Catching up on my backlog of new acquisition reviews with this eye-catching Faber-Castell 'Grip 2010' fountain pen in pink-orange that I got from Nikaido in Steveston (Richmond), BC a few months ago...
(please click on images to enlarge)The 'Grip 2010' fountain pen line is made in Slovenia and comes in a variety of colours, both conservative (black, dapple grey, coconut milk, and rose shadow) and colorful (bright blue with light blue dots, turquoise with light green dots, and the one reviewed here - pink with orange dots). There's also a 'Grip 2011' line of fountain pens that come in different colours, but unlike their glossy 'Grip 2010' counterpart, they have matte finishes. The MSRP for my pen is just under $30 CAD.
The 'Grip' line also includes wooden pencils, felt-tipped
markers, crayons, mechanical pencils and ballpoints, and for those
products, the dots on their barrels serve a purpose--they enhance the
user's grip on the object. In the case of the 'Grip' fountain pens, the dots are merely decorative. Still, I think they make for a very cool fountain
pen design.
The plastic used for the pen's body is
thick and the pen seems well made and robust. The pen's cap is cylindrical but its barrel has a triangular shape ...
which you might not notice at first (I didn't) because of its soft
contours. Both the cap and barrel are hot pink, but the barrel also has a series of raised orange dots on it (92 in total, to be exact).
The pen weighs about 13.7 grams and its capped length is approximately 13.7 cm (5.4 inches) while its uncapped length (nib tip to barrel end) is 12.8 cm or just over 5 inches. The posted length is a whopping 17.3 cm or 6.8 inches, but it is well-balanced when posted (and very light), so you could use it this way, if you wanted; I usually post my pens, but I use this one unposted. I was a bit surprised that the cap didn't post very deeply (~ 1.5 cm / 0.5 inches), but it posts securely and tightly.
I love the classy grey Faber-Castell name & logo screened onto the side of the cap, and I applaud the colour choice for the raised dots on the barrel -- the light orange of the dots pairs very nicely with hot pink of the pen's cap and barrel. The molded textured rubber grip section is subtly triangular and comfortable to hold.
The stainless steel clip is actually one of my favourite things about the pen -- it has an elegant shape and is very smooth to the touch, so it won't tear into paper or fabrics. I often find myself fidgeting with the clip -- running my thumb over its surface -- because it's sooo smooth.
The cap top (above) is slightly concave and has the Faber-Castell jousting knights logo embossed on it. The cap snaps onto the section/barrel with a nice "click". The bottom of the pen's barrel is slightly convex and unadorned. I like symmetry in writing instruments, so I would have preferred if the barrel end was slightly concave or flat.
The attractive stainless steel monotone nib also features the F-C logo, as well as the nib designation ("F" for Fine, in this case). I think the nib is a little small in size for the pen body, but that's just my opinion. The 'Grip 2010' fountain pen is available in four nib widths--Extra-Fine, Fine, Medium, and Broad--according to the manufacturer's Canadian website.
My pen's Fine nib writes smoothly with no nib tuning required, but it does have a fair amount of feedback, so if you like very quiet nibs, this may not be the one for you. I am a huge fan of Faber-Castell's steel nibs, and the ones on my other F-C pens have little-to-no feedback...but I'll take 'em any way they come! The pen fills via standard international ink cartridge or the supplied converter.
All in all, the Faber-Castell 'Grip 2010' is a cool-looking, sturdy entry-level fountain pen and a very reliable writer. Many thanks to Joe & Sara of Nikaido for this neat pen!
(photos & review by Maja)
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