Disappointment

Gents- I received an entry level fountain pen for Christmas, which wrote very very well. I loved it. Unfortunately, someone stole it off of my desk. That's another story - long story short; I went to the mall today and picked up a replacement. I went for a slightly more expensive pen, a Waterman. It writes horribly. The case could be that my first pen was very forgiving, but I feel like I managed to pick up a decent technique and was able to feel the differences in how the nib was positioned. This new eon feels like it's constantly scratching the paper unless I hold it in one specific weird position. The nib doesn't look flush where it splits either. It looks like one side is slightly bent, which may be the cause of the problem. I'm not sure if that is normal or not. I'm using the same ink cartridges as the old pen, and it's not nearly as dark nor does it write nearly as easily on paper with very little pressure. Should I bring it back? Is it possible the nib is defective? Pics attached.

I can see the left side sitting lower than the right. Possibly fixable but not the way a brand new pen should be so if you can, I would try to exchange it. Unless you're pretty experienced it's a good idea not to mess with it. Marc, the Waterman is normally a great pen out of the box, head back to the mall and be happy.

I would definitely take it back and see what the store will do. If they offer you a replacement, see if you can try it out in the store before taking it home. Disappointing to lose a pen you really like. Don't leave the next one lying around! LOL

I was hoping the picture would come out well enough so that you guys could see the way the nib is. I didn't want to try bending it - last thing I need is a broken pen after my other one was taken from me. It's not like I left it lying around either... it was in my office on my desk, on top of my note pad. Someone had to walk into my office and take it. One would think that as soon as they open the pen to write with it, they would realize that it wasn't a cheapo and maybe they should return it. I have yet to get it back from someone though.

It is good news to see that the pen isn't how it should be out of the box though. Hopefully I can exchange it and that will be the end of it! I do love the way it looks. It fits in my uniform sleeve pocket as well, which is a huge plus.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Yeah as has been said that nib is clearly faulty. Take it back and try to exchange the nib or whole pen.

Definitely sounds like a misaligned nib (i.e., one side lower than the other). I'd return it to the store for an exchange or adjustment. Like Doug said, Waterman's should normally be good to go right out of the box.

Regarding the theft of a pen. When you have a good pen, you never put it down, anywhere. Either you're writing with it, or it's in your pocket. You never lend it to anyone either.

You will learn soon that a $10 pen can be a pleasure to write with and a $100 one a total disappointment. Get a Pilot 78G M off ebay for about $10 shipped and you will likely love the way it writes even more than the way the stolen pen did.

Good news, they took the nib off of another pen and swapped it out with mine. The other pen had a price tag of 160, but I think the nibs were identical. I guess that goes to show how much of the pen is show. It writes very well now. It's a medium point I think - I really enjoy it. I would also like to try a fine point.

I guess this little mishap worked out for them in the end, I bought a pencil when I came back for the exchange. It was marked down 50 percent. Pic attached. I really like it too. Thanks for the help everyone. Both of these are staying in my pocket!

The pencil looks like a knock-off Rotring.