Rawr, Grr! - The Cartelo 100

[enricof]

I love my daughter but I'd NEVER spend that money for a HK-branded pen, even if it is a Sailor..

 

But, considering she's a teenager, better never say never

 

 

 

Now this make me wonder how a Hello Kitty FP could look like...

 

Enrico, take a look to ebay item # 140334655160 to have a good idea (an official sailor sapporo mini - hello kitty..)

[betsypreston]

I got one! I got one!

 

Well, it's not here yet. But I went to eBay immediately after reading this thread and started bidding. Only the scaree PINK would do (described in eBay as red, but there's no way that's red - this pen is PINK). I missed out on a couple. You must have kicked off some kind of bidding frenzy. I dug deep and bid...$4. I got one, with free shipping, for about $3.79. As long as the thing works, it should still be a bargain.

 

Last week I received both my bottle of BSB and a new Waterman Carene in Royal Blue with silver trim. It seemed like a good match, so I loaded it up and it's been writing fine all week. No melt downs or explosions so far.

 

I'll have to find a different ink for my new pink anaconda when it arrives!

 

Last year Chris at the Mpls Pen Posse meeting at RobbS' sister's office had a red Jinhao pen with jewel "eyes". I looked and looked and couldn't find one on eBay. I did get a coupla different Chinese pens and have been happy with them. I haven't given them much use (too many pens, so little time), but I love the weight of them and the little writing I have done was been quite satisfactory. But part of me was sad that I never found one with "eyes". I'm so excited that one is finally on it's way to me!

[RitaCarbon]

Fantastic review!

 

The cutest pen I ever saw in my life! And its pink color so stunningly beautiful it's UNISEX!

 

BSB is my favorite ink.

 

Thank you very much for the entertainment.

 

Rita

Edited January 19, 2010 by RitaCarbon

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review.

[rwilsonedn]

OK, I'm blaming this on the OP. I just received a chrome Cartelo with a fish-scale chasing pattern on the barrel and cap, and the same face-with-jewel-eyes hooded nib. Right out of the box, after the customary soap'n'water flush, it's a splendid writer. Almost too smooth, fairly wet, fine line, and a slim, elegant feel with a little heft to it. This could get to be a favorite.

ron

[Mike]

Blame away.

[wackyjacky1]

I am on my second pink one (my 15-year old neice commandeered the first one I got a few weeks ago). This is a GREAT pen! Starts right up every time, even if it has sat unused for a few days, and puts down a nice wet line that's somewhere between fine and medium. Love it!

[mhwombat]

My Cartelo 100 arrived today. I bought it for the fun factor, based on this review. I think that every time I uncap this pen, I will look at that smiling lizard face and laugh. http://nualeargais.ie/pictiuir/emoticons/wombatSmilie.gif

 

I was very satisfied with the way it writes. It lays down a nice smooth line without skipping. The nib is a tiny bit scratchy, but not unpleasantly so. The piston converter on mine will only fill about 3/4 of the way, and then it starts pulling in air at the top. (Perhaps the plunger or the tube is a little bit misshapen.) I wouldn't want to write with it for a long period of time because I find it too thin where I grip it.

 

I'm fond of this pen already.

[Mike]

Mine only fills 3/4 of the way when filled conventionally, so I assume that's "normal". For what it's worth, if you remove the converter, dip it into the bottle directly, and then fill, you'll get a complete fill, so I don't think it's the converter.

 

I've been using mine weekdaily at work since the beginning of the year, in all it's manly pink glory. It holds a lot of ink; I only have to refill with Noodler's Black about once a week. Considering that ink's propensity to creep in other pens, and the design of the hood on the Cartelo, I've been quite pleasantly surprised that there's been zero creepage, or any other issues, for that matter.

[Mike]

What a delightful review!

Would you mind updating us in about six months (if you continue to use the pen that long) on how you and the smiling anaconda are getting along?

ron

 

Yay, another thread brought back from the dead, hooray! But before you yell at me - Ron told me to. See? Really.

 

I've continued using the Cartelo weekdaily at work, alongside a Hero 616. (What, me, cheap?) It's picked up a few small scratches, and there's a very faint mark on the pink enamel where the cap posts on, but otherwise it's been basically bombproof. Still writes beautifully, and hasn't been cleaned since I first loaded it with Noodler's Black back in December. I'm not sure what better testimonial I can offer, really. It wrote a bit sluggishly after being left unused over a four-day weekend, but, you know... I'm okay with that.

 

Somewhat amazingly, they're even still available on eBay, several months later. Gotta love the thriving trade in sub-$10 writing instruments, eh?

[hecya]

I have a Leonardo 518 all stainless steel. It was a super fine nib but it is more like between medium and fine. The only real problem I have is to start it. After that it writes very consistent and smooth.

[Brian]

That is something to see. What a design. Reminds me of a Mazda 3.

[tiohn]

I just got one of these in the mail. I paid less than $5, shipped, for a silver metal body with some checked engraving. Overall, I am really impressed with the overall quality of the pen. I expected much less from such an inexpensive pen. I bought it because of the lizard mouth hood, which I do love, but am absolutely amazed at how well it writes. I've paid several orders of magnitude more for pens that don't write half as well, at least not straight out of the box. If cheap chinese pens are this good, I feel that my collection efforts might very well just start moving in a much less expensive direction.

[Bobby Check]

Could we please have an update on how the pen is performing as well as any current photos of this future classic?

 

Bobby

 

[MikeW]

Imho, the eyes give it more of a shrimp appearance rather than a lizard.

 

This is very interesting indeed. It would be fascinating if we could do some sort of a blind writing test with some more expensive pens to see just how well this pen would perform.

 

The one problem that I have with these inexpensive pens is that they are available in fine nibs for the most part. Anyone care to share a writing sample?

 

Thanks!

[fire]

Arise, ancient thread! So here I am, reinking my Cartelo 100, when I notice it takes WAY longer to flush than I'd like. I'm going from green to blue, and it's taking FOREVER. I flushed, soaked, flushed some more, and I just can't get the green out of the nib. I think it's somewhere between the nib and the feed. Anyone want to share their stories of taking this pen apart, or should I just resign myself to a green->blue transition as I write?

[Sailor Kenshin]

I used to LIVE for ink transitions. You get one-of-a-kind colors that way.

[Sblakers]

Awesome review. I am going to buy one as well. Fun stuff