Hooligan Georgia Custom Fountain Pen No. 273: A One-of-a-Kind Review

Introduction

Some pens are mass produced by the thousands. This one exists exactly once. The pen at hand is number 273 from Hooligan Georgia, the workshop of Tim Cullen, a master craftsman based in Canton, Georgia, about 45 minutes north of Atlanta. Tim specializes in one-of-a-kind custom fountain pens, and he even creates the nibs himself from scratch.

There is no store on his website and no pens for sale. Instead, Tim works directly with each customer to create something unique. His customers are collectively known as Hooligans, a name borrowed from one of his dogs, a Great Dane Pitbull mix named Hooligan. For this pen, the only instruction was the nib size and a preference for blue. Everything else was left to Tim, and the result is a pen that represents his best work.

Design and Materials

The pen is made from vintage blue lapis lazuli material originally from Conway Stewart. Rather than the common crushed-ice look of many resins, this material has a softer flow of different resins within it, giving the blue a deeper and more organic character.

Every component besides the resin was made by Tim himself, with the exception of the feed, which was custom made to his specification. The clip is fashioned from nickel silver and hand engraved with the Hooligan logo. Tim calls it a waterfall clip because of the way it falls off the cap, and it is a genuinely elegant flourish. Perfectionism defines the process here: at one point Tim sent a photo of a finished clip that looked flawless, declared he did not like it, and started over from scratch.

The cap angles up and then straightens for about the last two inches, transitioning into the barrel through a very gentle step. The barrel runs straight for about an inch before tapering at an even rate down to a flat end. The cap removes with about two and a half rotations, and the pen arrives with a certificate of authenticity and detailed documentation on high-quality paper, printed beautifully enough that you could frame it.

Nib and Writing Performance

Under the cap sits what is effectively a number eight nib, custom made by Tim from scratch from continuum, a silver and palladium alloy. Tim numbers his nibs, and this one carries number 31. He is relatively new to nib making but has come a very long way in a short time.

The tipping is applied mostly to the underside, where the nib contacts the paper, which leaves an unusually clean profile when viewed from above. The nib is engraved with the Hooligan logo and paired with a custom dual-channel ebonite feed, so the pen lays down a significant amount of ink. The medium nib here is a very generous medium that writes extremely wet, keeps up easily with fast writing, and is even wetter in reverse writing. It is not intended for flex, but it produces a notably fat line for a medium.

Filling System

The pen uses the Noodler’s 308 cartridge, a system that is genuinely enjoyable to use. The cartridge has a wide mouth and holds a significant amount of ink. One end is sealed and covered by a small cap, which means you can fill a spare cartridge and carry it with you with no risk of leaking.

Combined with the ebonite feed, the system delivers a generous, reliable ink flow and holds a fair amount of ink, which suits a wet writer like this one perfectly.

Ergonomics and Handling

The section is slightly concave, beginning with a small flare before angling down and back up to the cap threads, with a medium step to the barrel. The section length is comfortable whether you grip close to the nib or slightly further back. The pen posts only slightly; it does not backweight the pen, but it makes things a little unwieldy, so it is best used unposted.

In terms of scale, this is a very large pen, sitting comfortably alongside oversized classics like the Santini Giant 8, the Namiki Emperor, and the Pilot Custom 845.

Buying Advice

Hooligan Georgia pens are not inexpensive, and that is fair for a one-of-a-kind creation by a master craftsman. What you receive in return is something built to his exacting standard, where nothing leaves the shop unless Tim is proud of it. If you want a pen made just for you, reaching out to Tim Cullen is thoroughly recommended; what you receive should thrill you for the rest of your life.

Conclusion

Pen number 273 is a remarkable combination of craftsmanship and material: vintage Conway Stewart lapis lazuli, a hand-engraved nickel silver waterfall clip, and a hand-made continuum nib, all created by one person from scratch. For anyone drawn to truly custom fountain pens, Hooligan Georgia represents some of the most personal pen making available.