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Guider Glass ebonite and glass fountain pen (this pen came with a fine Guider nib... more on that in a minute) It occurred to me to drag this pen out and work with it when I read shrujaya's recent threads titled, "Meeting Mr Lakshmana Rao Of Guider Pens" which is in four parts (so far: 1,2,3,4). I've been carrying the pen with me for a couple of weeks now (this is the second time I've added it to my secondary pen case -- the first was when I bought it about a year ago). Here's my general impression: this pen is better than the sum of its parts. This is a fact which makes it difficult to review fairly. It is also a frustrating pen in that it is deeply flawed. I bought my example from Kevin at Fountain Pen Revolution (it appears that he his since stopped selling it). Before going any further, I want to say that Kevin is absolutely wonderful to deal with and I have no hesitation recommending him and praising him to the sky. He bent over backwards to help me. His customer service is another thing that makes this review difficult to write. In looking at other reviews of Guiders already on FPN, I found coffeetoofull's review of the Marala very fun because it has such great pictures of Guider's shop. LedZepGirl also has a good review of the Mani. However, the review I think has most baring on what I'm going to write is hari317's review of the Guider Jumbo. Hari really outlines the pen well and my review is going to be in almost complete agreement. Now down to glass tacks: Fit & Finish: 4/10 Ok, so here's the thing... this pen doesn't really hold up well to the standards of other, modern, pen makers. Not even for the price. When I write the "Fit & Finish" rating, I usually feel like I'm nit-picking. Not in this case. My Guider Glass wrote terribly "out of the box". It has bubbles where the ebonite end cap is glued in to the glass barrel. Not little bubbles but big ones, like when someone has tinted their own windshield... without a razor. The clip was misaligned (though I bent it a little and it's somewhat better now). There are deep cuts in the ebonite on the cap... not just scratches. The gold coating on the clip is just hideous. I mean... what parts of the pen does that leave? The nib? The nib, the section and the barrel looked free from manufacturing defect when I got the pen. Also, the seams where the various parts join are surprisingly smooth. For the record, I do NOT believe this pen was used -- I think it was new when I got it. Style: 7/10 The subject of the clip came up already, and it was even discussed in one of Jai's 'meeting' threads, which I referenced above. It's really such a shame this cheap-looking clip is used. It's just a big weird thing. To me it looks like some kind of utensil. Of course, the gold dipping combined with the letters for "GUIDER" stamped on it are the worst part. I also think it's ridiculous that the ball of the clip is created by bending the metal like origami. It makes it look like something that belongs in the shed. But enough about the clip. Otherwise, the pen is not unpleasant. First off, the ebonite has a lovely texture, and it's pretty amazing to have the barrel made out of actual glass. It's cool to the touch and it feels both unusual and really nice. The silhouette isn't what I would call "classic" but I like it. I really like the texture of the materials and the way the pen feels in the hand. If it weren't for these factors I probably would have gotten rid of it right after buying it. You don't see 3ml of ink sloshing around in a glass tube every day, and that really adds a lot to the experience of using this pen. In terms of a demonstrator, this is one of my favorites. I'm going to reserve discussion of the fact that it leaks for the filling system part of the review. In terms of style, it looks super cool, and it's a lot of fun to play with. It makes a great demonstrator. C/C Design / Filling: 5/10 It's an eyedropper. Did I mention it leaks? Yes, I used silicone grease. No, the leak isn't all that bad. By the end of the week, after carrying it in my secondary case, the ink works its way to the end of the threads. There's also a little nib creep. The upside is it holds a ton of ink (3ml, as I said) and it is super super easy to clean. Silicone is absolutely required to seal it, which means you have to wait until you're home to do anything relating to ink. I hypothesize that the seal is worse because of the different materials and the hardness of the glass. Because of this, I'm not entirely comfortable carrying it. I do plan to try using an 'o'-ring at some point but I haven't located one that fits. I'm not sure if that would be better or worse though. Nib: 4/10 The nib this pen came with was not usable for me. I messed around with it quite a bit, including heating and bending the feed to get it to fit better. It's, at best, a scratchy uninteresting nib, and at worst; it has a hard time delivering the ink from the feed to the paper. I basically found the Guider fine nib unacceptable. I also want to point out at this point that Hari had some of the same complaints, so I don't know if it was just that I got a bad nib. Either way, I ended up taking apart a wrecked Wearever I had sitting here, and using the gold nib from that pen with the Guider feed. This, I must say, worked surprisingly well. That's why I gave a "4", because the feed supported this other nib, and I include the feed in this part of the review. The addition of that old nib absolutely transformed this pen from something that arrived at my doorstep unusable, in to a pleasure to write with. One note is there is an occasional drip of ink after the pen has been sitting for a while, specially if it sat with the cap end down. Price: 5/10 I paid $39. That seems like a lot considering the build quality and the nib, but the actual materials are quite nice. So it's a little hard to say. I would not say it's a deal when there are quite a few pens at this price point which are far superior. But, again, I'm giving it a '5' because the quality of the materials is so high. GLAMAH SHOTS (we bring out your best... then we take your picture): Notice the bubble by the end cap; it's very visible in this photo: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_1.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_2.jpg This is with the Wearever nib: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_3.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_4.jpg Here's the underside of the clip and one of the cut marks on the cap. http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_5.jpg Couple of writing samples. Don't be a hater. First one is on Clairfontaine, and second is Tomoe River from PaperForFountainPens.com http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_7.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_6.jpg Guider Fine vs. my old Wearever 14k (sorry for the poor focus): http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_8.jpg Along side the donor pen that saved its life: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_9.jpg Compared to another Indian pen, and then Pilot Limited Edition Custom Heritage 91 (read Custom 74 with flat ends) and my Omas Milord Cruise: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_10.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_11.jpg Conclusion: I would not suggest you buy this pen unless you have a nib that needs a home. It's a shame because the Guider Glass has a lot of upsides. The glass eyedropper setup is really cool -- holds a ton of ink and looks great. The materials this pen is made from are really nice too. The Ebonite is warm and soft and contrasts with the cool glass in an interesting way. The ebonite feed also seems pretty darned good for what it is... especially considering the fact that I bent it and played with it. However, again, if it weren't for the fact I had another nib, I wouldn't have kept this pen. I also don't think that it's worth $39 to just get an eyedropper pen body, essentially without a nib.