Schneider Id - Medium Nib (references To Base)

November 10, 2010

I will try to provide some pictures over the weekend, meanwhile here is my attempt to make a review.

Please forgive me if it is not up to FPN standards and also apologize me for my good broken English.

First, let me explain my expectations. back in 2000 I bought a Schneider BASE in a German Muller convenience store. I was looking for a cheap but confortable FP, something I could use to write my meeting notes without being too much obsessed in case it gets KIA or MIA. Over the years I appreciated the BASE, it is very comfortable and runs on almost everything, including cheap 100 cartridge bags that are sold here in convenience store. By cheap I mean really cheap, something like 100 royal blue cartridges in a plastic bag for the price of a Waterman 6 mine cartridge pack, i.e. 1-2 Euro cents per cartridge. The only drawback of the BASE is the look, it looks like a school pen a mile away. After 10 years of daily use, my BASE is still doing fine on the writing side, but the exterior is now worn out, because of scratches. When I saw the Schneider ID, I thought myself "hey, this is what I need, a BASE in a more luxury dressing". And this was my expectation.

Appearance and design: 10/10

I like it, period. But I must be humble enough to understand that with such kind of pens there are not "in between" feelings. Either you love it or you hate it, like the Rotring Core. The pen is oversized in the cap, with quite an unusual design, which is common to the whole Schneider "ID" (ID stands for "idea") family. The cap is covered by glossy elastomer and has an oversized clip with a connection in case you want to use a neck lace (not supplied). The grip is also covered by elastomer, while the barrel is semi-translucent, but to see the ink level in the cartridges you need to look trough it in front of a light source. In other words, it is a fantastic pen, but you must be the kind of person who loves this kind of pen design. The pen is available in three colors: black, purple and green, but all are black with the purple and green parts limited to detail ones and the "ID" mark on the barrel. Since I was looking for a "serious" pen, I bought the black one. Mine came in a plastic package, with one blue cartridge and a fake (empty) one.

Construction and quality: 7/10

Here is where I was mostly disappointed. The pen is reasonably well buildt, all parts are made of precisely molded plastic, but I would had preferred to pay a couple of Euros more and get actual metal instead of metal painted plastic. This has much to do with my premise, above. From a more rational perspective, the pen is very well made for the price I paid it (about 15 Euro), I could not find any serious flaw with it. I believe the elastomer part and the plastic will scratch quite easily if the pen is carried in a pouch together with other pens and pencil, but this is a fact of life and I must not forget that the reason for buying those pens is because they don't cost a fortune when they retire and a replacement is due.

Weight and dimensions: 9/10

The pen is on the big size, but at the end it is only the cap, because the cap is made with plastic covered with rubber and therefore it is quite bulky and heavy. Once it has been removed, the pen is not that much different in size and weight from a standard plastic school pen. Problems might arise for people used to keep the cap on the back side of the pen when writing, because the whole system could be a little imbalanced, but that's not me. The grip section is fully covered with rubber and in my opinion is a good compromise, it shows some sign of ergonomic design (i.e. it is not perfectly round) but it is not so extreme like for example the Lamy Safary. This does not foce the user to a specific position but provides some individual flexibility in handling.

Nib and performance: 10/10

Just perfect (in my humble opinion, of course). I guess that under the bonnet the pen is a BASE, the steel nib with iridium tip looks very similar, the difference being the breathing hole. Also the writing is identical. The only chance I had was a "medium" and for me it is OK. It is a little on the wet side and like the BASE, it has a very low tendency to dry when the pen is not used for some time. It is also quite forgiving on the writing angle, I guess this comes from the fact that the main target of Schneider fountain pens are school students. I used the pen with cartridges only, so I can't comment about converters. The pen takes standard international cartridges and I am feeding it with the same cheap stuff that I use in the BASE.

Fliing sistem and maintenance: 10/10 (based on trust)

Over the last 10 years the only maintenance my BASE has requred was some washing under warm water. I actually never disassembled the nib feeding system (if it ain't boke, don't fix it). Given the similiarities between the two pens, I expect the same, but sofar I cannot say anything, I have pushed trough it only 10 cartridges.

Cost and value: 9/10

As I said, I paid a little more than 15 Euro for it. I bought it online, since Schneider fountain pens are not sold in Italy and last time I was in germany, I could find oly the purple one. That is about 5 Euro more than the current price of the BASE, but I must add that in meanwhile the BASE was stripped down, my 2000-model year base is made of translucent plastic and has a nice transparent ink level window, that has been removed from the current BASE, which has no window and is made of standard plastic with no special surface finish. I guess this is a way to keep street price below the 10 Euro tag and attract school students. The ID is a more valuable one, with large use of elastomer, different plastics and elements of design, like the "metal" ring and cap end. In other words, the higher street price is fully justified by the more compelling desing and the choice of materials, while I guess that the parts under the bonnet are the same.

