Review of the Pilot M90 F nib

INTRODUCTION: My first reaction when I saw the Pilot M90 in person was: “ This pen is tiny!” For those not in the known, they would have thought that I was an idiot for paying $180 for this pen. I was initially slightly disappointed as well but knowing that this pen was designed as a tribute to the famed Pilot Myu, I decided to reserve judgment till later and boy, was I proven wrong!

1.      Appearance & Design (8/10) – The pen has its design based on the Pilot Myu series and thus is a pocket pen, which will explain it's small size. It is simple and unassuming, a plain pocket pen with the pen body and cap made from stainless steel. There is also a small plastic sapphire crystal found on the pen cap tip, which I supposed did serve to break the monotonous design. However, the main attraction, is the integrated nib, which is actually part of the pen body. This will be elaborated on later. I give the appearance and design an 8 out of 10 because of the “cheap” impression that it gives to other people.

2.      Construction & Quality (10/10) – The surface metal isn't smooth but has a grainy feel, which I prefer. In addition, it provided more friction to grip the pen with as well. I've had the pen for half a year now and with a closer look, I can see many micro scratches on the pen body caused by the repeated removal and capping of the pen cap. This is unavoidable and not a design nor construction flaw so I'm not particularly concerned with it.

3.      Weight & Dimensions (9/10) – Japanese pocket pens are designed with a long pen barrel and pen cap, but with a short pen body. When in use, the pen cap should be posted so that the pen will resemble a regular size pen. This allow the user to enjoy the portability of a mini pen and the usability of a regular size pen. Ingenious, to say the least. I usually write with my pens unposted but in this case, the pen feels too imbalanced and light without posting. With posting, I enjoyed perfect balance and writing with the M90 becomes a pleasure. I will give it a 9/10 because I'll like the option of being able to write with a pen unposted.

4.      Nib & Performance (20/20) – This is by far my favorite part of the M90: The nib design, and it's performance. My nib size is a Japanese Fine, and it writes slightly smaller than a Western Fine. It's not dry, and not too wet as well, and I haven't experienced any skipping or smudging with this pen.  As mentioned earlier, the nib is made from stainless steel and is part of the pen body. This is a design that is seldom seen, and extremely attractive to my eyes. Lastly, the nib is stiff as a nail which is fine by me as I do not have to exert any pressure to get the ink to start flowing. As it is my favorite nib, it naturally deserved a perfect score.

5.      Filling System & Maintenance (5/10) – This area is the only part of the pen that I truly do not like: It can only accept a Con-20 converter, which is a pump filler. Due to the small size of the pen, the Con- 20 is the only one which can fit on it. The Con-20 works well, but the ink capacity is too small. Coupled with the fact that I cannot use any other converter with it, the M90 only deserved a 5/10 in this section.

6.      Cost & Value (7/10) – This pen is part of a limited production, and is limited to 9000 pieces worldwide. When I bought it, the pen has already been out of production for some time. Though it can still be purchased today, it is available at a premium ( relative to the MSRP). I bought it new for $180 but I have seen it selling for more than $200. Despite the higher-than-normal price that I paid for it, I still find it to be a pretty good deal. I gave it a 7/10 because I paid more than the MSRP (which usually doesn't indicate a good deal) and I didn't like the filling system.

7.      Conclusion (Final score, 59/70) – In conclusion, this pen has become one of my favorite pen, and I highly recommend it others. People who have tried my pen praised the exceptional nib performance as well. After tallying up the scores, the pen scores at only 59 but in reality, the pen feels like a perfect 70 to me. Since it has been out of production for a while now, it's best to strike fast and get one of these beauties before they completely sold out.

Review of the Lamy 2000 EF nib

INTRODUCTION: Before I start getting into fountain pens seriously, I ask around which fountain pen is worth getting, and the pen that keep getting mentioned is the Lamy 2000. Initially, I didn't really like the small nib. However, I became curious after reading numerous reviews praising the pen, I decided to get one. ( I bought 2 and sold 1 in the end, but more on that later.)

