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Faber - Castell Ambition Coconut


visvamitra

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Ambition by Faber-Castell has everything I’m looking for in a fountain pen: interesting and unique yet simple design, good size/weight/diameter ratio – I like sleek pens but I’m not really keen on light weight pens. I like to feel that I have something substantial in my hand.

 

Of course it took me some time to convince myself that I really needed this pen. Especially that the variant that interested me most – coconut wood – is not cheap. And I have quite a few fountain pens so I couldn’t raise the argument that I lack writing equipment. However when I found nice offer (80 % of MSRP) I said to myself: oh well, it’s not the first time you do it.

 

The pen arrived in a white hard plastic box I don’t really like. To be honest I find it ugly yet functional. Inside you’ll find felted bed that has three slots.

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img62/7973/yo46.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img811/9397/klcn.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img824/60/n5nz.jpg

 

 

 

The pen on the other hand looks awesome. It feels great in my hand and, what’s even more important, writes extremely well. I bought this pen for its unique design, I like the shape and the mix of wooden and metal parts. Wood is amazing material, pleasant to touch and it has nice facture. And every piece of wood is unique.

 

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img27/1752/76b1.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img849/1116/ox9z.jpg

 

I heard that it took Faber –Castell engineers quite some time to master working with hard coconut wood. There’s some article in one of Pen World magazines. I’d like to read it so if anyone has some scans I’d like to take a look at them.

 

Construction

http://imageshack.com/a/img35/6619/wzzg.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img834/9236/2zo9.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img401/5545/e0dg.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img27/3720/4x82.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img59/4512/pzzc.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img534/704/t869.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img819/8890/ffxa.jpg

 

The body isn’t made of wood – under the layer of wood you’ll find a brass tube. That’s what makes the pen quite heavy and solid. The pen is very tightly capped – it really takes some strength to uncap it which – in my opinion – isn’t the coolest thing. The inside of the cap is filled with some sort of plastics sleeve, I’m not really sure whether it will last for years.

 

 

Spring loaded clip is easy to use.

 

NIB

http://imageshack.com/a/img855/7138/a0lw.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img855/8784/g7wy.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img541/8779/pvgr.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img59/5996/f4qe.jpg

 

Most of Faber-Castell and Graf von Faber-Castell products have unique design. It’s true not only for the pen design but also for the nib design. The still nib used in Ambition has no breather hole but it has a lot of small “damps” that I find really cool. I’ve chosen F nib and I’m really happy with it.

 

 

 

Filling system

http://imageshack.com/a/img811/1554/7k33.jpg

Nothing special: converter / international cartridge

 

Size

Closed: 139 mm

Open: 122 mm

Diameter: 11 mm

 

Summary

 

Ambition is sold in few versions – the cheapest one costs around 50 $ the most expensive close to 150 $. Unhappily the version that I was most attracted to is the most expensive one so for a while I thought about buying pearwood version that is cheaper. However after the visit in a stationery shop where I compared both versions I understood I would have to make economies and look for good deal. Don’t get me wrong – Ambition in pearwood is nice. But Ambition in coconut is stunning. And worth every single penny I paid for it (unless plastic sleeve in cap breaks, that would be quite disturbing).

 

 

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  • raging.dragon

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Excellent review with some great pictures. t would be nice to see a writing sample.

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Never heard of using coconut wood! Sharp looking pen, Congrats!

PAKMAN

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Great review! Thanks.

Just a quick question. It appears from your photo that the brass inner tubing is just a sleeve press-fit into the wood to carry the female section threads. Is this correct, or does the tube run the full length of the barrel and fit more loosely? If it is brass press-fit into a thin hardwood barrel, I would fear sadness in the future as bending stress and different rates of thermal expansion open cracks in the wood.

ron

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@rwilsonedn - I've just looked inside and, sadly, you're right. It seems the brass tube is just a sleeve press - fit into the wood. Not good. I like this pen a lot and wouldn't like to but it every 5 years or so. At the moment it's one year old. Let's see how it behaves in the future.

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These pens have been on the market for several years now, and I've yet to read of any problems with the wood cracking. Worst case, Faber Castell are reputed to have good warranty service.

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Thanks for the review. This is the FC, GvFC pen that I like the most and will most likely buy one. How do you find the section? Or are you meant to hold on the barrel?

 

Edit:

 

It seems to me that the pen is made from the coconut shell rather than the trunk of the tree. I am probably wrong. But if so, than this is a laminate or some sort of epoxy. Also explains why the pen is more expensive than the pearwood. Coconut wood itself is cheap and plentiful but is not as beautiful as the shell.

Edited by parnesh
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awesome. =) How did you find that awesome of a sale?

