Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 402

This pen isn't nearly as rare as Christopher's vintage Parker 'Vacuum Filler' (lol)...

It was described on Amazon.ca as "Gullor Lightweight Fountain Pen in Gift Box, Includes Converter, Resin Barrel, Color B". I got it for $27.00 CAD with free shipping, and the order was fulfilled by Amazon (for the seller - APlustore), arriving four days after I ordered it. The pen is still available from Amazon.ca, but the price is now $22.00 CAD + $7.90 shipping as it's being shipped directly by the seller now, not Amazon.

(please click on images to enlarge)

And here it is - my new Jinhao '100 Centennial' fountain pen!

Wait what?? The description said it was a Gullor fountain pen....

 ...and it came in this Gullor presentation box and sleeve.....

---with a Gullor sticker on the bottom....so what gives?!?

Well, I did a bit of digging and found out that Gullor is the North American distributor for Jinhao, so that explains the packaging. As to why they'd omit the word "Jinhao" from the Amazon listing, I have no idea because Jinhao is well-known in the pen world, and Gullor isn't.

In any case, I wasn't surprised when I saw that the pen was, in fact, a Jinhao ---I own three others of the same model, and I easily ID'd it as such from the Amazon photos. I did an in-depth review of the orange/black version of this pen here, so I won't be going over all the features of the pen in today's review.

This particular version is made of a very pretty resin that doesn't have a name, as far as I know. I love that the section material matches the rest of the pen. Not all of the Jinhao '100 Centennial' pens are like that--many (most?) have black sections, so if that's important to you, make sure you look at the sales page/auction listing photos closely before you buy.

Another thing to watch for -- this Jinhao '100 Centennial' has a ball-ended clip, but some others have arrow clips (that look like Parker's famous "Arrow" clip). I thought they were two different models, but they're actually both Jinhao 100's (note: there is a Jinhao '100A' model, but it has a completely different cap band).

The Jinhao '100 Centennial' pens are available with silvery or gold-coloured trim. The pen's colours match the gold-colored trim on mine very nicely ...

On Aliexpress, I noticed that this pen is listed as being a "new" colour, so that might explain why it's priced a bit higher than the older colours. Jinhao seem to be adding new pens to their '100 Centennial' lineup every few months, and I look forward to seeing what they release next.

Above: Note the thin black O-ring at the end of the pen's section. This tiny ring prevents the barrel from being over-tightened (and possibly cracking) when the barrel is screwed back on.

Another nice feature --- the converter that came with the pen (shown above) has a clear piston knob! They're usually black, but this Jinhao converter has a clear one. This is a great idea, especially for a translucent fountain pen. Now, if they could make the converter's internal piston mechanism clear as well, that'd be even better!

The pen takes about 2.5 turns to cap --which might annoy some people--- but the barrel threads are verrry smooth to the touch, and won't cut into your fingers when you're holding the pen.

The gold-coloured two-tone steel nib has the same markings as the all-orange version of this pen that I reviewed here last month. The pen comes in three nib widths--Fine, Medium and Bent. The Fine nib on mine writes smoothly and lays down a true fine line. If you want to upgrade your pen, there are a few '100 Centennial' colours that come with 14K gold nibs, starting at $136 CAD + $5 shipping on Amazon.ca

Overall, I'm very impressed with the build quality, design and appearance of the pen. Its Fine nib wrote smoothly out of the box, and no tuning was required on my part. I think these pens are a heck of a deal for less than $30 CAD shipped. They come in a variety of colours, and because they're affordable, I think they're quite collectible. If you're looking for a full-sized, fairly light (27.9 g total weight inc. converter/15.4 g uncapped), economically-priced fountain pen, this might be the one for you.

(photos & review by Maja)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 401

Today's featured new acquisition is a rare vintage Parker fountain pen, recently acquired by Christopher!

