Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 36

While looking for Canadian online pen stores a couple of months ago, I came across one located in Ancaster, Ontario (just outside of Hamilton) called Fendrihan, and ordered this Faber-Castell 'Ambition' "Rhombus" fountain pen from them:

(photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Fendrihan describes itself as "Your destination for shaving gear, leather goods, luxury pens, and gifts for men" and currently sells fountain pens made by about a dozen different manufacturers. My 'Ambition' fountain pen cost $ 115.00 CAD (with free shipping) and had the option of being paid for in 4 interest-free installments of $28.75 CAD each via Sezzle.com. Getting a pen I'd wanted for quite a while *and* being able to pay for it in installments?! How could I refuse that? :)

The pen arrived very quickly via FedEx and I was not disappointed. The 'Ambition's' tubular barrel is made of glossy black precious resin with guilloche engraving. The rhombus pattern on the barrel looks very nice and the whole pen has a simple elegance to it...

The shiny chrome cap posts securely on the back of the barrel, but in doing so, makes the pen top-heavy (which I expected, based on reviews I'd read/seen) unless you are a "high-gripper", as I am. I tried using the pen uncapped, and it was fine for me if I held the pen a bit lower down the barrel than I usually do. As mentioned above, I tend to hold my pens higher up on the barrel; if you don't do this, you might not have to adjust your grip in order to use the pen comfortably uncapped.

As for the steel nib (a Medium)....Well, I've been a huge fan of Faber-Castell's steel nibs for a very long time and this one is excellent, as expected. It writes smoothly out of the box with no start-up or ink-flow issues at all.

In summary: It's a great fountain pen and if Faber-Castell had made the barrel slightly longer or if the cap posted more deeply, it would be the perfect size for my hands (I wear Womens Large gloves). As it stands, I don't mind adjusting my grip when I use the 'Ambition' because it's such a smooth, reliable writer.

(The wonderful pen roll with the nib motif in the photos above was made for me by my ever-thoughtful mother-in-law, whose birthday it is today :)
~Review and photos by Maja