Any Faber-Castell Fans?

[pgcauk]

Bit more downmarket here, but hey - the nibs are the same across the range!

 

Background: I have a (brick red!) Waterman from the '70s (I guess) that I really like the design of - simple, thin and straight, so when I finally got frustrated a few years ago with the quality of the "Retro 51" options that my local stationers offered, I stumbled on Goulet Pens (Hosanna!) and selected a Lamy CP1 for my birthday present. I love the design of that pen - I have two now with a full set of nibs that it is so easy to switch between that you can do it as often as you want mid-project.

 

When I saw the design of the Faber-Castell pens I was quite struck! I really like the simple lines of the Ambition, but I couldn't choose between the pear-wood or the flamingo guilloche, and wasn't sure about paying $100+ for a steel nib pen. When I saw the Loom I thought it was an ugly beast, but the gunmetal version was rather appealing so I decided to give that a whirl as a replacement when one of my beloved CP1's became a subject for future archaeologists . No regrets - my Loom is a great writing pen that I carry with me constantly (all my others rotate), well suited to the murky greens and browns that I favor and with a delightful spring to the nib (I have E-F) which is almost semi-flex! You have to learn how to "pop the cap" (not for the arthritic?!), but it's certainly secure.

 

Given the quality of the nib and the appealing design of the pens (not everyone wants a fat cigar!) I would certainly consider other G von F-C designs in the future (Hmmmm, that Flamingo Guilloche might be perfect with R&K Fernambuk, which I like to use to correct student work!)

 

What drove me to this thread was reading this morning a review of the "Grip", which at $20 might make an excellent "student pen" alternative to the Metro, and then found the Neo, which has a similar aesthetic to the CP1 at a somewhat lower price point (hey, <$50 is different than >$50!) . Hurrah for G von F-C offering some entry-level ways in to getting these rather lovely nibs! These could serve like "first drugs" , but on the good side! I'm looking forward to suggesting these (alongside Metropolitans etc.) to this year's student intake and see if any take the bait!

Edited July 19, 2019 by pgcauk

[YonathanZ]

I have a love/hate relationship with my Faber Castell Loom (medium). Every once in a while I'd pick it up, admire its design and build quality and wonder why I haven't used it as much as the Metropolitan. Then I start writing with it and my palm hurts after a minute or so. Occasionally I'd even post if for sale, but after a few days I regret and cancel the sale.

 

I wish FC would start making pens that are meant for human hands.

[MHBru]

I bought an Ambition a few years ago at Farhneys while on a trip to DC. I love the look of their pens and it wrote amazingly well. My problem was with the converted... it always got stuck in the barrel vs staying attached to the nib unit. They sent a couple of replacements and none was any better than the other and I reluctantly sent it back and got a Pelikan 205 instead (store credit and all....) I have always been sorry that the pen didn't work out and was really disappointed that they could not resolve the issue. Really good looking pens tho... and a surprisingly good writer.

[pkotrcka]

Got my Oriental Red Neo Slim. So pretty, so so so so so pretty :-) Very happy about it, especially because it has a nice and smooth B nib.

 

[Eclipse157]

I got a Neo Slim with an M nib today and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I wanted a B but the (tiny) b&m shop only have Bs on request so I settled for a M and hoped for the best. Well I wasn't disappointed, it's smooth and wet enough, not as fat as a Lamy M but it will do. It's the first F-C for me and it's made a good impression. I'm not a big fan of F-C pen design in general but this one hits the spot and the price was very competitive with what I'd considered (Aion, Studio, cp1).

[gugocha]

I have several faber-castell and Graf von faber-castell fountain pens, they seems gorgeous to me, I know they are pretty expensive in comparison with other brands but again is a preferences matter and of what it is beautiful for each one.

 

Regarding performance I have no had bad experiences instead all my ones are very wet, not skipping at all, and some of their nibs are very springy providing a very unique line variation.

