I have a pretty large collection of fountain pens at this point (around 76 pens!), and I really enjoy having a lot of variety to choose from. However, I have seen a few people online doing this ‘ten pen’ exercise, and thought it would be fun to do – theoretically only of course!

So if I had to choose just ten pens to keep from my collection, which ones would I choose? 

The most obvious thing to do would be just to pick my ten favourites, but I feel like that wouldn’t give me a very well rounded collection. For example, my three Sailor fountain pens are amongst my favourites, but do I really want three of my ten pens to be from the same brand?

I also feel like I’d need a decent mix of writing styles, aesthetics, filling mechanisms and even price points to make a balanced collection. So having put a lot of thought into this, these are the ten pens I would keep:

Platinum 3776 Nice Lavande (Fine)

This pen was the first that came to mind when thinking of which pens I couldn’t part with. This was my first gold nib pen, and is still my favourite pen in my whole collection! It’s my favourite colour – purple – it has rose gold hardware, which I love, and it writes beautifully.

This has been my main journalling pen since the day I got it, so would have to be part of my ten pen collection

Pilot Decimo Violet (Fine)

The Pilot Decimo is easily the smoothest writer in my collection, and I also think this would be essential to my ten pen collection as a note taking pen. The click mechanism just makes it so much more convenient than traditional fountain pens! 

Leonardo Momento Zero Nuvola Lilac (Fine)

A lot of the reason this pen made the cut was simply because I think it’s gorgeous! But it’s also a lovely writer, very well weighted in the hand, and as it’s the only Italian pen in my entire 76 pen collection, I feel like it would be a good pen to have as part of a ten pen collection. 

Benu Talisman Moonstone (Medium)

This pen was another largely aesthetic choice, but I also love how smooth the medium nib on this pen is. Because it writes so broadly (even for a medium nib!) I always find this pen is perfect for experimenting with inks, particularly shimmers, as it goes nicely with the sparkle of the pen! So I feel like this would be a great addition to my theoretical ten pen collection. 

Scribe Pens Unicorn Nugget (Fine)

I wanted to have a pen from an independent maker in my ten pen collection, and this Scribe Pens pen is easily my favourite. It’s also so incredibly colourful that I feel like there’s a lot of ink options you can pair with this pen! 

Esterbook Estie Bubblegum Pink (Medium)

I have two Esterbook Esties, and I feel like they are the most comfortable pens to write with in my entire pen collection, so I knew one would make the cut!

It was a little tough to pick between the Bubblegum Pink and the CoffeeMonsterzCo one, but the Pink just won it, as I like the medium nib better (also, maybe recency bias, as I haven’t had the pen that long!). 

Sailor Pro Gear Smoothie Series Cantaloupe (Fine)

Of my three Sailor pens, there’s no question that this one is my favourite. For one thing, I find the Sailor Pro Gear to be a more comfortable size to write with than the Pro Gear Slim or the 1911, and for another, I think the fine nib on this pen better represents the unique experience of writing with a Sailor gold nib. It’s a perfect example of the pencil-like feedback of a Sailor, and it writes incredibly fine, making it perfect for writing in notebooks with small grids (like Hobonichi).

TWSBI Diamond 580ALR Sunset (Fine)

I have quite a large collection of TWSBI Ecos, and love them all, but if I had to pick just one TWSBI for my ten pen collection, it would be the Diamond 580ALR. This pen has a much more premium feel than the TWSBI Ecos, and seems a lot more robust.

It also has a much bigger ink capacity than any of the pens I’ve picked so far, and is the only piston-filler, so would be a good addition to the ten pen collection. 

Opus 88 Koloro Amber (Medium)

Speaking of huge ink capacities, I’d also choose my Opus 88 Koloro for the ten pen collection. As an eyedropper pen it’s unique amongst the other nine pens, and the medium nib makes it another great pen for experimentation with ink. 

The valve to shut off the ink supply also makes this a good pen for travel, plus it’s sparkly!

Kaweco Sport Cult Pens Exclusive Transparent Silver (Extra Fine)

Another sparkly pen!

I felt like my ten pen collection was missing both a pocket pen, and a lower cost pen that I would be comfortable taking out and about with me. I felt the Kaweco Sport would be perfect for this, and this sparkly transparent silver one is my favourite in my (extensive) collection. 

Interestingly, it’s also the only extra fine nib in this line up, so it also adds some nib variation! 

So those were the ten pens I’d choose if I could only keep ten. Which pens in your collection would you choose?