 

As far as the white box, I actually like mine quite a bit. Functional and of decent quality. =)

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I got my Ambition Coconut but the case is on the brown side so is the paper box... this one is a Medium though but the Fine will still be one wet pen I think Stephen Brown agrees with how wet their pens are what follows is my writing sample same pen different nib grade

http://i.imgur.com/CMEukCo.jpg?1

 

http://i.imgur.com/uCkU8izl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/23xaDtCl.jpg

 

this Pen also gave me an idea that Faber-Castell also makes FPs... because in my country Faber-Castell = Art and coloring supplies and some ballpoints and mechanical pencils but is highly into the art market no FPs what so ever

Edited by Algester
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The appearance reminds me of the new part-wooden Lamy Accents - very cylindrical, wood grain emphasised ... seems like the price range is even similar.

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I like my Faber Castell Ambition a lot too, but it has 2 significant flaws.

 

1. I've struggled many times trying to remove the barrel from the section. The section is made of polished steel, and getting a good grip on the small section is quite difficult. This combination of size and slipperiness makes it difficult to remove the barrel from the section.

 

2. I like to clean my pens by completely disassembling them. This is not a big deal with the Ambition because the nib/feed combination are screwed into the section. The problem is that when I reassemble, the nib/feed will occasionally loosen in the section and begin to slowly unscrew. This might be my fault for not tightening the two into the section, but doing so requires exerting a lot of lateral pressure on the nib, which I want to avoid.

 

Have others seen this?

 

Tom

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I have this pen as well and agree - it is a really stunning pen and also a superb writer. FC does really, really good pens for the money - it is a shame they dont get as much love on FPN as TWSBI or others.

True bliss: knowing that the guy next to you is suffering more than you are.

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Thanks for the review. This is the FC, GvFC pen that I like the most and will most likely buy one. How do you find the section? Or are you meant to hold on the barrel?

 

Edit:

 

It seems to me that the pen is made from the coconut shell rather than the trunk of the tree. I am probably wrong. But if so, than this is a laminate or some sort of epoxy. Also explains why the pen is more expensive than the pearwood. Coconut wood itself is cheap and plentiful but is not as beautiful as the shell.

 

There are several species of palm trees which produce coconuts. This pen is made from the wood of one of them.

 

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/monocots/black-palm/

 

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There are several species of palm trees which produce coconuts. This pen is made from the wood of one of them.

 

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/monocots/black-palm/

 

 

 

Thanks! I assumed it was the (Cocos nucifera) as growing up in the tropics, I am quite familiar with it. The wood of the common coconut tree is used for furniture is quite beautiful in it's own right. However, the patterns seen in pen are very different.

 

To the OP, where did you purchase the pen from?

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Thanks! I assumed it was the (Cocos nucifera) as growing up in the tropics, I am quite familiar with it. The wood of the common coconut tree is used for furniture is quite beautiful in it's own right. However, the patterns seen in pen are very different.

 

To the OP, where did you purchase the pen from?

 

I looked into it a bit more, and it seems black palms don't produce coconuts. Still, the pictures here or coconut (red palm) wood, do seem consistent with the pen:

 

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/monocots/red-palm/

 

However, the description suggests that only a small portion of the wood looks like this. Which may be why the furniture you've seen looks quite different.

Edited by raging.dragon
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I looked into it a bit more, and it seems black palms don't produce coconuts. Still, the pictures here or coconut (red palm) wood, do seem consistent with the pen:

 

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/monocots/red-palm/

 

However, the description suggests that only a small portion of the wood looks like this. Which may be why the furniture you've seen looks quite different.

 

Possible. Typically you only see two shades, dark and light or dark and red depending on treatment.

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  • 2 months later...

Ambition by Faber-Castell has everything I’m looking for in a fountain pen: interesting and unique yet simple design, good size/weight/diameter ratio – I like sleek pens but I’m not really keen on light weight pens. I like to feel that I have something substantial in my hand.

 

 

So this is the Ambition.. Like this pictorial review. Thanks :)

You have come to earth to entertain and to be entertained - P.Y

 

Some Pen & Paraphernalia Reviews

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  • 2 years later...

Would it be possible to know these three dimensions please?

 

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/ss281/jozsefk9/faber%20castell%20ambition_zpsmugsjnzh.png

 

Thanks!

Best,

Jozsef K.

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I'm afraid I won't be able to help as I no longer have the pen. The writing desk gives following data:

 

Length capped = 139mm
Nib length = 18.8mm
Section length = 8.8mm
Section diameter (max/min) = 8.6/8.6mm
Barrel diameter (max) = 10.1mm
Total length (not posted, including nib) = 122mm
Total length posted (including nib) = 158mm
Weight = 28g
Nib material: stainless steel
Filling mechanism: cartridge/converter
Cartridge type: standard-size
Converter supplied?: no
Packaging: Gift box with cartridge
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