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.