Anyone purchased a Wordsworth & Black fountain pen?

[Boston Brian]

About a month ago, I saw pens by Wordsworth & Black on Amazon for a special price, less than $40 as I recall and was delighted to find that they did extra fine, fine, medium and broad, and I thought what the heck, and I ordered a broad nib in the gloss black and gold finish and being Amazon is arrived in two days.

 

I was impressed by the quality of the pen and was surprised and disappointed at first to see that the broad nib had no tipping underneath and was either a stub or a cursive italic. The nib has 1.0 etched on the nib, and right out of the box the pen wrote like a dream, and I am no fan of stub nibs, but it was smooth, wet with a wonderful ink flow and a nib that is a joy to use. 

The Wordsworth & Black range come in a variety of styles and colors and finishes and most seem to have the four nib sizes available, even on Amazon.

 

I have paid a great deal more money on pens which had to be tweaked, adjusted and messed around with, to make them write as well and as smoothly as this pen, so while beginning thinking what I have I got to lose if the pen is awful, I now feel I have gain a great pen for such a bargain price.

 

Love to hear from any other W & B pen users

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that I've never heard of the company before.  Was this a new pen?  Or some vintage-ish one?  Any clue as to where it was made?  I just found their website but the "OUR BRAND STORY" link seems to be pretty useless.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mercian]

24 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

I'll admit that I've never heard of the company before.

 

Here in the UK at least, whenever one searches for any brand/model of fountain pen on Amazon, their products are promoted to the top of the listings.

 

I assume that they are a brand whose products are made in China.
I have no idea which of the two main types of Chinese cartridge their pens accept, and for all I know they may even be 'chambered for' European 'Standard International' cartridges.

Nor do I have any idea about the quality of their products - they might make really reliable pens, and really good inks too - or they might not 🤷

Their 'marketing' strategy (promotion of their products to the top of the lists of any search that I try to conduct on Amazon) has irritated me enough that I have never personally considered buying any of their pens.
Which may, of course, be 'my loss' rather than theirs  

[Boston Brian]

It was a brand-new pen, and they are available directly from Wordsworth & Black or from Amazon, they have several models and a host of different colors.

 

Like all of you I had never heard of the company, but it was as I have explained that the pen was very reasonably priced, and I thought I would take a chance and buy one, and boy am I glad that I did.

I have been collecting and using fountains pens for 25 years and have almost every brand of pen in my collection, from Montblanc, Onoto, Parker, Lamy,Elysee, Pelikan, Esterbrook, Edison and all the rest, and this to me at least is a great pen, and worth way, way more than it cost me. 

 

I am reading a lot of "assumptions" in some of these reply postings, and you know what happens when you "assume" things without any evidence or facts.  As Dorothy Parker said so well, "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think!"

 

Stay skeptical, keep your money safe in your pocket, but when a fellow pen collector shares his experience of a great find, you might want to be open minded at the very least, instead of assuming a lot of things.

The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions! 

[Al-fresco]

I found one in a charity shop this morning - boxed, never been inked, still in its 'condom' with a pack of 6 cartridges and a cartridge converter included.  They wanted £10 for it.  

 

The nib has no size shown on it but looks like a steel #5 fine.  I've just tried it - writes perfectly, not too wet not at all dry and, at the price, it's a nice find.  I'll probably give it away eventually but in the meantime it's perfectly useable as an 'every day carry.'  

[Sailor Kenshin]

I bought a set with four or five nib sections, from EF to fude.  There were sets of cartridges, and the huge bottle of black ink that was included seems to be one of the best I ever used.  The bottle looks like an Edelstein.

 

 I remember the entire set was less than fifty bucks and the nib sections fit Pilot Metropolitan bodies so you could theoretically use all the nibs at once.

 

I called it a deal.

[MuddyWaters]

They look like the old Baoer pens which used to be 1-2$ on ebay. 

[Paul-in-SF]

On 6/19/2025 at 8:24 AM, Boston Brian said:

this to me at least is a great pen, and worth way, way more than it cost me. 

 

These are perfectly valid reactions, but also very subjective, especially the notion of what something is worth. It has always been my view that something that is sold for money is worth what people are willing to pay for it. Some may over-value it, and others may under-value it, but it's really just a horse race in the end, made interesting by differences of opinion. 

 

On 6/19/2025 at 8:24 AM, Boston Brian said:

I am reading a lot of "assumptions" in some of these reply postings, and you know what happens when you "assume" things without any evidence or facts.  As Dorothy Parker said so well, "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think!"

 

Stay skeptical, keep your money safe in your pocket, but when a fellow pen collector shares his experience of a great find, you might want to be open minded at the very least, instead of assuming a lot of things.

The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions! 

 

There were precisely two posts between your first post and this one, and both responses seemed based on factual considerations. I didn't see any assuming at all, in fact. Your reaction is, to me, inexplicable. But again, a very subjective response on my part. I note in passing that implying your readers are unthinking and closed-minded is probably not the best way to win them over to your point of view, if you care about that. 

[Boston Brian]

I am not interested in the least of winning people over, I am not running for office, I am stating my view of a certain pen which seems to be a pen already pre-judged by people who have never used one or owned one.  Last time I checked I was perfectly free to express my opinion and do not need your advice on what I should or should not say!  

[inkstainedruth]

@Boston Brian Nobody is accusing you of anything.  Me?  I just wanted more information, since I knew nothing about the brand.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth