Epitome Bespoke Fountain Pen Review: A Unique Hooded Nib With One Real Flaw

Introduction

The Epitome Bespoke arrives with an interesting backstory. Epitome is a small pen company founded by a Wisconsin-based entrepreneur who originally hails from Mumbai, where the pens are manufactured. The company has been selling in India for a while and is now working to establish a presence in the U.S. and international markets. On this site, an earlier pen from the same maker was not a good experience at all, so the Bespoke had real work to do.

At $89, the Bespoke is a cartridge-converter pen in highly polished acrylic, available in four colors: green, red, black, and blue. The green and red use a crushed acrylic look, while the black and blue are more swirled and pearlescent. This review covers the blue model. The short version: it is a genuinely interesting pen with a unique design, solid performance once inked, and one significant flaw around the nib that buyers should understand before committing.

Design and Materials

The Bespoke is a medium-sized pen made from highly polished acrylic. The cap top is rounded and transitions into a practical clip that handles materials of varying thicknesses well. One of the pen’s two distinct design elements is the angled edge at the end of the cap. There is no band or exterior branding anywhere on the pen, and the long edge of the angled cap sits rotated 45 degrees so it rests on one side of the barrel rather than aligned with the clip. That off-axis choice goes against the obvious design solution and gives the pen a genuinely distinct character. The barrel is straight for about an inch before tapering to a rounded end, and the cap twists off in two and a half rotations.

The acrylic itself deserves specific praise. In photographs the blue can look a little flat, but when light hits the material directly there is a fair amount of chatoyance, a shimmering depth that is noticeably better in person. The section is another strong point: it begins with an angled edge, rises slightly before the threads, and is long enough to accommodate a variety of grip styles comfortably. The threads are not sharp or uncomfortable even if your fingers rest on them.

The Hooded Nib Issue: Ink Where You Do Not Want It

The second design element is the semi-hooded nib, and this is the main thing to weigh before buying. The pen uses a number six Jowo nib, available in fine, medium, or broad, with a Kanwrite nib option also available. The hood looks cool and is unusual at this price, but it creates a gap around the nib that causes real problems. When you dip the pen into bottled ink, ink tends to collect in that crevice. If you do not work a tissue in there to clear it, that excess ink will leak out onto your page as you write.

The flaw is demonstrated clearly in practice: after dipping, ink sits in the little cavern around the nib, and simply turning the pen over can make it spill out onto whatever is underneath. It is a classic case of form over function. Once the excess ink is cleared away, the pen performs well, but if you plan to use bottled ink regularly, expect this extra cleanup step every time.

Everyday Usability

Beyond the nib issue, the Bespoke is easy to live with. It is long enough to use unposted, and the cap does post securely, though the angled cap edge can feel a little sharp against the hand in certain orientations. That means thinking about cap alignment when posting, which pushes most users toward unposted use.

The pen takes standard international cartridges, and a converter is included. With the solid barrel construction and lack of internal metal parts, an eyedropper conversion may be possible, though this has not been tested. Anyone attempting it should consider silicone grease, possibly an O-ring, and a water test first, and should verify the seal around the nib.

Sizing and Comparisons

The Bespoke fits the medium-sized pen category. Side by side, it compares sensibly with common reference pens: it pairs closely with a Lamy Al-Star, a TWSBI Diamond 580, and a Pilot Metropolitan, and sits comfortably among those in both capped and uncapped form. Seeing it in direct light also confirms what photos undersell: the chatoyance in the acrylic really kicks up a notch when the material catches a bright source.

Writing Performance

Once the ink crevice is dealt with, the writing experience is pleasant. The medium stainless steel Jowo nib is fairly smooth, ink flow is decent for a medium, and the feed keeps up just fine during fast writing. There is not a lot of line variation, and reverse writing is a little sharp, but it gets the job done. Epitome also produces its own inks, a jade green and a rose red, though those are currently only available in the Indian market.

Buying Advice

At $89, the price feels appropriate and reasonable for what you get: well-considered construction, a unique look, and good everyday performance. Epitome sells through its website for domestic Indian orders and through an Etsy store for international orders, so buyers outside India should plan to use the latter.

The honest framing is this: for a relatively new pen company still early in its design journey, there is a lot to like here, and the hooded nib gap is the kind of thing that future revisions could fix. If you write mostly from cartridges and value a distinctive design, the Bespoke is easy to recommend. If bottled ink is your daily ritual, be prepared to keep a tissue handy or think twice.

Conclusion

The Epitome Bespoke mostly redeems the maker’s earlier showing. It is well constructed, reasonably priced, writes well once set up, and brings a genuinely unique hooded-nib design to the table. The ink trap around the nib is a real and recurring annoyance, not a dealbreaker, and it is worth knowing exactly what you are signing up for. For anyone drawn to its unusual look and willing to work around one flaw, the Bespoke is an interesting and largely rewarding pen.