I am looking to add a Phileas to my fleet, and my Phileas RB is lonley...


What i would like to know is if there are any recurring issues that i should watch out for. I have look around, but i want to make sure i know what to watch out for.

Mine never gave me any trouble. Wrote with it using a converter for 4 years until I saw a Carene and sold it to help purchase the object of my lust. The nibs are wet and a tad wide compared to some other brands, so be clear in your mind what nib size you really want. They come in F, M and B.

I'll say this much - The Phileas is both pretty, but plain...if that makes any sense. It's not a luxurious pen, but it at least looks nice. It's very tough and simple to use. Either a converter or a cartridge, and there isn't much on the pen that you can break. I bought my Phileas for $50 at a flea-market. A bit of flushing and then the pen worked fine.

Pen Gallery has black ones for $35, but then there's the $15 shipping, so it's about the same in the end. You might also look for Mr Lewertowski's site on ebay [Penseller in France] and see how the exchange rate is running. He posts on here and is very reputable. [No affiliation, just far too much money spent on his site]

I got a black Phileas as a Christmas gift for $30 at Office Depot two days ago. If you have those up in your neck of the woods, that might be a good place to check.

all the office depot's around are sold out...stupid holidays getting in the way of my pen-buying attempts...

You should wait for a used one.

I sold mine in the Marketplace for $11!

I got mine right after Christmas $37 from Office Depot , i called 6 stores and they said they have none , so i decided to stop and see what they have , THEY DID HAVE 4 Phileases in stock , i decided not to argue with the sales person who told me they don't have any and just bought the pen, I love it ,it's very smooth and nice looking cheap pen ,the only thing is the M size nib, my next pen will definitely be F size.

Perhaps you could find some place or someone who would let you try several sizes of nibs for the Phileas.... I have two of the med in kits and bought one fine by itself... I love the medium tip and the wet ink... I am taking others word that it is wet...I just see it as what it should be doing.... the fine on the other hand is a little stingy with the ink in my opinion.... of course neither has been adjusted and I have only had them a couple of weeks.... all are green marble.... LOL... if I had not been shopping for a xmass deadline and price affecting my shopping I probably would have gotten them different colors.... I also called the local office max before I went to Ebay..

I see that Pens N More , where I got one of them , has a black Broad nib one on Ebay now.... $20 plus about $6 for shipping... a real bargain in my book...

I would have already sent for that one but my two other Watermans arrived.... my practice pen with broken nib... a BCHR about 1924 IIRC....and my OH SO BEAUTIFUL Red Ripple 52 1/2 V Ringtop.... which I will be sending off to have the sac replaced.... I have DaBook, lots of tools... but it was so much more beautiful when it arrived than even the pictures showed.... I just can't take a chance on it... I am having trouble keeping myself from dipping it to try out the semi flex tip... my first.... but figure with no sac I have no way to really clean it before shipping it off for pro work... I don't want to look TOO new to this hobby....LOL
Greg

I just got a 52 myself, and I totally agree -- they are stunning. Has kind of spoiled me.

The only drawback that I have seen from a Phileas is that after you buy one and use it, you feel like a real dork for previously having spent so much more on pens that don't write as well!!!

Once I acquired some better pens, I no longer used the Phileas so I sold it. Likewise I've sold several Lamy Safaris and Waterman Kulturs. Of these three inexpensive pen models I like the Kultur best.

I agree with Punch 120%

Cheap, smooth, writes better than my Waterman Carene Deluxe medium.

My Lamy All Star is a just as good if not better with it's 1.1 MM Italic nib.

Aw now, you know them's fightin' words to a Carene lover Just kidding. It's the different between the traditional nib and the inlaid. If that Carene were a B nib, I'd offer to give it a home.

Symbolic95, I find that my Phileas with a medium nib is more like a broad, at least compared to all of my other pens, with the exception of a Pelikan.