Romus Demonstrator Pen

[suexilin]

This is a long overdue review of a pen I received as a gift from a very kind FPN member: the demonstrator named Romus.

 

The pen is light and entirely transparent, only the feed, the nib and the golden rings on it are solid coloured.

 

 

The nib is golden coloured, with the inscription - "Majestic super tipped fine". It is a very fine nib indeed, it writes an even very wet line, it is very smooth and very comfortable.

 

 

The cap screws on, it takes a turn and a bit more to unscrew and open, slightly more then the Pelikan m400 that I own, but slightly less then my Pilot 78G. It is a piston filler, and the piston moves smoothly and it holds quite a bit of ink.

 

 

It writes very wet, but very fine, a beautiful glistening line of ink that does not feather and it is absolute joy to write.

 

When i received it I filled it immediately with ink - Dux blue black (a Hero brand) and started writing - it is light, about as light as a Pilot 78G, but very well balanced.

 

Here is a pic of a page written with it - on a Rhodia paper. The top part is written with my Pelikan m400 with a fine nib, the bottom with the Romus demonstrator.

 

 

I think I was very fortunate with this pen, as Sam - the FPN member who sent me this pen, mentioned that it has been Sam-tuned, resulting in it writing and behaving so well.

I fell in love with it immediately, and it became my daily carry work pen, together with the m400, and the wancher blue morning pen. The latter one unfortunately fell out of grace somewhat, but I still carry it with me ( it's so pretty, this is an excuse enough ) though i end up writing more with the m400 and the demonstrator.

Watching the ink sloshing inside is mesmerizing.

Another bonus point is that it keeps my fingers clean. One reason of carrying the m400 with me every day is that its section flares slightly, resulting in the nib and feed not being flush with it, and creating an edge over them. This design means that I can write and stay clean, I only realized it after writing with my white tortoise for 2-3 days. The section of the Romus pen does not flare up, but it is longer than the pelikan's, long enough that I somehow stay clean-fingered again. This alone immediately awarded it high points for me.

 

I was initially afraid that it would leak, or drip, but it has been a perfectly well behaved pen. Only once, when it fell from the desk - on a carpeted floor, while capped, I found a drop of ink in the cap and immediately rinsed it off; but the rest of the time - two weeks already, daily carried to work in a three pen case, it has been wonderful.

 

Very happy with it.

[Hoovy]

Thank you!

 

I saw this pen on ebay a few months ago, and have been holding back on buying because of the total lack of reviews. Good to know it's as nice as its price.

[suexilin]

Thank you!

 

I saw this pen on ebay a few months ago, and have been holding back on buying because of the total lack of reviews. Good to know it's as nice as its price.

 

 

Glad to be of help

 

Sam mentioned that the pen was initially over-greased, and had to be thoroughly cleaned and flushed, and then re-assembled and re-greased, before it could be used normally. It has had a smell in the beginning too. I am lucky I got it after his treatment. And now the smell is barely noticeable, slight yogurt aroma. So if your ebay purchase comes enthusiastically greased, be prepared.

Edited March 23, 2013 by suexilin

[basterma]

I have a student pen by Romus, and it's a nice writer. Have not ran into anything about the company.

[Seele]

suexilin,

 

I am glad that you like it enough to be one of your daily writers

 

basterma,

 

Fellow member madzamax told me that "Romus" is only the private branding put on a batch of pens by the manufacturer, who's an OEM: if you buy pens from them, they would be happy to put whatever name or graphics you like on the barrel. That said, pretty much all of those available on eBay are branded Romus anyway.

 

Also be aware that it is quite a coincident that there's also a German pen manufacturer called Romus, making pens much in the Stypen style; as far as I can figure out they have no relations.

 

I also found that the same eBay vendor has other variants of this pen in other opaque colours; they should be identical but it would be a bit tricky to see if the cleaning and re-greasing have been done properly!

[basterma]

I went back and checked the pen. It's Romus. I bought it in Damascus in 2007. It has the same nib and feed as the Kaweco Sport and several other pens. Maybe the branding has been done periodically by the OEM?

[Seele]

basterma,

 

This is the German manufacturer's webpage for the Romus pens, which is obviously nothing like the one here.

 

It is also possible that earlier they made ostensibly lower-end pens like this, with non-tipped nibs.

 

Therefore I feel that these Romus-branded pens have nothing to do with the German firm who owns the brand name in Germany.

[suexilin]

suexilin,

 

I am glad that you like it enough to be one of your daily writers

 

 

 

 

It is a very appreciated pen Thank you again for sending it to me!

[Seele]

It is a very appreciated pen Thank you again for sending it to me!

 

You are most welcomed! By the way did your colleagues notice it? I heard that in China, fountain pens are getting to be a minority interest these days, a piston demonstrator might be something they haven't seen before!

 

Come to think of it I might want to track down a clear screw-type converter to go with my Wuhan Angel demonstrator: a steel-clad aerometric converter does look a tad silly

[basterma]

Thanks for the info about the German website. I agree that tthe two companies are not related.

[AndyLa]

Interesting. Mine has a tendency to leak into the cap.

