Two Inexpensive Piston Fillers

[monsoonmalabar]

Two inexpensive piston fillers being reviewed. Some comparisons made, too.

Pictures at bottom.

 

Wality 52

 

Indian pen available online from Retrodesk. I ordered the pen on a Mac but when I went to the site on a PC, a virus was detected. Having said that, the service was excellent.

The pen came in a velvet sack

 

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1686/pict0158.jpg

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1. Appearance & Design (8/10) - A good staple design. Cigar shaped, this pen has a shiny resin when new and chrome coloured accents. An elegant-looking but understated pen. The window to see the ink level is a nice and useful touch.

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2. Construction & Quality (8/10) - This is an inexpensive pen but doesn't feel cheap. It's a good size and weight and the screw cap adds to the quality feel. The metal clip and bands do have something of a cheap feel about them compared with the resin.

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3. Weight & Dimensions (9/10) - It's a large, thick pen, the biggest I currently own. The large size makes it eye-catching while it's design is fairly understated. A bit big for pocket use.

 

4. Nib & Performance (9/10) - The nib is labeled medium but is on the fine side (and sold as fine on Retrodesk). It's very smooth and lays down a wet line. I tested it with Mont Blanc Royal Blue (which I bought for the bottle) and it works very nicely. No skipping at all

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5. Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) - Piston filler. One of the reasons I bought this pen. Works with no problems at all. Because of the pen's size, it has a huge ink capacity

 

6. Cost & Value (10/10) - Cost me £12.47 shipped to the UK. I don't think value for money can be beaten.

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7. Conclusion (Final score 8.83) - Great value-for-money piston filler. The size makes an impression with a no-frills design.

 

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Reform 1745

 

NOS German pen from eBay.

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1. Appearance & Design (8/10) - A Small pen. Much thinner than the Wality. Tasteful green and black colourings with gold coloured accents. Nice clear window for viewing ink level. Looks similar to the Pelikan M150.

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2. Construction & Quality (9/10) - Feels more substantial than the Wality and more like a high-quality pen. The metal accents blend in with the resin very well.

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3. Weight & Dimensions (7/10) - A very small and light pen. Perhaps a bit too small for my hands. Good for putting in a pocket.

 

4. Nib & Performance (8/10) - It's a fine nib with a small amount of flex as has been noted in previous reviews. The ink started off looking watery on the page but soon got flowing nicely. Drier than the wality and not as smooth but still a pleasure to write with. If it does have a touch of 'tooth', it is in a good way.

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5. Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) - Piston filler. No problems. Smaller capacity than the Wality but much more than C/C.

 

6. Cost & Value (10/10) - Cost me £8.99 shipped. Great value for money. I can't think it's easy to get a piston filler for under a tenner.

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7. Conclusion (Final score 8.5) - Again, great value-for-money piston filler. The small and light nature of the pen made me rate it lower but it might be what you are looking for, especially if you have small hands.

 

Pics:

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http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/253/pict0164eny.jpg

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1112/pict01591.jpg

[RevAaron]

Thanks for the review!

 

I concur with your review of the Wality. I've had 5 Wality pens total, all from Retrodesk. I've been very impressed so far. I did have a problem with one, but Pete at Retrodesk sent me a replacement at no cost. I didn't even have to return the offending pen because it's "always handy to have spare nib, feed, barrel." Can't beat that! Very sturdy pens, well made, and great nibs. The nibs are my favorite made or used by any Indian company thus far, and when it comes to a firm nib they beat out almost everything modern that I own.

 

The ebonite feeds have the uncommon quality of doing well with super-saturated and thick modern inks (Noodler's, Private Reserve) and vintage-style watery inks. Many of those watery vintage-style inks that look like illegible watercolors coming out of a Pelikan have the shading and color saturation that you'd expect when used in a vintage pen.

 

Can you tell I really like my Walitys? No affiliation, but all the same I'll lay off the gushing for now

 

To someone thinking of buying a Wality or three, the only warning I'd give is about the 69LFB- the all-black Wality 69L. The pen looks better in person than online, but the black plating on the nib isn't very durable. Common to most any pen with a black-plated nib, but just a heads up.

 

Regards,

Aaron

[jmw19]

To someone thinking of buying a Wality or three, the only warning I'd give is about the 69LFB- the all-black Wality 69L. The pen looks better in person than online, but the black plating on the nib isn't very durable. Common to most any pen with a black-plated nib, but just a heads up.

 

Regards,

Aaron

 

I agree - before I swapped in a Sheaffer nib, my 69LFB's nib was unintentionally two-tone. Enough of the black coating flaked off to look sloppy, but my attempts to remove the rest have been unsuccessful to date. I've tried a number of solvents, including acetone and paint thinner, with no effect. I suspect it's powdercoating, which may need to be melted off.

The cap band and clip are still pristine, though, and the pen is one of my favorites.

[lovemy51]

thanx for the review, monsoonmalabar!

 

i, too, like my wality pens. i have the clear ED with black cap and a blue piston filler. in the begining they gave a hard time with spitting ink all over, but after i swapped the nibs and feed, voila! they perform beautifully... they were always smooth tho'!!!

 

the reform, well... no major complaints, except it was scratchy in the begining, but it's nice and smooth now. great value!!

enjoy your pens

[holgalee]

thanx for the review, monsoonmalabar!

 

i, too, like my wality pens. i have the clear ED with black cap and a blue piston filler. in the begining they gave a hard time with spitting ink all over, but after i swapped the nibs and feed, voila! they perform beautifully... they were always smooth tho'!!!

 

the reform, well... no major complaints, except it was scratchy in the begining, but it's nice and smooth now. great value!!

enjoy your pens

 

I've been eyeing Wality pens for a long time, but the shipping from the ebay vendor is just too expensive. Are there more affordable online stores that do international shipping?

[holgalee]

Lovemy51, which nibs and feed did you use?

[rwilsonedn]

thanx for the review, monsoonmalabar!

 

i, too, like my wality pens. i have the clear ED with black cap and a blue piston filler. in the begining they gave a hard time with spitting ink all over, but after i swapped the nibs and feed, voila! they perform beautifully... they were always smooth tho'!!!

 

the reform, well... no major complaints, except it was scratchy in the begining, but it's nice and smooth now. great value!!

enjoy your pens

+1 on that. I have a 69L ED that was incontinent. With some help I swapped in a Sheaffer Nononsense feed (from a disused caligraphy set) and now the pen is an excellent writer. I have always really liked the Wality nib on it, and I notice that some other Indian pens use Wality nibs as well.

ron

[lovemy51]

Lovemy51, which nibs and feed did you use?

 

oh, maybe i didn't explain it right. i switched them from one pen to the other (wality to wality). weird, i know... but it worked!!

[monsoonmalabar]

Update: Having lived with both pens for a while, I'm less keen on the Wality. The furniture looks cheap on close inspection and the nib is too broad for my taste (I usually write on narrow-ruled paper with a fine nib).

The reform, on the other hand, I now love. It is rather thin but very light and a great pen to take out on the move. Looks far more like a quality pen and writes well in Moleskines.

 

I've now ordered my first 'expensive' pen as a replacement for the Wality: a Pelikan M 215 (horizontal stripes, F).

 

Now that I've done such a great job of selling it, does anyone want to buy a hardly-used Wality 52 ?

Edited June 30, 2009 by monsoonmalabar

[monsoonmalabar]

Wality sold.