Picasso FPs

[Bear]

A friend of mine--another fountain pen addict--went to China this summer to adopt a little girl. While there he saw a "Picasso" fountain pen, which he bought for $8.00 U.S. He absolutely loves the pen, and it also has great sentimental value to him because of the circumstances. He did let me try it out, and although it's a finer point than I usually like, it wrote well.

 

However, he's never been able to find the brand elsewhere.

 

Recently, while browsing e-bay, I found several Picassos listed by a Japanese seller, win_world_jp. I ordered two, and they arrived in less than five days. Even with overseas shipping, the total cost for the two pens was $40.

 

I'm not set up for fine photography, so the following image is taken from win_world_jp's e-bay store. This is the Picasso PS-908 in yellow. (The pen my friend bought is the same model, in black). The color on this photo is pretty accurate; it's more of a pumpkin or butternut color than a lemon yellow.

 

http://i7.ebayimg.com/04/i/05/cb/05/a3_1.JPG

 

I honestly cannot tell what the nib is made of. The booklet that comes with pen states that Picasso nibs are 12k, 14k or 18k gold. The Japanese seller stated that this pen had a 22k gold-plated nib. For the price, I'm guessing gold-plate. The English translations in the booklet are too eccentric for me to say that the manufacturer has promised that all its nibs are gold.

 

But whatever the material, the pen writes well. My sample below shows why I don't like fine points for every day writing; they tend to make me cramp my letters. But for note-taking, they're hard to beat.

 

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f372/bmmiller/fountain%20pens/ps908.jpg

 

This is an excellent pen for the price. And I would also recommend win_world_jp, who has only been on e-bay since August, but has managed to score 270 positive feedbacks, with no negatives that I could see.

 

Bear

Edited February 4, 2006 by Bear

[Apollo]

Nice looking pen, although I can't see the bottom picture you posted. Also, what's with the millerblogs.typad.com sign in box that pops up each time one looks at this thread?

[chupie]

The image must be linked to the blog. Hopefully he will put it elsewhere. I would like to see the sample.

[His Nibs]

I looked into importing the Picasso line of pens a couple of years ago, as an adjuct to my other Chinese brands. They have some very beautiful models, and outstanding packaging as well.

 

However, they were unable to sell to dealers outside of China due to licensing issues with the 'Picasso' name. Actually, that's not quite right. They *could* do so if the dealer covered the licensing costs...which if I remember were close to $1 million per year!

 

I imagine that the Japanese seller on eBay buys them retail, directly in China. It's probably only a matter of time until the Picasso estate sends him a 'cease and desist' order. I received something similar for a DUKE model that was an 'homage' to Charlie Chaplin. I had to remove all references to the pen from my website.

 

Norman

[Bear]

Sorry about the writing sample, folks. I'm still learning how to do this. I've linked to one from a Photobucket account, so no password is needed.

 

Problem on Photobucket is the size of the image allowed. Some of you who are expert at putting images into posts, where do you link from?

 

Thanks,

 

Bear

[Bear]

I looked into importing the Picasso line of pens a couple of years ago, as an adjuct to my other Chinese brands. They have some very beautiful models, and outstanding packaging as well.

 

However, they were unable to sell to dealers outside of China due to licensing issues with the 'Picasso' name. Actually, that's not quite right. They *could* do so if the dealer covered the licensing costs...which if I remember were close to $1 million per year!

 

I imagine that the Japanese seller on eBay buys them retail, directly in China. It's probably only a matter of time until the Picasso estate sends him a 'cease and desist' order. I received something similar for a DUKE model that was an 'homage' to Charlie Chaplin. I had to remove all references to the pen from my website.

 

Norman

That probably explains why we had so much trouble finding out anything about the pen after he got back from China. Thanks, Nibs, for filling us in.

 

I'm glad I got them before the cease-and-desist letter showed up.

 

Bear

[Gatorade]

Sorry about the writing sample, folks. I'm still learning how to do this. I've linked to one from a Photobucket account, so no password is needed.

 

Problem on Photobucket is the size of the image allowed. Some of you who are expert at putting images into posts, where do you link from?

 

Thanks,

 

Bear

I use photobucket and have posted HUGE images.

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http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/Gator_b8/IMG_3888.jpg

 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/Gator_b8/Jan1909.jpg

[wimg]

Hi Bear,

 

Thanks for sharing your review, pics, and writing sample. It is indeed a very nice looking pen, and the ink you're using shows it is quite capable of nice shading too.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[isellpens]

I have several Picasso Pens on my website at: www.isellpens.com . They are really nice pens for the money.

[Hawk]

I have several Picasso Pens on my website at: www.isellpens.com . They are really nice pens for the money.

And a whole lot more I might add, pens of every kind at very reasonable prices. No Ebay hassles. I have purchased pens from Isellpens, and will again, and can highly recommend this merchant. You can spend hours at his site, great fun even if you don't make a purchase.

