Worth a Look: the Worther Compact Fountain Pen

[UPDATE 7/27/2021: I reached out to Worther for more information on their nib supplier, after multiple readers questioned the “Iridium Point” stamping and the general implications thereof. Worther got back to me this morning that their nibs are supplied by JoWo, which I find consistent with the general shape of the nib, as well as the writing experience. I also found this writing from no less a source than Richard Binder commenting on JoWo’s use of “Iridium Point Germany” stampings on some of their steel nibs. The nib is slightly smaller than the other #5 Jowo nibs I own, suggesting it is a different size, probably a #4 (as the feed diameter is about 4 mm) that may not be as commonly available here in the US, but Worther did mention that if I wanted a replacement nib unit they have both Medium and Fine available directly.]

I’ve talked in the past about how I tend to shy away from pens that fall into more standard shapes and colorways, and look for more interesting designs. There’s nothing wrong with the old standards - they are popular for a reason - but I’ve always been drawn to designs that are a bit more unique. The problem with these designs, however, is that they often carry a higher price that sets them out of reach, or makes them something that one must wait and plan and budget for. If you fall in love with the Montegrappa Chaos Pen it is unlikely to be affordable as an impulse purchase.

This is why I was quite intrigued when the folks at Pen Heaven reached out to me recently asking if I had heard of Worther, and would I be interested in checking out the Worther Compact Fountain Pen? The design of the pen really intrigued me, and when I saw the relatively low price I decided it was definitely worth checking out.

Worther (actually Wörther, or Woerther if you don’t have access to an umlaut, but I’m going to stick with the spelling that you are liable to find on an English language webstore, because I’d rather be helpful than linguistically accurate) is a family-run manufacturer of writing utensils and accessories, out of Baden-Baden, Germany. They claim to be one of the first firms to use aluminum in their writing instruments, owing to the founder’s background in mechanical engineering and understanding of the benefits of the material. They do make some even less expensive lead holders and ballpoint pens out of colored plastic, however. In fact, when I looked into the brand and saw the Worther Shorty pencils and pens I realized that I have seen this brand before in the art and office supply section of specialty stores. That is fitting, because the Shorty shares a very similar design language with the Compact. Both pens have a a hexagonal facetted barrel and an abbreviated clip that extends directly from the finial. The Compact surpasses the Shorty in a few different areas, however. It’s not just the fact that the Compact is made of aluminum - there’s an aluminum version of the Shorty - the Compact has a spring mechanism for it’s clip built into the plastic piece on it’s finial. And at 132 mm capped, 118 mm uncapped, the pen lives up to it’s “compact” name, but it is still long enough to fit a standard international converter. The barrel and section of the pen are machined from solid pieces of aluminum (as are the metal parts of the cap, for that matter) which allows for the pen to have a nice solid feel in the hand despite the fact that it does not post, although not too heavy as it is aluminum. In addition the plastic parts of the clip mechanism, the cap also features an inner plastic sleeve to keep the nib from drying out, and a small plastic piece at the opening of the cap to facilitate the cap snapping onto the pen barrel when closed.

While the facets of the cap and barrel are the immediate design feature that one notices of the Compact Fountain Pen, the micro-textured section is the secret star of the show. Metal sections, especially thinner metal sections, can be difficult to hang on to, and often slip out of one’s grasp, which is why this micro-texture is a very welcome sight on this pen. The grip section is also a decent length so the step up to the barrel doesn’t get in the while while writing with the pen.

I’ve been unable to determine the manufacturer of the number five nib on this pen [Note: as per the update at the top, I was later able to determine this is actually a JoWo number four nib], but this particular medium nib appears to be the only option that the pen comes in. The nib housing appears to be glued in to the section, but i was able to unscrew it with a little bit of effort, so if one were to determine who the nib manufacturer is and then source a different sized nib unit it doesn’t seem impossible that you could have the option of swapping the nib out for a different one.

The clip of the pen is the fourth machined piece of metal present. It’s easy to skip past it, and consider it just a part of the cap, but with so many other pens featuring thin clips, or folded clips, it is nice to have a clip that feels substantial. There is, however, a noticeable gap between even the widest part of the clip and the barrel of the pen. It will clip to your pocket just fine, but it won’t be clipping to a single sheet of paper.

As I mentioned earlier, this pen has a surprising low price for its stunning looks. Pen Heaven offers the pen for $46, and their free shipping options to the US start at just $100. For comparison sake, even though it isn’t the same kind of pen, the Kaweco AL Sport generally retails for around $80 in the US. The Kaweco is a pocket pen that happens to have a faceted cap, though, whereas the Worther’s facetted barrel and micro-textured grip make for a different experience altogether. If I could have Worther borrow any one design cue from Kaweco, however, I would love to see the Compact Fountain Pen anodized in a variety of different colors. Worther has shown that they can be creative when it comes to colors with the plastic Shorty pens, and I know anodizing a whole different thing, but I think it would be a lot of fun to have this pen in different colors. I also would love to see Worther adapt a different pen in their portfolio, the Spiral, into a fountain pen, with it’s spiraling curved facets machined from aluminum that flow around the barel of the pen. Currently Worther only offers the Spiral as a ballpoint or a mechanical pencil, but I think giving the Compact Fountain Pen the Spiral treatment would be amazing.

All of this to say, the Worther Compact Fountain Pen is an awesome value if you are looking for a fountain pen statement piece that doesn’t break the bank, and I wish that Worther would iterate on it a bit so that I could collect even more of them.

Thank you to Pen Heaven for providing me with this pen in exchange for an honest review.