Ohto Fine and Ohto Tasche

[lisa]

Thank you for the answer.

 

I was eying the Tashe but only if it takes cartridges that are easily available to me. I normally use bottled ink and could do the syringe filling but I can get short international carts for very cheap in a department store (Hema) overhere.

 

Another pen on my wishlist. Don't know whether to laugh or cry

[Penache]

The Tasche is an inexpensive indulgence. Go for it, Lisa!

[lisa]

You guys are awful enablers.

 

[Possum Hill]

You guys are awful enablers.

 

'Allo, 'allo Lisa. Love your tag line.

 

I gave my sister, a non-FP user, an Ohto Tasche and some PR Chocolat cartridges. Time will tell if she likes it, but I almost kept it for myself. It came from JPens The nib is described as medium; it wrote very nicely, perhaps a tad wider than my Safari fine.

 

I think JetPens also carries the Tashe.

 

Wherever you find the Tashe, look for the Pilot Petit1. I bought one for fun and I'll probably get a couple to give to teen-age nieces.

[lisa]

I emailed jpens and they say it doesn't take standard international cartridges, and someone snatched up the last pink one I wanted so Oh well, plenty of pens out there

 

[Possum Hill]

I emailed jpens and they say it doesn't take standard international cartridges, and someone snatched up the last pink one I wanted so Oh well, plenty of pens out there

 

I have the cartridge that came with the Tashe I gave my sister. It's a short international cartridge. I put a different short international cartridge in it and it worked just fine.

 

Perhaps JPens meant it would not accept the long international cartridge, which would be too long.

 

That doesn't help much in the matter of color, however.

[lisa]

But it's good to know if jpens get them again. Hope they do. (with jetpen it looks like the shipping they use costs more than the pen. Not worth it to me.)

[holgate]

I don't mean to be poopy or anything but I'd like to offer a differing view on the Ohto Tasche: I'd have to call it "underwhelming". Sure it's okay, it works and the nib is satisfactory, but I found the ink flow to be a bit "anemic" and the nib to be stiff, a bit toothy and unresponsive. If it wasn't for the unusually small size of it when capped I'm pretty sure I'd just toss it in the "misc pens" bin and forget about it.

 

I had that first reaction, too, but I gave it a second and third look -- I did pay for it! -- and found that the flow somehow improved from having a cart left in for a few days, and from putting it to a bit of use. It's a matter of taste whether you prefer the nib to the ones on the Pilot Petit1 and Varsity/VPen, because they are quite different in character, and there's always the advantage of easier refilling with the Tasche.

 

It's probably not a $20 pen given the competition, and you can even buy a low-end NOS Pilot Elite short-long for near that price on fleabay -- but it's on the money for its Japanese price. (That it seems to fly off the virtual shelves in the US is just a bonus for JetPens.)

[elalan]

I got a couple ohto tasches and am quite impressed.

[Nihontochicken]

This thread got me to thinking of the pens I've left inked and idle for months, my Ohto Tasche one of them. I grabbed it out of the drawer and gave it a try. No go. So I dipped it to give it a kickstart, and it wrote nicely for such an inexpensive pen. Now that I had the bit in my teeth, I next grabbed my inked but long idle Kaweco Sport (plastic with medium nib) and tried it. Again, no go. Once again, dipped it wrote nicely. Next up was my also inked and neglected Kaweco AL-sport (aluminum with broad nib). I had thought I had rinsed out this pen, but a quick check showed a blue cartridge still employed. So I screwed the barrel back on, and gave it a try. Wrote on the first stroke with no skip. Like I said, it's been sitting in the drawer for months now without use. I still like the Ohto Tasche and Kaweco Sport, think both are well worth the money. But, though more money (yet still not really expensive), the Kaweco AL-Sport won this face-off, and would probably survive a nuclear strike as well. Wonder how it and the Rotring 600 would compare in the ultimate torture survival test?

[bylandl]

I used the Tasche with J. Herbin perle noir, and I found that it laid down ink at about a liter a second and skipped a lot. I don't know... I didn't love it, and it got lost in my house somewhere. And I don't miss it too much. You get what you pay for, I guess.

[innoby]

I wish to add an addendum to this review, if I may. I have purchased two Ohto FINE, the first one I thought maybe it was just a manufacture error (it's only $20 so I wasn't too worried about the cost) but after the second one had severe ink flow issues I've given up on Ohto. The fit and finish of the FINE IS excellent, but I have found that unfortunately most fountain pens do not seem to write well for us south paws. I can write some with my right hand, and holding the pen right handed solved the problem with ink flow.

 

The other thing I didn't really like was the balance, but then again I am left handed so that's probably part of the issue. I did give away both of the FINE's that I purchased and both people enjoy the pen greatly, but they aren't left handed.

[mrresh]

I’m fairly young and bought the Black OHTO Tasche fountain pen and pencil from Pen Heaven in the UK. It feels very nice to use gets an envious eye from the Lamy Safari people on my train. Its my first fountain since school and I must say I thought it was great value and very stylish. I’m an occasional user so I don’t need to carry spare cartridges around but this may become an issue as I inevitably start to use the pen more!