Elbwood - The Hanseatic Penmaker

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Elbwood - The Hanseatic Penmaker

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Frank Pressentin ist Künstler & Handwerker. In seiner Hamburger Atelier-Werkstatt entstehen Schreibge

individuell hangefertigte Schreibinstrumente / bespoke writing instruments, made by hand

18/10/2026

Isn't it satisfying to watch a machine adjusted entirely by hand?
The machines in my atelier are old, precise and mechanically analog, controlled by hand, not digitally.

I always work from solid material, adjusting the design directly on the lathe as it runs. That transfers something of my own hand into the piece, much like a sculptor works stone. It's also why no two pieces ever really turn out the same, which, to me, is the only way to make something truly unique.

This one is part of THE COMMANDER PEN, made from a Royal Navy sextant. If you want to watch the whole process, the full video is on our YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/yhIU9mS3xb8?si=waTgPvtlEMwoM7Go

15/10/2026

The form of the ELBWOOD LONGCAP is reduced to its essentials: a simple cylinder that gives space to the material and directs attention to surface, proportion and presence.

Closed, it measures 145 mm, opening to 136 mm at the nib, with a 13 mm barrel diameter narrowing to 11.4 mm at the grip.
Length, diameter and weight are carefully balanced to create a feeling of calm, both visually and in the hand.

The ribbed grip section remains hidden beneath the long cap until the writing instrument is opened. The 0.5 mm deep grooves are precisely cut using a specialized knurling tool, kept out of sight until the pen is in use.

The precise three start thread allows the cap to be secured in little more than a single turn, while remaining fully integrated into the overall form, without showing itself as a technical detail.

13/10/2026

Q&A with the Penmaker No.6

Frank explains how you find the perfect nib size for your fountain pen. ELBWOOD has 6 sizes of solid gold JoWo nibs to choose from, so the decision can be quite hard.

Do you have any questions you want Frank to answer? Please leave them in the comments.

12/10/2026

A fountain pen deserves protection close at hand. This is where utility and craftsmanship come together, where everyday use becomes part of the ritual.

Maurice Bock of makes every one of these pouches entirely by hand, the same way he makes pens alongside Frank in the atelier.
That's exactly why we can't offer them in our shop: there's no way to make them at scale, and we don't want to change that by outsourcing the work.

Instead, they go to the people who've been with us the longest, collectors and customers who've already built a collection of ELBWOOD pieces, as a quiet way of saying thank you.

11/10/2026

THE LIFE PEN was commissioned by a family for someone they love, a woman going through breast cancer treatment who has always kept a journal close by.
They wanted her to have more than a pen, something to carry through that time. She chose Thuja burl for the barrel, wood known as the tree of life, valued for its resilience and for grain that only grows more distinct over the years.

This reel follows part of how that barrel took shape: Frank at the lathe, drilling into the burl to hollow it, working slowly to avoid disturbing the grain pattern already visible in the raw wood. Thuja burl can be unpredictable at this stage, dense in places, softer in others, which is part of why this step is done by feel rather than on autopilot.

By the end, the barrel meets its cap and grip, made from silver, and the finished LONGCAP is in Frank's hands, checked from every angle before it will find its home.

The full production film, about 20 minutes, is on our YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/AbxrZpTWd8A?si=m44HppNIP5QLQP7O

09/10/2026

This LONGCAP started as something else entirely: gaucho knives, each with its own history, brought together by Harrison Monarth after months of searching, drawn to the world Jorge Luis Borges wrote about.

At Studio Nonne 11 in Bamberg, Alvaro-Luca Ellwart melted them down and sand cast the metal into a blank, solid silver, a quiet reference to where the word Argentina comes from.

Back in the atelier, we kept the raw texture the casting left behind rather than smoothing it away, right up until the nib finally found its place.
Florian Güllert added the finishing touch, engraving gaucho motifs into the cap by hand.

You can follow the whole journey, in two parts, on our YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/05k2caLFRS4?si=UGWJMMFAowJUWfMs

06/10/2026

Elegant, reduced and precise.
The ELBWOOD SHORTCAP combines clear geometry with a calm and unmistakable presence.

Closed, it measures 150 mm, opening to 136 mm at the nib. Barrel and grip section share a 13 mm diameter, narrowing to 11.4 mm at the grip itself.

The calm longitudinal form is deliberately interrupted by the vertically knurled grip. The 0.5 mm deep grooves are precisely cut into the material using a specialized knurling tool, creating tactile control and a distinctive visual rhythm, left exposed rather than hidden under the cap.

A precise three start thread lets the cap post in a single turn, fully integrated into the form without showing itself as a technical detail. Length, diameter and weight are carefully balanced to create a writing instrument with a long, slender and unmistakably clear silhouette.

05/10/2026

Q&A with the Penmaker No.5

The part Frank enjoys the most about penmaking has not only to do with the work on a pen. It's the many different tasks of building ELBWOOD and most importantly connecting with all of you!

Which part of penmaking do you find the most interesting?

04/10/2026

For this bespoke project, Studio Nonne 11 and ELBWOOD collaborated on making THE COMMANDER PEN. Alvaro-Luca Ellwart melted down the original Royal Navy sextant and cast the metal in sand, building an entirely new form. Back in the atelier, that blank was transformed into a pen.

Watch part of the relaxing process of working with this special material, once a navigation instrument, now a fountain pen.

If you want to see the whole journey, the full length video is on our YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/qiuxjfFcs1I?si=2YhUaTMrFhUyyN4N

02/10/2026

ELBWOOD - A CLOSER LOOK is the annual distillation of our work. It presents the current EDITION in large format, along with selected BESPOKE projects, glimpses into the workshop, the complete Catalogue Raisonné, and numerous stories about materials, craftsmanship, and design.

This book is dedicated to ELBWOOD closest companions: our international distributors, longtime collectors, friends, and supporters. It is intended as a token of appreciation for those who have followed our work over many years and have already built up a significant collection of ELBWOOD.

With a strictly limited edition of just 26 hand-bound copies, A CLOSER LOOK is not intended to be a traditional catalog, but rather a standalone art book and collector's item.

Limited to 26 copies
27 × 36 cm · 144 pages
Printed on 150 g Munken Polar Rough.
Hand-bound in Hamburg and presented in a custom-made slipcase.

Only a few copies are available to the public at all.
You can find it on our website now.
https://www.elbwood.de/elbwood-a-closer-look-book

Adresse

Sonnenweg 60
Hamburg
22045

Telefon

+491738089942

Website

http://www.elbwood.de/

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