Senator Windsor reviewed by John Cullen

If all my fountain pens magically disappeared and the insurance company cut
me a check for twenty dollars to purchase a daily user pen that I would be
comfortable with until the big check came through, the twenty dollar pen I
would choose would be the Senator Windsor. And I'd keep it around even
after I rebuilt the collection.

The basic shape of the pen is reminiscient of the Mont Blanc 149. There are
excellent pictures of this pen to be found at Chuck Swishers pen site,
Swisherpens.com. I purchased the black with gold trim. Size-wise, the pen
is about the size of the Parker Sonnet. For those who don't have a Sonnet,
the pen is a tad longer than an Esterbrook full-size J pen but thinner in
diameter. In fact, the pen is about five and a quarter inches long, and
thinner than a Phileas or a Pelikan 200. I guess this one has to go in the
medium to small category, so if you are out for a Pelikan 800 sized pen,
this is not going to be the pen for you.

The plastic is a standard black plastic somewhat like the plastic on the
Cross Solo or Radiance. It does not seem to scratch easily, but in all
honesty the pen is light and I get the feeling that the plastic is not
thick, as the plastic is on the Solo or the True Writer. I'm not really
sure how well this pen would stand up to being dropped or crushed. The cap
band and clip are gold colored. The clip looks like the Pelikan clip.

The steel nib is gold plated and reasonably large. The plastic used to make
the feed looks cheap to me, but the nib screws out pretty much like a
Pelikan nib. The cap unscrews, but to post it you must push it down pretty
hard until is sort of snaps into place. Then it is a bit hard to get off
again! If you don't post the cap, this will not be a problem. The filling
system is a nice smooth piston filler! The piston on mine works smoothly
and the body seems to easily draw and hold a fair amount of ink.

I bought this pen for several reasons. On the discussion group
alt.collecting several people were discussing this pen and how good it was.
I wrote to one person and he replied that he thought the pen wrote better
than his Pelikan 200! Surprised, I started looking around. Deutschepens
and Swisherpens both carry the Windsor for seventeen to twenty dollars.
There are several different colors and a nice looking transparent blue
model. I ordered mine through Swisher pens.

Mine arrived from Swisherpens without a box. It was double boxed and
wrapped inside with bubble wrap, so fear not if you plan to order anything
from Swisherpens. Swisherpens does things right! But be aware that there
is no box or explanation of warranty. I pulled it out and ran the piston
down and stuck it in a bottle of Private Reserve blue. The pen filled
easily and then came the moment of truth. Would this twenty dollar, light
weight, plastic pen really write better than my Pelikan?

The short answer is "Yes." This is a very smooth writing pen! I was
pleasantly surprised. The pen only comes in medium, and it is a lean
medium, somewhat like my Aurora Ipsilon medium. The line is pleasant but
not overly wet, drier and slightly thinner than my Phileas' line.

The second reason I bought the pen was to fill it with Private Reserve inks
that I didn't want in my expensive pens. Now I like the pen so much I don't
want to risk staining it either!

The Windsor is a really good buy, and while it clearly is a cheaper pen, it
starts up pretty much every time and writes a nice smooth line while giving
you the pleasure and fun of a piston filler. I don't know if this one will
last as long as my Pelikan 200 has lasted. I've used that 200 on and off
for ten years now and it is still going strong thanks to a shot of silicone
spray--and then a quick wipe and multiple flushes with water--to lube up
what had become a sticky piston after I stained the inside of the pen with
several tanks of PR Candy Apple Red.

So if you are one of those people on the lookout for a nice, cheap pen that
writes very smoothly, and if you don't mind a light and somewhat thin pen,
you can now get your pen for about twenty bucks.

This would also be a good pen for a careful student you wanted to get
started with pens, though it probably isn't tough enough to be tossed around
in a fifteen year old's backpack. But think about it this way. I couldn't
be any more fragile than a Mont Blanc!

I recommend the pen highly with the few qualifications mentioned above. In
fact, I plan to order another one to see how the colors are on the gray
marble model.

By the way, if the insurance company sent me a check to buy one fancy
celluloid pen with a gold nib, I would purchase a Namiki Impressions. I
just got one of those too, and it is truly a wonderful and beautiful pen
with a great nib. And yet, I spent the morning writing pleasantly with the
Windsor. My wife says I am sick, but some of you will understand.

Submit your own review -- email it to jmorgan@gmail.com