Zebra V-301

[dannyt.33]

Great review! And I must say, where I live I've never seen a fountain pen in a store to date, especially not in packaging like that

[Sailor Kenshin]

 

 

For now I need to find a cartridge supplier.

 

Regards,

Bill

 

This is where pipettes and syringes are our friends.

[Chthulhu]

This is where pipettes and syringes are our friends.

 

Agreed. The ink in the OEM cartridges is far from wonderful in any case.

 

You can also pick up the rollerball and highlighter pens in the same series and you'll have two refillable cartridges for each pen you acquire, and in spite of their different stock numbers, they will all fit all three types of pen.

[Bill32164]

For now I need to find a cartridge supplier.

 

Regards,

Bill

 

This is where pipettes and syringes are our friends.

 

I thought about the syringe method. That way I can use my Waterman ink.

[Easy Writer]

I put a converter into my Zebra 301 and it works great! I wanted to be able to use a better quality ink (Parker Quink in black) which would flow better so instead of trying to find a cartridge, I found an extra Chinese converter and it installed without issue no more skips and I can put more ink than what the cartridge held! I suppose a platinum converter would work, but I haven't tried it yet, though I am ordering several platinum converters for some of my fountain pens. I will try a platinum converter when I receive them and let you know whether they fit or not? Someone on here may have already tried it, but I haven't read about it yet? Cheers!

Edited October 9, 2011 by Easy Writer

[79spitfire]

I use a syringe to fill mine with Noodler's black. Works good. Pen isn't worth the $$ for even a cheap converter. If it wrote better, perhaps...

[KrazyIvan]

Mine has been skipping quite a bit on Rhodia Dotpad paper. I looked at the nib undel my loop and it looks like it has a little baby's bottom. With more absorbent paper, the pen does not skip as much, so it seems to confim the factory baby's bottom built in. Where are my buff sticks?

[jhazelwood]

I picked up one today at Walgreens, I tossed the ink and cleaned the cart with bleach and water. I filled it with Baystate Blue and it is running fairly well, still some water dilution in the feed but otherwise it is about the same as any other cheap pen. I think it will get better as the ink fully saturates the feed.

[chris redfield]

Honestly this pen is worth a try for a $3. Many people complain of much more expensive pens not working well. I bought one at Walgreens yesterday, and my experience has been nothing but positive. It wrote instantly after inserting the cartridge with no skipping. The nib is smoother than some Lamy pens I have. The cap is loose when posted. However the pen body may be long enough to write with unposted.

 

Possibly they have improved the quality since the initial production run. If not, this would not be the only fountain pen with poor Q.C.

[AlexandraM]

I was very disappointed with this pen when I found it in Staples. It seems to require a lot of pressure to start and keep writing; though when it is working, it lays down a nice, think line reminiscent of a much more expensive pen.

 

I am happy to hear that some have had success with using a converter or simply refilling the included ink in the cartidges. Soon I'll dig out that pen, flush the nib and feed and try a wetter ink. I would love to be able to use the Z-301, it's a cheap but sturdy pen with a nice think nib flow.

[jhazelwood]

Mine worked for about an hour with the BSB, this pen is a POS. Zebra should be embarrassed by this product.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Mine was just a little skippy - but only at first. Without changing inks or flushing, with some use it got much better, and now starts right away, even after being neglected for days.

[WayTooManyHobbies]

Call me crazy - but I've been using mine as a dip pen to try ink samples. I'm just getting in to fountain pens, and it's nice to have one that I don't need to be concerned about.

 

Eventually, I may empty the cartridges and fill them with interesting ink (thanks, Goulet samples!), but for now having something cheap that I can rinse off to try another color has been very convenient.

