Faber-Castell Basic Carbon Fine Nib Review

[R531]

Faber Castell Basic Carbon - Fine Nib

Diamine Jet Black - Cartridge

 

After a new start to to Fountain Pens with the Parker Vector, I decided that after finding it constantly leaking, I should purchase a new pen. I purchased the pen from Cult Pens (UK), and received my order 2 days after purchase, along with some other stationary goods.

 

Anyway, moving onto the pen.

The pen appears to be very well built, and I believe that the Carbon finish along the barrel is real. The pen is slightly top heavy, but that is unnoticeable when writing, even for extended periods of time. Cult Pens said that there isn't a converter that will fit this pen (2013 onwards I think), not even Faber-Castell's own one. This is due to a design change in the barrel diameter. However, I found a cheap no name converter in my house, and it seems to fit fine, although I haven't tried it with ink yet. N.B. Faber-Castell supply a blue cartridge, and a bottomless cartridge(can some expert explain it's purpose) with the pen. The Fine nib writes a reasonably wet line, and Diamine Jet Black is a good combination with this pen. It always starts writing instantly, and if I write quickly, it doesn't skip at all !

The nib design is very simple, bearing "F" and FC's logo. It lacks a breather hole, which,(in my opinion)aesthetically improves the design.

 

Gripes - The material of the cap attracts lots of dirt, which can be hard to clean off !

- The ribbing where you grip the pen. If you dip the pen into an ink bottle and manage to get ink on the grip, it just doesn't come out of those gaps.

 

 

Overall, a fantastic pen for sub £30, which has a brilliant nib that you'd be pushed to find anywhere else for the money !

 

(Sorry for the rubbish photos, it was quite late when I took them, and I've included an example of the pen on Rhodia paper, as this was written on Staples cheapo stuff, and I don't own any A4 Rhodia, yet).

[doggonecarl]

Thanks for the review. What is the material of the grip section? Soft rubber? Or something more durable?

[R531]

It's not soft enough for me to say 'soft' rubber, but yes, It is a rubbery finish, but is quite firm. A pleasant grip with, by all accounts.

 

I'm glad you liked the review, I'm new on here and it's my first review. Can I post non FP Reviews here, like a roller ball ?

Kind Regards - R531

[KBeezie]

Thanks for the review. What is the material of the grip section? Soft rubber? Or something more durable?

 

It's a plastic with a soft surface, I thought it was rubber at first until the section on my carbon-fiber BASIC cracked right down the middle, turns out it's all one solid piece of plastic which didn't have a metal washer in the center where the cartridge would go into. (turned out it was one of the 'batch' they produced with a defective barrel thickness which caused stress where the barrel and section meets).

 

I got it replaced with a Leather version, and I just moved the nib over before returning the carbon fiber one, since the nib unit just unscrews from the pen (much like an esterbrook, edison, or TWSBI pen).

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/fc_basic_leather/uncapped.jpg

 

The grip feels like rubber at first, but it's plastic (least the leather one seemed to have more reinforcements inside of the section.)

 

R531 any chance you can look up in your section and see if where the cartridge snaps into , if there's like a metal ring or washer, or if it's just all plastic looking in there. Also have you tried the F-C converter yet? And if so is it too snug for the barrel (if it is, then you may have one of the defects if it came from the batch earlier this year).

[R531]

It's a plastic with a soft surface, I thought it was rubber at first until the section on my carbon-fiber BASIC cracked right down the middle, turns out it's all one solid piece of plastic which didn't have a metal washer in the center where the cartridge would go into. (turned out it was one of the 'batch' they produced with a defective barrel thickness which caused stress where the barrel and section meets).

 

I got it replaced with a Leather version, and I just moved the nib over before returning the carbon fiber one, since the nib unit just unscrews from the pen (much like an esterbrook, edison, or TWSBI pen).

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/fc_basic_leather/uncapped.jpg

 

The grip feels like rubber at first, but it's plastic (least the leather one seemed to have more reinforcements inside of the section.)

 

R531 any chance you can look up in your section and see if where the cartridge snaps into , if there's like a metal ring or washer, or if it's just all plastic looking in there. Also have you tried the F-C converter yet? And if so is it too snug for the barrel (if it is, then you may have one of the defects if it came from the batch earlier this year).

 

Thanks for the info, that's interesting to hear ! I haven't got the pen with me right now, so I'll check in the morning when I have it on me. And no, I haven't tried the Faber Castell converter as it didn't come with one, and at £5 ish it's not cheap, especially if I don't know whether it fits ! I'm tempted to get one to try out though ...

[KBeezie]

Thanks for the info, that's interesting to hear ! I haven't got the pen with me right now, so I'll check in the morning when I have it on me. And no, I haven't tried the Faber Castell converter as it didn't come with one, and at £5 ish it's not cheap, especially if I don't know whether it fits ! I'm tempted to get one to try out though ...