[gugocha]

I have several faber-castell and Graf von faber-castell fountain pens, they seems gorgeous to me, I know they are pretty expensive in comparison with other brands but again is a preferences matter and of what it is beautiful for each one.

 

Regarding performance I have no had bad experiences instead all my ones are very wet, not skipping at all, and some of their nibs are very springy providing a very unique line variation.

[ParramattaPaul]

While I like their mechanical pencils and preferred their drafting pens in the pre-CAD days, I can't say that the aesthetics of their fountain pens.

[sansenri]

the GvFC aesthetics is a matter of taste, especially the upper range pens show an ostentatious elegance and richness of materials that I tend to define "imperial"...

without needing to go into the POTY range in my opinion the Classic range and the Intuition reach a very nice compromise without going over the top

[DanceOfLight]

the real solution, for those with the slippery section issue, is the Ambition Platinum.

Wooden barrel and section, in one single piece, with an imperceptibly concave shaped section, which however makes the pen extremely comfortable to hold.

 

Great fan of GvFC here! Quality, elegance, performance.

 

is'nt this the Intution wood series ? (and not the "Ambition" as suggested in the above post, typo surely ?) , although I have a few of these in Ebony, I miss the Pernambuco model :-/

Edited November 6, 2019 by DanceOfLight

[siddr90]

Yes that is the Intuition Platino Wood series.

 

Still hooked to it as a daily user since March 2019. I've ended up selling a lot of my pen since buying this one!

[Paul-in-SF]

I have a Loom which I like very much, it seems very well put together; I generally don't write more than a page or two at a time, during which it always feels good and writes beautifully.

 

I have recently become interested in vintage FCs, probably from the 50s and 60s, and I would very much like to find out more about the history and the model number/name signifiers, and their relationship with Osmia. Is there a good resource out there that covers this history?

[Misfit]

I have one, which I got at Barnes and Noble. It is the Grip 2010 in turquoise with light green dots on the barrel.

 

I did get to write with one of the wood barrel ones at pen club.

[vivdunstan]

My Faber Castell Basic Carbon (Fine nib) was probably my first proper fountain pen, bought in Autumn 2017. Before then I had some smaller fountain pens, but this was the first full sized one, and I still really, really like it. I don't try to use it posted, because it's too long then. But unposted it works perfectly for me, and I've written a lot with it. I really like the writing quality, and the grip and feel is very good for me too. And it always just works.

 

Since then I've got some other pens, and now use those more. But this one is still in regular use, and still appreciated.

[pkotrcka]

I got my third Neo Slim, so, why not to show you my Faber Neo family, right? :-)

 

[MuddyWaters]

I have been struggling with a problem others describe here. I love my medium loom nib. I find it quite perfect in feedback and wetness. However, I struggle to write more than a few lines with the body. 

 

The é-motion is heavy and usually leads to my hand cramping after a while. 

 

The ambition, ondoro and essentio I have not tried. The ambition looks appealing but it is not longer than the loom, which is potentially a problem. The ondoro I have not tried in a long time and I worry about the capping issue. The essentio is longer than the loom but it is thin. 

 

The hexo looks comfortable but it has a different nib unit so that defeats the purpose. 

[Misfit]

I got the Mint color Grip 2011 with a B nib. I like the color. 
 

I have more of their inks than pens. 

[MuddyWaters]

I'm going to retry my é-motion with the medium nib. I was nicely surprised by the medium nib which wrote with a stubbish flair. Sbre brown alludes to this also in his latest review of the medium nibbed emotion. 

[Misfit]

Strangely to me, the EF nib on my first Grip (the 2010) has a bit of line variation, especially on cursive tail letters. 

[sansenri]

On 11/6/2019 at 11:49 AM, DanceOfLight said:

 

is'nt this the Intution wood series ? (and not the "Ambition" as suggested in the above post, typo surely ?) , although I have a few of these in Ebony, I miss the Pernambuco model 😕

very late to realize, but yes, you are right of course, this is the Intuition (got mixed up with the similar names)