Posts filed under Faber-Castell

Faber-Castell Ambition Fountain Pen Review

When I read Susan's review of the Faber-Castell Ambition she bought in Paris, the first thought I had was why don't people talk more about this pen? It is priced well, looks great, comes from a historic company - what am I missing? Not much it seems, especially for a $70 pen.

The model I am reviewing - the Ambition in Black with an Extra Fine nib - has been fantastic to use. The brushed resin barrel feels great, and the chrome accents, especially in the cap and the clip, give the Ambition a classic, dignified look. The dot pattern on the nib can be seen across Faber-Castell's steel nib lineup, which is a nice touch.

If there is one thing about the Ambition that people question it is the grip section, or lack thereof. The barrel terminates into a small chrome piece that is used for access to the ink cartridge or converter. There is a small step down where they connect, which begs the question of grip interference.

As a low-gripper, my traditional three point grip lands right above the edge, so I personally have no issue with the barrel digging into my fingers. Your mileage may vary, especially if you have a non-traditional grip. Otherwise, my fingers land on the barrel right where I would hold any other pen. I think it is designed this way. This is an instance where the pen section is designed for utility (barrel access), not for grip. Attempts to hold it there will be met with disappointment and discomfort.

I haven't had the opportunity to use many Faber-Castell steel nibs, but if this one is any indication, they are firm and a bit on the dry side. That is how I like my nibs, but if you are looking for more ink flow I would consider the Medium or Broad. This EF suits my style very well.

The Faber-Castell Ambition is going to find a place on my Top 5 Pens list for fountain pens in the $50-$100 range, likely knocking out the Kaweco Liliput in the 5-spot. I'm glad to discover more options in that bracket to be honest, and this one deserves it.

(Goldspot provided this product on loan to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 19, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Faber-Castell, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Graf Von Faber-Castell Deep Sea Green Ink Review

When I think of Graf Von Faber-Castell I think of high end writing instruments like the Perfect Pencil or the somewhat extreme Pen of the Year release. What I haven’t thought about, until now, are their fountain pen inks. I had no idea what I had been missing.

Deep Sea Green is my first foray into GVFC inks and I am completely enamored with it. It was an easy choice actually, because the colors in the rest of the lineup aren’t all that inspiring. They offer ink colors that all fountain pen companies have to offer: Black, blue, red, green, brown, grey. Sure, they have fancier names - “Garnet Red”, “Cobalt Blue” - but they aren’t all that exciting. Deep Sea Green is a clear outlier.

Despite the basic colors, these are not basic inks. All GVFC inks are indelible, meaning they are smudge-resistant, light-fast, waterproof, and solvent resistant. For all intents and purposes, they are permanent. That is something I can get behind despite the blandness of the shades available.

Deep Sea Green has more character than I expected when I received this bottle from Goulet Pens. I’ve been using it in my Sailor King of Pens with a stock medium nib, and it shades well despite the fineness of the nib. There are showings of light and dark greens and blues, plus appearances of grey. It flows wonderfully and dries quickly too. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences so far, and yes, it makes me even want to try some of the more boring colors.

$30 may seem steep for a bottle of ink, and it is, but keep in mind the bottle holds 75ml, which is a 50% increase over the similarly priced Pilot Iroshizuku. And the ink contained within has far more features. The bottle itself is strong, sturdy, and wonderful to look at on a desk or shelf.

Now, if the higher-ups at Graf Von Faber-Castell would mix in a purple or turquoise we would be off to the races.

(GouletPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on July 25, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Faber-Castell, Ink Reviews.

Fantastic Nibs and Where to Find Them

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

All fountain pen aficionados know that the soul of a pen is its nib. No matter how beautiful the body of the pen is, if it doesn't write well, it loses its purpose in life. I've chosen some of my favorite nibs and why they are, in my view, fantastic. With one exception, all the nibs below are factory nibs that worked perfectly straight out of the box. Although I own spectacular nibs ground by nibmeisters, I wanted to focus on nibs that anyone can buy without special grinding.

Pilot Metropolitan Fine

Many people say that the Pilot Metropolitan is the gateway pen to fountain pen addiction. I have to agree. The nib is steel but smooth and uncomplicated. I've bought three Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pops, and all three write consistently well.

The turquoise Retro Pop is my all-time favorite grading nib coupled with Diamine Marine (less scary than red). Smooth, perfect flow and $15.00–what is not to love? You can find these pens with their stellar nibs at many vendors, including JetPens.

Lamy 2000 Makrolon Fine

I got my Lamy 2000 through Massdrop, and, unfortunately, the original nib was awful. One of the tines was longer than the other and the pen was unusable.

But, because Massdrop is an authorized dealer, Lamy changed out the bad nib for a good one at no charge, and now this is one of my favorite writers. Lamy 2000s can be found at JetPens, Goldspot, Goulet, and, occasionally, Massdrop.

Franklin-Christoph Marietta with a Gold Masuyama Medium Italic

I love Franklin-Christoph fountain pens. I would buy one of each if I could. The best part is you can get a pre-ground nib by nibmeister par excellence Mike Masuyama, without having to stand in a long line at a pen show or get in his business queue (which is months long).