[mindlinks]

Hi all, this is my first post. I thought i'd chime in with my experience with this pen. I bought it today, not having read any reviews. The very same problems occurred that seem to have plagued most of the posters--i.e. very difficult to start any ink flow, when it did start it skipped, laid down a very dry line, in other words very unsatisfactory. This was quite unexpected, because judging from my positive experiences with zebra ballpoints (I'm now reformed in terms of eschewing ballpoints when possible) I was excited to see the pen in the drugstore i was in. I had expected much more out of the fountain pen, and after half an hour of frustration and cussing I looked up the review here and saw the same problems mirrored. Anyway, I recalled the advice I read elsewhere about flushing new pens; apparently some have some residual oils left over from the manufacturing process. So I soaked the nib in warm water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid (not automatic dishwashing soap), followed by flushing, followed by soaking in alcohol and further flushing. Voila! the pen is now functioning very well, lays down a moderately wet line, starts every time. The whole process only took about 30 minutes.

 

Hope this is of some help for those still having problems. It's too bad to see a decent product go down the tubes if it's not warranted. If anyone has any luck with improving the Zebra's performance, I'd love to hear about it.

[chris redfield]

It's a shame that this pen is not better. It could have been a good opportunity to re-introduce fountain pens to the general pen user.

 

Many people who are otherwise not pen nerds are huge fans of the Zebra F-301 ballpoint. I work at a hospital and plenty of doctors, EMTs, nurses, &c refuse to use anything else. These people occupy the the midway point between FPN users and people who never give pens a second thought.

 

I really did not have any problems with either of my V-301s. Evidently many people have though. Unfortunately the average person is going to try pen for 2-3 minutes and then never try another fountain pen.

[lovemy51]

well, i had mine for a couple of months now. the first thing i did was flush the cartridge and refilled it with PRDCSSB. nothing but good things to say about this little pen. starts every time (even after sitting for a long period of time -i mean, i don't use it in my rotation, only when i'm sitting at the desk and reach for any pen around that's around-, no skipping, i like the funny looks of it...

 

i guess if one uses the ink that comes with it, then u'll have all the issues mentioned here.

 

yet, i don't recommend this pen to anyone -i figured one can buy a cheap (real or fake) Hero 616 pen that writes just as well, if not better, and cost a lot less... and has a nice retro look!!!... ... unless you are like a lot of us and just want to own another piece of stainless steel tube with a nib and a reservoir.

[Sailor Kenshin]

What did the Zebra cost again--- three bucks? You can't get a genuine Hero 616 for less, only the fakes.

 

Both the Hero 616 and the Z-pen are decent cheap writers. The Z seems a little bit finer and dryer, and then there is the difference in look and finish. I guess that's where esthetics come in.

[lovemy51]

What did the Zebra cost again--- three bucks? You can't get a genuine Hero 616 for less, only the fakes.

 

Both the Hero 616 and the Z-pen are decent cheap writers. The Z seems a little bit finer and dryer, and then there is the difference in look and finish. I guess that's where esthetics come in.

hello Sailor. i find my Z wetter and wider than the Hero 616 (the real jumbo one) :hmm1: .

 

edited to add: the Z cost me almost $5 american at Walgreens.

Edited November 14, 2011 by lovemy51

[Sailor Kenshin]

What did the Zebra cost again--- three bucks? You can't get a genuine Hero 616 for less, only the fakes.

 

Both the Hero 616 and the Z-pen are decent cheap writers. The Z seems a little bit finer and dryer, and then there is the difference in look and finish. I guess that's where esthetics come in.

hello Sailor. i find my Z wetter and wider than the Hero 616 (the real jumbo one) :hmm1: .

 

edited to add: the Z cost me almost $5 american at Walgreens.

 

Interesting! Is this with the original ink? Do you have the black or the blue?

 

I have the blue, which really does write in a hairline, as opposed to my somewhat wetter 616s.

 

But how cool is it that you can buy a fountain pen, no matter how cheap, at WALGREEN'S?

[Messmer]

The Zebra FP is a (bleep). I got two several month ago at rock bottom price. First, it is a nail to write. Second, it does not take international cartridge. Third, if I can't put a cartridge converter to it... I is no use.

 

A selectum FP work better for 1$... Selectum is a horrible design but it work.