Bexley Simplicity

[hari317]

This is the first and only Bexley that I have had the opportunity to own. Bexleys are not sold in India and thanks to a generous friend in the USA who is also a fellow FPNer, I could finally own this pen. This pen was purchased from Richard Binder and it was tuned by him for a pleasant out of the box writing experience.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2302.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2305.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2437.jpg

 

First Impressions:

Over a month back, The pen was delivered to me in Pune by an acquiantance who was returning to India. The box was pretty simple, when I opened it I was greeted by a gorgeous and stunning looking Tortoise Simplicity. True to its name this simple and functional pen won me over. The shape is my absolute favorite, flat ends and a gently tapering cylindrical barrel. I could smell the machined acrylic (still do!). The threads and the cap trim ring are very well made.

 

The highlight of this pen is the exteremely pocket friendly roller ball clip.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2310.jpg

I generally carry my pens in the pocket, This feature makes this pen extremely attractive to me. I have now run through three fills of the converter in such a short span which shows how much I prefer it over the other pens I have in rotation.

 

Writing experience:

 

Now coming to the most important part: the writing experience. When I dry tested the pen on paper as soon as I got it, I thought that the nib was a bit toothy. This is the first pen I have handled which is tuned by a nibmeister and was dissappointed a bit, but when I got back to Mumbai and filled it with W'man BB, I found the nib very pleasant to use. The flow is wet enough just as I like it and the nib though marked F is more like a F-M probably due to the wet flow. As I mentioned before I have been using this pen more often than the others and I even carried it as my exclusive pen on a one week business trip. I can now say that this pen is absolutely airworthy even while using in the cabin. I have not had a single incident of poor flow or skipping. My only complaint is that my pen does not post as well(as deeply) as I have seen in the online photos.

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2313.jpg

 

This pen came with a handsome Stainless steel size 8 Binderized Schmidt nib, the section shows some traces of ink which give ample evidence that the pen was inked, tested and tuned before despatch:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2314.jpg

 

The plastic feeder resembles the Pelikan feeder a lot which is a good thing. I guess the function of the small slit on the feeder's underside is to help aligning the nib slit with the air channel on feeder?

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Bexley%20Simplicity/IMG_2318.jpg

 

The nib unit is screw out type which was a bit loose when I got the pen. This I discovered when I found that the converter was rotating. The converter fits directly into the end of the nib assembly, the section acts just as a hood/sleeve.

 

Filling System:

 

The Simplicity uses international size cartridges and came with a sturdy piston converter included. I tried inserting a large waterman cartridge but it did not fit into the barrel, so I guess it can take only small intn'l carts.

 

A precaution to take while uncapping the pen is not to twist holding the cap jewel since the cap jewel tends to screw out. Also while unposting the cap, care should be taken to pull out the cap rather than twist it out due to the tendency of the barrel blind cap to come unscrewed.

 

Overall Conclusion:

 

Remarkable pen, very attractive, the marbling has great depth. Many of my office colleagues have commented on the good looks of this pen. The pen is also a great daily writer.

 

Cheers,

Hari

[kiavonne]

Thank you, Hari!

 

I've been eyeing this pen a while myself. Your photos are terrific and the review very specific. I really appreciate the information.

[hari317]

You are welcome Kiavonne! Appreciation makes writing a review worthwhile.

 

Best,

Hari

 

[jmanou]

I've been thinking of getting a Bexley Simplicity myself and this review is timely.

 

Attractive pen and the review was well written!

 

Good Job!

[goodguy]

Thank you for the interesting and informative review and I must say the pictures are wonderful.

Enjoy

[Rufus]

Good review of a first rate pen. The flat top is my favourite design and I have a Simplicity in cracked ice with a .9mm cursive Italic nib ground by Richard B. I was going to get it in tortoise, but as I have a tortoise Poseidon but nothing in cracked ice I decided to go with cracked ice. Although the Simplicity Richard sells are fitted with steel nibs you can get one fitted with an 18k gold Bexley nib for a several dollars more. Dollar-for-dollar I don't think the Simplicity with the steel nib can be beat and I recommend this pen without reservation.

[zquilts]

I have a Simplicity Bronze that I bought from a fellow FPN'er. I LOVE this pen and wnat another Bexley - wish I could get one now but must wait. The Simplicity is the one pen I use every day - and enjoy writing with it every day too! Thanks for your great review of this wonderful pen......I love the tortoise colorway. hummmmmmm!!!

[Abhik]

Wonderful pictures and review Hari!

I have FPN special edition pen. So, I can understand your appreciation for Bexly Simplicity. It IS a wonderful pen with steel nib. My pen I used 1 month continuously and even as ED filler.

Enjoy your pen Hari.

Warm wishes.

Abhik.

