Picasso 606

[jaderabbit]

I'm home for Thanksgiving Break, doing laundry, sipping persimmon tea and generally procrastinating. So while I'm at it, I bring to you my first Chinese fountain pen, bought off of ebay for less than $12! It's a light peachy pink and writes like a dream...once I hit its sweet spot anyway.

http://chayeji.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/fpfamily.jpg?w=987

top to bottom: Picasso 606, Pilot Prera, Lamy Al-Star, Sailor A.S. Manhattaner's, Pilot 78G

 

The 606 was advertised as an "Ultrafine Accounting Pen" but it seems to write bolder than my Pilot Prera fine or more closely to my Lamy extra fine. Aside from a decent writing nib, the weight of the pen itself is also more substantial than my other fountain pens, probably because the 606 is made of metal instead of plastic or aluminum. I wish it were a little longer like the Lamy Al-Star since I don't like capping my pens and ruining the weight balance, but otherwise I'm very satisfied.

 

http://chayeji.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/606writing.jpg?w=987

http://chayeji.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/606linecomp.jpg?w=1011

 

The 606 really seems to love Private Reserve Velvet Black and the hooded nib was surprisingly easy to fill and clean. In terms of ergonomics, it's not as easy to handle as the Lamy since sometimes I roll the pen in my fingers and lose the sweet spot. And its not as fine or easy of a writer as the Prera, which can pretty much write no matter how I turn the nib. All in all, compared to the rest of the lot, I think the 606 might just be my new favorite pen.

Edited November 23, 2011 by jaderabbit

[Uncle Red]

Thanks for the write up. Have a good holliday

[richardandtracy]

Thanks for the review, it's good to see these Chinese pens as there are so many of them..

 

However this gave me a chuckle:

...probably because the 606 is made of metal instead of plastic or aluminum.

There was me thinking Aluminium was a metal...

 

May years back the company I worked for had a really old draughtsman who often asked whether the new box he was to design was 'Metal or Aluminium'.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.