Edited March 25, 2013 by AndyLa

[rockydoggy]

Thanks much for the review. I've just received my second pair of Romus pens and I find them to be very nice for the price.

 

I've also recently noticed that they now offer these Romus demonstrators in 4 colors in addition to the clear. Here's the eBay listing:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Clear-Demonstrator-colorful-Fountain-Pen-piston-type-new-/160988431478?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257ba88476

 

And they have similar pens with plain plastic bodies:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fountain-Pen-5-colorful-piston-type-new-/151012014006?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23290477b6

 

I've ordered a set of the colored demonstrators--it works out to around $6.00/pen. I've had good luck with the Romus pens thus far; the only down-side is that it can take a while for the shipments to arrive.

[philsorito]

Hello everyone.

 

My pens have a bad smell. It's a bit like very very cheap flowery parfume... Any ideas how to get rid of it? I've put them in water for 2 days, used papertowels, put them in kitty litter... I'm out of ideas!

 

Btw. my demonstrators all have bicolor nibs, that are very smooth.

 

My shipping included a non demonstrator blue fpn, that has a worse quality. So better stick with the demonstrator ones!

[JohnnieAus]

Hello everyone.

 

My pens have a bad smell. It's a bit like very very cheap flowery parfume... Any ideas how to get rid of it? I've put them in water for 2 days, used papertowels, put them in kitty litter... I'm out of ideas!

 

Btw. my demonstrators all have bicolor nibs, that are very smooth.

 

My shipping included a non demonstrator blue fpn, that has a worse quality. So better stick with the demonstrator ones!

Hello philsorito

 

Bought a Romus demo pen from India. Wow...opened the package and the pen had a foul smell like it had been dragged from the sewer. Scrubbed it and soaked it in detergent cleaner- smell is less strong but still there. I wonder what sort of manufacturing process they have?

[LWJ2]

I acquired one recently, there is a flowery smell to it, but I have to hold it directly to my nose to smell it. The nib is very fine, writes smoothly and has (so far) started without fail every time I've picked it up, even to making scribbles on my wall calendar (whilst the calendar is on the wall).

 

Mine ran about $20, including shipping, and I'm considering getting another as a gift to an old friend who prefers cheap Bic pens because they're smooth, write immediately and don't get her dirty. So far this meets all her criteria and I believe she'll enjoy it.

 

Ta,

 

Leon

Post Scriptum: A happy and safe holiday to all this Labour Day weekend.

[Eclectica]

I too have bought a couple of these - and have been pleased with them as everyday pens! Perhaps not the quality of some (the clip on one does not sit very nicely on the cap), but extremely good for the price.

 

To me the smell is an interesting mix of incense and spices - quite pervasive!

 

I have found a few nibs which my Mum used to use in a cheap plastic 3M pen, will fit the ebonite feed perfectly and work really well - which was a surprise since clearly the ink flow has to be much greater with a 1.1mm nib than the superfine supplied.

 

http://www.peggysparlour.co.uk/pubpics/romus.jpg

 

The only thing I have found with these pens is that the feed eventually clogs up and air doesn't then move into the reservoir - this is really clearly observable and one sees the ink level in the main track of the feed directly behind the nib drop and not be replaced with ink. Easily cured though - a good flush to clear the ink from around the outside of the feed and main run.

 

[LWJ2]

I too have bought a couple of these - and have been pleased with them as everyday pens! Perhaps not the quality of some (the clip on one does not sit very nicely on the cap), but extremely good for the price.

 

The only thing I have found with these pens is that the feed eventually clogs up and air doesn't then move into the reservoir - this is really clearly observable and one sees the ink level in the main track of the feed directly behind the nib drop and not be replaced with ink. Easily cured though - a good flush to clear the ink from around the outside of the feed and main run.

 

 

 

Since my prior post I've written quite a bit with the Romus. The cap doesn't post particularly well; however it's long enough to write with comfortably when unposted. For what I paid for the Romus, it's a non-issue.

 

I did experience the "airlock" Eclectica mentioned, a careful twist cleared it and the ink flow was back to heavy/wet again. Should it occur again, I'll just flush it into the ink bottle and refiill.

 

The nib, whilst smooth, feels "coarse" if you will, which may reflect the paper on which I'm writing (Hammermill 24 lb. Colour Copy Digital). I'll run it across a white ceramic and see if that lightens it up, if it doesn't that's something I can live with.

 

One of the things I miss here in Roanoke is being able to walk into Frank Parsons or Antietam Paper and buying a ream or two of Crane's Crest 100% Cotton Bond. Down here they sell it a few sheets at a time and want your firstborn and an arm.

 

Leon

[jccjr]

Nice review. What is about Demonstrator that we love so much? Some of my favorite pens are demo/clear models.

[rmay4]

From the photo, it looks an amazing amount like a Noodlers Creeper and I noticed some comments on the smell. The Noodler pen has a very strong and unpleasent odor that last for days before it lessens... I wonder if there is a connection?

[georges zaslavsky]

wonderful review and great writing thanks for sharing