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Hello everyone How often you've craved for a particular costly fountain pen? As a fellow pen lover, these moments of longing are quite frequent for me. Out of all these desires, a few materialise through months of penury and self deprivation, saving each penny by carefully substracting the same from daily home budget. There is the intense but sweet time of going through all the choices from online stores or local shops and selecting the desired model at the most appropriate price, ordering it and waiting anxiously for the pen to arrive. There is this tremendous anticipation and joy running through the body. Everything looks so positive and happy. Then the pen arrives, I open it, marvel at the beauty of a marvellous and precise instrument. I ink it up, draw a line on paper and WHAM. All my romanticism, all my happiness, all my effort stands vilified. The nib doesn't write like those famed nibs I was expecting, rather is one of the most scratchy nibs I have encountered. Now, how often you face this? I can take such below the belt turn of events with a broad smile, if, the pen is one of those 3$ Chinese pens, we more than half expect that while ordering. But the same thing, if it happens with a Waterman hemisphere, or a Sheaffer Taranis, or a cross century, or a Lamy 2000, how are you supposed to console yourself? Deep down my brain I know may be the nib can be tuned or salvaged. May be!!!! Are you kidding, how this 'may be' cropped up with so much care and so much fame of these companies? Are not they supposed to supply tested and super smooth nibs? Why I have to take up the stress of using micro mesh and loupe on my precious buy, even if it's mid range or even low range fountain pen? And I can assure you, these even happen with much higher range pens. Somehow Waterman, Lamy, Cross and any reputed non Chinese fountain pen makers must realise, it's our heart they are playing with. The pens must be tuned before being put on sell. Otherwise what advantage can they claim in this competitive market other than their reputation? Hope to know your experiences with such disappointing purchases. If that somehow help us to cope with these miniature disasters of our lives.