Fuliwen Nobility Black Fountain Pen F

March 3, 2009

This was purchased on Ebay from seller Gold Quills. They also have a website which is www.goldquills.com. I am relatively new to the fountain pen world so will do my best to describe the pen as per the format of other reviews.

Direct Link

http://www.goldquills.com/proddetail.asp?prod=B186

First Impressions:

I was perusing ebay and ran across this pen which I had also seen on this sellers regular site and was intrigued by the looks.

Appearance/finish:

The pen has a hourglass design similar to what I have seen on the Duke Jade Girl pen that is sold by Todd at isellpens.com. Finish wise it seems to be lacquer over brass and is a medium size pen that I would call light to medium weight. The Cap is a snap on cap with the only ornamentation being a synthetic pearl on the clip itself. The cap clicks on tightly and have not noticed any air leaks drying out the nib overnight. The cap posts nicely on the back of the pen, which is my preference, but can be comfortably used without the cap posted. Capped the pen is about 5 1/4 inches long and posted about 5 3/4. Since the barrel is asymmetrical it took a bit of getting used to and the front section is metal so if could cause a bit of slippage with wet or oily hands.

Nib performance:

One thing that I was very surprised about when using this pen for the first time was the smoothness of the nib. Some of the inexpensive Chinese pens that I have tried have had a nib that, being generous, gave alot of feedback or, being less generous, was scratchy. This nib is actually a rather smooth nib that glides across the paper leaving just a bit more than what I would consider a fine line. I have two Safari's, one with a fine nib and the other with a medium nib, and would consider the nib on this Fuliwen to be in between. The nib on this pen is very small compared to some of the Duke Pens. It is even smaller than the nib on the Safaris I mentioned above.

Filling system:

The Fuliwen pen uses the normal International Cartridges and has a standard twist ink converter included with the pen.

Value:

I paid $2.99 for the pen plus $5.60 for shipping since I won this pen with a couple of others and got 20% off shipping. So for under $9 I think it was a great value since the nib is so smooth.

Conclusion:

It a great little lightweight pen with a smooth nib that lays down a nice wet line without any skipping. The shape is something that I think one could love or hate and for me did take a bit to get used. I see on the Goldquills site that the pen comes all black such as the one that I have, black with a silver cap, and a celluloid version that is just shaped a bit different. One note when taking a look at this sellers items. It is worth you time to look at their site a www.goldquills.com and then look at their ebay postings under the seller goldquills. Sometimes the ebay price with shipping will be a bit less than what is posted on the normal site which has shipping included.

Well there's my first review. Any constructive comments on how to improve this would be appreciated as I plan to do more in the future

March 4, 2009

I agree completely!

I found these guys on ebay, but now only use their website (much cheaper): http://www.goldquills.com/

They ship from MN, so it's pretty fast.

Anyways, I got this pen for $10:

http://www.goldquills.com/prodimages/b170/B186-1.jpg http://www.goldquills.com/prodimages/b170/B186-2.jpg

To me, Aesthetics are as important as how the pen writes, and I was disheartened for a while, because I have not liked the current generation of fountain pens out there from Cross. They are bulbous and even if they're made of gold and encrusted with diamonds, they do not please me aesthetically, and the prices aren't right for daily writers.

I bought 1 fuliwen pen from NewForMen on ebay, and it looks very pretty, but it was a bust. The nib is Medium, but the flow of ink sucks. I couldn't figure out if it was the ink or the nib.

About the same time, I bought that stylish Fuliwen pen in the picture above in Fine nib - It writes very well and wet, yet fine. The pen feels solid and weighty. A pleasure to write with, so Fuliwen pens are hit and miss. I may order another one, as they're cheaper than a bottle of ink.

I don't trust the converter that it comes with, but that doesn't matter to me as I have a lot of ink cartridges, and use a blunt syringe to refill ink into them. I bought some Noodler's Polar Black ink from a seller on ebay, who is currently selling them for 12.50 per 3oz bottle - FREE shipping.

It's been a few weeks now, and this pen only gets better and better. Since it is cheap, well built, writes well, I use it as my daily writer. I carry it everywhere and sign papers and checks. People always compliment it.

It's not gaudy, but subtle. Very nice design.

March 4, 2009

The Fuliwens that I have tried are amazingly good pens...especially considering the low cost.

Glad that you are enjoying yours.

March 4, 2009

this one caught my attention, but two thing turn me off about fuliwen. one: the metal section and two: they are hard to cap and uncap... the cap is the tightest i've ever seen on a pen. i do admit the nib of the fuliwens, at least the one i own is decent.

about the metal section, they don't bother me that much if i sand it with a fine grit sand paper. but, i don't think it would look all that good on this model being reviewed... one of the catchy things on this one is actually the section. it would look awkward sanded.

thanx for the review, it's definitely a looker!!!

Edited March 4, 2009 by lovemy51

March 4, 2009

this one caught my attention, but two thing turn me off about fuliwen. one: the metal section and two: they are hard to cap and uncap... the cap is the tightest i've ever seen on a pen. i do admit the nib of the fuliwens, at least the one i own is decent.

about the metal section, they don't bother me that much if i sand it with a fine grit sand paper. but, i don't think it would look all that good on this model being reviewed... one of the catchy things on this one is actually the section. it would look awkward sanded.

thanx for the review, it's definitely a looker!!!

Mine is not to difficult to cap or uncap. It i nothing like the Jinhao x750 I have. It is a little stiffer than my Safaris but not uncomfortably so.

Edited March 4, 2009 by Motomo

March 5, 2009

that's good to know, motomo. i'm not saying i'll never get a fuliwen, i saw the tortoise shell body one and liked the look ( http://www.goldquills.com/prodimages/b170/B181-1.jpg ). the price is not bad at all...

... the one i might get one of these days from fuliwen is this one: http://www.goldquills.com/prodimages/b170/B199-1.jpg