Caliarts Ego - A New Chinese Piston Filler

[MontPelikan]

Hello,

 

here is my little review of this nice pen:

 

 

Thank you for watching

 

MontPelikan

[Bill P]

Thanks for taking the time to review and provide a you tube video...

 

Personally, and this is only my opinion, I would find your review more useful without the music, but instead have dialogue from you regarding the Pen....what you see. how it feels, your experience and opinion...

 

None the less, thanks for posting...

[melodiousb]

Counterpoint: it's great to see fountain pen reviews I can watch muted. Thanks for the video, MontPelikan--I feel like the Ego is hard to justify when I already have two Wing Sung 698s, but I'm almost sold.

[taike]

Hello,

 

here is my little review of this nice pen:

 

 

Thank you for watching

 

MontPelikan

 

Nice review. I like the format. You pack in a ton of info and make it look good!

[Bill P]

Counterpoint: it's great to see fountain pen reviews I can watch muted. Thanks for the video, MontPelikan--I feel like the Ego is hard to justify when I already have two Wing Sung 698s, but I'm almost sold.

 

Interesting comment on the Caliarts vs the Wing Sung 698...I happen to have both...my initial impressions are that they are very similar in terms of size and writing experience. Their look is a little different with the Caliarts having the red on the end of the piston filler...I find them both to be VERY good writers, and both are VERY GOOD value.. Both seem to be well made...Long term ? too early to tell.

[Mech-for-i]

Well I was thinking I would not get the Caliart Ego nor the Lecai Eye-dropper, but might be getting the Gray Blue Wing Sung 698; am not really enthusiastic with demonstrators. But then guess what !! Caliart just put on their shop Ego 2 : said to have both cosmetic and mechanical improvement and tuning, BUT the most important one, they pilot a batch of hand crafted acrylic solid color ( well according to the text its actually kind of translucent ) and I just cannot help but order one ... the Wing Sung 698 will have to wait .. for a while

 

Ego 2 Pilot Batch via Taobao

 

Ego 2 Pilot Batch nib+clip via Taobao

 

Ego 2 Mint & Ego 2 Clear via Taobao

 

The demo version of the Ego 2 comes in also ( same trim like the Mint ) black, violet/pink, sky blue, aqua blue, lilac purple, red, and crimson

Edited July 14, 2017 by Mech-for-i

[andy1m]

Just ordered my first piston fill Caliarts Ego which come with an extra feed & an EF nib. Have to wait at least three weeks shipping from China to Indonesia.

[sketchstack]

I have just received this pen and my early impression is that it's much higher quality than I expected and writes well right out of the box. It came with extra o-rings, extra nib and feed and a small metal tool. It could have been sold as a new TWSBI model and I might have believed it --except for maybe the nib.

 

Overall I'm impressed for a ~$10 pen.

[xuanjq]

I have bought two versions of Ego pens and I think the total clear version is much more beautiful if using color inks

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/xuanjq/total%20clear.png

 

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/xuanjq/total.png

[NPatil]

Just got my Ego 2 clear demonstrator. The listing was for a pen with a F nib, but the pen I received has a nib marked "Caliarts IRIDIUM POINT EF" and the line width is similar to a Bock EF. Since my workplace uses cheap feathery paper, I prefer EF or a dry F anyways.

The pen does have flow issues though, I guess I shouldn't have inked it up directly without giving it a thorough cleaning first. It's so pretty I couldn't help myself.

The nib+feed aren't coming out of the section with a firm tug. I guess that issue too will be solved with a good soapy flush.

I guess having a section that can be removed like the Wing Sung 698 would help tremendously with cleaning the feed and nib.

One issue I had with the pen before I saw it in person was the clip, I thought the flat clip of the Ego 2 doesn't look as good as the curvy nib of the original model. However, in person, the new clip does look better than the pictures. It's not flat, it's faceted and looks somewhat like a necktie in shape.

[displacermoose]

I've been debating about one of these for a while. I have a Wing Sung 698 that I love and I can't decide if I should get another one in a different color or try an Ego.

[maximme]

.

Edited September 17, 2017 by maximme

[maximme]

Well I was thinking I would not get the Caliart Ego nor the Lecai Eye-dropper, but might be getting the Gray Blue Wing Sung 698; am not really enthusiastic with demonstrators. But then guess what !! Caliart just put on their shop Ego 2 : said to have both cosmetic and mechanical improvement and tuning, BUT the most important one, they pilot a batch of hand crafted acrylic solid color ( well according to the text its actually kind of translucent ) and I just cannot help but order one ... the Wing Sung 698 will have to wait .. for a while

 

Ego 2 Pilot Batch via Taobao

 

Ego 2 Pilot Batch nib+clip via Taobao

 

Ego 2 Mint & Ego 2 Clear via Taobao

 

The demo version of the Ego 2 comes in also ( same trim like the Mint ) black, violet/pink, sky blue, aqua blue, lilac purple, red, and crimson

​

​​WOW

the opaque blue is what i have been waiting for.

PM me the link.

thanks

[maximme]

I have just received this pen and my early impression is that it's much higher quality than I expected and writes well right out of the box. It came with extra o-rings, extra nib and feed and a small metal tool. It could have been sold as a new TWSBI model and I might have believed it --except for maybe the nib.

 

Overall I'm impressed for a ~$10 pen.

yup

fully agree.

they give TWSBI a run for the money

 

ps, function wise, i like EGO 1 clip. it works very well

[Mech-for-i]

​

​​WOW

the opaque blue is what i have been waiting for.

PM me the link.

thanks

 

PM you the link , let me know if you might need further assistance

[AmandaW]

I went to look at the one with the colour ends and found it's available in PURPLE!

[Honeybadgers]

I broke mine, the wrench rounded off the plastic on the section as I tried to unscrew the piston and I shattered the piston knob trying to unscrew it that way.

 

I'm going to stick with the 698. the ego's wrench design is neat, but it needs to be made a little more durable.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[Seele]

I broke mine, the wrench rounded off the plastic on the section as I tried to unscrew the piston and I shattered the piston knob trying to unscrew it that way.

 

I'm going to stick with the 698. the ego's wrench design is neat, but it needs to be made a little more durable.

 

It's one of the weaknesses of the Ego: the piston drive main body is made out of a rather soft material, and the flats do not often match the wrench exactly. If there is a bit of slack between them, then it is very possible for the wrench to slip and you end up with a non-serviceable, rounded drive body; after I did that to mine I ordered two spare ones, and did some fine adjustments to the wrench to ensure a firm grip.

 

This, I found, is quite necessary as it might take a few tries to get the parts of the piston drive synchronized properly to make the piston sufficiently retracted, and the piston knob screwed down securely without backlash; the multiple-slotted piston knob is for fine-tuning this.

 

One point about the Ego I like is that, while it takes a standard injection moulded thermoplastic feed with a tail, primarily designed for C/C operation, the tail does not fit into a sleeve that forms the plug for taking ink from the cartridge. In other words, it is possible to write the ink completely dry without a drop of it stuck inside the reservoir,

[Haun]

I received one just today and inked it immediately with my favorite rusty brown ink, Diamine Ancient Copper. I ordered it with a fine nib, and colour me impressed. Writes very well and very smoothly for a pen with an f nib (bordering on EF). Feels great in the hand and holds a ton of ink. Looks cool as well with the transparent piston mechanism. I really like it. A lot of bang for your buck.

[AmandaW]

I went to look at the one with the colour ends and found it's available in PURPLE!

 

My ordered arrived. They sent a clear one instead of the purple I ordered.