 

Odd that it costs 5 GBP there when it's 5 USD here. (though that's only about a 3 USD difference), between 3$ to 5$ is about average for the converters, unless you get the really cheap chinese ones, *some* of them may work if they're thin enough, as it's an issue with the inner diameter of the barrel that's an issue, like the monteverde mini converter will work without issues cuz it's no thicker than a cartridge.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/fabercastell_basic/converter.jpg

 

The above carbon fiber one is one of the ones made with the barrel too thin, but basically #1 is the standard $5 one that GouletPens sells, which is too thick for the carbon fiber barrel I had, and too snug for the looser leather one. #2 is one of the chinese ones (I think came with a Kaigelu) that's a little too thick on the chrome part, #3 is the Monteverde Mini converter which fits the barrel just fine, but the nipple won't attach to the section (too loose), #4 is a Chinese converter that cam with a Yiren pen (same exact style as the one I had in a Jinhao 611), fits fine because the back end is thin enough to fit, it also doesn't seem to impact the spring at the bottom of the barrel.

 

The all-clear Jinhao converters like with the X450/X750 will fit into the barrel, but just like the monteverde mini converter, it won't stay attacked to the nipple.

 

The Templar Skinny Mini converter will on the nipple (as it was designed for the Kaweco AL Sport), but it won't fit into the barrel of the BASIC (too thick on the back of it).

Edited September 15, 2014 by KBeezie

[Ste_S]

The Writing Desk recommend this converter

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?id=10143

 

I seem to remember they've posted on this very subject here in the past.

 

How did you find the weight of the barrel ? I've read some people say the heavy barrel makes the pen top heavy

[Notgatherox]

The bottomless cartridge is for you to use when you're cleaning the pen! Because you may not be able to fit the bulb syringe onto the pen barrel itself, the bottomless cartridge makes it easier for you, you just stick it on the pen, and put the bulb syringe onto the end to flush the pen.

 

~Epic

[R531]

 

Odd that it costs 5 GBP there when it's 5 USD here. (though that's only about a 3 USD difference), between 3$ to 5$ is about average for the converters, unless you get the really cheap chinese ones, *some* of them may work if they're thin enough, as it's an issue with the inner diameter of the barrel that's an issue, like the monteverde mini converter will work without issues cuz it's no thicker than a cartridge.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/fabercastell_basic/converter.jpg

 

The above carbon fiber one is one of the ones made with the barrel too thin, but basically #1 is the standard $5 one that GouletPens sells, which is too thick for the carbon fiber barrel I had, and too snug for the looser leather one. #2 is one of the chinese ones (I think came with a Kaigelu) that's a little too thick on the chrome part, #3 is the Monteverde Mini converter which fits the barrel just fine, but the nipple won't attach to the section (too loose), #4 is a Chinese converter that cam with a Yiren pen (same exact style as the one I had in a Jinhao 611), fits fine because the back end is thin enough to fit, it also doesn't seem to impact the spring at the bottom of the barrel.

 

The all-clear Jinhao converters like with the X450/X750 will fit into the barrel, but just like the monteverde mini converter, it won't stay attacked to the nipple.

 

The Templar Skinny Mini converter will on the nipple (as it was designed for the Kaweco AL Sport), but it won't fit into the barrel of the BASIC (too thick on the back of it).

Thank you for your reply. I checked inside the pen, and I can see no metal ring around where the cartridge fits in. It appears to be all plastic.

[R531]

The Writing Desk recommend this converter

 

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/showproduct.php?id=10143

 

I seem to remember they've posted on this very subject here in the past.

 

How did you find the weight of the barrel ? I've read some people say the heavy barrel makes the pen top heavy

The pen barrel is by no means light, although as I said Ive written for extended periods and not found it a problem.

 

The bottomless cartridge is for you to use when you're cleaning the pen! Because you may not be able to fit the bulb syringe onto the pen barrel itself, the bottomless cartridge makes it easier for you, you just stick it on the pen, and put the bulb syringe onto the end to flush the pen.

 

~Epic

Thank you for that information, I now know what it is for, and I shall keep it !

 

 

Kind Regards

R531

[jmeldorf]

Thx for the review. The price has dropped to $45 on this side of the Pond, so I'm thinking I'll grab one.

[joelwong1352]

Sorry to hijack this post, but I have a faber castell fine nib, and it's a very fine nib, much finer than the 03 preppy I have. It's rather sharp, the tipping material is really small, and when reverse writing it's so scratchy I can't write a single word like that. Is it normal?

 

Thanks

[cellman]

Thanks for review.

It's quite lovely and good choice for beginners

[RG_VII]

Sorry to hijack this post, but I have a faber castell fine nib, and it's a very fine nib, much finer than the 03 preppy I have. It's rather sharp, the tipping material is really small, and when reverse writing it's so scratchy I can't write a single word like that. Is it normal?

 

Thanks

Sounds like you have a defective one there. I have one in Fine nib too. My one writes smooth and wet. Although it writes slightly wider compared to my Parker with Medium nib.

[soniknitr]

Sorry to hijack this post, but I have a faber castell fine nib, and it's a very fine nib, much finer than the 03 preppy I have. It's rather sharp, the tipping material is really small, and when reverse writing it's so scratchy I can't write a single word like that. Is it normal?

 

Thanks

 

Agree with RG_VII, you got one odd piece with a defective nib unit.

Usually FCD steel nibs are butter smooth (I guess from basic to e-motion they use the same nib unit) and run a tad wider than their Japanese counterparts. Mine is a M and writes like a B. I had 2 earlier and all were butter smooth.

 

Guess you would already have contacted faber castell's customer service by now. They will be happily doing the nib adjustment/replacement. Alternately, you can drop a post in their fb page. They are quite quick in responding.

 

Best,

Sonik