d Waterman are owned by Rubbermaid). Much broader and wetter than a Japanese fountain pen. Since this Urban is a wet pen, I find that it writes well with dry inks, such as Pelikan and Parker Quink. I find it most comfortable to write with it unposted, as the cap adds a bit of weight and can fatigue my hand if I'm writing a lot. The nib is stainless steel and is quite adequate. Not the smoothest out there but certainly not scratchy. I would certainly recommend this pen to someone who is new to fountain pens or someone who wants to upgrade from an inexpensive entry level pen. It seems very sturdy and has a good heft to it. I like it quite a bit. It has become my new EDC pen. If you decide to get the Urban, be sure to also buy a converter for it so that you can buy bottles of ink. The converter does not come with the Urban. It is sold separately. I find ink cartridges to be quite limiting and unappealing. There is an incredible amount of variety in bottled ink out there.

n getting more involved with fountain pens over the cheaper disposable "Varsity" or other lower end fountain pens. I'm one of those newbies.....having not used a fountain pen since elementary school back in the early 70's when all of us kids would buy the pen/cartridge sets off the shelf for a couple of bucks.

I bought this kit along with a Jinhao x450 fountain pen. I really love the matte black Urban that came with this set. I haven't seen this pen sold individually here in the US....only on European pen sites (for 35-45 dollars). I don't know why...this pen is really beautiful! The picture for the set doesn't do the pen itself justice. It's really a very attractive moderately priced pen...and it feels like a more costly pen.

The set itself comes with a bottle of ink that sells for around 10 bucks here on Amazon, 4 ink cartridges, and most importantly, a converter so you can use the bottled ink. Heck, 5 ink cartridges sell for $5 on amazon...you get 4 cartridges plus the converter (a $5-7 value for the economy type converter found in the kit). So ink bottle, cartridges, converter = $10+$5+$5 =$20, and then throw in the Urban. Go look at the Urbans here on Amazon and you will see they are priced at $45+. The matte black Urban found in this set doesn't have any engraving like other Urbans but it does come with with gold trim which is distinctive.

The nib and inner workings for all the Urbans are based on the Parker IM's which sell from about $25 and up. But the distinctive look of the Urbans is what ups the price. Overall, this is a very well priced kit with everything you need and more.

Writing with the pen is very smooth and I didn't get any skipping. Compared to the much cheaper Jinhao X450, the Urban is a bit drier...but still wet enough that is doesn't skip. The line is also finer than that with the Jinhao although both are labeled as having a "medium" nib. I should say that the nib on the Urban (all Urbans) is not changeable while the Jinhao nib can be changed out...a plus for the Jinhao. But the writing line with the Urban is very similar to what you would get with a standard ballpoint pen...not too thick, not to thin. The Jinhao on the other hand is more of a bold line and much wetter using the same ink. Drying time with the Urban is very quick which helps prevent running and smears while the Jinhoa takes much longer to dry because of the amount of ink it lays down and bold line. I much prefer the Urban over the Jinhao both in writing and in it's unique style.

You could buy ink ($10) and the Pilot Metropolitan ($15 and comes with a converter) for about $25, or the Parker IM plus ink, plus a converter for $40, or go for this kit. I think the uniqueness of the pen itself, the 4 extra ink cartridges, ink converter, and ink make this set head and shoulders above, a better value, and a better investment than other two mid-level type pens.

Dec 2015 update: Still love this pen/set! Since Feb I have bought a number of fountain pens...from $5 - $60. Amazingly, all the fountain pens function great. I would still recommend this set just so you get everything together. But I don't use the cartridges...just the pen and ink bottle. So as explained above, you could just buy the bottle of ink....I think it is about $7.00 now along with a Jinhao fountain pen for $6-9 and have something very similar for about $15-$18. But a gift set like the Urban is convenient for the beginner. I don't think can go wrong, either way

erter (additional $8).

In comparison, a $20 Dryden pen feels better, does not have nib creep and comes already with a twist fill converter, so it is a much better value as far as budget pens are concerned.
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Update: contacted Parker and they sent me a new pen - looks like my first pen was defective. New one has no nib creep and writes much smoother, so I really don't have any complaints about it. Writes a bit smoother than the Dryden referenced about so overall I think it is actually a good value for the money.

ough to use unposted but posts well. The nib is quirky looking, maybe a little broader for a fine than what I prefer, but it is a smooth writer. The pen is beautiful to look at and substantially made. My only knock is it should come with a converter and doesn't.

th gel ink for work but thought this would be a fun way to engage in correspondence with my elderly grandparents. I must say I have enjoyed the entire process.
The nib on this set is not overly wide (that was a concern I had purchasing a pen without trying it in person first) and I have been quite surprised at the amount of ink the plunger will hold. I have found the plunger and ink bottle to be more enjoyable to use than the cartridges.
I highly recommend this set, everything you need to get started has been included.

a collection of pens, however, and he seemed quite enamoured with them, so I decided to get this kit. I was considering getting just a straight pen, but it costs the same to get the kit, so I decided to just get the kit. I figured the pen might be a little more low-quality, but I can get another one later if I like it well-enough.
I have to say, if this is one of Parker's lower-quality pens they don't have low-quality pens. This thing handles like a dream. It writes when you want it to without spontaneously drying out on the nib, it writes smoothly. It was a tad awkward figuring out how to properly hold it, but when I did it felt like all the handwriting drills I'd done when I was little actually made sense. The little booklet on how to take care of your pen was very informative, and I discovered I have been putting ink cartridges upside-down for however long. If you are looking for a good, quality pen, this one is great.
A word of caution, however, the ink is thinner than the stuff they put in ballpoints and gel pens. It's a little more like maybe a marker ink without the nasty smell. Point being, if you are writing on thin notebook paper or the like, it may bleed through a little.

t see even a hint of feathering. The color of the black isn't as rich as Noodlers or Take-Sume, but overall, the ink is a great general daily use one. Even writing very quickly, the pen has no trouble keeping up and again, no signs of feathering from the ink. I'm not left handed, but I imagine that this would be a good pen/ink combo for someone who is.

All that to say, I'm very impressed with this pen and am happy with my purchase. It is a truly enjoyable writing experience and is a nice step up from more entry level pens.

ridges, a refillable cartridge, a cloth, and a manual.
All in a nice ornate cardboard box.
The pen works great (sometimes it just needs a shake), the manual isn't very descriptive, and the cartridges are a little hard to figure out.
But the ink lasts a long while depending on how often you write and the refillable is super easy to use.
The clip on the cap did bend out after a couple weeks, but I don't exactly go easy on my pens so I bent it back.
All in all, great quality, good starter pen.

will say this as a first time buying ink can be wildly all over the place in cost, i will say that a converter does does not come with this set, and if you intend to use this for general day to day writing you may consider a fine nib rather than a medium like i did.