Hello all,
First off allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mark, I'm 17 years old from Connecticut, USA, and I joined this forum originally just to learn about wetshaving. However, I have always toyed with the idea of trying out a fountain pen, since I've read so much about them, and since I'm still a student, who writes regularly for school, I figured I could probably benefit from trying one out. They were prohibitively expensive, though, since I'm accustomed to the pack of 4 million pens you get for 6 cents at Staples. I didn't really know there was anything I would consider affordable until earlier tonight. When I read about the Pilot Varsity, a pen that can be easily found for under $4, I knew I had to try it out. I walked over to Staples about an hour ago, picked myself up a pack (black, blue, and purple for $7 and change), and tried them out. I'm glad I did.
Click to view fullsize
The very first thing that surprised me when I tried out the Varsity was the smoothness. The end of the nib is a round, almost ball-shaped structure. That allows for some very smooth writing and an easy transition from ballpoints. As you can see, it also makes the writing fairly bold. This is not a super-fine pen by any stretch of the imagination. However, I wouldn't say the width is excessive. It's certainly usable for everyday writing.
One thing that kind of disappointed me is the way the ink transfers. This might be a fountain pen thing, and not just this pen specifically, and I might just still be used to ballpoints, but in my opinion, the ink spreads too much. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but I don't really like how much the ink feathers on cheap, multipurpose notebook paper, especially since this is made to be a cheap, layman's fountain pen, not some fancy-shmancy piece of equipment. In addition, the bleed-through is far from ideal. You will not be able to write on the other side of the page with this pen, because the opposite side's ink is far too clear. Again, this is using cheap, thin notebook paper, but still something to think about.
All in all though, despite it's shortcomings, I really like this pen. It feels fantastic and because of it's reasonable, affordable price, even complete fountain pen virgins can have a great experience with "proper" pens, without having to spend what we might consider a fortune. I would highly recommend this pen to anyone looking to try fountain pens, or to anyone who loves fountain pens but wants a "beater," something they can take around with them and not worry about breaking or losing it.
Pros: Feels great, inexpensive, fairly high-quality considering price point.
Cons: Bleeds through cheap paper, non-refillable.
Verdict: Two thumbs up.
EDIT: The permalink to this review on my blog can be found here.
First off allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mark, I'm 17 years old from Connecticut, USA, and I joined this forum originally just to learn about wetshaving. However, I have always toyed with the idea of trying out a fountain pen, since I've read so much about them, and since I'm still a student, who writes regularly for school, I figured I could probably benefit from trying one out. They were prohibitively expensive, though, since I'm accustomed to the pack of 4 million pens you get for 6 cents at Staples. I didn't really know there was anything I would consider affordable until earlier tonight. When I read about the Pilot Varsity, a pen that can be easily found for under $4, I knew I had to try it out. I walked over to Staples about an hour ago, picked myself up a pack (black, blue, and purple for $7 and change), and tried them out. I'm glad I did.
Click to view fullsize
The very first thing that surprised me when I tried out the Varsity was the smoothness. The end of the nib is a round, almost ball-shaped structure. That allows for some very smooth writing and an easy transition from ballpoints. As you can see, it also makes the writing fairly bold. This is not a super-fine pen by any stretch of the imagination. However, I wouldn't say the width is excessive. It's certainly usable for everyday writing.
One thing that kind of disappointed me is the way the ink transfers. This might be a fountain pen thing, and not just this pen specifically, and I might just still be used to ballpoints, but in my opinion, the ink spreads too much. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but I don't really like how much the ink feathers on cheap, multipurpose notebook paper, especially since this is made to be a cheap, layman's fountain pen, not some fancy-shmancy piece of equipment. In addition, the bleed-through is far from ideal. You will not be able to write on the other side of the page with this pen, because the opposite side's ink is far too clear. Again, this is using cheap, thin notebook paper, but still something to think about.
All in all though, despite it's shortcomings, I really like this pen. It feels fantastic and because of it's reasonable, affordable price, even complete fountain pen virgins can have a great experience with "proper" pens, without having to spend what we might consider a fortune. I would highly recommend this pen to anyone looking to try fountain pens, or to anyone who loves fountain pens but wants a "beater," something they can take around with them and not worry about breaking or losing it.
Pros: Feels great, inexpensive, fairly high-quality considering price point.
Cons: Bleeds through cheap paper, non-refillable.
Verdict: Two thumbs up.
EDIT: The permalink to this review on my blog can be found here.
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