Penbbs 380 - Spiral Facets Metal Pen

[Honeybadgers]

I think the M100, M2, 355 and 380 are all quite unique to their brands. Moonman really likes the torpedo shape, and Penbbs is really just doing their own thing. The syringe filler is very vintage in design versus conid's hook latch, and the 380 looks like nothing else on the market.

 

If you've got a spare #6 nib lying around that you really like but just don't have a home for, the 380 is absolutely stellar.

[Storch]

Thanks for the review. This is on the list of things that I have to actually hold in my hand before I even think about buying because I have absolutely hated the feel of pens with less of a step than this one appears to have.

[ethernautrix]

freaking sublime. Smooth with just the right amount of drag, about between a japanese EF or UEF.

 

It also just looks awesome. Love Pablo's work so much, the dude is worth every penny.

Yes!

 

I have an F/PO and an EF/PO, paired with a Danitrio Komori and Danitrio Fellowship, respectively. I love these nibs.

 

I'd like to have Pablo modify one of my Nakaya nibs to an EF/PO, but I'd want to have it done at a pen show, if the planets would align for me to make this possible.

[RoSpectre]

PO being fpnibs.com? I stumbled on that site looking for the arrow style nibs which are so sleek. Highly recommended especially for a sleek pen like this one (if it fits). Also got an oblique cursive italic which are pretty much the three best words in the nib lexicon!

 

To OP, how did you find (and how did you manage) ordering on Taobao? There's probably a thread i can find... but certainly for price and penbbs selection I wish I knew how to order off the site.

 

Thanks for the review! This pen is definitely a portent of more good things to come on the slow boat from China.

[JonSzanto]

PO being fpnibs.com?

 

The PO she is using there refers to the code for "POsting" style nib, commonly a very stiff, usually fine nib. "Posting" as a nib term goes back to hard pen use, especially by accountants entering into ledger books, Not surprisingly, the nibs were also referred to as "accountant" or "account" nibs and were well-suited for the fine and clear script necessary to enter all the financial data by hand in the ledger books. The action of adding data was called "posting to the ledger" and individual data would be a "post", hence the origin of the PO moniker.

 

(And it is interesting to note that I add this reply to the bulk of data in this thread, on this site, by clicking on the "Post" button)

Edited February 1, 2019 by JonSzanto

[Honeybadgers]

PO nibs are also often downturned to increase the stiffness and usually extremely fine (though you could, I guess, get one in B or BB from pablo, god knows why)

[RoSpectre]

Ah, thank you. For a minute I thought PO was Pablo's initials...

 

I read that PO nibs are bent downwards, opposite a waverly? Sounds interesting except my hand is pretty tall so I don't think the nib's writing angle would work for me.

[JonSzanto]

Ah, thank you. For a minute I thought PO was Pablo's initials...

 

I read that PO nibs are bent downwards, opposite a waverly? Sounds interesting except my hand is pretty tall so I don't think the nib's writing angle would work for me.

 

I don't know that the downward bend is a universal attribute but some may be. It may be a more modern affectation, as well, but that is just a hunch. Probably a bit off-topic for this thread but maybe others have better info.

[lovementos]

A little late to the party, but here are some comparison photos of the PenBBS models* that have been released so far: https://imgur.com/a/lJPtOOk

 

*Except the 266, but the dimensions of the 308 should be the same.

Edited February 1, 2019 by Itsraining

[taike]

[snip]

 

To OP, how did you find (and how did you manage) ordering on Taobao? There's probably a thread i can find... but certainly for price and penbbs selection I wish I knew how to order off the site.

 

Thanks for the review! This pen is definitely a portent of more good things to come on the slow boat from China.

 

Taobao is a challenge. I use a combination of browser translation plugins and reading the Chinese. Signing up for the site is pretty straightforward, but I found getting payment connected through Alipay opaque as hell. I'm still not 100% sure how I did it, i.e., who knows if I'd be able to duplicate correctly if I had to. I has its own password.

 

Once the Alipay system is set up, ordering is very straightforward. I always ship from the vendor - as opposed to using a forwarder who is able to aggregate items from multiple stores for the shipment out of China.

 

$ seems to be handled in two steps. You pay Taobao when you order but the vendor doesn't get the money until you confirm receipt. So when you get a package, you go back to the site and confirm receipt and, using something akin to a pin number, release payment to the original seller. You can also do product/seller reviews at that time.

 

That said, international shipping appears to vary greatly. I'm in the region so it's relatively cheap, though it does differ between sellers. There can also be a domestic shipping charge that is often waved for orders over a given value. How much they charge is normally part of how I figure which seller to use. For reference, an FPN member in another part of the world investigated shipping to their part of the world and found it unattractive and basically a dealbreaker.

 

The other pretty important deal has to do with shipping restrictions. Ink and silicon grease are no-nos (as would seem things like glass nibs). Some sellers are experienced enough to know to configure international shipments correctly to not have such "contraband." When outbound customs folks (or whoever) deems that a shipping contain contraband, the package appears to just stop. Then there's rigamarole you need to go through with the original seller to get the package returned and either reconfigured and reshipped or refunded. Taobao as a chat tool that connects directly to sellers to work on things like that or just chat up the help. The chat lines appear to be well staffed and more often than not English basically works.

