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Appearance & Design (9) – The appearance is fine. The top of the cap is a slanted gold tone finial followed by a well made, clip with the right amount of spring. The cap terminates in a wide gold tone band with the Skilcraft name imprinted. The barrel has a thin band where the cap snaps on, with a very rigid and solid snap. The barrel has 3 thin bands within the first third. The end of the barrel ends with a gold tone finial. The design is good. As a metal pen it is somewhat heavy. The feeder is plastic and the nib is gold tone and engraved "Iridium Point". There is a small amount of humble scroll work. Construction & Quality (8) – The Navy Blue barrel is made metal with a reflective, almost iridescent lacquered finish. The quality is very good being that it is solid and feels quite durable. The weight of the cap is the only drawback. Weight & Dimensions (9) – It is 145.2mm capped, 117mm unposted, 155mm posted. The width at the section is 10mm, and 11.6mm at the barrel. The weight of the pen is 18 grams, 31 grams capped. The cap itself is 13 grams, making it quite back heavy when posted. Nib & Performance (10) – When the cartridge is inserted ink flows within mere seconds. The nib comes in fine. According to video reviews the nib also comes in med. It appears that the nib can be replaced with a standard #6 nib. The nib writes very well. On some paper the flow is mildly wet like on Rhodia Dot paper, on others like journal pages, not so much. It will bleed a fair amount on standard legal pads and the more fibrous the paper the more it will bleed. Filling System & Maintenance (9) - This pen takes a small international cartridge while holding a spare in the barrel, a long international cartridge, or a standard international converter. Maintenance is easy. The nib and the feed cleans easily with a simple injection of water. Whether it can be used as an eyedropper remains to be seen. Cost & Value (10) – The pen, Skilcraft Executive Fountain Pen, Fine Tip, Navy Blue Barrel, costs $10.20 on Amazon, $15.44 on ebay or $6.99 from National Industries for the Blind at blind-made.com. The $6.99 price is more than good value for this pen. You won't worry about dropping it, tucking it into a purse or pocket, using it for an every day pen in and out and about. Conclusion (9) - This is a pen that is made in America of Chinese parts assembled by Industries of the Blind. It's an effort that gives the disabled jobs, hope, esteem, and the ability to work for themselves and support families. I don't see how you can go wrong supporting something like this. For anyone that likes a good fountain pen at a good price, well built, attractive in appearance although maybe a little retro 80s, that is easy to use both at home and at work, the purchase of which will support a worthy charity, this is the pen.

Hey folks I threw this idea out on the Virtual Pen Posse Facebook page and it garnered some interest, so I thought I would post it here and see what peoples reactions are. We have all heard of Movember.......I thought of INKuary The idea, is very simple..... For charitable donation's the participants will use only one ink and one pen for an entire month. (Gasp Horror!) Yes that's right, if you choose to take part you will only have one ink and one pen. Who? Well, anyone who wants to join in. Why? Well, for fun. Yes it will be painful, and yes you will probably never use that ink again afterwards! But the pain will raise some money, and in turn help ease someone else's pain. And you will have the self assured feeling that If you were stranded on a desert island with one ink, you will survive When? I was thinking based on timing and to see if there is any interest, we would opt for February (It is also the shortest month!) How? Well that's up to you. As long as you only use one, then you win. But if you want to make it more interesting If you want to list your inks and your highest bidder gets to choose the ink, then that is also fine. YOU get to choose the pen, but it can only be one. and no nib swapping allowed during the month! (IF you allow someone to choose your ink and you need a certain ink for work, you can keep 1 separate work pen, that is to be used ONLY for work) The Details. Well, to be honest, there is not many details, but I would like this (if it goes ahead) to be fairly simple. We can have a collective cause, or individual causes. You can choose your own ink, or let someone else choose. So would anyone like to volunteer? Or make a pledge? I will throw my hat in the ring first. My pen is a Sheaffer NoNonsense with medium nib. I don't need specific inks, so will let the highest bidder choose mine. I use about 2-3ml per week, so I need to have at least 15ml of ink to survive the month. Here are my inks you can choose from: Diamine Royal Blue Diamine Imperial Blue Diamine Twilight Blue Sheaffer Turquoise Parker Blue/Black R&K Salix Diamine Sherwood Green Diamine Racing Green J Herbin Lierre Sauvage Waterman Purple Diamine Violet Diamine Ancient Copper Diamine Oxblood Diamine Burnt Sienna J Herbin Lie de The Waterman Brown Diamine Sepia Diamine Ochre Diamine Coral Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black Noodlers Black Highest bidder gets to choose my ink for the month...... Hope some others will come along for the ride! Let me know what you think Renfield

Everyone here is probably familiar with the amazing calligraphy and art Leigh Reyes does. She's doing something even more wonderful at the moment - auctioning off some of her favourite pens to raise money for the Philippine Red Cross, to help them respond to the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. You can see all the pens she's auctioning here: Pens for Aid: a charity auction to raise money for Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda victims. The next auction to finish, later today, is for a Pilot Capless 50th Anniversary Edition Maple Wood fountain pen, which we have donated to this auction. This is a brand new pen, directly from our stock, and they are in very limited supply - it's a great chance to get one of these rare pens, while helping a very worthy cause at the same time. It will be shipped directly from us, by airmail, to whoever wins the auction. We'll find some little extras to put in with it, and Leigh will send some goodies too. http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot-Capless-Maple-LE.jpg There are many other amazing pens, including quite a few you won't be able to get anywhere else - not only has Leigh put some of her own favourites up for auction, but a number of other people and companies have made very generous donations too.