When I first decided to get myself into the world of fountain pens I had no idea where to go to find one, nor what to look for in a good fountain pen. I had once bought a cheap fountain pen at Target which was a disaster. It leaked, was difficult to use, and the metal threads on the nib section stripped out th plastic threads on the barrel, making it unusable. I knew that I wanted to avoid a similar situation, but I didn't know how, I just knew that I liked the look of fountain pens and that I liked the feeling of connection to great the writers who had used fountain pens. I wandered out to the local art supply store and found among the caligraphy pens a single "writer's" fountain pen. It looked like exactly what I had in mind, so when my girlfriend got me one for my birthday I was, to say the least, beaming. I loved that pen and thought it was the most amazing thing ever invented. I have since moved on to bigger and better pens, but I will always have a place in my heart for that first "real" fountain pen.

The Pen & Ink | Sketch Pen comes in a box with a suede wrap, two ink cartridges, and a converter. The pen its self is light weight plastic with bright aluminum accents meant to mimic silver. The pen looks quite nice in spite of it's low cost and the cheap materials that were put into it's making. As a pen with a $20 price tag it is a pen that looks much more expensive than it actually is.

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The pen's nib is a standard iridium point nib with a fairly good ink flow and is scratch free even when writing on rough paper. The pen does ten to have some leakage problems as the nib seems to be rather cheaply made; however with some minor adjustments this problem is easily overcome.

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The pen is light and well balanced providing an easy and fatigue free writing experience, even when the cap is posted this pen feels right in the hand and makes long passages a breeze.

Over all the Pen & Ink | Sketch Pen is an excellent value and a great place for folks new to the world of fountain pens to start at. While I do not hold this pen up as a shinging example of what a fountain pen can be I do hold it up as a perfect exampl of an inexpensive fountain pen that still looks good. Not all "budget pens" have to look like cheap Bics, and this pen proves it.

Thanks for the review.
What kind of cartridge does it use?
How did you fix the leak?

It uses standard international cartridges and it also comes with a converter. I had to do a little manipulation of the nib as well as using a dab of sealant at the first joint. The pens are on sale for $15.99 at www.artsuppliesonline.com here is the link o the page: http://www.artsuppliesonline.com/catalog.cfm?cata_id=11427