Namiki Falcon <F>

[PinarelloOnly]

Finally, I got to sit down with Richard Binder at a “pre-show” with out the crowd and with out feeling rushed, not by

way of Richard and his wife but without the kids and my wife running around at a full pen show. I left my house at

6:30 a.m. in CT and after a fill up with gas and a stop at Starbucks I was at the Boston area pre-show at opening time.

This 2hr drive was really only for getting my new Pilot Custom 823 re-ground to an extra fine.

 

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The pen set up at Binder’s table is by far one of the best you can see at the Boston Show. Just about everything on his

website is there at the show in full display. By far THE best display of mostly all of the Vanishing Point bodies in all

colors and trims. The new Bexley’s were there in full display along with full displays of Aurora 88, Optima and Talentum pens.

 

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While I was waiting my turn for my Custom 823 nib-grind, the Namiki Falcon kept calling to me at Binder’s table sitting

in the display along next to the Custom 74 and Custom 823. It would complete my Namiki/Pilot collection and it is a

pen that I have been wanting for a long time since my trip to Fountain Pen Hospital when my wife and I were killing

some time waiting to go to a show over on Broadway in NY City.

 

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After my 823 re-grind which was very, very cool to watch him craft it, the business of my new Falcon was next. Out of

the box Richard filled it with Aurora Blue at my request, which he had on hand in his work area. He tried out my new

Falcon real quickly and said, “ Here. How’s that” as he handed it to me. As I wrote just a short jot on paper he said, “I

didn’t need to tune that one”! Out of the box my Falcon wrote smooth as a Namiki fine nib could be expected and wet

with Aurora Blue. He was right it didn’t need to be adjusted at all, for my taste anyway. I have to say it was like my

Bamboo out of the box, just with a little more flex to it.

 

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Although its size has a lot to do with it, the Falcon is very light and very comfortable when posted for long writing periods.

 

Here is the Falcon compared to the Pro Gear.

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The Falcon has flex if you want it, flex if you don’t. It’s not a pen that is difficult to control at all. I’m sure more times

than not some have found that the Falcon’s nib is not as flexible as they thought is was going to be with all the hype

that they read previously before buying one. This pen is also a favorite at many calligraphy web-stores.

 

Capturing the body lines. Bamboo/Custom 823/Custom 74/Falcon/VP

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Although I am not going to give away the price I paid…lets just say there is a big benefit of going to a pen show! Like

the VP the Falcon is definitely a pen to have in your collection. The Falcon is definitely a pen to have in any collection

and won’t break the bank as a daily writer.

 

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Pilot nibs. No.5/No.10/No.15/Falcon

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The Falcon is an awesome pen and a killer value.....

 

 

[Ondina]

This is a fantastic review of a great pen. The photos are super. There have been so many contradictory reports about the nature of the nib (soft/springy/semiflex) and of the variability among the nib's responsiveness that many of us would like to see a written sample, if possible. Thanks for the review.

[HDoug]

Great report and photos! I had Richard Binder grind my Falcon M to a .5mm cursive italic. Perfect!

 

Hey, your pens are so clean and shiny. Do you polish them somehow? Any tips to share?

 

Doug

[watsoncb]

Great review. I got my Falcon a week ago.

 

I was worried about the flex many have written about and found the nib to be "prefect" for my writing style. I write a lot of notes in my moleskin everyday. The nib is always wet when I ask it to write and it is a joy to use.

[PinarelloOnly]

Great report and photos! I had Richard Binder grind my Falcon M to a .5mm cursive italic. Perfect!

 

Hey, your pens are so clean and shiny. Do you polish them somehow? Any tips to share?

 

Doug

 

 

Doug,

 

Thanks and actually my black pens are a photographing nightmare. I use lint free lens cloths for photo equipment but when you wipe your pens down

you are then creating a static charge and so you have to snap your shutter ASAP before minute particles of dust start to show up that you can't see

with your eye but is very evident on the photos after the fact. The first picture is a good example.

 

 

This is a fantastic review of a great pen. The photos are super. There have been so many contradictory reports about the nature of the nib (soft/springy/semiflex) and of the variability among the nib's responsiveness that many of us would like to see a written sample, if possible. Thanks for the review.