 

If it works for you and once you get the hang of it, taobao is great. And they're working on it pretty hard so the above may be moot any time.

Edited February 2, 2019 by EDC

[truthpil]

Also got an oblique cursive italic which are pretty much the three best words in the nib lexicon!

 

Best statement I've read all day! +1000

 

Pablo's oblique cursive italics are a little on the crisp side, but I just ordered another from him asking to have it a little more cursive than usual.

I can't wait till he starts offering Bock nibs this summer, so I can have a tipped BB ground to OCI by him.

[RoSpectre]

 

Best statement I've read all day! +1000

 

Pablo's oblique cursive italics are a little on the crisp side, but I just ordered another from him asking to have it a little more cursive than usual.

I can't wait till he starts offering Bock nibs this summer, so I can have a tipped BB ground to OCI by him.

 

Glad you agree! I also found the cursive italic is a little sharp, but it's a perfect starting spot; easier to smooth than sharpen myself, I think. Do other meisters even offer oblique cursives? Bock nibs will be exciting... when considering new pens now, one of the main attributes I think of is, "can I easily swap in a custom grind?"

 

I keep eyeing Bock titanium nibs wondering if the Penbbs feeds will accept them. A lot of Chinese brand are offering massive value in materials, build quality, and fill system, but with a bottleneck on nib quality and variance.

[truthpil]

 

Glad you agree! I also found the cursive italic is a little sharp, but it's a perfect starting spot; easier to smooth than sharpen myself, I think. Do other meisters even offer oblique cursives? Bock nibs will be exciting... when considering new pens now, one of the main attributes I think of is, "can I easily swap in a custom grind?"

 

I keep eyeing Bock titanium nibs wondering if the Penbbs feeds will accept them. A lot of Chinese brand are offering massive value in materials, build quality, and fill system, but with a bottleneck on nib quality and variance.

 

I think most nibmeisters will do an oblique CI for you if you ask.

 

Bock nibs definitely will fit any Penbbs pen that fits JoWo nibs (309,323, 456, 380, and probably a couple more). It has been frustrating seeing so many great new Chinese pens coming out with nibs only in EF or F, but I'm glad Penbbs finally started offering regular fine and medium nibs. They aren't the best nibs, but sometimes the mediums can be glassy smooth.

[shinryu]

Seeing as some people in this thread seem to own both a 350 and a 380, is there a significant difference in section/grip width? Currently torn between the two and while I tend to gravitate towards lighter pens I also love a fat section to hold onto. If the 380 section is noticably fatter than the 350 I can probably live with some 9 more grams of weight.

[taike]

Seeing as some people in this thread seem to own both a 350 and a 380, is there a significant difference in section/grip width? Currently torn between the two and while I tend to gravitate towards lighter pens I also love a fat section to hold onto. If the 380 section is noticably fatter than the 350 I can probably live with some 9 more grams of weight.

 

They are very close. The 380 isn't any bigger than the 350.

 

[shinryu]

Thanks, I guess 350 is the way to go for me

[Purplecate]

Just got a silver-coloured 380 from Etsy as I liked reviews above and thought a faceted pen might be fun - and I hadn't tried PenBBs before.

 

I agree with everyone about the build quality and the M nib is OK (though I'll swop it out for something more interesting) but my pen facets don't align. Has anyone else had that or did I just get a dud one?

 

Not keen on the clip too - a little sharp. But apart from that, not a bad pen - glad I tried it but won't be rushing out for another PenBBs model.

[taike]

[snip]

 

I agree with everyone about the build quality and the M nib is OK (though I'll swop it out for something more interesting) but my pen facets don't align. Has anyone else had that or did I just get a dud one?

 

[snip

 

This technique for adjusting alignment of the facet was suggested in elsewhere. I haven't had the need but others report success.

 

"If you've overtightened your 380 so the facets no longer line up, you can post it and rotate the plastic threads back into place. Go slow and do it at your own risk. I've corrected a few degrees on my own pen, but I wouldn't be comfortable correcting 1/20 of a rotation (half a facet, 18 degrees)."

[truthpil]

 

This technique for adjusting alignment of the facet was suggested in elsewhere. I haven't had the need but others report success.

 

 

"If you've overtightened your 380 so the facets no longer line up, you can post it and rotate the plastic threads back into place. Go slow and do it at your own risk. I've corrected a few degrees on my own pen, but I wouldn't be comfortable correcting 1/20 of a rotation (half a facet, 18 degrees)."

EDC, I didn't know you were in the Penbbs facebook group! I probably spend too much time on there, but it's fun to geek out over Penbbs pens.

[taike]

EDC, I didn't know you were in the Penbbs facebook group! I probably spend too much time on there, but it's fun to geek out over Penbbs pens.

 

Yup. Came across it not too long ago. Plenty of enthusiasm and useful takes.