Acriv Ebowrite Master

[Theroc]

I'll just get right to it, starting with the hard facts:

The Acriv Ebowrite Master is an oversized ebonite eyedropper with a crimped titanium nib.

It measures 167mm capped, and 149mm uncapped. It posts, but... 149mm uncapped.

Here it is next to a Lamy Al-Star:

 

 

Brimful with ink it weighs 33gm. I paid $40 for the pen, it shipped for free, and was delivered to the US in about 5 weeks from the day I placed the order.

 

It came with a genuine leather, zipper case,

 

 

that struggles to contain the pen. I'm not a fan of zippered cases, but this one is actually rather nice and well made. Just a bit too small.

 

 

The pen itself, is also well made. It's straight, no unevenness in the profile and the cap screws on straight. It has a matte, almost stealth-like, brushed finish.

 

 

The matte effect is mostly due to very fine ebonite dust, however. After rubbing it clean with a paper towel and a dab of No-Oxi-Oil, it looks more like fine wood grain.

Not glossy, but not stealthy either. I find it looks better, now. Lamy 2000-like.

 

 

The section, like the rest of the pen, is made of ebonite. I'm a bit disappointed that it has a smooth finish. I also wish it had a slightly concave profile, rather than the straight taper.

 

 

The cap takes 1 1/4 turns to unscrew, the barrel requires 8 turns. Both screw on tight. After several weeks of use I have yet to experience dry-outs or leaks.

The barrel interior was full of ebonite dust and flakes, and required a thorough cleaning.

I used No-Oxi-Oil and paper towels, and followed up with a thin coat of silicone grease. Pay attention to all threads as they tend to trap ebonite dust.

The pen works only as an eyedropper. I did not try to measure ink capacity, but I'd say it's 4ml or more.

 

 

The pen does have some other minor quality issues. The etching on the clip is not dead center, and the section lip has a rough edge.

Also, after cleaning the exterior some flaws in the ebonite became visible; one orange spot and a few dings.

They are all pinpoint sized (see 5th photo from the top) and barely noticeable.

The crimped nib is somewhat scratchy. It's not awful, you can live with it, but it is scratchy. Nothing some 6000 grade Micromesh can't fix.

Don't overdo it, though. Titanium, though hard, is much softer than Iridium.

 

 

The feed is very wet. Too wet for anything other than Tomoe River, Clairefontaine, or similar. Too wet for the Fine this nib is supposed to be. It would have been just right if the nib was flexy. However, even though the nib seems to have some bounce, in practice it can't be called anything other than stiff.

 

Verdict: This pen is worthy of a much better nib than the one that came with it.

I have a vintage flex #8 nib from a parted-out Good Service that might fit. A #6 Jowo or Bock also might do the trick.

[Jamerelbe]

Thanks for the review @Theroc - I was tempted by some of Acriv's other pen options, but the main attraction was the titanium nib.  Do you think the nib is the problem (in terms of wetness of flow), or the feed that supplies it?  Would be interested in a follow-up report, once you've trialled another nib in the pen!

[Theroc]

8 hours ago, Jamerelbe said:

Do you think the nib is the problem

 

It's the feed, for sure. It works on gravity alone, an old-school wide channel feed. I mentioned in my review that the pen does not leak. That's true, but give the nib a decent tap on sheet of paper and you will get a fat drop of ink.

[jchch1950]

Thank you for the review. Which size is the nib? 

[Theroc]

4 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

Thank you for the review. Which size is the nib? 

 

It's equivalent to a Jowo or Bock #6.

[thedoqtor]

@TherocThanks for the review!

[Honeybadgers]

With a pen design like this you can actually tweak the wetness by pushing or pulling the feed relative to the pen.

 

I have a few ebonite feeds from that maker (same supplier for ranga) and they flow nicely, but do require tweaking.

 

Also, what ink were you using? Looks like waterman blue to me, which is VERY wet. It's annoying to find, but some pens just hate some inks.

[Theroc]

2 hours ago, Honeybadgers said:

Looks like waterman blue to me, which is VERY wet.

 

Hello, Eagle-eyes. Spot on; it is Waterman Mystery Blue and it is quite wet.

I haven't tweaked the feed yet; I am not particularly eager to work with dry heat, at the moment. And the feed on the Acriv doesn't seem to want to budge without it.

[Honeybadgers]

I'd try first pulling the feed further out, giving the channel less contact with the ink. (first thing I try on vintage stuff)

 

Sometimes the opposite is true though, and pushing it in will distance the feed from the slit. (noodlers pens do this)

 

Can the feed not be tapped out with a knockout? unscrew the section, push a chopstick into the section against the feed and gently tap it free. You can rest the lip of the section on the edge of a table - it shouldn't take more than a tiny bit of force.

[Theroc]

12 hours ago, Honeybadgers said:

Can the feed not be tapped out with a knockout?

 

Actually, I have a set of transfer punches, ideal for this sort of job. Completely forgot about them.

There's a very thin gap, opposite the nib, between the feed and the section. I suspect it acts (unintentionally) as a breather tube, because the ink flow is just ridiculous. I will give it a go tonight.

[Honeybadgers]

Careful with those transfer punches, particularly if they're sharp. A wooden chopstick is kind of the perfect tool for the job, since it's soft and not likely to damage the ebonite. 

 

And share some pics of the section before and the whole setup after! I ordered one of these with a stub and the pocket pen with a fine. The nice thing about ebonite feeds is that as long as they seat securely, they really can just be tuned for whatever flow you like.

[Sagarb]

Nice review..