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I have been an avid lurker in here, but not until now have I posted anything. And what better way to do it than to provide the initial impressions of my eagerly awaited Diplomat Aero matte silver. Apologies in advance for any faux-passes (not sure of the plural?), I hope for your forgiveness in this regard. Also, apologies for any mistakes in my language, English is not my first language. Without any further ado, here goes. This post should be read with the consideration that I have up to now only owned pens priced no higher than GBP 20. In my modest collection I have some Lamy Safaris and Nexx'es (Nexx'?), as well as M models of the latter. These nibs on these pens range from EF to M. I also have a Sailor Calligraphy pen. I quite like these pens and use them daily. I like the Lamy nibs, though would prefer them a little smoother. I greatly appreciate the rubber grip on the Nexx pens. My Sailor Calligraphy pen is a little odd to use; I usually flip it upside-down to write with a superfine line. I had a Rotring Art Pen once, but recall getting very annoyed with it being dry and scratchy, and now it is lost somewhere in my apartment (I actually am searching for it, as I would like to give it a second chance). In case it is relevant somehow, I am left-handed. (One or two of my Lamy pens have the LH nib, though I do not find any difference between this and the ordinary M nib). I bought the Diplomat (with the first paycheck from my new job ) because I wanted to try out a higher-end fountain pen, and the design appealed a lot to me. Zeppelins, yay! The packaging: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh197/Ludegirl/Ludegirl009/IMG_6998.jpg As has been mentioned elsewhere, the packaging is lovely. I like the aluminum cover for the box itself, and i like the presentation of the pen on a satin pillow, printed with the Diplomat logo. Lovely! The pen itself: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh197/Ludegirl/Ludegirl009/efc5d45f-0f5a-4af4-96bb-f4657dd5ada1.jpg http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh197/Ludegirl/Ludegirl009/IMG_7001.jpg It looks very good to me, and feels very substantial. The aluminum feels 'toothy'/rough to the touch, I like that. The pen feels solid, and unscrewing the barrel to get to the converter has a nice swishing sound, due to the metal construction. I have inked it up with Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki, which on the picture has managed to escape slightly onto the nib. Using it: This nib is very smooth! I love it! It applies just the right amount of ink for me, and I can also turn it upside-down, to produce a finer line. It is a pretty firm nib, I do not experience any flex with it. I got the M steel nib for it. There are also 14k gold nibs for it, which will double the cost of the pen. YMMW, but I did not find it worth double the amount of money (...which I could use to buy more pens ). It seems you can get the nib in sizes from F to B. I am not entirely sure whether they make an EF. It is a heavy pen, to me at least (particularly considering that my other pens are very light). I am not sure how I feel about that, I had not expected something like the Nexx, but it is a heavy instrument for me to use. I do not post my pens, and would particularly not do it with this one, it would be too heavy. I must admit it is heavier than I expected, seeing as it is made of aluminum. To be fair, I have seen its weight listed online, but do not have a frame of reference yet for when pens feel heavy - especially seeing since my other pens are very light weight. I do not think I would buy a pen heavier than this one. When I post the cap, it feels like it stays put. As mentioned, I do usually never post my caps, and still do not think I will do it with this one. But I noticed that it was very well balanced even if posted. I still prefer it unposted though, as it is lighter this way. But I might experiment some more with this. Personal preference, I suppose. The grip feels smooth to me, perhaps a bit too slippery. It is an interesting contrast to the more toothy feel of the body. The smoothness combined with the weight of the pen makes it feel a little uncontrolled to me, but on the other hand, the pen feels balanced. I will conclude on this when I have used the pen more. The barrel seems to unscrew fairly easily. Though it does not have a screw-on cap, I have already noticed it unscrewing a bit. I make sure to twist the cap slightly in the other direction when I open it. I have seen others comment that the cap is pretty tight, and you do have to use a bit of force to get it open - and close securely. I hope this mellows out a bit, but on the other hand, I like that it locks on securely, so the cap will not accidentally pop off. Price: I feel I found a fairly good deal on this from a German pen-site, where it cost €85. Shipping was a little expensive though, so I ended up paying a bit over €100 for the pen. I have seen it retail for about GBP 120 from the few pages I looked at. For me in Denmark, and with the exchange rates, I found it much cheaper to purchase from a German site than a UK one. In conclusion, I like this pen a lot, though I have some slight concerns with it, such as the weight and slippery-feeling grip. I think it is very fairly priced, and it was in close competition with pens costing twice or triple the price. I feel like I have gotten good value for money. It feels like a deliciously designed tool with an amazingly smooth nib. If you consider getting an Aero, make sure you will be comfortable with the weight, and prepare for being a little careful when taking the cap off it. All in all, I am happy, and will now go experiment with different sorts of ink... I hope you have enjoyed the review, and I hope it is of use to someone. EDIT: I had previously commented on the pen being a bit too wet perhaps, and dripping a bit of ink. Turns out it was an error of my behalf, I had not 'squeezed' out a few drops again after having filled the converter. Now it works perfectly, and I am happy. ^^

