Ashera Aion Olive Wood Fountain Pen Review: Beautiful, Strange, and Hard to Recommend

Introduction

Some pens earn attention through polish and refinement. The Ashera Aion in olive wood earns it by being genuinely unlike anything else. This German-made fountain pen is, without exaggeration, the most unusual fountain pen design we have encountered: a long, wand-like desk pen turned from olive wood, paired with a gold nib and a titanium grip. It is beautiful, it is quirky, and it is also genuinely hard to recommend. This review walks through the good, the bad, and the strange so you can decide whether it belongs on your desk.

Olive Wood and the Story Behind the Material

Ashera is a small German fountain pen brand founded by Marius Visser, built around a clear mission: combine traditional materials like wood with modern components, and do it sustainably. The company plants 250 trees for every pen sold, which is a meaningful commitment for buyers who care about where their stationery comes from.

The wood itself is Olea europaea, or olive wood, one of the oldest cultivated trees in human history. Some living olive trees today are more than a thousand years old. In Greek mythology, Athena gifted the olive tree to Athens, and the wood has carried associations of peace, renewal, and survival ever since. That history shows up in the grain.

And the grain is the strongest argument for this pen. No two olive wood pens can ever be identical: different knots, different patterns, different coloration. This example has generous lighter areas contrasted with darker grain in warm brown and tan tones, sealed under several coats of lacquer that give it real depth. It is a warm, organic, genuinely pretty piece of material.

Design and Build: A Desk Pen Through and Through

Here is where things get complicated. The Aion is enormous. At roughly 160 mm, it is the longest fountain pen we have handled, and it tapers to a point like a wand. It is not made to be carried. There is no practical way to clip it, pocket it, or toss it in a bag. It ships in a decorative box with magnetic clasps and a canoe-shaped cradle, and that tells you everything: this is a desk pen, meant to sit in its cradle and be picked up to sign or write at a stationary workspace.

The cap is another quirk. With only three threads, it unscrews with almost no effort, to the point of flying off unexpectedly. That is arguably intentional for quick desk access, but expect to misplace the cap more than once.

Inside, the hardware is better than the shape suggests: a titanium grip made in Bavaria and a yellow gold nib from Bock. The nib is unadorned and generic-looking, and the gold finish sits somewhat awkwardly against the silvery titanium, but it is easy to replace, which counts for something at this level. The pen weighs about 27 grams, so it feels light in the hand, and it is far too long to even consider posting.

How the Ashera Aion Writes

The Bock gold nib writes the way a Bock nib usually does: smooth enough, precise enough, pleasant enough. Ashera applies an additional finishing and smoothing process, and it shows; the nib itself is genuinely nice to write with. The problem is everything around it.

The titanium grip is extremely slippery, with no ridge or texture between grip and nib, and a noticeable step down from the barrel. Fingers slide. There is nothing tactile to anchor against. For short bursts, signing your name, or quick notes at a desk, it is fine. For longer writing sessions, it becomes tiring, and it is not a pen that invites you to keep coming back.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The Ashera Aion retails for around $938 USD, before tariffs and shipping. At that price you are in serious territory: two Pilot Custom 823s, a Pilot Custom 845, or a Montblanc 146. Against those alternatives, the Aion’s overall feel works against it. The wood is exceptional, but the nib, converter, and grip sections feel like high-quality generic components matched to a beautiful barrel, and the sum reads more like a very well-executed kit pen than a fully integrated flagship.

Who Should Actually Buy It

This is a pen for a very specific buyer: someone absolutely enamored with olive wood, drawn to one-of-a-kind grain patterns, and happy to own a stationary desk object rather than a daily carry writer. If that description fits, the Aion is beautifully made and unlike anything else on the market. It is also available directly from Ashera or from Appelboom Pens if you want to see it through a retailer. For everyone else, there are stronger, more versatile ways to spend this kind of money.

Conclusion

The Ashera Aion in olive wood is a striking, sustainable, genuinely unique object with a pleasant gold nib and a baffling, impractical shape. The slippery titanium grip, loose cap, and generic hardware keep it from justifying its premium price for most writers. Buy it only if the wood and the wand-like desk pen concept genuinely speak to you. Otherwise, the same budget opens far better writing doors.