Conclusion and final score: 9+/10

Ok, at the end of the day what I was looking for was a workhorse with a nice design and a reasonable price tag. From my point of view the Schneider ID fully meets those expectations. I like the design, the performance is what I was looking for. Of course there is room for improvement, but for this price tag and considering the origin "Made in Germany" from a company that has a reputation for commitment to environmental issues, I can't reasonably ask for more. The fact that I could allow my BASE to retire and now have the ID in my pen cup at the office and use it on a daily basis speaks for itself.

As a last word, I would like to say that I love pens like the ID. I'd rather live in a world where I can buy a pen I love even knowing that somebody will hate its design than in one where all pens are variations of a basic design, intended not to appeal not to disgust everybody.

Edited November 11, 2010 by Phormula

November 10, 2010

Thanks for the review. I'm a fan of the Schneider Base & I'd not heard about this model.

November 10, 2010

Meanwhile I find a way to make and attach some pictures, I can link the website of the shop (no connection) from which I bought mine.

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Schneider-iD-Fountain-Pen.html

November 10, 2010

Here are pictures

Top to bottom:

- Schneider BASE bought in 2000 (my old workhorse, about 10 years of daily use )

- Schneider BASE bought in 2010 (new model, without the ink level window)

- Schneider ID (black)

Left to right:

- Schneider ID

- Schneider BASE 2010

- Schneider BASE 2000

This is the cheap stuff that goes trough those pens without troubles this 100 blue cartridges pot I bought in Germany for 2 Euro something.

Edited November 10, 2010 by Phormula

November 10, 2010

Top to bottom:

- Schneider BASE bought in 2000

- Schneider BASE bought in 2010

- Schneider ID (black)

- Schneider ID

Note the really oversized clip and the ring to fit a necklace.

The cap is covered with elastomer.

November 10, 2010

Hi Phormula,

My Schneider Base (white) is a very dry writer and does not post. The cap doesn't engage the barrel and it only wiggles around. Do your pens post?

Regards,

Carlos Javier.

Edited November 10, 2010 by carlosjaviercontreras

November 10, 2010

Hi Carlos.

I don't post my pens while I use them, but I checked and both my BASE post fine, the cap engages and dose not move.

Also, apart from mines, over the last 10 years I bought several (I guess more than 20) BASE to give in gift to friends, because I visit Germany on a regular basis and they are not sold in Italy. Everybody told me that the pen is on the wet side, it can be used by fast writers (like I am) and it does not dry if not used for some time.

What I have noticed is that the "M" nib is wet, but it is actually a MF (medium/fine), the other pens I have with a medium nib (Lamy Vista, Rotring Newton and a cheap Waterman) have a more broader line, while the Faber Castell Ambition with a fine nib is quite close to the Schneider. The Lamy Vista with a fine nib is much more thin in writing.

However, there are two things to be considered, first I have never used the pen with expensive ink, and cheap cartridges could be more liquid than good ones, making the nib more wet, and the second is that we are speaking of a 9.99 Euro pen produced in big numbers for the German, Swiss and Austrian student market. Could well be that yours is on the dry side because of sample variability.

November 11, 2010

My Medium nib is certainly on the finer side. It is dry even with a free flowing ink like Waterman South Sea Blue. As you say, it might be variation from a production lot to another one. I'm thinking about spreading the tines apart a little to increase the flow. The grip is so comfortable that a little nib tinkering is worth the effort.

I do not generally post my pens, so the cap not posting in my particular Schneider Base is not a problem for me. But I was curious about this issue as many people post their pens. Now that you've told me that they post ok, I can recommend those pens to people in search of nice entry-level pens.

November 11, 2010

This is my Schneider ID medium nib, whit purple ink

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/1218/pic0006i.jpg

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http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6161/pic0004m.jpg

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http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/2276/pic0002xr.jpg

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November 11, 2010

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6161/pic0004m.jpg[/url]

Unlike the BASE nib, this Schneider ID nib has a breather hole.

November 11, 2010

... I can recommend those pens to people in search of nice entry-level pens.

I am doing the same here. I am using a fountain pen in the office on a regular basis and I take all my meeting notes with a fountain pen.

This behavior of mine is a source of curiosity, and I get a lot of questions from other people, especially the young ones that never used a fountain pen in their life. I used the BASE to introduce some of those people to the pleasure of writing with a fountain pen. Being designed for students, the BASE is quite forgiving in terms of handling and can withstand some abuse, it is not so expensive if I have to buy one to give as a gift and it is nice to hear back from people, telling me that they enjoy writing with it and are considering a more "serious" fountain pen.

Good luck with your "nib sugery".