The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 317 - Born With It

Are you interested in vintage fountain pens but don’t know where to start? Me too! So, I had my friend Jessica Coles join me this week to guide you through your first vintage pen purchase. And, of course, we discussed all things Esterbrook as well.

Show Notes & Download Links

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Faber-Castell Design Ambition Op-Art Flamingo Limited Edition Fountain Pen: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Faber-Castell Design Ambition Op-Art Flamingo Limited Edition Fountain Pen (what a mouthful!) is a small, light pen with a stainless steel nib, a metal cap, and a resin body.

It comes packaged in a classy Faber-Castell box with a sliding drawer that extends to reveal the pen. One blue cartridge is included, but there’s no converter, so if you prefer a converter, you’ll have to purchase one separately.

The metal snap-on cap has a spring-loaded clip, and it posts easily on the bottom metal section beneath the barrel. Because the pen itself is so light (11 grams), posting the cap (16 grams) throws off the balance considerably, so I don’t recommend it.

The pen design is modern but is not exactly comfortable. Although there is a metal section above the nib, I wouldn’t call it a grip because it is so small in length (about 8.5 mm) and the step down between the barrel and the metal section is significant (and sharp). Because of this, I have to hold the pen much further back than I normally do. Plus, the barrel’s diameter is small (11.1mm), so I don’t find this design conducive to lengthy writing sessions.

The barrel is made from resin engraved with a beautiful guilloche design.

It’s very light and almost feels more like cardboard than resin. The diminutive size of this pen could be a pro or a con depending on how heavy/large you like your pens. Capped, the pen is 5.5 inches; uncapped it is 4.8 inches; and posted it is 6.8 inches.

The nib is a stainless steel fine, and, like most Faber-Castell nibs I’ve used, it writes smoothly. It is decorated with engraved dots and the Faber-Castell logo.

I have another Faber-Castell Ambition, so I borrowed its converter and inked this one with Kyo-Iro 05 Keage Sakura which matches the pink color of the pen well. The pen writes beautifully. I’ve tested it on several different papers and I’ve encountered no hard starts or skipping.

Although I love the sophisticated look and the nib quality on the Faber-Castell Ambition, I’m not so certain of its longevity. I discovered that the resin is easily marred. As I said, I own another Faber-Castell Ambition which I purchased in France. I always carry my pens in a pen case and try to be very careful with them. I’m not sure what happened—if the pen rolled off my desk at work or I accidentally banged it against something—but the barrel got damaged (see photo). I wish Faber-Castell coated the exterior of the resin with clear acrylic to protect the surface.

You can purchase the Faber-Castell Ambition in flamingo from JetPens for $100. Be sure to buy a converter ($5.00) if you don’t want to use cartridges.

Pros

• The Faber-Castell Ambition Op-Art Flamingo is a classy looking pen with distinctive metal accents. The color reminds me of cherry blossoms—it’s not garish like the plastic flamingoes people put in their yards.
• If you prefer small, light pens then you will probably like this model.
• The stainless steel nib on the Ambition writes beautifully and without any problems, such as scratchiness, hard starts, or skipping.

Cons

• This is an expensive pen considering that it’s made of rather delicate resin and has a steel nib.
• No converter is included with the pen. At this price point, I think Faber-Castell should provide a couple of cartridges and a converter.
• I find this model to be uncomfortable, especially for long writing sessions. The lack of a decent-sized grip section forces you to hold the pen by the barrel and the barrel is quite thin in diameter.
• The resin is easily damaged. I would not recommend putting this pen in a purse or bag unless it’s protected by a pen case.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Uni Style Fit Single Color Slim Gel Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Uni makes great gel pens and their Uni Style Fit multipens are very popular. But here's a fun new profile from them that I actually prefer: single color slim gel pens. These are ultra skinny pens with the same great Uni refills and ink, but with a small enough footprint that you can cram a lot more of them into your pen case...or house. The body is just wide enough to accommodate the refill, and there are no frills, bells, or whistles.

They can be refilled with any Uni Style fit refill, which includes ballpoint, gel, or even mechanical pencil. They can be .28 mm, .38 mm, or .5 mm. I have the 16-color bundle in .5 mm and they write smooth as glass with wonderfully saturated colors.

The colors in this set are violet, pink, baby pink, rose pink, red, mandarin orange, orange, golden yellow, lime green, green, sky blue, bright blue, blue, blue black, black, and brown black. It's a lovely spectrum, with enough difference between the shades that I can justify dragging all 16 around with me. And because they're so portable, I can do that easily.

Uni has great ink technology. The ink is resistant to water, fading, and forgery chemicals. It doesn't skip or railroad, and it writes easily even after being left exposed for long periods of time.

While I love the slim, clipless design, the pens are a bit flimsy. The clear plastic feels light and brittle, and it often comes unscrewed from the barrel--seemingly even by itself when the pen is just sitting in a pen cup. Unless my pen cup is haunted. I've had to twist them back together fairly regularly. The plastic wrap label is loose and seems like it's intended to come off, though you'd then lose your color label. Still, it's not difficult to identify colors with the tips and end-caps so clearly visible. The pieces are a bit rattle-y and don't fit together as flush as some of Uni's other pens. I was actually a bit surprised to learn that they're refillable, because they feel quite disposable.

Issues with build aside, I still really like these. The ink and portability take priority over other inconveniences. They're great to tuck into my planner case for journaling on the go and don't add extra bulk to my already slightly ridiculous edc situation. They also fit nicely into the slim pencil slots in cases, so if you prefer coloring with pens rather than pencils, these are great to take along.

I do worry that the very small refills will drain too quickly, but with the ultra fine-pointed refills, I doubt that will be a problem. And with 16 colors to choose from, they rotate quite regularly, so no one pen gets too much play.

If you've got journaling or coloring to do on the go, these are a good option. I don't expect them to last forever, and they aren't the cheapest of gel pens, but they do meet a specific need that I haven't had met by other varieties.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!