Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen Review

I’ve admired Retro 51 pens for sometime. However, up until fairly recently, they’ve only made rollerball writers. Their first Tornado fountain pens were rolled out to mixed reviews. When I heard they had improved them, fitting them with smooth Jowo nibs, I knew I had to get one. Because of my love for the Big Apple, I chose to grab a special NYC Skyline Limited Edition some time ago, a pen available only through GoldSpot.com.

Retro 51s seem to be made out of solid aluminum. They feature a quality stainless-steel nib. They are often marked by interesting colors and themes, as with this New York City edition. Check out the photos below. The detail on the pen is quite impressive. It even glows in the dark!

The Retro 51 Fountain Pen takes standard International cartridges or a converter. The cap clearly seals the pen quite well, as I’ve never had a problem getting it to start right up, even after not using it for weeks. My NYC Skyline edition feels great in the hand. I highly recommend it.

Prefer a different theme or something with less pizzazz? There are multiple other options over at Amazon, all at a cost lower than this special edition.