Black Forest Fountain Pen Fine Nib, Ink Cartridge Not Included, Classic Design with Converter and Metal Pen Case Set

I have been using and collecting fountain pens for about a year now. My husband became intrigued and wanted one of his own to try. Having several Asvine fountain pens in my personal collection and being very pleased with their quality and writing style, I decided to gift him with this Asvine Black Forest <F> nib with cartridge. You can use a converter instead of a cartridge if you want to use bottled ink, but he was interested in simplicity and ease of use, so he uses cartridges. This pen is a lovely matte black that writes a fine line - which is perfect for him. It is comfortable to use, reliable, well made, reasonably priced and a good writer. We both recommend this pen.

FYI, this is my first ever fountain pen, so I have zero experience with fountain pens. But I have always been a pen enthusiast and have tried many different kinds.I like to save money on nice pens, and this seems like the perfect way. Personally, on this one I love the metal feel, weight (it’s heavier in my hand than most pens), and the matte finish (I chose the matte black pen with the finest tip). It’s perfectly well constructed for my tastes (I don’t notice any issues whatsoever), seems sturdy, and it’s fairly intuitive when you take it apart. Still, having instructions is helpful. It’s possible I missed it, but there were no instructions enclosed, so I had to go back to the Amazon page for a bit of help putting the first cartridge in. But it was very easy, and now I won’t have any trouble going forward.After inserting the first ink cartridge (bought separately from the same brand), I swung the pen around a bit to see if any ink would fly out, and none did. I use everything pretty gently, so maybe some users would have to be careful; I’m not sure.The ink flow is smooth and gorgeous. It doesn’t bleed even on cheap paper yet it flows perfectly. I’m a big fan and will probably use this pen all the time. The ink refills are even super affordable. I can’t wait!I’m considering if I’ll like to buy a few more of these pens plus ink in different colors for variety. I wouldn’t have to deal with my disposable pens anymore. It always bothers me to collect so many plastic throwaways, but I love pens, both for art and for writing. These are also much more convenient than my dip pens.

MUCH better than I expected.I love the heft and for my medium/smallish hand, it fits quite well.Fit and finish are impressive at this price point.It writes beautifully.I received back on July 30th and so far, I've had zero issues with ink drying after sitting for a week.In my opinion, it's best used uncapped (but that's just me).I'm not a huge fountain pen connoisseur but I'm absolutely a fan of this pen.

I ended up coming back and editing this review after having the pen for a few more months.I don't have a lot more to say than what has already been said: generally, this is a really nice fountain pen for a very reasonable price. It feels nice in the hand and has a sleek, modern look. The nibs are generally and overall pretty incredible given the cost. While the difference between an EF and an M is not as substantial as in other brands, all of my nibs so far have written very smoothly. The fude and architect options are nice bonus options-- the fude/bent nib is an especially great example of the type.I have three big gripes that depress the rating for me, with the second two being the bigger offenses. The first is simply that 3.4mm is not a very common bore size. This really limits what cartridges can be used, for those who prefer to use them. Given that it comes with a converter, there are plenty of other pens with proprietary cartridge sizes, and that I use bottled ink most of the time, this is only a minor inconvenience... but one still worth nothing. It could certainly be a frustration for someone new to fountain pens or someone who does not want to use bottled ink.Second is that the pen feels unbalanced when posted. I didn't really notice how much until I tried using it for longer writing sessions. It's actually quite disruptive and uncomfortable for me when trying to write for anything longer than 10-15 mins at a stretch. Ultimately, this isn't a big surprise for a metal pen, and it's a little long when posted anyway. I still think it's nice to have the option for posting a pen with these kinds of aesthetics. It's just a bit of a shame it's not a little more balanced that way.Lastly, the biggest drawback is that the seal is pretty iffy on some caps. It's not a constant problem but I have experienced some lightning fast drying out of nibs, or even evaporation of ink from the converter. If this were a truky big and recurring issue I'd be giving this a lot less than four stars, but it's definitely worth noting. There were a few times it took a lot of effort to get the ink flowing again after the pen sat unused for just a few days. For whatever reason, this was largely eliminated after a nib switch for that pen, so I guess it's not solely a bad cap seal problem... just something to be aware of.I would say this is a pretty great *early* pen for someone just getting into the hobby and who is prepared to deal with some idiosyncrasies, but I think there are much better choices for first-ever fountain pens out there.Overall, though, I'd still recommend this pen pretty highly. It's a great pen for the price despite its quirks. I don't buy duplicate pens super often but I still have three of these. It's also a bonus that the nibs are interchangeable with some other great Hong Dian pens like the M2 pocket pen.4/5 stars.

Writes well pleasant to use. Fills easily using the included converter. To completely fill the converter place nib into ink and fill once, empty and refill to completely fill the pen. Sits in my hand well. Good solid feel to the pen.