He writes: "Parker Vacumatics have always been by far my favourite pen, but to acquire one right from the beginning of the line's history was something very special. In 1932 after coming out with the Golden Arrow, which was really the very first Parker Vacumatic, Parker released the Vacuum Filler. It had most of the Vacumatic make up but with some notable exceptions. First off, the laminated plastic was not transparent but opaque. Secondly, the inscription on the barrel had no reference to Vacumatic but read, ‘Vacuum Filler’ as did the nib. Then, at the beginning of 1933, Parker added an all black model to this line."

 (photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

Christopher: "The Vacuum Fillers came in three different sizes, the smallest being the sub-deb. Then there was the size up being the Junior, which sported two cap rings. Finally the biggest Parker Vacuum Filler was the Standard size, which had three matching cap rings. Then in June of 1933, Parker discontinued their Vacuum Filler to reintroduce it as the Vacumatic in 1934. They also discontinued the opaque finish moving to transparent one, so that the user of the pen could assess the ink level in the pen."

 "Finding an original Parker Opaque black finish Standard size Vacuum Filler at this late date is definitely a real vintage pen collector’s dream come true and now being in this lucky group, I could not be happier. The pen has a substantial feel to it measuring all of 6 inches posted, but caps back to a very pocketable 5 inches. The finish overall is jet black and, this pen being in essence a first generation model, is double jeweled. The filler is the Parker lockdown type hidden under a short matching blind cap. The fixtures are 14K gold filled, which is really offset by the jet black finish on the rest of the pen. The nib is the typical Vacumatic golden arrow style, but in two tone with an in part platinum mask. I found the pen to be an excellent writer once I restored and serviced it. So, yet another treasure finds its way into my vintage pen collection."

(introductory ad for the Vacuum Filler line which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post).

We featured the 'Stubby'-sized version in Burgundy Pearl belonging to Christopher back in March (link to post). How wonderful that he was able to acquire a second example of this rare Parker model! Congratulations to Christopher on his find, and our thanks to him for sharing it with us :)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 400

Post #400!

Since it's early summer, I thought I'd do a review about a pen that pays tribute to my favourite season, and my favourite U.S. state ...

I haven't seen the film, but I'd seen the iconic Day-Glo movie poster made for this 1966 surfing documentary many times over the years (it's in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, as well as the Smithsonian). The poster was created by graphic artist John Van Hamersveld, who went on to design album covers for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys. When I saw photos of Conklin's new 'Duraflex' limited edition "Endless Summer" fountain pen, I immediately knew that it got its inspiration from this timeless work of abstract photographic art...

(please click on images to enlarge)

From Conklin.com:

"Soaking up the sun, breathing in the fresh air, road trips with good company, and the long cool nights… Experience the joys of summer living with the new limited edition Conklin® Duraflex™ Endless Summer. Influenced by the warm sun, sands, and spirit of sunny California, this energetic new resin is sure to catch the eye of those around you while still paying tribute to the ever-popular and classic Duragraph line that it expanded from."

Only 1898 pieces were made in fountain pen form, and 898 in ballpoint. Because of the type of resin selected for this limited edition run, no two pens look exactly alike. All of the pens have rose gold-coloured trim and the fountain pens all have OmniFlex™ nibs that are rose gold in colour, as well.

Isn't it pretty? :)

For a limited edition, individually-numbered fountain pen, the pen's MSRP of $75 USD is surprisingly affordable. I purchased mine last month for $57 USD + $19.56 for shipping & import charges to Canada via eBay seller 'madisonfinepen'. It arrived in the blue Conklin box with the decorative sleeve shown above.

Conklin's blurb about this pen mentions their 'Duragraph' model, a popular (and ever-expanding) line of flat-topped fountain pens. So, how does the 'Duraflex' model differ from a 'Duragraph'? Answer: 'Duraflex' pens are 'Duragraph' models that are individually-numbered limited editions. The very first 'Duraflex' was a black with rose gold trim model made for Goulet Pens back in 2018. Most 'Duraflex' fountain pens are limited to 1898 pieces, but I've seen some made in even lower numbers (e.g. only 365 "Dayflex" & 365 "Nightflex" models were made, only 288 of the "Juniper" model were produced)

Oh, and remember how I said in my last review that pen companies love to re-use old model names? Well, Conklin produced a vintage model called the 'Duragraph' that came out in 1923. It was only produced for one year before being replaced by the 'Endura' model (and yes, Conklin later produced a modern 'Endura' pen, too!)

