A Custom-Made Pen's Review

January 24, 2011

http://www.fountainp...ylic-combo-pen/ Herein is a very short review of the pen --- if you can call it a review. Thanks. I also cut-paste my post below (the pictures remain in the link above):

I must congratulate the makers such a nice pen. Just be ready with a bit of silicon grease because this is an eye-dropper-filler pen, and one can enjoy this a beautiful piece of handicraft.

I am using this pen right now. I here write down my unbiased opinion about the pen in short.

Nib: Steel (golden colour). Writes fine, feels little scratchy but is reasonably smooth and if used on a compatible paper the hint of scratchiness can be avoided. Right now I am using a fancy combination of J. Herbin Ambre de Birmanie 4 parts+1 part PR grey flannel+3part Pelikan Edelstein Adventurine: a nice bright green with a subdued goldish aura. With this ink, the nib is just in between wet and dry; may a little towards wet. Writes as soon as paper is touched --- a feature even some of my costly buys (carene, sonnet) do not have!

Cap: Like it or hate it. It seems a little bigger: the nib touching the inner top of the cap could have looked nicer but then that would have been that. The clear acrylic part is not very glossy; picks up little scratches. I like the clip --- hard, stiff and shiny. The clip ring adds a lovely look to the cap. Cap flush-fits the barrel. And yes, blue-back acrylic top is really shiny and decorates my shirt pocket.

Section: Bakul™ finish makes it nice to hold. Feels good. Probably ebonite is little heavier than acrylic used in the pen. Its weight is nicely balanced by the ebonite part at the back of the barrel. Section threads are secure.

Barrel: Subdued shiny and translucent to some degree: one can "see" the ink against light.

Overall: The pen is well balanced (may be a little heavier torwards the rear but to a tolerable limit) and like all my other pens, I use it without posting. The pen looks good and writes nicely.

I would rate it 7/10: after all, it is custom-made and handmade. I would recommend any interested pen-lover to try this maker's pens. They won't drain your pocket and yet you end up getting a nice pen which is quite collectible IMHO. I am a happy customer.