1.      Appearance & Design (8/10) – The pen has a like-it or hate-it design. There is no adornment of any sort on the pen, and the word “Lamy” is engraved on the side of the spring-loaded clip, which is matt silver in color. The pen body is made of fibre-glass reinforced Makrolon which is a matt gunmetal black, and the barrel is made from stainless steel. The Makrolon material also managed to disguise the back piston cap. Most piston filler has a metallic ring at the end, but the Lamy 2000 doesn't need the ring due to the Makrolon. The simple 14K Platinum-coated gold nib looks great on the pen and I felt that a full sized nib will only look weird. The Makrolon body has the best feel among all my pens ( which have bodies mostly made from resin or metal.) However there are some shiny spots on the pen body which I can't seem to get out. Also, the ink window could have been better designed, so that the ink level can be seen more clearly. In an effort not to spoil the aesthetic of the pen, the designers made the ink window as small as possible and slightly opaque. Lastly, there are 2 pieces of metal placed on the pen body to hold the pen cap in place. However, one of the metal pieces are placed right where my index finger grip the pen. While I haven't experienced any discomfort, others might. So i'm taking 2 points off for the metal pieces and the ink window.  

2.      Construction & Quality (10/10) –  The Lamy 2000 has to be the most durable fountain pen ever with it's fibre-glass reinforced Makrolon body. There have been various stories of Lamy 2000 being thrown out of moving cars, dropped from numerous floors with no damage. I've read a thread where the barrel seal to the pen body is faulty, resulting in an ink leak. However, I didn't have that problem, so... a perfect 10!

3.      Weight & Dimensions (10/10) – The pen has a nice heft to it, but it's not too heavy, considering it is a piston filler. The length is just nice unposted ( I write unposted) and the balance is perfect too.

4.      Nib & Performance (18/20) – The Lamy 2000 is available in a variety of nib sizes: Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Double Broad, Oblique Medium and Oblique Broad and Oblique Extra Broad. My lst Lamy 2000 was in Fine nib, but it wrote like a Medium. A very wet Medium. The nib was so wet that there was bleedthrough on my thickest paper, using my driest ink. Coupled with the fact that my handwriting is small, I knew that the Fine nib was not for me. Luckily, I was able to sell it off at a good price since the pen was still quite new. A few months later, I bought the EF nib, thinking that it will be like a Fine nib but I was pleasantly surprised that the EF nib was just a bit thicker than a normal EF nib. Hence, the EF nib writes like a wet EF nib rather than a wet F nib. The end result is a very smooth, well-controlled EF nib. The nib is a 14K, Platinum-coated nib and is slightly springy. Hence, it's possible to achieve ink shading and line variation quite easily, not that I need it too. I took a point off because I feel that the nib sizes are off.   

5.      Filling System & Maintenance (10/10) – The pen is a piston filler with a big ink capacity. The piston is smooth, and there's basically nothing wrong with it. A perfect 10!

6.      Cost & Value (10/10) – It's hard to believe that I got the pen for only $89. For $100, you can get a bottle of ink, and a pen that is a piston filler, extra-durable and comes in a variety of nibs. I can't think of any rating other than a 10!  

7.      Conclusion (Final score, 66/70) – If you plan to get a workhorse pen to be used as a daily user, the Lamy 2000 should definitely be in your list of consideration.The Lamy 2000 outperforms many pens that cost 2 or 3 times more. After all, there's a reason why the Lamy 2000 has remained unchanged since 1966 ( that's way before I'm born!).

Review of the Visconti Homo Sapiens EF nib

INTRODUCTION: When this pen was first announced, I didn’t take much notice because the price tag ($595) was way out of my budget and I couldn’t see why I should pay so much just for a pen made from lava basalt rocks. Just a few months ago, I just happened to come across a thread on this pen and I saw that the nib is actually made of 23K Palladium! So after taking a closer look at the specs, I realized that if I can get this pen a little cheaper, I’m definitely buying it.

