Ferris Wheel Press Bijou Lord of the Rings Ringbearer Fountain Pen Review

Introduction

The Bijou Ringbearer is Ferris Wheel Press’s officially licensed Lord of the Rings fountain pen, tied to the movie franchise rather than the books. It arrives as a complete fountain pen and ink set aimed squarely at fans of the films, and after extended use, it turns out to be more than a novelty: it is a genuinely pleasant writer with thoughtful detail work, though the price gives some pause.

First Impressions and Packaging

The presentation is one of the strongest parts of the set. The outer cardboard sleeve carries the original Lord of the Rings logo with tasteful gold embossing, along with the Frodo quote “I will take the ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way.” The inner box has raised grooves and a genuinely elevated feel, plus bilingual labeling reflecting the company’s Canadian roots.

Inside you get the pen itself, a converter, an extra calligraphy nib unit, and a 28 ml bottle of Verdant Voyage shimmer ink, a water-based ink compatible with all fountain pens, brushes, and dip pens. It is a complete kit: two nibs, ink, and converter mean you can ink up and start writing immediately, and the 28 ml bottle is enough for multiple fills rather than a token sample vial.

Design and Details

The pen is sized similarly to a Pilot Metropolitan, roughly the same length but slightly skinnier, at 143.7 mm capped and 24.5 g. The finish is a moss green snowfall lacquer, a process developed in-house, with subtle gold specks scattered through it. From a distance it reads as a solid colored pen; up close, the specks add real depth.

The standout design element is the One Ring used as the cap’s center band, closely modeled on the shape of the ring in the films. The engraved details on the barrel and section reference the story: the ring on a chain as Frodo wears it, the inscription from the sword Sting, and the leaf-shaped elven brooch given in Lothlorien. Importantly, none of it feels gaudy. The engravings are only visible up close and do not distract from the pen’s overall look.

There is no clip and no clip option. The cap top is finished in the same lacquer, the brass grip feels solid in hand, and the barrel tapers nicely toward the end. It posts securely if you like posting, though with a lacquer finish that is a matter of personal caution.

Writing Performance

The pre-installed number five steel nib is rated at 0.55 mm and writes like a pleasant fine-medium. It is a smooth, consistent writer with a well-balanced wetness: not too dry, not too wet, with a nice round line and no hard starts or skips. Even after three weeks unused with no priming, it started straight away, which speaks well of the cap seal.

The paired shimmer ink needs shaking before filling to disperse the particles, and the green shade genuinely suits the Shire theme. While the nib is not advertised as flexible, a small amount of line variation can be coaxed out with pressure.

The second nib is the Tengwar calligraphy nib, an upturned fude-style nib meant for script work. It produces a very broad, wet line, and changing the pen angle alters the line width. Swapping nibs is simple: the unit just screws out. For everyday writing, though, the fude nib makes handwriting very large, so it is more of a playful extra than a daily driver.

What Could Be Better

The main reservation is price. At 280 Canadian dollars for a pen with a steel nib, it is expensive for what it is. That price point is where many buyers start expecting a gold nib, and a solid gold nib option in the future would be a welcome addition. The counterargument is that you do get two very different writing modes with the two nibs, plus a converter and a bottle of ink, which some far more expensive pens do not even include. As a licensed collector piece, the pricing is understandable even if it is not cheap.

Buying Advice

This is an easy recommendation for Lord of the Rings fans who actually want to use their pens rather than shelve them. The build quality, lacquer work, and writing performance hold up on their own merits, and the complete set means no extra purchases are needed. If you are purely price-driven and want a workhorse writer, more conventional options will serve you better for less. But if the theme speaks to you and you want a pen with real attention to detail, this one earns its place.

Conclusion

The Ferris Wheel Press Bijou Ringbearer succeeds because the thematic details are well chosen rather than tacked on, the lacquer work rivals the best in the metal-pen category, and the standard steel nib is a smooth, reliable everyday writer. It is not a cheap set, but it is a complete, well-designed one that does the fundamental job of a fountain pen very well.