Hawk

[greydog]

old post here so we will give it an update. I purchased a Picasso pen from i sell pens last week. My first one. It was one of 3 pens along with 3 bottles of ink for the order. My first order with Todd. In my collection so far i have 25 to 30 pens. Almost all of them i have let my dispatcher sample at work as i go in and out of the office. He has liked several and said they were nice. He is not into fountain pens. The picasso for some reason impressed him a lot and he said he wanted one to give to his son and asked where I purchased it. Since it was new i sold it to him. The next day I called isellpens and placed an order for a replacement of the same model and picked out another Picasso pen to purchase with it. I have purchased at least 15 pens in the last 3 months that were made in China. The picasso is hands down the nicest inexpensive pen i have purchased. It was 13.00 dollars. The packaging has to be worth 4 or 5 dollars if you wanted to purchase it alone to box a pen for a gift. For the price it is quite extravagant. It put the two Monterverde's packaging to shame. And they had better packaging than the Mabie Todd, Parker, and Waterman pens i have purchased this year. Picasso will be the first brand i look at when looking for another Chinese pen. Not knocking the others I like many of them. The picasso just seems a bit nicer in my opinion.

 

Pictures are from isellpens web site. Hope he does not mind the posting. The 916 in electric red is the pen i sold. I was concerned a bit that there would not be another one for me to order. The 903 in blueblack for 16.00 will be my second picasso. They should be in next week.

 

 

Edited August 2, 2009 by greydog

[Akumar]

old post here so we will give it an update. I purchased a Picasso pen from i sell pens last week. My first one. It was one of 3 pens along with 3 bottles of ink for the order. My first order with Todd. In my collection so far i have 25 to 30 pens. Almost all of them i have let my dispatcher sample at work as i go in and out of the office. He has liked several and said they were nice. He is not into fountain pens. The picasso for some reason impressed him a lot and he said he wanted one to give to his son and asked where I purchased it. Since it was new i sold it to him. The next day I called isellpens and placed an order for a replacement of the same model and picked out another Picasso pen to purchase with it. I have purchased at least 15 pens in the last 3 months that were made in China. The picasso is hands down the nicest inexpensive pen i have purchased. It was 13.00 dollars. The packaging has to be worth 4 or 5 dollars if you wanted to purchase it alone to box a pen for a gift. For the price it is quite extravagant. It put the two Monterverde's packaging to shame. And they had better packaging than the Mabie Todd, Parker, and Waterman pens i have purchased this year. Picasso will be the first brand i look at when looking for another Chinese pen. Not knocking the others I like many of them. The picasso just seems a bit nicer in my opinion.

 

Pictures are from isellpens web site. Hope he does not mind the posting. The 916 in electric red is the pen i sold. I was concerned a bit that there would not be another one for me to order. The 903 in blueblack for 16.00 will be my second picasso. They should be in next week.

 

 

 

 

I have one really good stainless steel ball pen from Picasso. Even the BM store owner did not know the company but it is good for the price which is about 2 dollars. It is a copy of Sheaffer BP with parrellel lines running from tip to bottom giving the pen a better grip.

[lovemy51]

i must admit that my picasso with a very small nib is one of my smoothest writers!!!

 

here's a pic: http://isellpens.com/Images/picasso/PICASO...9%20ORANGE1.JPG

[tres]

Thanks for the review! I too purchased a Picasso from isellpens.com and it is a smooth writer.

[greydog]

An update, have had the new Picasso 903 for over a week now. Three dollars more and well worth it. The pen looks more expensive than the 916, which is a pretty nice pen itself. The Ink converter looks higher quality, not all plastic. Has some metal on it. The 903 as become one of my favorite daily pens. I am now going to order 2 more 903's in different colors and may be another one in my favorite color just in case something should happen to the one i have. I have become a big fan of Picasso pens thus far.

Edited August 15, 2009 by greydog

[Sam P.]

I have a Picasso 903 in silver. While it looks really cool, it has this annoying habit of skipping, which makes it really difficult to write with. Pity, though, because it looks so cool. One thing though. The nib looks pretty different from the ones I see on isellpens.com. Instead of the gold nib there, mine's steel. Here's a pic.

Edited April 11, 2010 by sammy21290

[TMac]

I have a Picasso 903 in silver. While it looks really cool, it has this annoying habit of skipping, which makes it really difficult to write with. Pity, though, because it looks so cool. One thing though. The nib looks pretty different from the ones I see on isellpens.com. Instead of the gold nib there, mine's steel. Here's a pic.

 

My 908 used to skip when I first bought it. I flushed it multiple times with water and liquid dish detergent. That did the trick. Now it is as smooth a writer that I own.

[soloworx]

I had a 908 before (have sold it to another happy owner) and it performed well — no skipping, moderately wet, a reliable starter. IIRC, I had it filled with PR's Chocolat. The pen came with an impressive cardboard box with a nicely printed brochure. My only other comment is that the nib is so small in relation to the pen size (similar to a Kaigelu that I have) and that the enamel of the brass cap came undone at the point where the clip rested.

 

It's a good everyday pen and certainly a great one vis-a-vis its price. I got mine from Todd of isellpens.

Edited April 11, 2010 by soloworx

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, quite a nice looking pen and appears to be good value for your money.

[AtomicLeo]

I have a Picasso 903 in silver. While it looks really cool, it has this annoying habit of skipping, which makes it really difficult to write with. Pity, though, because it looks so cool. One thing though. The nib looks pretty different from the ones I see on isellpens.com. Instead of the gold nib there, mine's steel. Here's a pic.

 

My 908 used to skip when I first bought it. I flushed it multiple times with water and liquid dish detergent. That did the trick. Now it is as smooth a writer that I own.

 

+1. I recently brought mine out of storage and ran PR Tanzanite ink through it. Writes great now.