1.      Appearance & Design (10/10) – The pen body is made from basaltic lava from the Etna Volcano. It’s supposedly unbreakable, flameproof and hygroscopic but I have no desire to test them out. It’s a dark matte gun metal gray with small white dots. . The pen may be made from rocks but for some reason, it feels like hard rubber to my hands. It comes with a bronze trim instead of the usual silver or gold trim. And to clarify, the trimmings are made from SOLID bronze From what I’ve seen, the bronze is supposed to tarnish over time to give a nice matt look but this hasn’t happened to my pen yet. More on this to come. The top of the pen has Visconti’s My Pen system incorporated and I have my initials YX put in it. There’s a huge variety of tops you can change to and I feel that this is a nice touch. The clip is spring loaded and has a nice resistance. However, the bottom of the clip is flushed flat against the cap so you need to use a finger to lift the clip before clipping on the pen. Visconti designed this pen with the Human civilization theme in mind (hence the bronze trim) and I have to say that they succeeded somewhat. The pen has a twist cap but it’s not your normal twist cap. It has a cleverly designed thread that only requires a quarter of a turn to uncap the pen. For someone like me who frequently cap and uncap my pens to prevent the nib from drying out, this is a godsend.

2.      Construction & Quality (10/10) – I have nothing bad to say about the quality and workmanship except for one small detail: One corner of the black background of the Visconti words on the clip is not colored in properly. This is only visible on very close inspection ( not sure if my camera can convey that properly ) but if I have to pay more than $300 for a pen, it better be perfect!

3.      Weight & Dimensions (8/10) – This is a pretty big pen and since it’s made from rocks, you can expect it to be heavy. Add to the fact that it can hold a lot of ink, this pen is pretty heavy when fully filled with ink. However, the pen is well-balanced so it felt more like a hefty pen rather than a heavy and unwieldy pen. It can’t be written posted as the cap itself is pretty heavy. However, I don’t post my pens at all so this doesn’t affect me.

4.      Nib & Performance (18/20) – The nib is the main reason why I got this pen. 23K Palladium, Visconti called it Dreamtouch, because the nib is supposed to write with almost no pressure. After trying it out, I can say that this is true. The Palladium material is also supposed to provide a bit of flex but to be honest, I’ve used more gold nibs that have more flex. However, this nib has a springy feel to it that I look for in the perfect nib. The nib has a small amount of feedback too which I love because it helps to control my handwriting. The nib comes in the usual Fine, Medium and Broad, along with the less common Extra Fine as well as a 1.3mm Stub. I’m a huge fan of italic nibs and when italic nibs aren’t available, I will get a Fine nib. In this case, I read that the HS nib runs abit wide and is a wet writer so I bought the EF nib instead. I will say that the nib writes half a size wider, and if written on absorbent paper, the nib will write a full size wider. A point is taken off for the inaccurate size. The nib looks gorgeous with the characteristic Visconti design and the crescent moon shaped vent hole. Three lines of texts are engraved at the bottom of the nib: 23k Pd 950, Firenze, EF, letting everyone knows that this is an EF nib made out of 95% Palladium. The nib is huge too, abit too long for the pen but to me, bigger is always better! The only qualm that I have is that Visconti should change the tones on the nib to differentiate the Palladium nib from the other gold nibs. Maybe instead of gold and silver, how about bronze and ruthenium to go with the black body and bronze trim on the pen body?

5.      Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) – The pen is a power-filler, or a vacuum-filler as I prefer to call it. For those who have filled a power filler before, you’ll know that you won’t have a perfect fill on the 1st fill, probably about 30% to 50%. My other vacuum filler is a smoke-colored Pilot Custom 823 which is semi-transparent. I’ll need 2 or more fills to get about 80% to 90% fill. However, the basaltic rock pen body, despite its many wondrous properties, isn’t transparent so there’s no way to tell how filled the pen is. Just to be on the safe side, I do a couple of fillings to ensure that the pen is as filled as it possibly can. If you’re really anal about this, filling with a Visconti travelling inkwell might help.