 

Yes, I could do that maybe this weekend. I can definately say that someone who writes heavy-handed would say this pen has flex.

I have a very light hand so this pen is springy to me.

[alvarez57]

I'm glad you're enjoying it for it is a very smooth writer, a "Zen" pen for it is unobtrusive to the eye.

 

Pinarello, have you tried a dust remover? ...althought I can picture you spraying constantly to get rid of the dust

Edited June 13, 2009 by alvarez57

[Neshobe]

Lovely, lovely pen. I've been looking online at this pen (no pen outlets near me. OK, Boston is 3 hours away, but I am chicken about driving in Boston traffic). It is a gorgeous pen, and so many good reviews on how it writes. It reminds me a lot of my graduation pen, so there's that too. After reading your review, I suspect that it will be my next purchase. Maybe I can talk myself into actually going to Boston. I need a chaperone though. I'm a country girl and big fast cities discombobulate me.

 

Oh, but there are all those museums to go to... hmmm. Thinking....

 

Neshobe (aka Dayle Ann)

[HenryLouis]

What do you think of the ink capacity?

[Anton Emdin]

Beautiful photography. Some of the best I've seen here.

 

I really enjoy my Falcon, although it's a SM. I really don't know why the flex is hyped, as there is very little of it. It is, however very soft and therefore a lovely writer. I look forward to writing my journal every night with it.

[Silas]

Beautiful photography. Some of the best I've seen here.

 

I really enjoy my Falcon, although it's a SM. I really don't know why the flex is hyped, as there is very little of it. It is, however very soft and therefore a lovely writer. I look forward to writing my journal every night with it.

 

 

An update on Anton's pen....at least I think this may be the one he parted with to me. I agree that it was a lovely writer, but I felt that it could be made into a true exotic! Sent it to Greg Minuskin and now the loveliness has actually changed to superflex, oblique, italic....and becomes several pens at once. With very light pressure, it can be a fine line with subtle variation: a little more pressure and the fun begins. I believe the word, "VERVE" best describes the finished product!

Sometimes very good pens can be made even better.....this is one of them!

[Flourish]

A good solid pen and the price makes it a rather good value. And once in a while you can luck up on a used one very cheap. I like the flex of this nib as it gives just the right amount of cushion to my writing and I can draw with it at blazing speeds without worry. If you regrind it to a xxxf and a full flex like Mr. Mottishaw and Mr. Binder do then it makes one of the most reliable pens for Roundhand scripts and ornamental style drawing today. This is one of my goto pens unmodified and modified. Definitely one of those pens that is all about the nib.

[jsroe]

Another very nice thing about the Falcon nib, that I haven't seen mentioned in any review, is that it is resistent to drying out. My Namiki Falcon with the SF nib arrived a week ago and I'm very impressed with it. It's very smooth given how fine the nib is (almost like a needle point compared to other western fountain pens I have), and I will learn how to make use of the semi-flex capabiliy, but I was pleasently surprised with how resistent to drying out the nib is if left uncapped. It can be left uncapped sitting idle for an hour without drying out providing immediate ink flow when you go to write. No more scribbling a dry nib trying to get ink to flow again because I forgot to cap it. The requirment to keep a fountain pen nib capped to prevent drying out always made me believe fountain pens were less practical than ball points and rollerballs for long sessions of note taking in meetings, but not with the Falcon. Another reason to get this pen!!!

[Septimus61]

Great report and photos! I had Richard Binder grind my Falcon M to a .5mm cursive italic. Perfect!

 

Hey, your pens are so clean and shiny. Do you polish them somehow? Any tips to share?

 

Doug

 

Doug,

 

Can you please post a sample of writing done with the "Binder" .5mm cursive italic?

I have a out-of-the-box fine and I'm not happy with it - as I prefer italic nibs - and I'd love to see the result of the Binder regrind.

[sotto2]

I alternate between thinking about selling all my other pens except for my two Metal Falcons or just selling half my other pens except for my two Metal Falcons.

[M@rtin]

Excellent photos!!! (and of course, excellent pens)

 

Saludos