How do you like your Wality?

[megapenfreak]

I picked up a second hand 52 Piston Filler from an FPNer (thanks monsoonmalabar).

 

I have no idea of the size in comparison with real life Mont Blancs or Pelikans (out of my league at the moment) but using a ruler and comparing it to the length/girth data on the web suggests it is of a similar size to a Pelikan m600.

 

I must say that the pen is actually very reliable and has no issues (so far). The nib is stiff, but I like that, and it's fairly smooth as well (understandably nothing like Parker smooth but definitely not scratchy).

 

As others have said - Walitys are good for the price - but it looks like there may be QC issues and there may be an element of luck in the pen you get.

 

Carl

 

My 69L has blob a couple of times, but based on some postings, it may have to do with the fact that there was less than 1/3 ink in the pen. So far, I am quite happy with my Wality. Still can't wait till my mento comes, it ever!!!

[megapenfreak]

The Mento is a substantially larger pen than the 69L.

 

The wait is killing me, I remember when I paid inflated price for postage when I bought birkenstocks from Germany to expedite shipping, it took longer than when my wife used the free shipping option.

 

Laban Mento.. where are you??? I amm waiting anxiously, come home to daddy... :ltcapd:

[dogpoet]

I've got a 52 piston filler and (much as I hate to disagree with everybody else) I'm less than besotted with it. Perfectly functional pen, but the nib's a little scratchy and the section's not as comfortable as I like in the hand.

[trent]

I tried a couple. They look decent, even stylish retro from a distance. Mine worked ok at the beginning but soon developed leaks or would spurt out ink in blobs. One of them also had a strange smell...I won't tell you of what. I couldn't get rid of it. Bottom line: yes, they're cheap, but it is better to save your money for a well-made pen. I wouldn't even recommend it as a beginner's pen. For $20 or less you can get your child a Pelikano or a Lamy ABC, which are much better instruments.

[Zekay]

I have a Wality 69T eyedropper. And although it performed better than I would have thought, I stopped using it, because it obviously isn't a very durable, workhorse pen (at least mine wasn't). The main problem I experienced, was that the cap soon began to show cracks, and the clip/cap jewel also came lose. After this I didn't trust the pen anymore, as I feared that soon more parts would start to crack (And I started having nightmares of massive ink stains ), or that the cap would give up.

 

The nib is quite smooth, and the ink did not blob as much as I expected. The pen is nice to use, it looks cool with the transparent barrel and the size is also really comfortable, all for a good price. The quality wasn't really up to my demands, and I now use a Varuna Rajan, (another Indian ED, that also uses the Wality nib, which are surprisingly good) which copes with my (ab)use a lot better.

 

Hope to be of help,

 

Zekay

 

[hari317]

What are your experiences with these pens?

 

I have used quite a few of these pens and have been satisfied. I recommend the ED versions over the piston due to the ease of maintanence and ink capacity. I got a chance to visit their factory and wrote about it here.

 

Best,

Hari

 

 

 

 

 

[holgalee]

Thanks, Hari! I just re-read your post and it's wonderful! Now I must really have a Wality! The only problem I have is shipping; I find Retrodesk's charge too much since I'm staying in Singapore. If someone from India will be kind enough to help me get a pen or two, how nice!

[megapenfreak]

Thanks, Hari! I just re-read your post and it's wonderful! Now I must really have a Wality! The only problem I have is shipping; I find Retrodesk's charge too much since I'm staying in Singapore. If someone from India will be kind enough to help me get a pen or two, how nice!

 

Holgalee... just checked shipping to Singapore it is USD5, am not sure what you mean by too much. It cost me USD 5 also to get it shipped to Melbourne, Australia. I checked ebay and I think from India to Australia is USD 22 so I would say retrodesk at USD5 is more than competitive (please note I have no affiliation with Retrodesk). I have also recently paid USD 29 for shipping on a laban mento from The States.

 

Eric.

[Tsujigiri]

I have 69L in Burgundy. I was surprised how smooth this nib writes. But, after a few month of use begun problems with piston. After I disassembled the pen, I saw the crack in mechanism. Although the pen is solidly built, the inner part are made from rather cheap plastic.

 

Mine has a crack on the inside, too! It doesn't really affect the performance, though.

 

The 69L is smaller than the 149, and closer to the 146. I just got the 69L as a mimick of the 149 because it looks similar, and has piston filling. However, the 149 is huge... even other oversized pens don't feel as big because they aren't as wide.

[megapenfreak]

................... One of them also had a strange smell...I won't tell you of what. I couldn't get rid of it. .......

 

Lol, yes I noticed that my 69T has a distinct smell near the nib, I have flushed it and changed ink but the smell is still there, it reminds me of the glue they used you old text books... it's quite putrid. But to be honest, I've never had anyone come over and sniff the tip of my fountain pens so I am not too worried.

[ZeissIkon]

................... One of them also had a strange smell...I won't tell you of what. I couldn't get rid of it. .......

 

Lol, yes I noticed that my 69T has a distinct smell near the nib, I have flushed it and changed ink but the smell is still there, it reminds me of the glue they used you old text books... it's quite putrid. But to be honest, I've never had anyone come over and sniff the tip of my fountain pens so I am not too worried.

 

Sounds as if you may be getting some sulfur coming off the ebonite in the feed. There's a lot of surface area exposed in making the feed, so you can get a lot of sulfur compounds coming off (the sulfur is introduced as the cross-linking agent in vulcanization). In theory, the smell should decrease over time, but it could probably be "helped along" by leaving the (flushed) pen uncapped for a couple weeks.

[Tsujigiri]

It's not the typical sulfur smell, though, at least on mine.

[megapenfreak]

................... One of them also had a strange smell...I won't tell you of what. I couldn't get rid of it. .......

 

Lol, yes I noticed that my 69T has a distinct smell near the nib, I have flushed it and changed ink but the smell is still there, it reminds me of the glue they used you old text books... it's quite putrid. But to be honest, I've never had anyone come over and sniff the tip of my fountain pens so I am not too worried.

 

Sounds as if you may be getting some sulfur coming off the ebonite in the feed. There's a lot of surface area exposed in making the feed, so you can get a lot of sulfur compounds coming off (the sulfur is introduced as the cross-linking agent in vulcanization). In theory, the smell should decrease over time, but it could probably be "helped along" by leaving the (flushed) pen uncapped for a couple weeks.

 

Ok, I really have no idea what sulfur smells like (rotten egg?). Anyway, it doesn't really bother me.

[ZeissIkon]

It's not the typical sulfur smell, though, at least on mine.

 

Sulfur compounds won't necessarily smell like classic sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide. Most of the compounds responsible for the odors of garlic and onions, bad breath, skunk musk, and decomposing meat are sulfur compounds, and analogous compounds without the sulfur (say, with oxygen substituted) don't smell or don't smell "bad". The odorant added to propane and natural gas is a mercaptan, one of the more pungent sulfur compounds. In fact, it's probably safe to say that the vast bulk of naturally occurring bad smells are sulfur compounds...

[Buzz Jack]

I just got my 69l in the mail today, this pen replaces the one I lost. As for the pen I requested a F point and the point is markked Fine but it lays down ink like a Med to Broad point very wet. The Wality that I lost was a M point that wrote like a F point and it did smell. The new pen does not smell but does not write to my liking, what to do what to do.