Are Super5 Fountain Pens Worth Trying?

[antichresis]

I saw Appelboom post about the pens in Instagram and my first thought was that they would be nice, cheap, simple knockaround pens. A better looking, sturdier Preppy. Something like a modern Morriset pen with added usability.* From the photo, it even looked like they were piston fillers with that ring at the rear of the barrel.** I followed the link and they cost $26. An older(?) version of them weighs more than an Al-Star so, no, they're not a German alternative to those Indian eyedroppers.

 

Are they good? Has anyone tried them? Would I be better off getting a Prera, a Kaweco, a TWSBI, a Loom, or even a Nemosine?

 

*What is interesting though is that the Super5 reviews I could find (of a similar looking pen but Appelboom calls the new one, well, "new") had a stub nib, which I imagine was carried over to the new colorways, and is now available in 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, and 1.5 stubs.

 

**They're cartridge converters

 

The photo below is from IG: appelboompennen and is the photo that first caught my eye.

[Sasha Royale]

Which other fountain pens do you have ? What about this pen do you find appealing ? Now that you know about the internal mechanism, What are some of the competing fountain pens to this one ? Is $26 a disposable amount ? A modest amount ? A significant amount ?

[antichresis]

Which other fountain pens do you have ? What about this pen do you find appealing ? Now that you know about the internal mechanism, What are some of the competing fountain pens to this one ? Is $26 a disposable amount ? A modest amount ? A significant amount ?

I have a lot of pens. I fill one up and when it's empty I wash it and switch to another pen. I can go a year without using a pen twice. Pens I don't have are the various pneumatic fillers and vacuum fillers.

 

This pen is appealing because it's the first time I've encountered it. I've searched for reviews on it and have found very very few. New things are appealing to me.

 

With the c/c filling unit this competes with all the Pilot Super Quality pens, the Platinum Cool/Balance, the Lamy system pens, Tombows, Faber Castells, and Nemosines. It's also about the price of an FPR Himalaya. You can also get Japanese desk pens (wonderful performers) and Quasi-Imperials, a 45, Pilot "E" pens, and Japanese long-short pens for about the same price.

 

$26 isn't a big amount but I got into fountain pens because they're not disposable. I've spent as much time reading up on the Petit1 as with an 845. I do not like wasting money. If someone owns it and can chip in and say that the paint chips off quickly or it cracks or it feels like writing with a knife, why would I buy this?

Edited December 18, 2016 by antichresis

[jctsoares]

I own the first edition with the 0.5mm stub nib and it's one of my favourite pens but I own mostly cheap pens like preppy, pilot metropolitan, pilot 78g broad nib, jinhao and some vintage pens like Parker 21, 45, sheafer targa, triumph imperial, osmiroid, cheap indian and pakistan pens like click, dollar etc. etc. My most expensive pen is a TWSBI 580 AL 1.1mm cursive italic.

The super5 has a plastic cap and barrel that feels stronger than a preppy or 78g and a metal section. Writes with some line variation and pretty wet but not as smooth as a metropolitan or TWSBI.Feed keeps up pretty good. Never had skipping or hard start. Only thing I Don't like is that width of 0.5mm nib is too narrow. 1.1mm on my TWSBI I find too wide, só now 'm tempted to order the new Super5 version with 0.7mm nib. It's a cartridge/converter pen but converter is not included.I use Jinhao converter. The end of the barrel screws completely off which I don't know why and if it wasn't for that stupid knob it would make a nice eyedropper... It's worth a try. I'm not sure if the 1.0 and 1.5 are stubs or round tip.

Edited February 9, 2017 by jctsoares

[schmoo]

I'm glad others have made more investigative observations about the nibs on these pens. My review is tactile: I picked one up a while back and tried to use it, but I could not get past how poorly the cap seals. I could never get the thing to write the first time, or the tenth time, after picking it up again. To note, I tried both Super5 inks as well as wetter, non-waterproof inks.

 

Perhaps the newer pens have fixed this issue, or I had some kind of dud. But the pen sits in my collection as a novelty item at this point.

[Redblur]

I have had the original and the new version, and I strongly recommend these pens as daily users. I have had a total of three, and have had no problem with any of them. Quick starting, smooth, and they write well on any paper I have tried, including post it notes, which I find almost no fountain pen likes. They come with one cartridge, presumably their branded ink which write very well - I've been using J Herbin with great results.

 

I consider this pen far superior to the examples of Pilot Metropolitan and Lamy Safari that I have experienced, which were my prior go-to inexpensive modern pens.

Edited February 11, 2017 by Redblur

[Redblur]

Oops - double post

Edited February 11, 2017 by Redblur

[jctsoares]

Redblur, you still have both the 0.5 and 0.7? If you do can you post a writing sample to compare the line width and variation? I'm tempted to buy the 0.7 because the 0.5 is too narrow. Do you think I'll notice much difference?

[TravelCommons]

Just received an orange (Delhi?) Super5 with a 0.7mm stub from Massdrop. All in (with shipping) it was $22. Inked it up with Private Reserve Sherwood Green.

 

Been writing with it all day. It's a smooth, wet writer; can put a lot of ink down on the paper. It's kept up with my note taking today and haven't had any issues (e.g., hard starts, ink starvation). Haven't seen the cap problem that schmoo mentions above, but perhaps Super5 tweaked the cap design before this manufacturing run.

[jctsoares]

Is the drop still activa? Url please?

[jmccarty3]

Just saw the review of these pens on Scrively. This looks like a great alternative to Lamy Safari, especially for lefties who can't use the Lamy section. Also, cartridges and converters are non-proprietary (international). Massdrop isn't offering this right now, but you can go there are request that these be made available again. These look like they would be great giveaway pens for the curious, if you want something better than the Pilot Petit1 or Platinum Preppy.