The Conklin 'Duraflex' is a colourful, all-resin, medium-sized flat top fountain pen, measuring 14 cm / 5.5 inches capped....

... 12.5 cm (just under 5 inches) from nib tip to barrel end...

...and 17.5 cm / 7 inches posted.

It's a light pen (24 grams with the supplied converter in place) but I found it a bit too long to use posted. Its grip section is gently tapered and goes from 1.0 cm (10 mm) in diameter nearest the nib to 1.1 cm (11 mm) nearest the barrel threads, which I find quite comfortable. The pen's cylindrical barrel has a diameter of 1.3 cm / 13 mm.

Above: The rose-gold coloured, harpoon-shaped OmniFlex™ nib that the fountain pen came with. This is the old-style OmniFlex nib (before Conklin switched to JoWo as their supplier) with the heart-shaped breather hole, and the word "FLEX" above the Conklin logo and "TOLEDO U.S.A." The nib has the same black plastic feed as the newer version.

Small confession: as cool as its nib looks, I really didn't buy this Conklin limited edition pen for its nib. Call me cynical, but when I hear about a modern fountain pen nib that's touted as having flex, I'm a little sceptical about it. Vintage nibs with "true flex' were made of gold and Conklin's OmniFlex is made of stainless steel, so I wasn't expecting too much flex.

So, how does the Conklin nib write?

It writes surprisingly well! I say that because I was surprised at how much line variation I got without the nib railroading. With light pressure on the nib, the pen laid down a medium line. Adding a bit more pressure yielded a broader line, and when I added a bit more pressure to that, I got the line variation you can see in the word "flex" and the horizontal/vertical lines above.  I thought I'd need considerably more pressure to create that kind of line variation, but I didn't. Keep in mind this is the old-style Conklin 'OmniFlex' nib, not the newer one made by JoWo- I haven't tried the JoWo one yet.

(ink in writing sample : Diamine 'Blue Velvet')

The pen's barrel is unadorned, but its cap top (above) has "Conklin" and "Est. 1898" engraved in a neat cursive font and filled in with gold paint/lacquer...

The pen's barrel is engraved --in a lovely block font--with "DURAFLEX Limited Edition" followed by the pen's individual limited edition number (my pen says "0123/1898"), then filled in with the same gold paint/lacquer. I find the barrel engraving very attractive, and I love the rose gold-coloured barrel ring--it adds a nice bit of ornamentation without making the pen excessively showy.

I didn't take a close-up shot of it, but the rose gold-coloured cap band has the Conklin name in cursive, three crescent moon shapes, the word "Duragraph" (in the same cursive font), followed by three more crescent moons on it-- simple, tasteful and unobtrusive.

The pen's narrow clip has a flattened ball-end and a top-mounted design that allows the pen to sit low in the pocket. It's not the large, rocker-style clip (which is a great design, btw) found on some other Conklin models, and it doesn't have the Conklin name engraved in large font (which can be a bit much, visually, on a narrower pen) on it - the clip actually doesn't have the Conklin name on it anywhere. This elegant clip suits the simple design of the 'Duraflex', while providing a secure form of attachment for papers or clothing that isn't overly tight.

In summary, this is a beautiful, affordable numbered limited edition fountain pen with a cool-looking nib that performs well and is bound to draw attention (and perhaps some envious looks?). It's a very colourful fountain pen, but I personally don't find it garish. Your opinion may differ ... but that's A-OK with me :)

Have a safe, happy summer, everyone! 🌞
~Maja

(photos & review by Maja)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 399

As promised in Monday's blog post, here's that colourful Conklin fountain pen I bought from fellow pen club member Andy last summmer--my Conklin 'Empire' in the gorgeous "Harlequin" pattern!

