Charles Hubert Green Plaid

[artaddict]

Just received my bargain FP from isellpens (Thanks Todd). It's a Charles Hubert green plaid FP with a medium-fine nib. I was ordering ink so I decided to include a pen, naturally. At $6.99, I don't feel too guilty about yet another pen. Anyway, here is my first attempt at a review.

 

Appearance/Materials/Size

I'm not really fond of the appearance - green plaid with gold plated accents. It appears to be lacquer over some kind of metal. The nib is gold colored and says Iridium Germany. Length: It's about 5.3" closed, 4.75" unposted, and 6.4" posted. Because of the barrel design, it's quite long and top-heavy posted. So I can only write with it unposted. A very strange and inconvenient posting arrangement. It posts securely though. The cap comes off easily and snaps shut with a nice positive click. Unposted, it handles just right.

It came with an ink cartridge but I installed a long international converter.

 

Nib Performance

I cleaned it and loaded some black Quink.

It writes great! Very easy to write with, fairly smooth but with some feedback, wetter than my Lamy Safari, but not as wet as my Parkers. Not even as wet as my Pilot Petit which has a bit more feedback from the paper. Very slight tooth but definitely not scratchy. Perfect really if you favor a true medium-fine line. I notice though that my penmanship doesn't improve with fine nibs. My writing looks best with stub or italic nibs because they force me to use proper form. It writes finer than my parker gel jotter so it's better for the day planner. I can even draw with it in my sketchbook! That's pretty good, better than the Lamy.

 

Comparisons

In the short time I've been a member of FPN, I've acquired 5 fountain pens! Writing-wise I prefer this Charles Hubert over the Parker Frontier (F) and Lamy Safari (F).

 

Conclusion

If you like a fine line, green plaid, and write unposted, this is a great pen! But sadly, I cannot get over the green plaid design. I can write with it but it's not visually appealing to me.

 

The image is borrowed from isellpens.

Edited April 19, 2007 by artaddict

[amh210]

I own one in red plaid. Like you, I'm impressed with how well it writes. I find it to be too heavy, though.

 

Andy

[artaddict]

I own one in red plaid. Like you, I'm impressed with how well it writes. I find it to be too heavy, though.

 

Andy

 

It is a bit heavy. But it's no longer mine. My husband liked it so much I gave it to him. I can tell he really likes it because he carefully put it away in his briefcase. Now I can buy another pen!

[Keng]

Interesting review. Being unfamilair with this brand name, can you enlighten me on the manufacturer and country of origin of this pen? Cheers

[artaddict]

Interesting review. Being unfamilair with this brand name, can you enlighten me on the manufacturer and country of origin of this pen? Cheers

 

 

I believe the company is based in Paris, France.

isellpens.com has them

[Maja]

Like Andy, I have a red plaid version. I rarely write with my pens unposted but this one is a bit too heavy to write with, posted. I like the plaid design and actually went out of my way to find one. I am still kicking myself for not bidding on a plaid Reform pen (I think it was an older model) on Penbid

 

Anyway........thanks for the excellent review, artaddict---ya done good!

[artaddict]

Anyway........thanks for the excellent review, artaddict---ya done good!

 

Thanks, Maja! I'm glad you found a red plaid pen! :embarrassed_smile:

 

[Judybug]

I have a red plaid Charles Hubert and I'll echo what others have said - It's a good writer, but rather heavy. I don't post so it's not a problem. But I think even a confirmed poster would find this pen cumbersome when posted. The price is amazing! I don't know how they do it!

 

Judybug

[donwinn]

I purchased a Green Plaid, and love it so much I ordered two more sets, including the bp, plus two sets of red plaid. I love the weight of the posted pen, as well as the way it writes. The reason I bought so many is to give as gifts -- they appear to be much more expensive than the 6.99 USD price. I actualy gave a set of the red plaid to a co-worker, who I found out is somewhat of a fp afficionado, and discovered, oddly enough, that his middle name is Gillespie, being part scottish, and he downloaded from the internet and showed me a printout of the Gillespie tartan -- you guessed it -- it is exactly the pattern of the red plaid pen.