6. Cost & Value (10/10) – The MSRP for this pen is $595 or you can get it from Italy for about $420 shipped. I bought this from italianpen on ebay where I won it in an auction for only $350. That’s almost 50% of the original price. To be honest, I have cheaper pens that perform just as well as this pen and cost less ( for example, my Pelikan M600 which comes closest), but this pen is unique in its own way. Where else are you going to find a pen made from lava basaltic rocks, or comes with solid bronze trimmings or fitted with a Palladium nib?

7.      Conclusion (Final score, 65/70) – This pen is the most expensive pen in my entire collection but I feel that I paid a fair price for it. It’s a pen that can last long enough to be a heirloom and unique enough to be one too. I honestly cannot find any major flaw with one ( well the only one being no transparent window to view, but that will detract from the design of the pen ). If you ever come across the chance to try out the pen, please write a few lines with it to feel for yourself how extraordinary the Palladium nib is.

Review of the Franklin-Christoph Model-14 EF nib

INTRODUCTION: I first came across the Franklin-Christoph brand when browsing the FPN forum. After checking out their website, I was impressive by their products line-up and decided to try one of their lower-end pens. I finally decided on the Model 14 because of the magnetic cap ( I'm a sucker for novelties) and the interchangeable nibs. I wanted to get the pen in red, but it was already out of production at that time. Luckily, Lady Luck smiled down on me and I found that there were still a few pieces left sold on their eBay store. To make the deal sweeter, the price was $10 lower than what is being sold on their online store. In the end, I managed to score the pen in an out-of-production color, and at a lower price!

1. Appearance & Design (8/10) – The pen is simply designed, with a layer of red lacquer and chrome trimming. The 4 Franklin-Christoph diamonds are lasered onto the clip, and the Franklin-Christoph logo is lasered onto the pen bottom. The nibs used are stainless steel Schmidt nibs with the Schmidt logo on it. I would have preferred the nib with the Franklin-Christoph logo on it though. In addition, there are 2 more design flaws that I found: The pen cap is too short, giving the pen a chunky look, and the pen barrel is too short, to be elaborated on later. (PS: All steel and gold nibs now are available with the Franklin-Christoph logo on them.)

2. Construction & Quality (9/10) – The pen feels robust and well built in my hands. I believe that it's entirely made out of brass, hence it has quite a heft to it. Those who love heavy pens will like it, but more on that in the next section. All in all, there is no flaw I can find. I washed the entire nib unit in an ultrasonic cleaner a number of time and I found that a spot developed a discoloration. It doesn't look like rust and the pen is still usable but because of this, I'm taking a point off.

3. Weight & Dimensions (6/10) – This is where the pen disappoints. Personally I find the pen too heavy for long period of usage. I think it's because the entire pen is made from brass instead of your usual resin. The pen body is pretty long without posting, but the magnetic cap (the magnet is in the cap) can be posted using the same magnetic function. When posted, the balance is totally off as the cap is very heavy ( as it contains a strong magnet). Since I usually use my pens unposted, this isn't much of an issue, but for those who like to post, this may post a problem. To me, the main design flaw lies in the short, almost non existent pen barrel. If I use my normal gripping method, I'll end up gripping the area where the pen body and pen barrel meet, an area of a sharp step-down. Needless to say, it's extremely uncomfortable. If I adjust my grip down, my grip on end up on the threads, and I'll be holding too close to the nib, so it's extremely uncomfortable. So what I currently do is hold it abit higher, gripping the pen body. I haven't been using it often enough to get used to the sensation, so it's still abit uncomfortable, though not as uncomfortable as holding it on the threaded section.

4. Nib & Performance (20/20) – I bought 2 nibs, the EF and F nibs, but I haven't gotten around to taking the F nib out of the packaging. Hence, the following only applies to the EF nib. The reason I've not used the F nib is because the EF nib is so perfect! The EF nib lays down a perfect Western EF nib line, and is smooth with a little feedback. I like my nibs to have a tiny bit of feedback which allows me more control over my handwriting. However, the problems with most EF nibs are too much feedback and too little smoothness. Hence I was pleasantly surprised with the smoothness of the nib. The nib is not too dry as well and I seldom experienced skipping with it. In addition, the nib section is easily changeable ( as simple as unscrewing the barrel) and the range of replaceable nibs is staggering, with Fine, Medium, Broad, Extra Fine, 0.9mm Cursive Italic, 1.1mm Cursive Italic and 1.1mm Stub. Needless to say, the nib deserved a perfect 10! (PS: The nib above is a 1.1 CI nib, not a F nib or the EF nib mentioned in the review.)

