Knox Galileo Review

[KreepyKen]

Knox Galileo Fountain Pen

Price: $15.00

Nib: Extra Fine

Filling System: Piston / Cartridge (International Standard)

Knox is an interesting brand. They're only available from one retailer (XFountainPens out of Pittsburgh, PA, USA). They appear to be commissioned from a Chinese manufacturer, but outfitted with German nibs. I heard some great things about the Knox nibs and noticed that the Galileo came with a free bottle of ink. For $15, I figured I'd take a chance on it (okay, the fact that it comes in a nice, shiny orange may have had something to do with it, too). With the exception of one rather large flaw, I absolutely love this pen.

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_01.jpg

Appearance

I find the pen to be beautiful, if not a little simple in design. It's a sleek, clean design that has just enough chrome accents to give it a little sparkle. I have two pens, each with a different finish. The orange pen is glossy and shiny; the black pen has a matte finish. Both finishes are extraordinary, although the glossy one is a bit of a fingerprint magnet.

The cap and barrel are metal, and the pen has a bit of heft to it, although I wouldn't say it's heavy. It feels solid; sturdy. The finial and endcap are simple chrome adornments, as are the clip and cap band. The clip reminds me a little of Pelikan in style, but it's shaped in a wave pattern that adds a little bit of flare to it.

The nib is gold colored, which I think is a strange choice, given the pen's silvery chrome accents. It would have looked much nicer with a silver-colored nib instead of gold.

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_02.jpg

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_03.jpg

Build Quality (5/5)

The Galileo feels like a solid, well built, good quality pen, and it performs very well. Both the glossy and matte finishes are beautiful and feel durable. The snap-on cap secures tightly in place with a loud and satisfying click. Although sometimes the cap doesn't close. You can push on it pretty hard, but it won't snap shut. I don't know if it's slightly misaligned or if I'm pushing at a minute angle that it doesn't like. When this happens, I just separate the pen and cap and try again, and it always snaps into place the second time.

The section is very smooth and somewhat slippery. I can't tell if it's plastic or metal, but the threads on the section are metal and well machined. The section screws and unscrews from the barrel very smoothly; the metal-on-metal feel of the coupling makes the pen feel nice and solid. The converter is a standard screw-type piston filler that slides in and out of the section. It would be nice if it screwed into the section, but the hold is pretty firm. I have no fear that the converter will dislodge from the section accidentally. And the converter comes with a small plastic or glass ball in it to agitate the ink for better flow into the section & feed.

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_07.jpg

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_05.jpg

Dependability (5/5)

I had quite a few skips early on, but the pen seems to have settled down quite a bit. I generally don't have any problems with it writing. I've noticed that if I let the pen sit open for more than a few seconds, it may take one or two strokes for the ink to start flowing to the paper, but otherwise, the writing is beautiful and consistent.

The cap is very secure on the pen. I have no worries about it coming off by surprise. And I have had absolutely no issues with the pen leaking or dripping, although I've found nib creep to be pretty prominent.

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_09.jpg

Comfort (3/5)

The pen is pretty comfortable to write with for short periods of time, but I've found that my hand tends to cramp up when writing with the Galileo for an extended period of time. The section is very slick, and it's not uncommon for my fingers to slip around a little bit when writing. It hasn't been a huge problem, but it's noticeable.

One gripe of mine with the pen is that the cap doesn't post. I'd very much like to try writing with the cap posted to see if it changes the balance of the pen and alleviates the hand cramping. I've heard of other people successfully posting this pen by forcing the cap onto the end of the pen, but I'm afraid if I push too hard, I'll break the plastic sleeve inside the cap. I'd rather have a pen that doesn't post than a pen that doesn't close. And speaking of the cap, because it's a push-on cap, there is a slight lip where the section meets the barrel. These lips tend to be a little sharp and can cause discomfort if you hold the pen higher up the section. But honestly, I don't notice the lip at all when writing. I think they did a great job of designing it to not be a nuisance.

The slick section and hand cramps are enough for me to dock the pen a couple points for comfort.

