It’s funny, isn’t it? The more we move forward, the more we clamor for the past as well. In my case, that manifests with my fascinations with fountain pens and instant cameras. My newest acquisition has been the Frozen Orange pen from Bungubox, a small stationery store located in Ochanomizu, Tokyo.
Since I’d ordered this pen on a Tuesday, delivery took two days as Bungubox is closed on Wednesdays. Bungubox also offers international shipping for customers outside of Japan, and according to some of my stateside/Canada-based pen friends, shipping is fairly rapid. Of course, now that tariffs have come into play, things may not be quite so fast. If you’re unsure, best practice is always to contact the shop directly at: info@bungubox.shop
Continuing onwards, this particular pen is a collaboration between them and Franklin-Christoph, an established American fountain pen maker. The Frozen Orange is a limited edition Franklin-Christoph Model 03, compatible with Jowo 6 nibs, and has the neat distinction of being a demonstrator converter or eyedropper, depending on what you prefer.
Another neat aspect of this particular pen is that the threads for the caps aren’t located between the section and the body, but at the very end of the section by the nib. If you’re especially sensitive to large steps or threads when using fountain pens, this may be a worthwhile consideration for you. One thing to note is that due to this design, your thumb may rest on the edge of the step while gripping the pen; while this doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I’ve included pictures below to illustrate.
One note of caution is that the silicon grease required for eyedropper-ing the pen is located in the shipping box, not the pen box, so don’t make the mistake I almost did and throw your grease away! You’ll need to apply a dab of said grease to the nib’s housing threads and the barrel threads for your first eyedropper fill/whenever you change inks.
The pen itself comes boxed in a slim cardboard box with the Japanese name of the pen (凍りみかん, lit. “frozen orange”) and a picture of a frozen mikan tastefully drawn on a paper band. The pen comes with the converter pre-installed inside its clear frosted barrel, and your choice of nib. When I ordered, EF and F nibs were already out of stock, but it would appear they’ve restocked all nibs aside from the 1.1 stub. I ordered the broad nib, since I love seeing the properties of my inks.
The cap is a simple translucent acrylic stamped with Franklin-Christoph’s branding, along with their diamond-patterned steel clip. Accentuating all of this is the cap finial, which is a raden (mother-of-pearl) orange slice.
Below, you can see how the broad nib writes, along with comparisons to some other orange inks in my collection. The included Franklin-Christoph broad nib was flawless out of the box: juicy, smooth, and consistent with no tuning required. The paper below is from my Jibun Techo Days planner, with their in-house 52gsm Kokuyo Thin Paper.
One thing to note is that this pen does not include its matching ink, the Mandarin Orange/Mikkabi Mikan ink , so definitely keep that in mind if you’d like to match.
Speaking of said matching ink, Mandarin Orange (English name)/Mikkabi Mikan (Japanese name) is a very pleasant and well-behaved orange with some great shading. Orange inks at times can have a reputation for being on the drier side, but Mandarin Orange flows fantastically and is plenty wet. One thing to note is that Bungubox inks tend to run on the more expensive side, especially if you’re importing them from Japan. While it’s a bit pricey for a 30ml bottle, I’d say the overall quality and consistency of their inks speaks for themselves.
Below, I’ve done some test writing on cream-colored 52gsm Tomoe River paper, with a nib swap to one of my favorite nibs, the Galen Leather Dentist nib. I could gush on and on about the Dentist nib, but we’ll save that for another feature.
And here’s the same writing under direct sunlight from my balcony window:
I’ve had the pleasure of using this pen for about a week now, and it writes excellently with both its stock broad nib and the Galen Leather Dentist nib I have slotted in presently. Eyedropper-ing the pen was quick, easy, and relatively painless. Just make sure to apply that silicon grease to both the nib housing and barrel threads before sealing up the pen! I definitely think going eyedropper is the move to go with this pen; the increased ink capacity makes it a fantastic fit for broader nibs or specialty grinds that chug ink. The frosted barrel also shows off ink beautifully, especially as you use up your fill and reveal more of the texture.
Thus concludes my first fountain pen review! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and please feel free to leave questions or comments below. My language school will be starting up again from tomorrow, but I’m hoping to get another post out in a few days, once my last pad of test paper arrives for swatching tests. I’ll be focusing mostly on limited edition or small brand inks exclusive to Japan for swatch posts, as there seems to be a lack of information online in that particular category.
If you’ve made it this far, please enjoy a brief picture of my younger cat, Byakko, wrestling with the curtain:
Stay tuned for more, and happy writing!