5. Filling System & Maintenance (10/10) – The pen comes with a piston converter which works well and it's capacity is above average. Nothing special or wrong with it.

6. Cost & Value (9/10) – This pen is almost the perfect pen if not for its heavy weight and not-so-great design. However for $79.50 ( for normal nibs) or $89.50 ( for special nibs) you get a classy looking pen, with a magnetic cap, and the options to change the nibs ( which can be bought separately) to whichever suit your fancy. Furthermore, there are other Franklin-Christoph pens that use the same nibs, so there's plenty of potential mix-and-match.

7. Conclusion (Final score, 62/70) – In conclusion, I didn't regret taking a leap of faith and buying the Model 14. Now that I've experienced for myself how fantastic the steel nib fountain pen is, I'm on the lookout for a gold nib fountain pen for my next Franklin-Christoph purchase. Furthermore, the 2/3 pen pouches look outstanding as well. Franklin-Christoph may be a small company, but they are certainly not short on quality products. Look out for more Franklin-Christoph reviews in the future.

Review of the Faber Castell Ambition Pearwood F nib

INTRODUCTION: I bought the Ambition Pearwood firstly for the pen body material ( Pearwood) and the design and secondly, out of curiosity of the Faber Castell brand. 

1.      Appearance & Design (10/10) – I bought the pen for its design, so it HAD to look good, and when I hold the pen in my hand, it doesn't disappoint; The feel of wood makes a nice change to boring resin. There's only 2 colors you can see, the brown color of the Pearwood body, and the chrome pen cap and tailend. The Faber Castell logo and words are etched on the side of the barrel. It's a simple, elegant design. The pen cap even post with a nice click.

2.      Construction & Quality (10/10) –  The pen looks flawless and the body isn't actually made out of wood; It's a layer of wood over a brass tube. This means that the pen body has the strength of a metal pen, and the feel of a wooden pen.

3.      Weight & Dimensions (8/10) – The bass tube underneath the wood means that there is heft to the pen. The pen isn't too light or too heavy, and the balance is just perfect unposted. When posted, I find it to be abit top heavy, probably due to the chrome cap. The only peeve that I have is that the barrel is very short and almost non-existent. So that's something you'll have to get used to.

4.      Nib & Performance (18/20) – I'm pleasantly surprised that the pen doesn't come with a generic nib but with a nicely designed ventless stainless steel nib with the nib size prominently displayed and the Faber Cartell logo at the bottom. This nib is a F, and I feel that the nib size is accurate. The nib is like a nail and if you're looking for any kind of flex, you'll be disappointed. Although there is no toothiness, there is quite a lot of feedback so the nib isn't buttery smooth. I took 2 points off because I would have preferred less feedback. Again, if you're looking for a buttery smooth nib, this isn't for you. Finally, I will rate the nib as slightly wet.

5.      Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) – The pen uses a  piston converter that looks like a generic converter except for the “Faber Cartell” words labelled on the metal cap. Besides that, the converter looks exactly like the generic converter used in Franklin Christoph pens. I like this converter because it has the largest ink capacity out of all the converters that I have ( besides the CON-70). I'm taking a point off because the back of the converter isn't easily removable.

6.      Cost & Value (10/10) – I bought this pen from Pengallery for $87 and I think it's a great value for a classy pen, with wooden body, and writes well. However, if you're looking for a butter smooth and flexible pen, you might want to give this a miss.

7.      Conclusion (Final score, 65/70) – I was glad that I took a leap of faith and bought this pen; I definitely don't regret it and will recommend this to anyone who wants to try the Faber Castell brand or looking for a fountain pen gift under $100. Futhermore, this pen is available in a variety of pen bodies; if you don't like wood, there are normal resin, stainless steel etc. Perhaps in the future when I'm a millionaire, I'll be able to buy some pens from the Graf von Faber Castell range.