[Kafka Esc]

All round an excellent review with great photographs!

[andyk]

Hi,

 

Great review and photos, never realised this pen was translucent from previous photos I have seen, will now be on my shopping list once I get some spare cash, assuming The Writing Desk get some more of the Tortoise ones back in stock.

 

Can anyone tell me if the others translucent as well?

 

Andy

[wintermute]

Thanks Hari! I've been waiting for someone to type a review for a non-limited edition Simplicity and it seems like you're the first! Excellent review and even better photos.

[Rufus]

Hi,

 

Great review and photos, never realised this pen was translucent from previous photos I have seen, will now be on my shopping list once I get some spare cash, assuming The Writing Desk get some more of the Tortoise ones back in stock.

 

Can anyone tell me if the others translucent as well?

 

Andy

 

Andy, I have one in cracked ice and it's not translucent. I bought one in green as a gift and I don't recall its being translucent, or at least not as translucent as the tortoise. My tortoise Poseidon is made of the same material as the subject Simplicity and I was surprised at how translucent it is, but I don't say that in a negative sense, as it's a very handsome pen. The above photos give a very accurate idea of what the torotise material looks like.

Edited October 20, 2008 by Rufus

[andyk]

Hi,

 

Great review and photos, never realised this pen was translucent from previous photos I have seen, will now be on my shopping list once I get some spare cash, assuming The Writing Desk get some more of the Tortoise ones back in stock.

 

Can anyone tell me if the others translucent as well?

 

Andy

 

Andy, I have one in cracked ice and it's not translucent. I bought one in green as a gift and I don't recall its being translucent, or at least not as translucent as the tortoise. My tortoise Poseidon is made of the same material as the subject Simplicity and I was surprised at how translucent it is, but I don't say that in a negative sense, as it's a very handsome pen. The above photos give a very accurate idea of what the torotise material looks like.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the input, I really like the Tortoise so will probably wait until they are back in stock, I have developed a fondness for translucent pens recently, its just that none of them looked translucent on any of the photos I have seen on other websites.

 

Andy

[chibimie]

This is an unassuming yet beautiful pen that caught my attention long ago. It's nice to see it get this kind of attention from you. I notice that it comes with a gold nib from nibs.com, while your version has a steel nib. Among the best nibs I own (I probably have around 100--all attached to pens!) is a steel Binderized italic, and I think your steel nib complements the color as well as the classic good looks of this attractive pen.

 

Now, I want one, too.

[Jopen]

Nice review and perfect photos. Thanks again Hari!

[Bill]

I enjoyed your review and photos. But then I am biased toward the Simplicity.

 

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/spanielgang/post-1064-1181477643.jpg

Left to right: Cracked ice (fine); Bronze (fine), Tortoise (0.7mm cursive italic); Jade Custom (0.6mm stub); FPN Custom (fine).

 

Bill

 

[DRP]

Your comments about Bexley's boxes corresponds with my own. Basic and simple though nice.

 

Then again, I'm not much one for looking at boxes. I've never tried writing with a box so am satisfied that Bexley puts their money where it does the most good for the customer.

 

This isn't to demean fountain pen users who enjoy nice container. Some of them are really works of art. I wouldn't object to getting a pen with an interesting container some day so that the container can be displayed in my office at home. But, for now, I'm satisfied with where Bexley puts their priorities.

[hari317]

Left to right: Cracked ice (fine); Bronze (fine), Tortoise (0.7mm cursive italic); Jade Custom (0.6mm stub); FPN Custom (fine).

 

Beautiful composition. I love that Jade custom. Thanks!

[Heirphoto]

I have this same pen on the way. It is a beautiful pen but I must say my heart just sunk a bit seeing your photos as i had no idea the bexley logo was engraved so large on the barrel. I have not seen one in person and the website photos where I bought mine did not show the engraving. Half as large should have been plenty.

 

I am hoping it is less noticable in real life and that the pens beauty overshadows the engraving.

 

Tony

[pmormack]

Yes, the Simplicity is an attractive pen--I've bought four of them--but I want to report an odd problem with the Tortoise version. Don't know if this is peculiar to the run they made using this material, but it is peculiar that both Tortoises I bought have a nasty problem of ink leaking into the section and completely flooding it.

 

My teal and cracked ice versions are fine. What makes this even more annoying is that I finally convinced my wife to try a fountain pen and she really liked the Tortoise. So about a week after I gave her the pen she started getting horribly stained fingers and you can imagine her reaction to using a fountain pen. I thought, "Must be user error."

 

Since I liked the material and was so happy with my other two Simplicitys, I ordered a Tortoise for myself. Exact same problem as my wife's Tortoise. Coincidence? Damned peculiar. Neither pen is now used. I gave her my cracked ice version and never a problem.