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Recently I received a Bayard Souverain cartridge fountain pen, made in France probably in the 1970s. It has a nice 18-carat nib with a good amount of flex. I wanted to get it back in service. After exhausting my supply of various makes of cartridges an internet search and French pen blogs indicated pens made by Bayard, Unic and Stylomine use a ‘BUS 5’ cartridge (BUS = Bayard, Unic, Stylomine). The BUS 5 is no longer manufactured. Fortunately my local pen store (Bromfield Pen Shop) came up with a solution. After a number of tries the answer is to use S. T. Dupont propriety ink cartridges. It stands to reason as Dupont is based in France. The fit is initially a bit tight but the Dupont cartridge works well and stays in place. The ink flow is what one would expect and want. I’d be interested in hearing if anyone knows of other cartridges that might fit -- one similar in dimensions to the S. T. Dupont but only slightly larger around the interior neck opening pierced by the section. Here are some photos of the Dupont cartridge and the Bayard Souverain.

So I found this pen amongst a few others in a bin in my garage. It belonged to a late family friend who used it. In fact, it had an old cartridge in it and upon further inspection, it still wrote. How that ink didn't dry out is beyond me. But I cleaned it out and and tried it with a little converter. It looks like a medium nib with some line variation but nothing like the 52 1/2 V I just picked up. Is it worth me holding on to this or should I look for something better? Also am I correct? This is the Chrome Torsade? Right? Thanks!

I'm looking at a ringtop with an octagonal cap, a silver engraved band, an 18k Tacos nib and it says Gladiator on it somewhere. It's cute, but I wondered if anyone knew anything about the maker? It seems to have been made for the French market, but I don't know if it was actually made in France. Any info?

What are everyone's thoughts on Cartier? I feel like they don't get mentioned enough or get enough love, when really they are one of the most luxurious brands around! Do you think they still have a ways to go to be recognized by pen enthusiasts, compared to other categories like jewelry that they are more well known for? Below are a few photos taken of some favorites!

On July 13th 2019, the Paris Pen Meet welcomes Ryan Krusac Studio's pens at Thé-ritoires in Paris. Ryan Krusac has been making pens since 2008, using natural materials like wood, antler and stone to make writing a unique beautiful, nature-inspired experience. His is a family business, and we are honored to have his family come present his US made creations in France. Come meet them! https://www.facebook.com/events/2397857653824748/?ti=ia

Hello, I've always been passionate about handwriting and calligraphy, so I naturally enjoy using fountain pens. I'm left handed - I totally disagree with the idea that fountain pens are not suited for lefties as I use them all the time. I'm an underwriter. J'espère utiliser ce site afin d'améliorer mon écriture et peut-être de faire connaissance avec d'autres gauchers !

I present this little beauty in its classic vintage box. I was super lucky to find this on eBay! Now if only I could find a matching Mastodonte.

The first series sold out, but the new series is on the way. The New series features a re-designed section, a slimmer body while keeping the same profile and unique look of this very unique design. Take a look! Your feedback was very much taken into account ! https://www.venvstas.com/dart

Hey everyone ! I create this topic to be able to find any informations or to reunite fountain pens fans in France. For now I really didn't see anyone very active so if you have any info or ideas to create a special events (for example the Pelikan hub etc...) feel free to share.

Well, the original design as I got tons of mails for this pen, its available finally, although its a very difficult pen to do so it takes time. The system has been tested over 6 months now, the first VAC are shipping by the end of novemeber (the carbon fiber version) A video will be posted soon with the pen in action. A really different pen, even for our standards. https://www.venvstas.com/shamash enjoy.

We will start to give a pen out periodically, and we will start with the Carbon T this 6 OCTOBER! All you have to do is to like us on Facebook or suscribe and we will held a live event in October 6 to give the pen away! This is the luxury version of our best seller the Carbon T. You can check reviews of the carbon T here in English: and here in Japanese: We will also be given along a notebook courtesy of OFF-Lines

Hello. I just acquired the pictured Parker Fountain Pen because I liked the looks. It has a date code P.1 which should place its date at third quarter 2007. The ring at the bottom of the cap does specify France, but the clip shape and scale don't quite fit the pictures I see.I am unable to match it up with the model ID pictures. Can anyone enlighten me on this pen's model? Thanks!