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_04.jpg

Writing Experience (4/5)

Now that the skipping business is out of the way, I have to say that I'm very impressed with how this pen writes. The nib is fantastic: super smooth and consistent. There is no line variation, but the flow is great. It's a pretty wet writer. My only problem with the nib is that it's supposed to be an extra fine, but writes closer to a medium. I have very tiny handwriting and am dying to find extra fine nibs that are actually extra fine (I wish Pilot sold standard #5 and #6 nibs!). The pen writes awesome, but it's a bit too thick for my taste.

I did try a bit of reverse (upside down) writing. The line is super fine...just beautiful, in fact. But the nib is wicked scratchy in that orientation. It makes me nervous, so I don't do it.

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/galileo_10.jpg

Value (5/5)

This pen is an amazing value for $15. When I ordered it, it came with a free bottle of ink. It comes with a converter, but also takes international standard cartridges. One thing I really like about the Galileo is that there are a ton of nib options available. It takes a Knox K26 nib, which comes in EF, F, M, B, OB, and OBB for under $10 each. So for a pretty small price overall, you can get a solid, dependable pen and various sized nibs to swap out. If the EF nib was a true extra fine, the Knox Galileo would rival the Pilot Metropolitan for value and sheer awesomeness.

Best Qualities:

1. Solid Build
   
2. Great Nib
   
3. Attractive Design
   

Worst Qualities:

1. EF nib is not an EF
   
2. Cap does not post
   
3. Cap does not always snap into place
   

Overall Score: 22/25

Edited October 16, 2014 by KreepyKen

[rwilsonedn]

You might try asking the XFountainpen folks about the nib. They might be happy to exchange it for one that comes closer to XF. Alternatively, since you like the pen so much, it seems it would be well worth it to have a nibmeister grind the tip down to the width you want. Congratulations on a beautiful pen at a great price!

ron

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Hi Ken,

 

Great review. I have the orange Galileo and the Navy (both EF) and both write medium just like yours. I was also quite surprised at the line width, but I think that it's primarily because they write so wet. If you look closely at the nib, the tipping material is relatively small. I'm not sure if I ever had startup issues when I first got the pen or not, but if I did, they've worked themselves out nicely.

 

I also noticed the cap not capping deal as you did. It seems to happen when I try to click the cap with one hand. As you allude, I think it's likely that the cap gets out of alignment slightly.

 

I'm one of those that posts this pen without issue. Quite honestly, it never occurred to me that it may not be designed to be posted. I'll continue to post since it does not take much force to slide it into the cap/insert, but I guess I'll also be hoping that it doesn't crack over time!

 

It's pens like these that make more expensive pens disappointing for their lack of smoothness at 3x the price.

[TSherbs]

why are they putting gold nibs on these pens? to get of rid of stock?

[KreepyKen]

You might try asking the XFountainpen folks about the nib. They might be happy to exchange it for one that comes closer to XF. Alternatively, since you like the pen so much, it seems it would be well worth it to have a nibmeister grind the tip down to the width you want. Congratulations on a beautiful pen at a great price!

ron

 

Most people I've heard from about the EF Knox nibs say the same thing, so exchanging it probably wouldn't help. XFountainPens also sells Nemosine nibs, which may be a bit finer. At $7, I'm willing to give it a try.

 

I never thought about sending it to a nibmeister. I expect that would cost quite a bit more than the pen cost me. But I am having trouble finding a fine enough nib that's also fairly wet. I just inked up a new Sheaffer Prelude 380 with a Fine nib. The line width is fantastic, but it's a really dry writer, so the faster you write, the less ink transfers to the paper (the Sheaffer nib also seems to pick up an absurd amount of fibers, too...I may have to smooth it out to see if that helps). I have a large collection of pens sitting here to get through, so I'm hoping I find a few that write to my liking. If all else fails, I may have to send a few out to a nibmeister to adjust. Thanks for the tip!