(please click on images to enlarge)

The Conklin 'Empire' is an Italian-made cartridge-converter fountain pen made of injection molded PMMA (Poly Methyl Methacrylate), which is considered a premium resin. It came out in 2018, and was available in a variety of colours - Amber, Harlequin, Oatmeal, Stardust Blue, Stardust Red and Stardust White. The original MSRP was a hefty $145 USD, but I got mine at a significant discount (thanks, Andy! :)

Note: Like many other pen companies, Conklin likes to re-use old model names. There was an earlier Conklin model also called the 'Empire' that came out several years ago (ie. before Yafa acquired Conklin) but was eventually discontinued. It had a fluted body and large metal cap that was flared at the top, so there's no mistaking the two (there's a photo of it here).

After I bought the pen from Andy, I looked at it more closely in my car. It was a very hot day (during BC's heat dome summer), but I was captivated by the fluted shape of the pen and wanted to examine it more closely before I drove home. The bright sunlight brought out all the wonderful colours in the resin, and I was stunned at the beauty of the material. Pictures simply do not do it justice.

The pen is torpedo-shaped but has a unique sculpted look to it, which appears to be inspired by Art Deco -- both the cap and barrel have raised facets in low relief that resemble the top of the iconic Chrysler Building. The pen's cap has four rounded sides (with three facets) that gently taper to a point, while the barrel (which has four facets) has a more pronounced taper, presumably to facilitate posting.

The 'Empire's' posted length is a whopping 17.5 cm, while its capped length is 14.3 cm, and its uncapped (nib tip to barrel end) length is 12.8 cm. The total weight of the pen (without a converter in place) is 29.4 grams, while the weight of the uncapped pen is 16.4 grams. The pen is well-balanced and not overly-heavy when posted, but I use it unposted because of its length. It also looks a bit awkward when posted, because of the relative narrowness of the lower barrel.

The section is metal, but flared at the end, to prevent the user's fingers from sliding off. I don't have a problem with the section, but some users might find it a bit slippery. The inner barrel threads are also metal, which adds to the overall weight of the pen, and precludes it from being used as an eyedropper-filler.

The steel clip bears the Conklin name, which is deeply engraved and then hand-painted with a bright blue lacquer. The clip is recessed (love that design touch!) but it's a different clip than the one on my Conklin 'Nozac'. I prefer the Nozac's rocker clip as it's much easier to use----I have to use both hands to engage the tight clip on my 'Empire'.

            

The red lacquered stripe on the metal cap band is found on all the 'Empire' models, regardless of their colours/patterns. Some people might not like it, but I think it suits my "Harlequin" model very well because its resin has a lot of red in it. The cap utilizes a magnetic closure mechanism (which Conklin describes as an "all-new twist magnet lock system") and is very secure.

The back of the cap with the words "Patented" and "Made in Italy" stamped on it...

Above: The gently-peaked top of the cap, where its four softly-rounded sides meet. The bottom of the pen's barrel has a similar--but more rounded-- end (see photo below).

The pen's raised facets line up perfectly whether the pen is capped or posted...

The lack of outer barrel threads (due to the magnetic cap closure) makes for a more comfortable grip. Also, the barrel "step" is set back further from the section, making it easier for a high gripper like me to hold the pen comfortably. 

This is the steel nib that my 'Empire' originally came with-- an Extra Fine Conklin #6 size steel nib (shown on my Conklin 'Metropolis' above). It wrote smoothly but had some hard-starting/drying-out issues, so .....

....I swapped it out for the Metropolis' Medium Conklin steel nib (above), which is an older Conklin nib with no ink flow issues. The peak-like engraving on this older Conklin nib complements the 'Empire's peaked cap and peak-like raised facets. The 'Metropolis' has a crescent moon cap band design on it that complements the crescent moon on my 'Empire's' original nib, so the nib swap worked out beautifully :)

The 'Empire' model came with several steel nib options - Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, and 1.1mm stub, and some 'Empire' pens were available with Conklin's "OmniFlex" nib. The regular nibs were not marked with the nib width, but the sticker on the Conklin presentation box indicated the pen's nib width. The pen is also available as in rollerball form.