FINALLY! the "vacumatic" it's available. Venvstas V.A.C.Characteristics: Materials: Carbon fiber body and fiberglass. Carbon fiber feed with carbon fiber nib casing. Carbon fiber mechanism. System: Vacumatic type w/piston; exposed button with locking system (no blind cap). Spring action. 2.2ml of effective ink capacity.Nibs: 6mm 14k EF/F/M/B/1.1 Dimensions: Length capped 155mm uncapped 152mm width min 9mm, max 11mm Weight 18gNumber of units to be manufactured: 20Delivery expected in November. Carbon Fiber Pen Case included Here is a link to the pen. https://www.venvstas.com/vac

As I posted somewhere in FB, we have three pens until the end of the year to go out. The first one is this pen, I get questions like what's your everyday pen? So I decided to make a copy of my everyday pen. The pen is just a Carbon T (my favorite design) with glossy black body and gold hardware. I like the 18k nibs in B, so I made that. It has also a clip. Thing I don't use, but it has one. Its was prototype I just kept for my everyday use, and I think you might enjoy. (you can have it in EF/F/M too of course) Custom grinding, no. The gold is not for making a more expensive pen, its just that I like the way it feels, its what I like to use, besides, the Carbon T was never available with gold nibs before. The second is the "vacumatic", there's an older post here around about that pen, which at the end will be in a less hardcore version as the first prototype, the thing is simple, a piston goes instead of the diaphragm, I'm not the first one in doing that, you'll see a very interesting prototype by Conid from some years ago (it never went into production) that has this feature, what yes its exclusive of our vacumatic is the use of a custom feed in carbon fiber (not a cartridge feed or case that gets modified) with a stainless steel breath tube, plus, the lack of blind cap, the button locks by itself. we deiced to just think in a different solution for that. and the third is a pen so different to whatever you have ever seen that, that's everything I'm gonna say about it. It will be presented in the Paris Design week, we're currently working on the prototypes, afterwards it has to be registered, its just, it's just too different, I think is a pen that will get to be a classic in the future, so stay tuned for that one. Now the specs of the Carbon T Venvstas Carbon T LR Signature Materials: Glossy carbon fiber body with gold plated clip. System: International long/Short cartridges/converter. Converter included. Nibs: EF/F/M/B 18k solid gold. Dimensions: Idem Carbon T. Length:145 mm closed, 10mm diameter. Weight: 18g Number of pieces: limited to 25. Carbon Fiber Pen case included. Delivers in October. https://www.venvstas.com/carbont Some reviews, https://fountainpenfollies.com/2017/05/30/pen-review-the-new-and-improved-venvstas-carbon-t-fountain-pen/ This one is in japanese......Venvstas is kind of popular in japan.... https://drawrush.com/venvstas-carbon-t-review/

I got this pen as gift from my grandpa awhile ago when he was diagnosed with stage IV lunge cancer. He sadly passed away after a long and tough fight . I was hoping anyone here could possibly identify which Parker pen is this and how much it's worth . There are 2 pens one ballpoint and the other is a fountain pen. They are both made in France as written on them . One has the letters A I and the other has the letters A L. Apparently this means it was produced in 1982 . However I can't identify which model is it , whether it's a Parker 75 Perle or a Parker 180 Vendome perle . Any help would be appreciated! http://imgur.com/a/hbLJw

Here is the pen with more detail, the pen is already online on the site, it has to be said that for this pen there's no steel nib version, its either 6mm 14k or 18k rhodium plated or natural gold as standard. It has a piston mechanism, 2.2ml ink capacity; the pen is 10-12mm thick, carbon fiber nib casing, carbon fiber piston and mechanism, gold plated parts and black glossy lacquered fiber body. The pen is quite compact around 145mm long 30 gram caped and loaded. Here the link to the pen for more information. Let me know your comments! https://www.venvstas.com/parisienne

Some new releases that were very much delayed. 1 - Parisienne 2 - Saturne 3 - 57Roller...........I know its a roller, but the FP will be out eventually! more https://www.venvstas.com/fountainpens

