Foray Focus Fountain pen

[fountainpenjunkie]

I saw this pen last week at my neighborhood Office Depot. There were two colors, a very nice blue that reminded me of my Kaweco and a gloss black. Both have wide chrome clips that remind me of Pelikans for some reason.

 

The retail was forty bucks. My daughter was asking me if I was going to buy it. Like I need encouragement to buy a pen. Well, I hate paying full retail, so I came back with a $10 coupon and it hurt a lot less.

 

Made in Taiwan, it has an all aluminum body and cap. The section is metal and I believe the nib is steel. It writes just fine, but I can not find any info online.

 

Here are some crappy photos, but the best I can do with my low end camera:

 

 

 

 

[nhsmitty]

I have seen and held one. Thanks for the writing sample as I wasn't able to test drive the pen. Looks to be a good writer.

 

 

[Gepzo]

I just saw these for sale at OD, too. As much as a Pilot Knight, and only a few feet away from them. Would you call the nib a medium, broad, or fine? The package isn't marked, other than that the pen comes from Taiwan, and has been tested to ensure satisfaction. I'm also interested in the weight, if it feel solid, or fairly light. I guess I'll have to suck it up and buy one myself. I see they also sell some rollerballs in other colors and funkier designs, I amy get one of those and see if I can shoehorn the fountain pen mechanism into it.

 

George

[contravox]

It's ironic how out-of-focus your Focus is.

hahaha

[fountainpenjunkie]

Would you call the nib a medium, broad, or fine?

I'm also interested in the weight, if it feel solid, or fairly light.

George,

I would say the nib is a medium. It reminds me a lot of the Kaweco sport.

There is a little flex to it, which I enjoy.

It has some heft to it. Feels very solid. You can tell it is a metal body.

I own several plastic pens about this size, and this is very obviously heavier, but not overweighted or awkward to my hand. It is not a huge pen, 5 1/4 inches (1/4 inch longer than my Estie J's)

Ihave a Duke Carbon fibre that is about the same weight.

The weights are:

Estie J: .5 oz, 15g

Duke : 1.3 oz, 37g

Foray: 1.4 oz, 39g

 

Hope that helps.

 

Contravox,

 

Hey- that's funny. You know, it is such a cool looking pen, sleek design and the unusual segmented section and big fat chrome clip, it just breaks my heart to post such a bad photo. But ironic? I'd say:

"Funny, the Foray Focus photo is fuzzy". But not five times fast.

[fountainpenjunkie]

Now that I have a decent camera, here are a couple in focus photos of the foray focus:

[KCat]

Thanks, Dave. I looked at these again this weekend and wondered about them. That section looks miserable for my hand so this one's a no-brainer. Shame because I like the body styling and the clip. And the blue was really pretty.

[Wolfgang8810]

Maybe this will help for a better photo. I just bought the same pen not too long ago. Mine is blue though and I am really looking for a converter for it. anyone know if there is one?

 

EDIT: sorry i diddnt notice you posted new pictures. Also the section isnt as uncomfortable as it looks. I find it quite comfortable actually.

 

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/wolfgang8810/DSC_0800.jpg

Edited May 28, 2008 by Wolfgang8810

[Fountain Pen Club]

Good that you stated that the section is not uncomfortable because from the pic I would have never guessed it. Auch

[griffin2020]

I picked one up today in blue. I paid 39.99.

 

The only thing that I have noticed so far is that the cartridge does not seem to fit on the nipple very well. It kind hangs at an angle, and it is very easy to knock it loose.

 

The nib is an IPG, so a standard Chinese M. It writes nicely, even with the watery genero-ink cartridge that comes with it.

The body is slick, but the texture on the section feels good on the fingers, and prevents slippage with use.

 

Overall, it is a fairly heavy pen, but seems to be nicely balanced when used unposted- which is good, because it will not post (cap simply falls off). The section has an o-ring between it and the barrel. There was a small amount of what looked like silicon on the end of the threads. This is puzzling to me, because I cannot see using an all Al pen as an ED, especially with some of the tests with FP ink and Al foil.

[JustinL]

I just got one today. It is my first fountain pen. I wanted either a Waterman Phileas or a Lamy Safari. However, I am on a budget right now and the Foray was $19.99. The pen, a pack of six cartridges and tax came to $25. I'm sure it's not a great pen but it's as smooth as the Pilot G2 gel pens I've been using.

[amcityink]

5 years later from the last post and I'm wondering if this pen is still in production... I can't find it anywhere.

[1PenGuy]

5 years later from the last post and I'm wondering if this pen is still in production... I can't find it anywhere.

Well, I happened to see some as "prototypes" at the yafaoutlet. They have the name "forayfocus" as one word... So, Monteverde made those and Office Depot called them "Foray" (as the brand name) and "Focus" as the model name?