Review of the Pilot Custom 823 F nib

INTRODUCTION: I was attracted to the Custom 823's plunger filler but I had a tough choice choosing among the 3 colors available, smoke, amber and clear. In the end, I chose smoke because it was not only the cheapest, but because I heard that it's limited in number ( not sure if that's true or not). The pen came in a nice padded box AND a bottle of black Pilot ink.

1.      Appearance & Design (7/10) – The pen has a typical torpedo pen body with gold bands. The smoke body is slightly transparent. It's a really attractive design and a nice deviation from the usual black and gold design. The gold band around the bottom of the pen cap has “PILOT MADE IN JAPAN *** CUSTOM 823 ***” engraved on it in black. The only regret that I have with getting the smoke design is the it's hard seeing the level of ink left in the barrel especially if you filled it with black ink. I have a feeling that the amber and the clear (duh~) pens will allow you to look at the  ink level more easily. Another design that people really like is that when the back cap is screwed in completely, the plunger cuts off the ink supply to the feed, reducing ink leakage. When you want to write, just unscrew the back cap and allow the ink flow to resume. While that seems really practical, I don't like it for a couple of reasons: The place I'm at can get really cold, so my nibs tend to get dry out and clogged easily. I found that if I completely screwed in the cap, the nib tends to be hard to start up and the the ink flow becomes irregular. Ink flow doesn't resume completely because of air bubbles trapped in the barrel. Hence, my back cap is forever uncapped unless I have to make a long distance trip with the pen. I would have prefer the pen without that feature or at least, make a variant of the pen without that feature available.

2.      Construction & Quality (10/10) –  There's nothing much to comment here, as the quality is top-notched. A perfect 10.

3.      Weight & Dimensions (10/10) – I will classify this pen as a full-size pen and when empty, it's surprisingly light for a pen of that size. However, when the pen is fully filled, it has a nice heft to it. Hence, the heaviest part of the pen is somewhere in the middle, where the ink is stored in the barrel. I find it to be perfectly balanced and the size to be just right. Again, a perfect 10.

4.      Nib & Performance (16/20) – The nib is a 14K gold, one tone Fine nib. What I like about the nib is that it's huge! Hence, it really looks good on the pen. When I first got the pen, the nib didn't really write well; It was hard to start, it occasionally skipped, and the flow was irregular. After a while, I realized it was caused by ink drying up in the feed due to a lack of ink flow caused by the plunger. When the nib writes properly, the nib is a dream to use. It flexes slightly as well but I won't call it a full flex nib. It's a Japanese Fine nib and I will say that the actual line laid down is in between an Extra-Fine and Fine. I can't give the nib a perfect score because of the occasional problems it gives me.   

5.      Filling System & Maintenance (8/10) – The pen is a plunger filler and the main reason why I bought this pen. You'll only get about a 60% fill on the 1^st try but if you fill it once or twice more with the nib still immersed in the ink, you can get up to 85%-90%. That means you get almost as much ink as if the pen is an eyedropper. However, I found that it is almost impossible to fully clean the pen. Firstly, the nib and feed can be removed with a simple tug, and the barrel can be screwed out and the body interior scrubbed or cleaned with a cotton bud. However, the cotton bud can’t reach the ink stain behind the plunger. The only way to remove that ink stain is to use a ultrasonic cleaner. Lastly I've read that cracks can develop in the barrel if you repeatedly unscrewed the barrel so please take note.

6.      Cost & Value (9/10) – I bought this pen for $255 on ebay and you might be able to get it cheaper if you're patient and bid on it. For that price, you get a great pen and a bottle of ink to start you off. If anyone is looking for a workhorse pen that can hold a ton of ink, and you'll feel safe bringing with you on long distance trips, this pen is perfect for you. I can't give this pen a perfect in this section because there are other pens in this price range that write better.