Hello, I would like to present a new model that will be out in around two months, it will be our last design of the year and a special run will be made of only 10 to 15 pieces with customized 6mm big 14k or 18k nibs, (customization included in the price!) the pen is as follows, (also some specifications you can find on the pictures) resistant composite construction, high glossy lacquered body, carbon fiber nib casing mechanism, gold plated, piston mechanism in fiber glass and carbon fiber, with 2.2ml ink capacity, (twice a M149) the size of the pen is similar to a M600, name of the pen Venvstas M33 "parisienne" The Pen has a gold plated clip, cap do post, if you are interested on it just message me, the pen is not in the website, and yes, it cost far less than a M149. Made in Paris. Weight is around 30 grams, loaded (and with the cap)

We'll be in Paris as well as Avignon this year and I would like to try to find a souvenir pen. Since the trip is putting a pretty large hole in the budget I would like to spend ~$50US but no more than $100US for the pen. Any suggestions for a uniquely French pen in my budget? Thanks for any ideas.

Hi, Would anybody be interested in a weekend pen meet in Paris to talk inks and pens? If so, let me know Could be fun!

Dear fountain pen people. One of our best known models have been re-designed and we are going to give away 2 different pens for review and testing purposes before making them available. You can pick the nib you want, and you will be able to keep the pen afterwards, current reviews here or online are from very early models or from stuff that has been changed, or discontinued, or both, plus there is almost no information on the pens. The only condition is that you did already at least 3 reviews on the FPN, that you follow the FPN guide for reviewing, and having a blog or a U-tube channel is a plus, and more important, that you're willing to do it. That said you can message here (private of course) and/or write @ info@venvstas.com Thank you! www.venvstas.com Follow us:https://fr-fr.facebook.com/Venvstas-Paris-614789062006667/https://twitter.com/venvstashttps://www.instagram.com/venvstas/https://fr.pinterest.com/venvstas/

I recently acquired this button filler fountain pen in France. It cleaned up nicely. I've examined the pen with a loupe and cannot find any maker's mark. The plastic (Bakelite? Celluloid?) is substantial and a very nice burgundy-black-gray mottled pattern. It has both top and bottom black jewels. The clip resembles an Edacoto clip except it is unmarked. My guess is the clip is brass while the other metal features seem to be gold plate. The nib is marked: Wellgraph Pointe Iridium with the number 97 in a box.Measurements: Capped 12.6 cm, Posted 14.9 cm, Diameter approximately 1.2 cm Any thoughts on the maker, model or year of the pen? Thanks in advance.