Please Help me unknown Diplomat

Hi, I got this rather nice Diplomat fountain pen today but I can't find what the model name might be. It kind of reminds me of a Lamy 2000. It seems to be brushed stainless steel, it is heavier than aluminum would be.It is a cartridge filler. Possibly proprietary cartridges, there were 2 carts inside a metal sleeve in the pen, the cartridges have the diplomat logo on the end.Dimensions: 5 1/4" capped, 4 7/8" uncapped, 5 3/4" postedNib is an inset or semi-hooded 14k oblique medium, no breather holeLink to full album Any help? Thanks

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So I am new to this forum and I am debating on whether to purchase a vintage 149 or a 149 75th 1924. I understand the vintage ones were better made compared to the modern ones so I guess does this hold true for the 75th one as well? Is it just a decked out 149 in a modern and not as durable body like the vintage ones produced way back when. Just looking for honest opinions. What would you buy? Thanks so much for shedding light on my question.

Hi guys, I've been offered to buy a Diplomat Ambassador fountain pen. I can't find any info on the web. Only managed to find out it was part of Diplomat's Classic collection which is probably discontinued. Does anyone have this pen and know more about it? What are the materials of the nib, pen body? Is it a good pen? What was its retail value? I've sent the Diplomat an email but they haven't responded yet. Maybe you know more. Thank you in advance!

Good day to all. I've ran into a rather curious situation - I can not ink up my newly bought Diplomat Balance B pen. First of all, I do have some experience with fountain pens (I own 4 other pens actually). Now, I've got this Diplomat Balance B pen and I can not figure out how to put a cartridge or a converter inside of it, assuming it is a cartridge/converter pen (it actually comes with two Diplomat cartriges). If you google the images of this pen, then you can clearly see 2 parts of the pen which could be "logically" the points for unscrewing it, but neither will bughe, even when a sufficient force is applied to it. Of course, I am also afraid to break or damage the pen by applying too much force to it, as I have not knowledge of where is “should” be unscrewed in the first place. I was not able to find on the internet any pictures or instructions of how it should be done either. So, if there are any owners of Diplomat Balance out here (it seems, it is not a popular brand outside of Germany, and unfortunately I do not speak German myself), I would appreciate if you could share with me the knowlage of how I can open up this pen! Thanks.

Hello, first post here. I am looking to purchase a fountain pen and considering my budget, shape of pen and other personal preferences I narrowed the selection down to three pens: Diplomat Traveller, Kaweco Student, Nemosine Fission, of which the latter I cannot find in Europe. I intend to use the selected pen everyday so it must not leak or be overly sensitive. I would appreciate suggestions based on comparing between the three. Thanks in advance.

Since I'm going to university after this summer, I thought it would be a nice idea to buy myself a new fountain pen. I've always been extremely fond of my Sheaffer Sentinel which I got from my dad, but I'd just like to have a second pen in the price range from €0 to €60. I've been looking at Sheaffer of course and I like the Agio. But the Diplomat Traveller also drew my attention as a nice looking pen. I don't like thick pens, or complete plastic (read: Lamy) ones. But what's more important to me is the weight (light), feedback (real smooth) and writing (fine). When I was younger I owned a Waterman Kultur which I think was rather scratchy and an even scratchier Schneider. Any advise would be appreciated!