Pentel Disposable Fountain

[kissing]

http://pentel.com.au/images/JM20WU-C.jpg

 

I was at an Office Supplies store just this morning, and this caught my eye.

 

A disposable pen labelled "Fountain" by Pentel. (Pentel JM20WU)

 

Cost: $5 AU (around $3.65 US)

 

So as a dedicated Fountain Pen fanatic, I had to buy one.

 

On the box that it came in were written:

 

0.5mm Plastic Fountain Nib

Black Ink

Superior Quality Guarantee

Unique Double Sided flexible nib allows for various writing widths

1000 metres writing distance

 

Made in Japan.

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0630_114847.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0630_113809.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0630_113805.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0630_113719.jpg

 

 

Upon writing with it, it was a bit of a disappointment to me as something labelled so zealously as a "fountain pen". It doesnt really feel like a fountain pen at all. Its more like a Felt-Tip marker. The angular restriction while writing has some resemblance to writing with a fountain pen (it doesnt feel like a ballpoint), but it feels like writing with a narrow texta <_<

 

The label says "Fountain Tip", but technically, I dont think it passes as a fountain pen. Cheap, plastic mass-produced pens with the potential to give modern society the wrong impression of fountain pens. I can just imagine a non-fountain pen person of the post-fountain pen generation picking up one of these with curiosity of what a Fountain pen feels like, and thinking "ha! there isnt that much to fountain pens anyway!" :bonk:

 

The ink is fairly dry and controlled (like in a rollerball), and it probably would last long as it states on the packaging. You can write with it at any angle...upside-down, sideways, etc which all give different line width and variation, which is not so bad. (writing with the lable pointing up seems to give the smoothest lineage).

However, compared to the other well known disposable fountain pen in the market, the Pilot Varsity, this thing is not worth it unless you're looking for a pen that writes like a felt-tip marker which you can write with fountain-pen handwriting style. I guess this does have its advantages when a true fountain pen is too wet for the job.

 

Not bad as a writer, but I am very critical of the "Fountain Pen" label that Pentel has branded onto this pen.

 

here is a link: http://pentel.com.au/Fibretips.htm

 

note how this "fountain pen" is in the same category as Fibre Tip & Plastic Point Markers

 

[editted from a slight change in opinion]

Edited June 30, 2006 by kissing

[Viseguy]

It sure does look like a porous point pen. The "fountain" moniker smacks of marketing hype (and is a tad misleading, as you found out). This may be Pentel's answer to the Papermate Liquid Expresso [sic] porous point, which is pitched to people who want something that "writes like a fountain pen, without the mess." The Papermate happens to be one of my favorite non-FP writing instruments, along with the uni-ball Vision Elite roller ball. Both of these pens put out a smooth, wet, quick-drying line, with good water resistance. In fact, according to tests done by me and, more recently, by Roger, the ink in the Vision Elite appears to be "bulletproof", in the Noodlerian sense. /:) The V.E. is marketed as "airplane safe", and it does fly well; I've spent 25+ hours in a plane with several of them, without mishap. The point is, pens like these have their place, and the Papermate and the uni-ball give great value for the money, but... FPs they're not. :blink:

[Ann Finley]

I'm wondering if the Fountain Pentel you've got has an edged nib like a couple that I've got. It's got an 0.8 mm Duracon/plastic chisel edged tip for italic writing (they came in 1.3 mm, too.) It was very hard to see if you were holding the pen at the correct angle! I consider it a "marker" rather than a fountain pen. I can understand why you were disappointed.

 

Oops..reading your post again I see that the one that you've got is different--but still not a fountain pen. I agree that it is likely to give someone that didn't grow up with FPs the wrong impression of what an FP is.

 

The one thing I found that mine was good for was writing on certain greeting card papers that FPs would feather on.

 

Best, Ann

[kissing]

The one thing I found that mine was good for was writing on certain greeting card papers that FPs would feather on.

 

Best, Ann

I would have to agree with that. It seems as though that the "Pentel Fountain" was an attempt to make a modernised "fountain tip" which retains some of the qualities of fountain pens. The ink used here is a bit drier than fountain pen ink, so it wont feather and is actually ok for expressive writing.

 

So its not a really a bad pen (plus its cheap). I was only critical about it because of the misleading "Fountain pen" label. I would have to agree that the "Fountain" label may have been an advertising hype.

 

When I saw the label "Fountain Pen", I was full of expectations, and thought it would be comparable to the Pilot Varsity, which is a disposable fountain pen that REALLY does write like a fountain pen (with wet ink and metal nib and write wet). And they're roughly the same price.

 

Here is the link for Pilot Varsity for those who are clueless: http://www.pilotpen.us/detail.asp?PenID=24

 

The Fountain Pentel is kinda like a cross between a Stylograph pen and a Felt-tip marker in an attempt to resemble fountain pens

 

Its one of those pens that seem terrible at first, but you learn to love it for its uniqueness. Not a bad pen, but it will disappoint you if you have the expectation it would write like a real fountain pen.

 

 

 

The Fountain pen world is full of diversity. This pen is one of those oddities that are on the slim borderline of whether its a fountain pen or not.

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0630_162217.jpg

Edited June 30, 2006 by kissing

[JimStrutton]

Hmm,

 

Looking carefully I see that they label this as a 'Fountain Pentel' , smells of marketing hype to me to.

 

Also I don't think they are that cheap, when for about that money, in the UK at least, I can get one of the Pelikan Culture pens, (£2.99 in LIDL when they have them on offer ) and that is refillable by cartridge at least.

 

So nice try Pentel, but no cigar

 

What really concerns me is that somebody will buy one of these and decide that a fountain pen is not for them.

 

Jim

[Kees]

The system seems to be the same as that of the Pentel Tradio TRJ50, which I actually like.

 

I agree it can’t be compared to a (good) FP, and it does have a felt-tip feel, but there’s still an interaction between pen and paper roller balls are lacking, and they give you a smooth writing experience you don’t often find in ball points.

 

(I bought one earlier this week after I had lost my Pelikan 200; I agree, again, that it isn’t a proper replacement...)

[dogpoet]

Can I raise this thread from the dead? I'd like to point out re Viseguy and Jim's posts that they aren't something Pentel stuck out as a "me too" to compete with the Papermate liquid espresso pen and that the Pentels have been around for over twenty years (I'm not sure of the date they first appeared, but it was definitely some time in the mid '80s). They predate the Papermates and gel ink pens by a good few years, though it's possible that they may have been relaunched to compete with the others.

Edited February 20, 2009 by dogpoet