Thoughts On The Carbon V, A Kickstarter Insight. Usually Im posting here pictures of pens, using this platform to make users, clients whoever to notice what Im doing. I have written a lot on who am I and what do I do by the time of the kickstarter campaign, which to date has been a commercial failure (although a successful campaign) and a financial problem for me. Kickstarter is full of things, good things, bad things, but they all have something in common, attractive prices sometimes and originality. Without this there's no kickstarter. What's the point? Kickstarter is to start something, and that's great, and in the way it may be a success it may be a failure. Most campaigns do get found, but most projects don't see the next phase, which is the company, where you get clients from somewhere else. Most brands, or people behind the brands in kickstarter should not make more than one or two campaigns, and this is because the risk is to become very quickly a “kickstarter brand” and be in a comfort zone, where the community works as a close market and you know you'll make some buck. Moreover I can say that many of the pens in kickstarter are made by the same company in china. I know this because they contacted me after the campaign to make a metal pen for them. This is fine, as you can say that Jowo/Schmidt/Bock are making all of the nibs out there, and most of the nibs of all the medium/small sized pen brands in the west, but the point is, that one thing is to make a product, another to start a brand and a workshop that produces a good. I have nothing against producing in china. I still remember when products coming from china where of poor quality and a copy of some other things made in the west or in Japan. And if you go even further back, that is how japan started. Today your iphone “designed in california” is chinese, and you don't mind. Soon you in the future you won't even mind that's designed in china, as I had countless of chinese students, and they will do what I have taught to them, and that's good. You dont think about it. But yes Im against low prices, slave workmanship pollution and I wonder how much suffer is behind each of those products we buy for little prices, at least little for the retailer, not you, and thinking that if you get them for such low prices, what is actually the cost of them? Close to nothing. Even the iphone gets a price multiplied many times until it gets to your hand. I live in europe and I want to produce in europe. Its difficult, but not impossible. Part of the big crisis we're facing is that we have a part of the world producing and another just consuming and living at expenses of a cut, and at the end, its going to be a disaster as there's no balance. When I got to kickstarter I knew from before that I wanted to make design objects that were different, and being different in this world is risky. To summarize I combined my design capabilities (I'm an architect, designer, musician and painter and former professor of architecture and design) to make a fountain pen I would like to use, as to what I find on the market, nothing I really like. I wanted a pen in a modern material with a decent nib and lightweight. I wanted a pen that would have a design that reflects my thoughts. The rest is a difficult path of scaling that up not with difficulties, new materials, combinations of materials, new filling mechanisms, notebooks, an ink that won't destroy my pens and dries quickly, pencils in the fashion I want and so on. I'm still changing and delivering some of this Carbon V pens!, where you may find very early models that I have been changing in reviews here and there, which are terrible. Therefore the delay with this pen. Making an almost all carbon fiber pen, and not just a metallic pen with some carbon fiber parts is not an easy job. Moreover, working with it is unhealthy and dangerous, and tolerances are very difficult to manage. I can say now that I fully understand the material and I can make things with no problem, but that took over a year of essay and trial. I think there's room for these pens on the market. A market where I can find a pattern of 3 basic pens, spanning countless small, medium big brands from anywhere on the world. Where nobody wants to risk anything in terms of a new design, where coping the lamy safari by 10 in china is just good. I was contacted by one of these chinese makers once, to make a design for them. I thought that's better to work for them than rather being just copied, well, after sending the bill, I never had any answer, nor the money from them to just discover that they decided to just make yet another lamy safari clone........How many reviews are out there of these chinese copies? Would you buy a clone of an iphone? Anyway, I have been looking and looking pen reviews on modern fountain pens to always get the veteran lamy 2000 as a result. Its fine, even I have one of those, but is 50 years old. A lot in design has happened since, and although fountain pens are a lot about nostalgia, in design, a chair is still a chair, a car still goes on the same basic principles since it's invention, so, why not a pen? I have explored this subject in all my designs and work as an architect, and Im just writing this after some things I have found of a thing that was not perfect but its on the way. I have thought many times in finishing the carbon V, and just quite, but I think its a good design, at least fresh, and as somebody pointed out here in an old review in the FPN, the carbon V could be an iconic design, well, its just a pen, but in a way, its more than that, it reflects a way of thinking, mine, that in the current circumstances seems to be against something I quite don't get. Best wishes, Lucio Rossi http://www.venvstas.com

Here I leave you some of the notebooks, "Venvstas Bohéme Montmartre" made in Paris, in our atelier in Montmartre. Crude leather and carbon fiber. http://www.venvstas.com/copy-of-accessories

Hi everybody, I'm writing here because I have no idea where I should write. But I think those from the industry should write somewhere to make our products visible, specially things like what I have today. I think they fit the spirit of the pen collector and/or pen aficionado. One is called the Magna, a 3.2ml oversize pen. Our first oversize pen. Still a fair slim pen. The second is called the "Avance", advance in English, its I think the only pen ever that can be said it's 100% carbon fiber. another big pen, bur still streamlined. I have many designs in carbon, but you always need some metal here and there, even the ink feeds are plastic, (not reinforced plastic with carbon fibers) In this one, even the feed is not plastic or ebonite, its made of carbon. I have developed a design for a feed in carbon and well, after many versions trials and development it finally works. It's very similar to an ebonite feed. in fact you cannot tell the difference if you're not told. There's no metal in the pen except for 3 screws that are putting the whole thing together. The ink feeding mechanism is quite different to what's out there, and is what I think it's the best I have achieved in that field.It's very simple, you can really load and flush ink in a blink, again, up to 2.5ml which is enough... Both are nice toys. Nevertheless I want to present here two new models that are coming out. Both I think are more oriented to what could interest the pen enthusiast/hobbyist looking for something new. Our models have been always more oriented to other public, but I see some discussions here about pens from me, and I have slowly moved into developing objects that are more to what I perceive this site more about. Both pens are ranging from 2.5 to 3.2ml of ink, that's achieved because of the tolerances carbon fiber has. walls in the pen body are thinner keeping this pens between 11 to 12mm, you'll notice that similar capacity pens in any acrylic or celluloid are about 15mm or so.......they just have thicker walls because of the weakness of the material involved. Nibs are in steel as standard but they can be fitted with gold 14k/18k with nib customization (only for gold nibs) upon request. check the site for more information on this and other pens. www.venvstas.com