Four Fountain Pens I Carried to Work: Sami Bold, Asvine C2000, Asvine P36 and Santini Vacumatic

Introduction

This month’s work carry turned out to be an unusually eclectic one: four fountain pens, all large, all very different in character. The lineup is the Sami Bold, the Asvine P36, the Santini Vacumatic and the Asvine C2000. There was no deliberate theme here beyond grabbing what felt right for a stretch of ad hoc meetings before term started, but each pen earned its place for a distinct reason: one is the neutral workhorse, one is the fun-nib pen, one is the conversation piece, and one is simply a pleasure to write with.

How This Lineup Was Chosen

The four pens were picked for different jobs. One carries a neutral, dark blue ink for anything that needs to look professional. One holds a bigger ink capacity and a stub nib for expressive writing. One is ornate enough to start conversations in a meeting. And one is a smooth, wet writer that just makes writing enjoyable. That variety is exactly what makes this carry fun: none of them overlap, and each one has a clear role.

Sami Bold

The Sami Bold is a 3D-printed fountain pen, which is a genuinely interesting approach to pen making. It is a big pen with nothing small about it, and it is also very light for its size. The section is thick and comfortable, and this example carries a number 8 titanium broad nib that is smooth and pleasant to use. It is a cartridge-converter filler, which matters because the material is porous: it should not be eyedroppered, so stick with the converter.

For work, this pen holds the neutral role, currently filled with a deep dark blue ink. Sometimes you need to write something that should not be bright yellow or hot pink, and this is the pen for those moments. One caution on titanium nibs: people sometimes treat them as flex nibs, but they are not. They do have some spring, but without the warning you typically get from gold, and they can be sprung. Enjoy the softness, but do not try to flex.

If you want a large, light, distinctive daily writer with a comfortable girthy section, this is an easy recommendation.

Asvine P36

The Asvine P36 is a nicely made piston-filler demonstrator that has a clear, almost Conid-like look. It is a more normally sized pen than the Sami, which is useful: sometimes you do not want to carry something huge into a meeting. This one has a steel stub nib, because it is always fun to carry one pen with a slightly expressive nib for when you want your writing to look a bit special.

Being a demonstrator, it gets noticed. The visible liquid ink in a clear barrel tends to draw questions from colleagues, but it is neutral enough not to be distracting. The piston filler also brings a healthy ink capacity, around 1.5 to 1.6 ml, so if you need to do a lot of writing in a day, this pen will go a long way. The ink on board is a yellow Lamy mango-style shade: not always the easiest to read, but legible enough and very much the fun option in this lineup.

Santini Vacumatic

This is the pen that stops conversations. The Santini Vacumatic is a large, ornate pen made from a beautiful purple marbled material that genuinely looks fancier than everything else in the carry. It takes Santini’s big number 8 nib, made in-house in 14k gold, and it uses an ebonite feed with a vacuum filling system. Most people around a table will not notice the vacuum filler in use, but they will definitely notice the pen itself.

As a writer it is a real joy: the broad 14k nib is smooth and comfortable, and the pen was filled with a Waterman purple ink to match the purple body. If you want one pen in your carry that functions as a genuine conversation piece, this is the one. It is attractive, distinctive, and a very pleasant writer on top of that.

Asvine C2000

The second Asvine of the month, and completely different from the P36. The C2000 is a large pen made from stabilized wood, and it looks striking: this is another pen that stands out and draws questions. It carries a number 8 medium steel nib, and the writing experience is very good, with a smooth, pleasantly wet nib. There is something about the way these pens write that makes them genuinely enjoyable to use.

The ink choice here is a Sheaffer green, which honestly reads more teal than green. It is not a favorite color on its own, but it matches the warm wood body of the pen well, which was the whole point of the pairing. If you want a large, warm, eye-catching daily writer with a smooth wet nib, this one makes a strong case for itself.

Overall Buying Advice

Think about what each pen does before choosing. The Sami Bold suits anyone who wants a big, light, 3D-printed pen with a comfortable section and a smooth titanium broad nib, as long as you remember to fill it with a converter rather than eyedropper it. The Asvine P36 is the practical pick: normal sizing, piston-filler capacity, and a fun stub nib. The Santini Vacumatic is for the person who wants a genuinely ornate writer with an in-house 14k gold nib and a vacuum filler. The Asvine C2000 covers the large, attractive wood-bodied pen with a smooth, wet medium steel nib. Picked together, they make a very balanced four-pen carry.

Conclusion

Four pens, four completely different personalities, and a lot of fun across a month of meetings. Whether you need one striking conversation piece or a full eclectic carry, each of these pens has a clear reason to exist, and that is what makes a lineup like this work.