Of my entire fountain pen collection (Pilot VP, Metro, Kaweco Sport, Monteverde Vesuvio, Lamy Safari, TWSBI Eco, Platinum 3776), this hands down is my favorite pen, except for possibly the 3776. Beginning with the look of the pen, it is a
great balance of classy and restrained. In particular, the use of gold accents and the shape of the clip just look good. The 24ct gold plate is a noticeable shade different from my other 14ct gold pens, it looks better. The cap snaps off, which is just more convenient than threads, and it posts with an interesting attention to detail and design. The gold accent ring near the top of the pen serves to hold the cap on, and the tolerances are such that the pen cap does not friction fit against the body of the pen, yet is held firmly in place when posted. When posted, the cap free to rotate slightly around the ring- It is hard to describe, but this attention to detail give a nice feel that the pen is of quality. Furthermore, unlike some snap pens (looking at you Metropolitan), the step down from the body to the grip section is quite small and this greatly helps with comfort. The grip section of the pen is plastic, however is not readily apparent against the lacquered brass body and cap (note that because the pen is brass, it can not be made into an eyedropper). The real magic of this pen; however, is the nib. For a steel nib, and even compared with many solid gold nibs, it is nothing short of fantastic. When I first opened the pen, I inserted the included cartridge and wrote with it as soon as I could reassemble. The pen did not miss a beat and has not since in months of use. Not one hard start, or skip (except the most minor of hard starts if the cap is left off for a few minutes). The nib writes with a very unique tactile feel, not at all a roughness, but a sort of pencil like feedback that helps my brain recognize what my hand just did. It makes writing much more effortless than with a glassy smooth nib like the vanishing point, in my experience, and it is unique even to the 3776 which is often described similarily. The nib is rather stiff, so variation is minimal, but this is perfect for a EDC pen imo. The nib writes on the wetter side, but not overly so. Finely unlike most fountain pens, there is no breather hole apparent on the top of the nib (looks like it may be relocated underneath and at the base), and as such there is less nib creep. Therefore, this pen works well with thinner more penetrating inks such as Noodlers' Warden and Bernanke series while still being great with iroshizuku and diamine inks. My only complaint with the pen is that while it allows for a converter, it is not included and the Waterman converter does not fit tightly into the grip. This is nothing more than a personal annoyance and hardly worth mentioning.
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