So this pen came in yesterday and I was quite struck by it. After getting my Jeb Nazca I'm not sure if I was excited as I should have been, but it's still a very nice pen, this Bexley. 
Very.
First thing I wanted to check out was the piston. I opened it and closed it a couple of times and it was quite a bit rougher than I expected. I figured maybe the seal just needs a bit of grease. No prob. I'll take it apart later and grease it up.
I inked it up with some blue and made a few marks and WOW that nib is sexy smooth. Just a delight. Whether Binder had to do anything to it or not I don't know, but it's very very good. Probably the best B nib I've ever used. Well... I've got a Faber Castell I'm supposed to stub that's just dead sexy. It puts the Bex to shame, but daggum, it's a Faber Castell. Shouldn't it be near perfect? This Bex is the best B nib in my little collection and the best I've ever owned for sure. My Edison Herald Grande comes in a close second. But maybe that's due to ink differences...
The pen is a great size. Perfect weight and balance for me. Every line and curve is smooth and feels good to my fingers. Nothing to complain about there. While examining the ink window, I noticed a tiny (TINY) gap between the barrel (binde?) and the window where they didn't meet up perfectly. Oh well. Nobody is perfect.
It holds enough ink for me, even being a juicy wet broad. I can draw and write a bit through the day at school, and if I need to ink it up, I can do that at home in the evening. No worries there. Buf if you do LOTS of writing at work, you may want a bottle of ink with you. But that's with a broad nib. I've got it loaded up with Diamine Green Black right now as I'm not a huge blue person right now. Maybe later.
Now for the piston. Hmm... how do you take it apart. I know the Lamy 2000 and the Noodler's pens come apart by unscrewing the knob a bit past a certain point and then pushing against the piston on the other side to get all the innards out. Bingo. That did it.
Now you may be saying "Are you crazy?!"
Haven't you read any of my other posts? Of course I am!
Here it is in pieces. I was surprised that the whole thing is just pressure fit in there.
I thought the square shape of the rod was interesting. Maybe that was easier to machine than a rectangle? Dunno. It works though - but I think the brass to plastic meetup is the reason for the rough piston feel. The brass threads into that square hole against plastic turning things inside the white round thing. Those are all technical terms.
Here's an angle to show a little pin that goes through the white plastic cylinder, holding something in place.
And the back of the barrel is threaded. Were they anticipating a threaded piston unit? Hmm... the world may never know.
So how does the thing stay put? I dunno. Magic I guess.
So how do I rate it?
8 out of 10. The nib is perfect, the shape and size and weight perfect.
The piston? A bit rough. Even after a good greasing. What a stinker. Hopefully mine is a fluke. Will it stop me loving this pen?
Heck no. I don't play with the piston, how silly! I write with the nib!
So is the piston smoother than the Pelikans?
Not on this one.
Does it really have anything to offer that the TWSBI doesn't?
It looks better than the TWSBI in my opinion, and writes better (at least until the new Bock nibbed TWSBIs came out). Uhm... other than that I dunno.
It posts just like the TWSBI which is awful. Way up high on the filler knob. Silliness.
But still a great pen. Go get one!
Very.
First thing I wanted to check out was the piston. I opened it and closed it a couple of times and it was quite a bit rougher than I expected. I figured maybe the seal just needs a bit of grease. No prob. I'll take it apart later and grease it up.
I inked it up with some blue and made a few marks and WOW that nib is sexy smooth. Just a delight. Whether Binder had to do anything to it or not I don't know, but it's very very good. Probably the best B nib I've ever used. Well... I've got a Faber Castell I'm supposed to stub that's just dead sexy. It puts the Bex to shame, but daggum, it's a Faber Castell. Shouldn't it be near perfect? This Bex is the best B nib in my little collection and the best I've ever owned for sure. My Edison Herald Grande comes in a close second. But maybe that's due to ink differences...
The pen is a great size. Perfect weight and balance for me. Every line and curve is smooth and feels good to my fingers. Nothing to complain about there. While examining the ink window, I noticed a tiny (TINY) gap between the barrel (binde?) and the window where they didn't meet up perfectly. Oh well. Nobody is perfect.
It holds enough ink for me, even being a juicy wet broad. I can draw and write a bit through the day at school, and if I need to ink it up, I can do that at home in the evening. No worries there. Buf if you do LOTS of writing at work, you may want a bottle of ink with you. But that's with a broad nib. I've got it loaded up with Diamine Green Black right now as I'm not a huge blue person right now. Maybe later.
Now for the piston. Hmm... how do you take it apart. I know the Lamy 2000 and the Noodler's pens come apart by unscrewing the knob a bit past a certain point and then pushing against the piston on the other side to get all the innards out. Bingo. That did it.
Now you may be saying "Are you crazy?!"
Haven't you read any of my other posts? Of course I am!
Here it is in pieces. I was surprised that the whole thing is just pressure fit in there.
I thought the square shape of the rod was interesting. Maybe that was easier to machine than a rectangle? Dunno. It works though - but I think the brass to plastic meetup is the reason for the rough piston feel. The brass threads into that square hole against plastic turning things inside the white round thing. Those are all technical terms.
Here's an angle to show a little pin that goes through the white plastic cylinder, holding something in place.
And the back of the barrel is threaded. Were they anticipating a threaded piston unit? Hmm... the world may never know.
So how does the thing stay put? I dunno. Magic I guess.
So how do I rate it?
8 out of 10. The nib is perfect, the shape and size and weight perfect.
The piston? A bit rough. Even after a good greasing. What a stinker. Hopefully mine is a fluke. Will it stop me loving this pen?
Heck no. I don't play with the piston, how silly!
I write with the nib!So is the piston smoother than the Pelikans?
Not on this one.
Does it really have anything to offer that the TWSBI doesn't?
It looks better than the TWSBI in my opinion, and writes better (at least until the new Bock nibbed TWSBIs came out). Uhm... other than that I dunno.
It posts just like the TWSBI which is awful. Way up high on the filler knob. Silliness.
But still a great pen. Go get one!
