Cleo Skribent Skribent featured

Cleo Skribent ‘Skribent’ Fountain Pen Review

9 May 2018 By ian

The Skribent is Cleo Skribent’s premium pen. It comes with an 18k gold nib and a premium price tag.

This pen has been lent to the United Inkdom team by Write Here. Thank you to Write Here for their generosity. These are my honest opinions.

Price: £299
Filling method: cartridge/converter
Barrel options: black with gold trim (this one), black with platinum trim, blue with platinum trim
Nib options: 18k gold in fine, medium or broad

The Skribent has gone all-in on the classic look. From the side, it looks like many other pens. It’s slim, with a gold tip to the barrel and a gold band at the join between the barrel and section. It’s far from original but it’s done very well. It’s a pen that would be at home in a business setting.

Cleo Skribent Skribent in hand

There’s a gold ring near the top of the barrel which, to my eyes, makes me think that the pen wanted to be a piston filler. Perhaps I think this because Cleo Skribent’s lower priced pens offer this as an option. However, it uses a standard international converter. The included converter is of good quality. I’m not someone who thinks expensive pens shouldn’t use converters but I know it’ll put some people off. It would be nice to see piston filling as an option and perhaps that will happen in the future.

Cleo Skribent Skribent undone

The cap screws to close and pushes on to post, which it does securely.

Cleo Skribent Skribent posted

The clip is great. It’s functional (although there’s not a lot of give) but the design is lovely. The interleaving gold strips look great and are in keeping with the classic look while adding some additional flair.

Cleo Skribent Skribent clip

Likewise, the Cleo Skribent logo on the end of the cap is very well done. The inset coloured segments seem very luxurious.

Cleo Skribent Skribent cap end

The 18k medium gold nib on my sample is gorgeous. It looks good and it writes beautifully. It’s firm with just a touch of that gold bounce. The tip moves smoothly across the paper. The flow is good, putting enough ink on the page to let inks show off but without being a hose.

Some pens wow you when you first see them. For me, the Skribent is not one of those pens. However, the longer I spent with this pen the more I came to appreciate it. It’s well made and the small details all add up to make a very high quality pen. It doesn’t hurt at all that it’s so lovely to write with. It isn’t a pen I would buy myself; for this money, I want something with a little more originality, but it’s a good pen that just about justifies its price.

Cleo Skribent Skribent resting on cap

Pros

Excellent nib
Good little touches

Cons

Quite a safe design (which may be a pro, if that’s what you’re after)