*Franklin-Christoph 18K Gold Medium Cursive Italic Nib*

This is one of my favorite writing pens. I opted for the gold Medium italic and it is just terrific–no scratchiness, just beautiful, precise lines. You can get Masuyama nibs on virtually any Franklin-Christoph model.

Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA Nib

I reviewed this pen a few months back on Pen Addict. As I said in that review, there's nothing really remarkable about the pen itself since it's a typical black pen.

Nevertheless, what makes this pen stand out is the FA nib. The FA nib has wing cut outs on the nib that allow the pen to flex, giving you an almost-but-not-quite vintage flex experience. I bought my Pilot Custom 912 on Amazon, but you can also find them at Goldspot and Goulet.

Pilot Custom Heritage 823 Medium

The Pilot Custom 823 is one of those pens that almost everyone adores. Its vacuum filling system, size, and simple beauty are all a testament to the pen's popularity. But the thing that sets it apart from all the other cigar-shaped fountain pens is its huge, gorgeous nib. I love this nib.

Here's the key, though. If you want a smooth writing experience with the 823 nib, I recommend you go with a medium (or larger) nib. With extra fine or fine nibs you may wind up with something scratchy that digs into the paper. It's not that Pilot extra-fine or fine nibs are bad, but they are much finer than Western pens and the medium nib on my 823 writes like a true fine–one of the smoothest fine nibs I own. Goldspot and Goulet carry these pens as do many other vendors.

Graf von Faber Castell Intuition Terra Cotta Oblique Medium

In order to get a factory oblique medium nib, I had to purchase this nib from Martini Auctions (no American vendors stock these nibs). The price for the pen was definitely competitive (less than some American vendors without the OM nib), so I didn't mind the fact that it took a little longer to obtain from overseas.

*Graf von Faber Castell Oblique Medium Nib*

It has a nice crisp line but none of the strict positioning that can come with a cursive italic nib. I like obliques since I tend to hold my pens at an angle. The Graf von Faber Castell Intuition in Terra is difficult to find these days, but you can get other models. I'd suggest Martini Auctions if you're interested in nibs other than the standard medium.

Sailor Cross Concord

I reviewed this nib a couple of months ago along with the Sailor Cross Point. The Concord is definitely my favorite of the two because its standard position writes like a normal fine nib. But if you want some swishy, fat goodness, you just flip the pen over and glide away.

Sailor Specialty nibs are expensive and right now are difficult to obtain. You can order them from nibs.com and now from Anderson Pens.

Omas Ogiva Factory Italic

This is the smoothest italic I've ever used. I don't know if it is just a medium or broad nib whose tip was chopped off (it certainly doesn't seem to have tipping), but that seems to be the case (see the discussion on FPN here and here).

Regardless, it writes as smoothly as Ella Fitzgerald singing "Summertime." Sadly, since Omas is now out of business, it's much more difficult to purchase any of their pens, especially those with special nibs. Keep an eye out for sales on FPN and other Internet sites.

Montblanc Heritage 1912 Fine

This nib isn't huge and it isn't ornate, but it writes beautifully. Of course, you wind up paying a premium for the pen, not because of the nib, but because of the safety pen mechanism and the Montblanc name.

I love the retro-feel of this pen (see my review here). It's substantial and heavy (the barrel is made of metal), but the nib has a vintage spring to it that makes it a joy to write with. I bought my Montblanc Heritage 1912 from a seller on FPN. It's available through Montblanc and occasionally other online vendors.

Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with Factory OBB Nib

Although I prefer the M600 size Pelikans, I bought this beauty from Rick Propas. It was part of a collection he was selling and came with a factory OBB nib at an unbelievable price. It is a spectacular writer, inked with Pelikan Edelstein Amber (the only pen lucky enough to warrant that ink).

It's getting more and more difficult to find Pelikans with italic or oblique nibs, especially the BB and BBB size, so you either have to buy vintage or seek out vendors that have these nibs in stock. Expect to pay a hefty amount for one of these Pelikan nibs. Classic Fountain Pens is one source for special-sized Pelikan nibs. You can also contact Rick Propas to see what he has in stock.

Nibs can be hit or miss depending on the fountain pen brand. I've had bad luck with Visconti and Kaweco nibs. I've read several discussions about the lack of size consistency of Pelikan nibs. Lamy nibs tend to get rave reviews or the exact opposite, which I'm sure is a quality control problem. I've even read reviews of bad Nakaya nibs–something I never thought possible.

The reality is that nibs don't always write well straight out of the box. Every user's experience may vary. It's always possible that you will get a poorly aligned nib, or a feed that doesn't offer enough flow for a particular nib, or tines that are different sizes, or a nib that is just plain scratchy. That's why it's always good to read return and exchange policies for fountain pens. When you buy from individual sellers rather than vendors, you may not get a refund if the nib is not to your liking. So, as one of my pen friends wisely suggested, if you buy a used pen, factor in the cost of a nibmeister along with the cost of the pen.