[KreepyKen]

Hi Ken,

 

Great review. I have the orange Galileo and the Navy (both EF) and both write medium just like yours. I was also quite surprised at the line width, but I think that it's primarily because they write so wet. If you look closely at the nib, the tipping material is relatively small. I'm not sure if I ever had startup issues when I first got the pen or not, but if I did, they've worked themselves out nicely.

 

I also noticed the cap not capping deal as you did. It seems to happen when I try to click the cap with one hand. As you allude, I think it's likely that the cap gets out of alignment slightly.

 

I'm one of those that posts this pen without issue. Quite honestly, it never occurred to me that it may not be designed to be posted. I'll continue to post since it does not take much force to slide it into the cap/insert, but I guess I'll also be hoping that it doesn't crack over time!

 

It's pens like these that make more expensive pens disappointing for their lack of smoothness at 3x the price.

 

Thanks, I'm glad you like the review.

 

I know what you mean about the more expensive pens. The most expensive pen I have is an $80 Monteverde Invincia with a 1.1mm stub nib. It's easily among the worst pens I have as far as writing experience. It writes a few lines, then stops. I have to prime it to force ink to the nib about every two minutes. Absolutely beautiful pen...I just wish it would write. I'd like to think that the feed just can't keep up with the stub nib and swapping to a finer nib might help. I got a #6 EF Goulet nib to put in there, but haven't done the swap yet. I did have good luck with Noodler's Apache Sunset in it, but it's performed awful with the other two or three inks I've tried. It's a shame, because the pen itself is gorgeous.

[KreepyKen]

why are they putting gold nibs on these pens? to get of rid of stock?

 

Every picture I've seen of the Knox nibs has shown them in two-tone. Even pictures people have posted online from recent purchases. Both pens I got have full gold color. I also got three extra nibs (two #6 and one #5), and all of them are plain gold. I'm not sure what the deal is, but the gold does look strange with all the silver-colored trim.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

 

Thanks, I'm glad you like the review.

 

I know what you mean about the more expensive pens. The most expensive pen I have is an $80 Monteverde Invincia with a 1.1mm stub nib. It's easily among the worst pens I have as far as writing experience. It writes a few lines, then stops. I have to prime it to force ink to the nib about every two minutes. Absolutely beautiful pen...I just wish it would write. I'd like to think that the feed just can't keep up with the stub nib and swapping to a finer nib might help. I got a #6 EF Goulet nib to put in there, but haven't done the swap yet. I did have good luck with Noodler's Apache Sunset in it, but it's performed awful with the other two or three inks I've tried. It's a shame, because the pen itself is gorgeous.

 

How disappointing about the Invincia. That's in my wishlist at GPC because I really like the looks of it. The heft had be a bit concerned, though. I have an Intima, which isn't my favorite pen, but it writes fantastically with a 1.1mm stub and has never had drying/skipping/startup issues with any ink, including fast dries like Bernake Blue or PR American Blue. I'm not sure if it's the same feed, but have you tried giving it a good cleaning with anything besides water? I seem to remember mine writing super dry out of the box.

[KreepyKen]

 

How disappointing about the Invincia. That's in my wishlist at GPC because I really like the looks of it. The heft had be a bit concerned, though. I have an Intima, which isn't my favorite pen, but it writes fantastically with a 1.1mm stub and has never had drying/skipping/startup issues with any ink, including fast dries like Bernake Blue or PR American Blue. I'm not sure if it's the same feed, but have you tried giving it a good cleaning with anything besides water? I seem to remember mine writing super dry out of the box.

 

Yeah, I wash it with soapy water each time the ink runs out. First, I suck up hot soapy water through the nib & feed with the converter (just like I'm filling it with ink). I'll do that 7 or 8 times, then take it all apart and swish the nib, feed, and section in a cup of hot soapy water. Rinse it all off and let it dry. I think I'm pretty thorough. I'll probably try one more ink in it before swapping to the Goulet nib. I love the way it writes with the stub, so I'm going to give it another chance. Although, the last ink in it was Iroshizuku Yu-Yake, which I think is an extremely well-behaved ink. I'm not sure I'd have luck with anything else...but I'm going to try.