7.      Conclusion (Final score, 60/70) – This is a pen that comes loaded with features and I think it's a pen worth looking into if you need them. I won't get this pen for its nib but if you need a pen with a huge ink capacity, this is one pen that you should seriously consider. Personally, I find the plunger filling mechanism to be tedious to use and maintain and I probably won't buy another plunger filler in the future. 

Review of the Muji Fountain Pen

INTRODUCTION: This pen pops up once in a while on FPN and from what I gather, it can only be bought in New York (I think it's the Muji store in the Empire State Building?) so whenever someone is going to be in the area, he will post on FPN and buy for whoever is interested. Fortunately for me, there is a Muji store in Singapore and I happened to chance upon the pen by accident. Seeing that the pen is only S$20 (~US$16) and its cult status on FPN, I bought the pen without a second thought.


1. Appearance & Design (8/10) – I will say that the pen is designed with function in mind, and it won't appeal to everyone. I like it though, as a simple straight cylinder, with sharp cut-off ends, lending it a futuristic look. I guess it appeals to the engineer in me. The pen grip area is thoughtfully textured like a metal file, with the purpose of adding more grip as compared to if it's made from smooth aluminium.

I'll like to add that out of all my pens, both expensive and cheap, this pen is one of the few that will start up immediately after lying around unused for a few months. One factor is that the Singapore weather is very humid, but another more factor is probably due to the well designed cap, which is reasonably tight, and also likely airtight. This is important to me because after graduation, I find myself using a pen only a few times a month at the very most, and penless for months at the very least.

There is also a small groove at the back of the pen that will allow you to post the pen. After posting, the cap is actually in line with the pen body, giving it a seamless and elegant look. Very nice!

2. Construction & Quality (10/10) – I believe the entire pen is made out of aluminium except for a piece of rubber at the top. As mentioned before, the cap is reasonably tight and so is the clip. I can't find any serious cause for complaint here.


3. Weight & Dimensions (9/10) – Since the pen is made from thin aluminium instead of thick plastic with a simple filling mechanism (cartridges), this pen is very very light (I would prefer a bit more weight). This pen is on the small side and some might find it too thin to hold but it's alright for my hands. YMMV

4. Nib & Performance (19/20) –  The nib is a one tone silver Schmidt Fine, and I believe it is only available in this tone and nib size. Out of all the mass-produced nibs (Jowo, Heritage etc), the Schmidt nibs are my favorite: For one, their nib sizes run true to what I think nib sizes should be. For example, I find Jowo nibs to run half a size to a size larger. Also, while Schmidt nibs are smooth with no hint of scratchiness, they have some amount of feedback too, unlike the buttery smooth Jowo nibs. I think some feedback because it gives me a sense of control when I'm writing fast. And they are not too wet or dry, just wet enough to show the ink's true color, and not so wet that bleedthrough is terribly obvious. So the nib I got is a typical Schmidt nib: Smooth, with feedback and the right amount of wetness. I'll take a point off due to the limited choice of nib size.

5. Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) – The pen comes with only a short international black ink cartridges. However, looking at the length of the pen body, I believe you can fit in a long ink cartridge or a cartridge converter, like those from Schmidt or any brand that has an international opening. I like this filling system because it's the easiest to clean and maintain but I'm taking a point off because a cartridge converter was not included.


6. Cost & Value (10/10) – As I've mentioned before, this gem of a pen costs only US$14 and to me, that's a hell of a bargain for an aluminium fountain pen that looks good and writes well. It's the perfect workhorse pen that I don't mind bringing around as it won't be too terrible a thing if I lose it, drop it or scratch it.


7. Conclusion (Final score, 65/70) – This is a pretty short and sweet review but in hindsight it's not that surprising. This is a very simple and functional pen which is designed to look (relatively) good and write well. It also makes a good gift to people who are new to fountain pens. All you have to do is include a pack of ink cartridges and they're good to go for a while.

As a sidenote, this is the pen that I brought with me to my interview. A pen like the Platinum Preppy looks too cheap while a pen like the Sailor PG will look too pretentious. I like this pen has the "WOW" factor without giving off a snobbish air.