All in all, I love this pen! It has a unique look to it, the magnetic cap closure is cool, and the swirly resin is gorgeous. Many thanks to Andy for selling me this lovely fountain pen!

(photos & review by Maja)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 398

Today we're featuring a vintage beauty, courtesy of Christopher - a hand engraved Waterman 452 ½ V fountain pen!

Christopher writes: "Pens as they are now, are far away from what they were back in the 1920s. In fact, for a fashionable lady in those days, a pen could even be considered part of her jewellery. Pen companies such as Waterman catered to that way of thinking by producing stunning lady’s short ribbon ring top fountain pens in precious metals like gold and, in this case, sterling silver. And to the finish, adding fine hand engraving which all added up to a beautiful pen."

"The nice thing about these hand engraved fountain pens was that no two of them were exactly alike. So if you are lucky enough to pick one up, you definitely have something very unique. Like Birks in cities like Vancouver and Toronto, Canada the O. B. Allan Jewelers sold high-end fountain pens from 1904 when they opened their doors 'til they became part of Canadian retail history."

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

He continues: "I picked up this particular pen at a shop on Vancouver Island and was pleased to add it to my collection once restored. The sterling silver finish took to polishing like nobody’s business and other than a replacement sac and a good internal cleaning, the pen came back to life as a very good writer. The 14K gold nib lays down ink in a fine line and, this pen being a overlay from the early 1920s, the barrel underneath and grip section are finished in high-quality black plastic."

"On the end of the sterling barrel overlay is engraved 452 ½ V, while at the open end of the cap is the Waterman Company branding. And just to make sure there is no doubt that the finish on this pen is silver, Waterman has engraved the word ‘Sterling’. What a perfect pen, and could any vintage pen collector not be happy to add this dandy little lady’s lovely to their collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for sharing this wonderful vintage pen with us!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 397

Here's a short(er) review of my PENBBS '352' "Cedar" - a slim, flat-top in a beautiful resin:

(please click on images to enlarge)

I got it for $29.99 USD ($27.99 + $2 shipping) via one of my favourite eBay sellers - 'esybuy' - in the summer of 2020, the year after it was first released. It came in a very nice PENBBS presentation box (like this one) with a wraparound magnetic lid.

Some sellers called the resin "Cedar" or "Cedar Grain", but I've seen the material referred to as "Pine Wood Grain" as well. Whatever its name, it's very attractive and looks great with the silver-coloured trim.

The pen weighs 20.0 grams (with an empty converter in it) and is 14.4 cm long capped, 12.9 cm uncapped (nib tip to barrel end) and 16.1 cm posted. It's not overly long posted if you're a high gripper like myself, but I tend to use it unposted. It's a slimmer pen with a 1.2 cm maximum barrel diameter, and both the barrel and grip section are subtly tapered.

The double-ended-sword clip is simple but elegant-looking with its beveled edges, and it clips onto things well, without being overly-tight. It's the same clip that's found on a few other PENBBS models like the '355, '456' and '480'.

The cap band says "PENBBS", "SHANGHAI" and "352" on it. I have a hard time remembering some pen model numbers (unless they're '2000' or '149' or '51' ;) so I'm glad they put the model number on the cap band.

The nib has some nice scrollwork engraved on it, as well as "PENBBS" & "SINCE 2005" in block letters, and "F" & "China" in cursive. The pen was available with either an Extra-Fine or Fine nib, so I chose the Fine. The pen wrote very smoothly right out of the box and laid down a true Fine line. The '352' model is a C/C-filler and fills via ink cartridge or the supplied converter.

The creamy-white resin is gorgeous and varies in appearance because of its streaks and swirls, so no two pens are exactly alike. I'm so happy that PENBBS used the same material for the grip section as for the rest of the pen.

Overall, I love this pen--both for how it writes and how it looks--- and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for a slimmer, classy-looking resin C/C-filler.

