As someone who works from home and works in the pen world, I am spoiled. Day-to-day, I can use any pen I want and frequently have anywhere from 15-30 pens inked up on my desk to use for meeting notes and other writing tasks. Most people don't have this luxury though, so we are going to look at my favourite picks in both the subtle pens for work and office use and bold pens for work and office use.
Best Fountain Pens for Daily Work & Office Use
Subtle Pens
While these pens may have some more in your face options for the most part they are all fairly toned down and none of them would look out of place in a suit pocket during a meeting or at a business dinner.
Faber-Castell Neo Slim
This pen looks like a hotel pen in disguise which is perfect if you want a fountain pen that no one would ever know was a fountain pen. This pen also has a steel nib which makes it the least expensive pen on the list today. Personally I don’t find a huge difference in steel or gold nibs but if I was worried about colleagues “borrowing” a pen from my desk I would choose steel nibs over gold due to their durability. Luckily, the pen also comes in a few colours and nib sizes meaning you can still express your personality even with a pen that doesn't look like a fountain pen.
Pilot E95S
Some version of this pen has been in the Pilot lineup for 60+ years. Currently offered in nib sizes from extra fine to medium and 2 pen colours, black and burgundy, this pen offers enough options without offering too many options. This pen is incredibly compact making it an easy pen to quickly tuck into a pocket when in the office.
Pilot Decimo & Vanishing Point
The Pilot Decimo is one of my favourite fountain pens of all time due to how it sits in my hand and the satisfying click when you deploy and retract the nib. If you have small hands like me, the Decimo will probably be your preferred model but if you have larger hands or like a heavier pen I would highly recommend the Vanishing Point. Both pens come in a huge variety of colours and Pilot colours tend to lean more pastel than neon making them an excellent choice for the office.
Platinum 3776 Century
A pen with a basic black option but some fantastically fun nibs. With a 3776, you have ultra extra fine, extra fine, soft fine, fine, medium, boad, course, & music as nib options. Platinum does offer the 3776 in a variety of colours and materials including celluloid but personally their gold and black version is my favourite and the one I have. If you want a pen that looks professional and has the overall aesthetic of a Montblanc but at a lower price point, this is where I would be looking.
Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age
This pen or some other black variation of it comes up frequently when I talk to friends who work in traditional office settings. The Homo Sapiens comes in 5 nib sizes from extra fine to 1.3 mm stub and does come in non black variations if that is the style of your office. You have lots of variation to pick from. I don’t have this pen in my lineup currently but I’m sure it will be added to my collection soon due to its popularity and how it feels in my hand.
Bold Pens
These pens offer “in your face” colour and personality while still offering a fantastic writing experience. Several of them have a larger ink capacity making them perfect for the office.
Esterbrook Estie
Normally I have anywhere from 3-5 Esterbrook pens inked up at any given time and as much as I love the JR & Model J, Esties truly have my heart. While Esterbrook does offer 2 subtle Esties, Raven & Ebony Black, they also have an expansive collection of fun colours and fairly frequent limited editions meaning they should always have a colour available you like. The other perk with Esterbrook is nibs. With 14 steel nib sizes & 5 18k gold nib sizes available either stock or via special order, Esterbrook truly has a fantastic selection of nibs for you to choose from making your pen totally customizable.
Leonardo Momento Magico
These pens are piston fillers and have a larger 1.5mL ink capacity making them perfect for the office or work trips where you may not have the ability to easily re-ink your pen. Currently available in 7 nib sizes, 3 trim colours and a variety of pen colours, the Momento Magico is a very customizable pen. And, Leonardo releases new colours a few times a year.
Sailor Pro Gear Slim & Pro Gear
I can’t think of a pen brand that does more annual releases than Sailor, meaning that at any given time they probably have a pen in their lineup suitable for your office. With five nib sizes from extra fine to broad plus two specialty nibs, music & zoom (a nib that can produce both thick and thin strokes depending on the writing angle), Sailor offers the ability to fine tune even your line width with sizes like medium-fine. Both the Pro Gear & Pro Gear Slim normally come in the same colours and nib sizes so the most important thing is picking the pen size that feels right for your hand.
Benu Fountain Pens
If I was a corporate lawyer I don't know if I would daily drive anything with as many sparkles as a BENU. But I think there are some jobs where these pens would make the right kind of splash, like an advertising executive or a school teacher. BENU makes so many fun pens in a kaleidoscope of styles and colours that it is impossible to narrow one down for this list. I think most people could find an “office safe” BENU pen with enough research. All BENU pens can also be eyedropper converted making them a fantastic pen choice if you are writing constantly.
Opus 88 Fountain Pens
The second brand to make the list is OPUS 88. These pens are all eyedropper pens and really the most important thing I’ve found with OPUS 88 pens is that you need to find the one that is comfortable in your hand and you like the look of. Depending on the model the pens come in 3 - 5 nib sizes offering you less variety than some of the other options on the list but I personally really like the pens include shut-off-valves which prevent the eyedropper system from making a mess especially when tossed in a bag, I can deal with minimal nib sizes for a well engineered pen.
Hopefully this blog has given you a good jumping off point for choosing the right pen for you and how you work. No two offices are the same just like how no two fountain pen users are the same but with the right pen, every office can be a fountain pen office.