap. I’m not usually a cap poster however, I must admit the design of the Muji aluminum fountain pen really does allow the posted cap to enhance the writing experience. I was able to pop the finial back into place, but in a weekend state. Once I try to post the cap again, the same problem occurs, and I have to pop the finial back in place again. Therefore, I don’t post this pen, like many other fountain pens I own. Unfortunate, because this one is meant to be posted. Hence minus another star. I have pens that cost half of what I paid for this one and I have not encountered any problems with them whatsoever.

This Muji fountain pen is a great everyday carry (EDC) pen as it's a great price for a quality pen that does everything a pen should do and look great while doing it. The knurled grip provides the right amount of grip without being aggressive. The snap function of the cap is secure and satisfying. The caps posts as well, but I do not post my pens so it's not that big of a feature for me personally, but it's good to have a nice aesthetic when posting is desired. The nib is a western fine line, which is good for work or play. The included ink dries quickly and is a standard deep black, but it accepts international standard cartridges so one has a large selection of inks to choose from. Cleaning is easy, just remove the cartridge then run the nib under water until the water is clear, allow to dry for a few hours, and it's ready to go for another round. I highly recommend this pen for someone who's looking for an EDC or wishing to break into fountain pens. There are other options in this price range for starter or EDC pens, but for the money you will be getting a great-looking, slim aluminum fountain pen with a solid nib that has been reliable (with my unit, at least).

FINAL update. What a rollercoaster. After weeks of breaking in this is now my go to pen for drawing. Read all that ⬇️ But now- with the same inks and paper-this pen writes and draws beautifully. Couldn’t ask or want for anything better. Yet another update and downgrade: This is the most inconsistent pen I’ve ever used. No matter what ink or paper- sometimes it writes like a dream -other times it’s a nightmare. No rhyme or reason. I want a return or a replacement. I’ve heard so many good things abt this pen im hoping mine is just defective. Update: maybe this pen needed a little breaking in but now it writes beautifully. I use it mostly for drawing and in a strange but nice way it feels like drawing with a pencil. Thats not a bad thing- but if you want a pen that “flows” and lays down a line effortlessly this this pen doesn’t really do that. (Not with the ink cartridge that came with the pen in any case) First review: Amazon said “expected delivery” Dec 16-31. But it arrived on Dec 8th . Pleasant surprise is an understatement! BUT, I hate to say it’s finicky. At first it wrote like a dream and I was planning on buying another one. But (evn using the ink cartridge supplied by the manufacturer) after about an hour it started skipping and needing a lot of pressure to write. I’ve been cleaning the nib, shaking the pen etc , but it’s just so inconsistent. I want to love it - and I DO when it occasionally does do its thing it’s my dream pen- but I can’t understand why it’s so random. (I’ve used the same ink and paper for hours now and I never know how it’ll perform)