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Where the specimen was made, by whom, and which generation it belongs to.
The metal between the writer and the page — its size, shape, material, and how willingly it bends.
How the pen takes ink, holds it, and releases it under the nib.
What the pen is made of, how it closes, and how light passes through it.
Every measurement in millimetres and grams, against the archive's range.
Designer, year released, the family the pen belongs to, and what came before it.
Warranty, repair channels, the boxed contents, and where the world stocks it.
How it sits in the hand — and the editor's reading of its temperament after a month at the desk.
A pen that hides its engineering inside a barrel that looks, at first, like a curio. The vacuum's shut-off valve is the reason it survives travel; the soft 14k medium is the reason it survives a long letter.
A long-standing favourite of Japanese novelists and English translators — present, by report, at the writing of more than one Akutagawa-shortlisted manuscript.