Pen 18111 Fountain Pens: Two 3D-Printed Pens That Punch Above Their Price

Introduction

Some fountain pens stand out because of a nib, a filling system, or a price tag. The pens from Pen 18111 stand out because they look like nothing else on the desk. Made by Yoshi Nakama, a Brooklyn-based artisan who came to the US from Japan in the late 1970s to study fine art, these pens blend 3D-printed resin with cast bronze accents in a way that is instantly recognizable, even without any branding on the pen itself.

The two models covered here, the Ivy Leaf and the Sakura Blossom, are his 3D-printed offerings at $150 each. They are an approachable entry point into his work, which also includes more elaborate inlaid resin creations priced in the $500 to $700 range. One thing worth knowing before buying: Yoshi and his wife are planning a move back to Japan, and he is uncertain whether pen production will continue after the move. If one of these designs speaks to you, it may be worth acting sooner rather than later.

Who Makes These Pens

Yoshi’s background explains a lot about the finished product. He worked for nearly 30 years as a fabricator, building scale models and large fiberglass structures for a well-known artist, and picked up techniques along the way that translate directly into pen making. He bought a wood lathe in 2012 to make bowls and plates, moved on to kit pens, quickly outgrew them, and began creating his own resins and original designs.

The name Pen 18111 comes simply from the address of his house and workshop in Brooklyn. Sales run through his Etsy store, and each pen arrives in a simple cardboard box with a felt pouch and a business card showing a picture of your specific model, a small but genuinely nice touch.

Two Shapes, One Distinctive Texture

Both pens are printed in a UV-curing resin, a material that solidifies under ultraviolet light. Up close you can spot the fine lines left by the 3D-printing process, but rather than cheapening the pen, the wrinkles and crevices create an interesting tactile quality that makes it easy to forget it was printed at all. Of the 3D-printed pens that have passed through our desk, these sit at the very top of the quality range.

The Ivy Leaf is the slightly larger of the two, with flat ends on both the cap and barrel. The Sakura Blossom is a bit shorter with rounded ends and a more tapered barrel, which allows it to post significantly deeper than the Ivy model, so the two end up at nearly the same posted length despite their different unposted sizes.

Design Details That Stand Out

Neither pen carries a clip, but both include a roll stopper that keeps them from rolling off a desk. These roll stops are 3D printed in wax and then cast in bronze, and they pop beautifully against the dark pen material. The Ivy Leaf gets a golden accent paired with a golden nib, while the Sakura Blossom’s silver-toned stopper matches its silver nib. The Ivy’s cap angles up slightly before straightening near the end, and the transition from cap to barrel is very smooth.

The cap twists off in about three-quarters of a rotation to reveal a size 6 stainless steel nib and a plastic feed. The textured resin does an excellent job of keeping your grip secure with minimal effort, and the pen is long enough to use unposted, which is how we prefer it. It does post securely if you like a shorter, lighter balance, and the edge of the cap is smooth, so no discomfort if it touches your hand.

Filling and Everyday Practicality

This is a cartridge-converter pen that accepts standard international cartridges, and a converter is included in the box. Because the barrel is one solid piece with no metal interior parts, the pen should be suitable for eyedropper conversion with the appropriate precautions. That flexibility is a genuine plus at this price, and the simple packaging keeps the focus where it belongs: on the pen itself.

Writing Performance

The stainless steel nib has been tuned very nicely, running smoother than a typical stock nib. Do not expect much line variation, but ink flow is fairly decent, the feed keeps up without issue, and the pen is genuinely pleasant to write with, even at speed. Reverse writing is a little sharp, but it gets the job done.

For the writing sample, Pelikan Edelstein Star Ruby, a pinkish red, worked nicely with the pen’s warm bronze accents. If you are stocking up on ink for a pen like this, the Edelstein bottles are worth noting: shallow but extremely sturdy, with plenty of glass, so they are unlikely to crack if knocked off a desk.

Value and Buying Advice

At $150, both the Ivy Leaf and the Sakura Blossom feel like a reasonable value and offer a decent entry point into Yoshi’s work. These are the highest-quality 3D-printed pens we have tested, and they are an affordable way to get a taste of his craft before considering one of the larger resin creations. If the near-future move to Japan does put production on hold, the current inventory is all there will be for a while.

If You Want Something Even More Special

The inlaid resin creations are where Pen 18111 goes off the charts. Models like Night Sky Sakura feature branches cast in bronze with blossoms laser engraved into the material, then filled with resin so the design becomes one solid piece rather than paint sitting on the surface. Other recent examples include a pink Sakura model that captures the blossom tree beautifully and a Momiji edition with red, yellow, and orange maple leaves inlaid against a darker custom resin.

These resin models sit in the $500 to $700 range, and in our view they are well worth it. Few pens bring a smile to your face every single time you uncap them. For size reference, the 3D-printed models sit comfortably alongside familiar pens like the Lamy Al-Star, the Pilot Vanishing Point, and the TWSBI Diamond 580, so they suit most normal hand sizes.

Conclusion

The Pen 18111 Ivy Leaf and Sakura Blossom are unusual, well-executed pens that deliver genuine artisan character at a mid-range price. The textured finish, bronze roll stoppers, and well-tuned nibs make them easy to recommend to anyone who wants a fountain pen that does not look like everyone else’s. And given the uncertainty around future production, both are worth considering sooner rather than later.