(photos & review by Maja)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 396

I got this very cool all-metal pen a while ago as a gift from fellow pen club member Andy W. after I bought a colourful Conklin fountain pen from him. I'll do a review of the Conklin another day as the weather is too cloudy and miserable to take decent photos of it. In the meantime, here's the gift pen from Andy -- my Wing Sung '601A' open-nibbed plunger-filling flighter (brushed stainless-steel)  fountain pen!

(please click on images to enlarge)

I ran into a bit of confusion when I was researching the history of this model because there's an older Wing Sung fountain pen with exactly the same model name that has (a) a conical nib and (b) a vacuum-filling mechanism with a rubber sac! The newer version I'm reviewing today (which came out in 2020, I believe) has an open nib and a pump-filling mechanism. This open-nibbed version is also available with plastic barrels (in various solid colours) and stainless steel caps that have a blue jewel finial (also found on the barrel ends). It also comes as a clear demonstrator.

I found an Aliexpress link for my particular all-stainless steel fountain pen (with your choice of gold-coloured trim or silver-coloured trim). If you want the same stainless steel pen body, but with an actual gold nib, here's an Aliexpress link to the 14k gold-nibbed version

It's a handsome-looking fountain pen and I really like the stainless steel body/gold trim combination. The silver trim option has a gold-coloured nib (as does my pen) and that drives me nuts. Why do pen companies do that, instead of putting a silver-coloured nib on a fountain pen that's completely silver (including the trim)?!?

The pen weighs 24.8 grams according to my new pocket digital scale, and its capped length is 14 cm. Its uncapped length is about 13.8 cm from nib tip to barrel end, and its posted length is approximately 15.5 cm. I'm a "high gripper" ---I grip pens a bit higher up on the section--- so normally I'd use this pen posted but I'm worried about its barrel getting scratched by the cap's sharp lip, so I use it unposted. It's long enough for me to use comfortably unposted, though.

I also like that the blind cap's trim ring is gold-coloured. When you unscrew this blind cap...

....you see part of the pen's plunger-filling mechanism (and thank you, Wing Sung, for making the plunger out of metal,*not* plastic!). If you want to see how this filling mechanism works, there's a YouTube video that shows the clear demonstrator version here (note: the YT reviewer refers to its mechanism as a "draw-filler").

If you want to take the filling mechanism apart, there's a plastic tool for this task, so I ordered it separately from the same Aliexpress seller that sells this model (the seller's info is in first link at the top of this blog post). This small tool cost less than $3 CAD shipped, so I ordered a few other things from the seller at the same time, heh.

Above: the Parker "Arrow"- inspired clip that Wing Sung previously used on their '601' hooded-nibbed model. Parker's "Arrow" clip is iconic, and this Wing Sung version is nicely rendered.

The metal finial on the cap top (photo above) is gold-coloured and has a peaked top. There's a matching finial on the bottom of the pen's barrel, which made me happy because I love symmetry in pens. The cap is friction-fit and both caps and posts securely (but beware of potential barrel scratching if you decide to use the pen posted).

Above: a close-up of part of the inscription on the pen's cap--ie. the Chinese characters that precede '601A' (seen in the photo directly below)

(you can't see it here, but the opposite side of the cap says "Made in China" in block letters)

Above: the attractive, monotone gold-plated #5-sized stainless steel nib. Above the engraved letters "WING S" and "F" is the Wing Sung logo which --I just realized-- consists of a tiny fountain pen on top of three concentric circles -- love it!

The pen's glossy black plastic grip section is tapered and goes from about 0.85 cm in diameter (closest to the nib) to a respectable 1.15 cm (my measurements). The nib had a bit of so-called "baby's bottom" issues (ink flow issues caused by the over-polishing of the nib's inner tines, at the factory level) but after I did a bit of nib tuning with some fine Micromesh, it writes without flow issues now. It doesn't have any flex--the nib is quite stiff--but I didn't expect the nib to be flexy.

Overall, the pen feels really good in the hand. It's a solid, attractive fountain pen and one that I'm very grateful to own. Andy -- many thanks again for this beautiful pen (and my apologies for taking so long to do a review of it)!

(photos & review by Maja)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 395

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)