Faber-Castell Ondoro Fountain Pen Review

As a brand, Faber-Castell has become more and more interesting to me. I know, I’m a little slow, seeing how they have been in existence for over 200 years. I always considered them a pencil company, and a great one at that, but could they make a quality fountain pen? I had my doubts, based on no facts whatsoever. And I’m glad to be proven totally and completely wrong.

The Faber-Castell Ambition set me down this path, and the Faber-Castell Ondoro Smoked Oak solidified my thoughts.

Fun fact: This isn’t my first Ondoro. I bought the Orange resin model a couple of years ago from one Stephen Brown. It had a broad nib, which I promptly had converted into a cursive italic. Despite this being a perfectly styled Brad pen, the nib and I never clicked, even after modification, so I sold it. I think my mistake was the modification, because what I have discovered in retrospect is that Faber-Castell nibs are perfect right out of the box.

The Ambition in EF solidified that thought, so I chose another EF in the Ondoro since I love the design of the pen and missed having one after selling my first. I think it may be my favorite steel German nib too, better than both Lamy and Pelikan in this size. It is finer and firmer, allowing for a clean and defined lined. It looks great too, especially inked with something like Faber-Castell’s own Deep Sea Green.

The Ondoro is described as a chunky pen, and that is accurate. The barrel is wide, and the cap is wider. It’s not a heavy pen though, and I find it comfortable to use. The Smoked Oak feels and looks great, and it comes in various resin models too, like the aforementioned Orange.

If there is one thing to consider with the Ondoro, it is the grip section. It’s short in length as well as concave. For my grip, which is very standard, it’s not an issue. If you have larger hands or a non-standard grip I could see it being an issue. The Ambition had similar questions with it’s lack of a grip section. Faber-Castell definitely does things differently in this area. Additionaly, the metal cap does make this pen heavy when posted as well as when clipped to something thin like a shirt pocket.

Price-wise, Faber-Castell pens aren’t cheap compared to the competition, but I think they are fairly priced. They are very similar to Pelikan in that regard. High quality German design and performance is generally worth the cost. If I enjoy a pen I never think twice about the price, and I certainly enjoy the Ondoro.

I’ve been mentioning how impressed I am with Faber-Castell as a brand for a while now. I think it is time to continue this exploration and see what else they have to offer.

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

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Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencil Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Colored pencils are my favorite coloring tool, though I'm more of a casual colorer than an artist. While I have a few sets of Derwent and Prismacolor pencils, this was my first time working with Faber-Castell Polychromos. This set of 12 pencils comes in a nice tin. They're constructed of sustainable California cedar that smells amazing. The cores are bonded to the wood to prevent breaking, so these pencils tend to last a lot longer than other brands. The round barrels are comfortable to hold, though there is nothing to stop them from rolling off the desk.

The cores are oil-based, water-resistant, and acid-free. They have a thick 3.8mm diameter that helps with their break-resistance. They feel buttery soft when coloring, but hold their points well. I didn't have to sharpen them at all during the coloring session I did with my oldest son, and he insisted on covering every inch of his page. I did experience some crumbling when heavier pressure was applied, but it was minimal, and I was being a little hard on them on purpose. There was some smudging if I rested my hand on the work, but this trait also works well for blending and shading. The pigment is even somewhat erasable, though it does leave some color behind. The coverage of the soft lead is pretty amazing. With medium pressure, it only takes two layers to fully cover the paper, and because the lead is oil-based instead of wax-based, the color won't become cloudy. The colors are all incredibly vibrant.

One of the unique traits of these pencils is their lightfastness. The level varies by pigment and each pencil is marked by its degree of lightfastness so artists can be sure their work will last.

These are definitely top-quality artist's pencils, and you can tell when you use them. I can easily say these are the nicest pencils I've played with. They're also the most expensive pencils I've played with. The sets are a good deal when compared to the open stock colors, but the set of 12 is missing a few key colors. There's no grey, and no shade of purple. But these are nice enough to invest in a few supplemental open stock pieces.

And while these may be fancy artist pencils, they're still great for coloring books. My nine-year-old also granted them his seal of coloring approval. I might say that I wouldn't invest in this high of a price-point just for coloring books and doodles--but that would be a lie because I totally would. Because these are so pleasant to use that they amplify the joy of the experience. And when you think about how they're engineered to prevent lead breakage, you do get your money's worth out of them for sure. I'm looking forward to many rainy-day coloring afternoons with these.

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

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Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Pencil Tin Set Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

It's finally spring, here, but when I open a new box of pencils, it's instantly September and I'm ready to head back to school. This set of graphite artist's pencils have that smell that activates the part of your brain that needs to create.

The Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Pencil Tin Set contains six pencils of different lead grades: HB, B, 2B, 4B, 6B, and 8B. The lead is bonded to the hexagonal wood casing (so the lead is very break-resistant), and the body is coated in water-based, environmentally friendly varnish. They're all in the signature Faber-Castell dark green with gold-stamped branding and labels.

Faber-Castell have kept a consistent aesthetic in their 112-year legacy. I found an old tin set in an antique shop last year. I don't know how old this set is, but the lovely pencils are nearly identical to the modern ones.

It's safe to say that 100+ years is enough time to become an expert, so it's no surprise that these pencils are excellent. The leads are strong with a lovely degree of difference in lead grades. They write smoothly with just the right amount of feedback, shade beautifully, erase well, and hardly smudge at all, even in the softest grade. The right side of my drawn line is where I tried to smudge them--and I feel I have to tell you that, because it's really difficult to see any smudge. They all held their points quite well, though the softer ones naturally wore down a little more quickly. They're light and the wood smells enchanting.

The Faber-Castell 9000 is available in 16 hardness grades, sold as open stock or in sets of 6, 12, or in a complete set of 16.

These are great artist's tools. Whether you're sketching, drawing, or designing, these are definitely worth a try. They'd also make a lovely gift for an artist. Harder lead grades may perform well for writing, but sketching is where these pencils shine.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!