 

My friend, in addition to loving the family tartan of the pen, also enjoys the weight of the posted pen. He is a somewhat large gentleman, and I was prior to losing 40 lbs on the advice of my doctor, so that may be a factor.

 

Donnie from Little Elm

[artaddict]

judybug & donwinn,

glad you like the plaid pens!

I just refilled it with Noodler's Polar Black because it's being used for check-writing.

[exit here]

Unless mistaken ... the reference to Paris appears to be part of the trading name (Charles-Hubert,Paris) and does not reflect France as the place of origin. Also but again not qualified ...I believe that the Nib and possibly the whole pen is manufactured in Shanghai China. The home page for Charles Hubert, Paris is a dot com and the corporate address is in California. I can also tell you that ebay Australia is a-swamp with these and Hero's.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2007 by exit here

[artaddict]

Unless mistaken ... the reference to Paris appears to be part of the trading name (Charles-Hubert,Paris) and does not reflect France as the place of origin. Also but again not qualified ...I believe that the Nib and possibly the whole pen is manufactured in Shanghai China. The home page for Charles Hubert, Paris is a dot com and the corporate address is in California. I can also tell you that ebay Australia is a-swamp with these and Hero's.

 

Huh! That's interesting. The inclusion of Paris in the name is a good but deceptive marketing ploy then? Anyway, the pen writes very well. So well I ordered another Charles Hubert!

[donwinn]

Unless mistaken ... the reference to Paris appears to be part of the trading name (Charles-Hubert,Paris) and does not reflect France as the place of origin. Also but again not qualified ...I believe that the Nib and possibly the whole pen is manufactured in Shanghai China. The home page for Charles Hubert, Paris is a dot com and the corporate address is in California. I can also tell you that ebay Australia is a-swamp with these and Hero's.

 

That's really interesting. Charles Hubert, Paris also has watches. I haven't purchased one -- I quit wearing a watch when the battery died on my Elgin, and I cannot find anywhere to replace the battery. Welcome to Texas!!

[goodguy]

I used to have a Charles Hubert pen and I enjoyed very much to write with it.Yes it was heavy but I like heavy pens so thats ok as long as you dont have heavy duty writing to do.

[playpen]

Keng what kind of pen holder is that? It looks like a relative of mine. I need to get in touch with him...

[Keng]

Keng what kind of pen holder is that? It looks like a relative of mine. I need to get in touch with him...

 

Not a pen holder really, just a strorage box with a convenient section to place a pen. Yes, it does look like your distant cousin

Edited May 5, 2007 by Keng

[MYU]

Did someone say "pen holder"?

 

 

 

Ouch--talk about a weapon of mass destruction.

[Keng]

Did someone say "pen holder"?

 

 

 

Ouch--talk about a weapon of mass destruction.

 

LOL That is one mean looking pen holder :roflmho:

[lisa]

Did someone say "pen holder"?

 

 

 

Ouch--talk about a weapon of mass destruction.

Where did you get that!?

 

[Farace]

Wow, this pen is surprisingly heavy. I'm used to vintage Esterbrooks, a Parker 51, a Sheaffer Snorkel, etc. This is like holding a piece of plumbing in my hand. Not unpleasant, just different. From the little I've scribbled with it so far (with Pelikan Brilliant Red) it does seem to be a nice writer, and fine enough that I can probably use it when proofreading instead of the red Bic Stick I generally have to use for that purpose. I got this from isellpens.com in what I think of as my "cheap SOB" order--besides the green plaid Hubert I got two close-out Reform Bremens at $3.99 each (figured I could have something on hand to give away should the need arise) and a close-out Hero M91 for $12.00 (because I like celluloid).

 

It's funny, the German Reforms, which one might think would be of a higher quality, feel cheap in hand (but a quick dip shows it doesn't write badly), and the Charles Hubert, from wherever it's from, feels substantial. Very substantial. The Hero feels somewhere in between.