Faber-Castell " Basic Black" Carbon Fiber - Fine Nib

[BillZ]

I have vague memories about someone posting a comment regarding a change in the design that made this happen. Sorry I can't be more specific but it would only confuse you more.

[shahrincamille]

I finally nailed the culprit - a spring lodged up the barrel, removed with the use of a crocodile forceps. Oh the wonder of medical instruments! LOL Shahrin

[shahrincamille]

Bah! Spoken too soon! Removal of the spring still does not allow the use of the Schmidt converter. A closer look revealed the presence of some "ridges" inside the barrel at its distal end that prevented the use of a standard long converter.

 

I now suspect either FC is making this pen as a cartridge-only pen, or somehow the barrel was swapped with one meant for a RB.

 

 

Shahrin

 

(sorry for the lousy picture - you have to zoom in to see clearer)

[beboy]

I had the same issue with mine I bought one year ago. I think there was several design flaws with that pen unfortunately, the one preventing Faber-Castell converter from fitting inside the barrel being one of the less annoying: I ended up sanding the tip of the screwing section of the converter and it fitted OK afterward.

 

Otherwise, I had serious issues of crack on the section, but Faber-Castell's distributor in Canada was very very helpful and replace it quickly at no charge. At the end, the most deceiving feature of the Basic pens, and the main reason why I don't use these anymore, is the low elasticity of the clip; it can strain permanently very easily. These pens look awesome, especially the carbon fiber one and the leather one, but at the end they are low cost pens made in China and it looks...

[titrisol]

I had been eyeing one for a while, and finally took the bait when I found a good price for it.

 

The aesthetics of the pen are veyr good, and for an entry base pen, the heft and construction are good.

Carbon fiber is covering a brass barrel and is nicely lacquered/plasticized, so it appears glossy and plays nicely with light.

The cap is big, and posts very nice and snug.

 

I tried using a "generic" international converter I had laying around and it fit well, so no complains from my side on this issue... maybe I got a never version?

 

The grip feels good, round and rubbery... nothing special

The nib is stainless, but it has this solid feel and glides well on the paper; the F feels a bit wide to me, and upside down it writes well, but feels more like a EF

 

So far I think I got a good value for the money, and I like the carbon fiber looks