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Hello! First of all, this is only my third review on FPN, so if you can please leave constructive criticism below! I would love to improve the quality of my reviews. The Pilot E95S seems to be like the least expensive gold nib pen that is consistently offered here in the U.S. . The only cheaper one I can think of is the Platinum PTL-5000A, which I would love if it was consistently offered in the U.S., but they seem to constantly discontinue it. So, this is a very popular first gold nib pen. It was my second gold nib, so I did get it relatively early in my fountain pen hobby. For a quick summary of the review, I like this pen. I don’t love it, but it’s is great value, and I definitely recommend it. Design and Build Quality (8.5/10) For the most part, this design is great. It is slim, but comfortable, has a great inlaid nib (which I love), is compact, but bigger when posted, and the feeling of capping and uncapping is great. But, Pilot’s black resin does not hold up to the little metal things on the inside of the cap that hold it on. It has fine scratches on it, which are pretty apparent. Now, I am one of those people who sort of like that, and don’t really want pens to look brand new, I want them to look like I used them. But I can understand how this can annoy some people. That’s why it’s a 8.5/10, instead of a 10/10. Nib Performance and Writing Experience (9/10) This nib is great. I have a fine nib, which is 14k gold and inlaid. It is smooth, and quite soft. I would call this a flex, semi-flex, or soft nib, but a quite soft nib. By that I mean that you can get some line variation, but not that much where you can use it for calligraphy, just a bouncy writing experience. The only thing is it is just a bit particular with inks. Both Noodler’s Walnut and Diamine Chocolate Brown were just a bit too dry for it, and it had some skipping. But all Herbin, Jacques Herbin, and Iroshizuku work great with it from my experience. With them the pen is not especially wet, but I wouldn’t call it dry either. With the writing sample, I used Jacques Herbin Terre d’Ombre, which is currently my favorite ink but might be replaced by Robert Oster Caffe Crema when that ink sample gets to me, and on 52gsm cream Tomoe River Paper. Conclusion This a great pen, and a great value! I highly recommend it. It’s really great! Little Note- It seems like every place I go to except for JetPens sells it as the Pilot E95S for $136, but JetPens sells it as the Pilot Elite 95S for $136 as well. Just a little thing. Edit- It was to commemorate the 95th anniversary of Pilot, but is not a limited edition. It also comes with the Pilot CON-40, but can fit the discontinued CON-20. Now the pictures: The second to last photo shows scratches on the barrel, and the last one shows the metal things on the inside of the cap.

Hi all, I mostly use western 'F' nibs, but have recently bought two LAMY Z50 nibs in EF, and I want to find a 'permanent' black ink that will work well with them. For the last several years I have used Noodler's Black as my 'permanent' black ink - it is very black, and very permanent, and I have always found it to be very good. Its only 'flaw' was its penchant for nib-creep. In the last few months though, I suspect that the ink in my bottle (which has been open since 2014) may have 'denatured' or 'gone off'. I found that the aerometric Parker "51" in which I have always used my Noodler's Black would no longer write when I put the ink in to it. It seemed to have dried-out in the nib. I tried my ink in one of my new EF Z50 nibs, and the ink gave me its usual nib-creep. But, after sitting in the capped pen unused for only two hours, it had dried-out to the point that the nib wouldn't write. The nib does write with Parker Quink Blue, so I am fairly certain that my bottle of the ink has come to the end of its usable life. After seven years, I'm not complaining. Anyway, it occurred to me that my need to replace my Noodler's Black is actually an 'opportunity' for me to try a new ink 😀 So, I am now asking for your recommendations for a 'permanent' black ink; one that I will be able to use in my pens with 'F' (and now also 'EF') nibs. I live in the UK, so my options are: De Atramentis Dokumentus Black; Platinum Carbon Black; Rohrer & Klingner Document Black; Sailor Kiwa Guro (carbon nano-particle ink); Or, if none of those are likely to suit my needs, a fresh bottle of Noodler's Black. I have read the reviews of those inks on here, and have seen reports of disturbing nib-creep and clogging for the R&K ink, disturbing bleed-through for the De Atramentis ink, and conflicting accounts for the Sailor and Platinum inks. Several of my pens are NOT easy to clean (especially the "51", but also the Safaris), so I would like an ink that is fairly easy to clean out of a pen, and won't clog up/dry out in a pen very quickly. So, do any of you out there in FPN-land have experience of using these inks in pens with F/EF nibs? If so, which of these inks would you recommend to me? Would you actually recommend something else entirely? My thanks to you in advance for your answers 👍 Slàinte, M.

The Aurora 14K gold EF nib I have writes very smoothly but not completely (or intolerably) devoid of feedback. It gave the least audible and tactile feedback of all the pens/nibs in the list below, although the difference between it and my Sailor Pro Gear in that regard is nigh negligible. On the other hand, in spite of being an EF nib, it writes more broadly than any of the Japanese gold F nibs I tested just then. Even the 18K gold Pilot Capless F nib (of which the output is not shown below) leaves a finer line than the Aurora. My Diplomat and Rotring steel EF nibs also write more finely than it does. (I'm not sure about the Lamy and Faber-Castell steel EF nibs.) I can live with its line width as is, but I'm damn glad I didn't order the Aurora F nib instead.

Hello everyone, So I have tried inking my Lamy Al-Star (EF) with Noodler's Bad Blue Heron ink, and I have been running into what I can only describe as some flow problems. What I am experiencing is ink drying or perhaps congealing at the tip of the nib, and it makes it so that the pen needs to be stroked a few times before the ink starts to flow again. And even after I start writing the ink seems hard to get out and flowing easily. I am new to fountain pens and I would like some advice on whether or not I need to get a larger nib or do something about the ink to remedy this issue. Thanks a lot, MPenn P.S. And if anyone has had experience with how Bad Blue Heron flows and works in a Pilot Metropolitan (F) I would love to hear about it as well!

I just bought a Montblanc 146 size silver fountain pen with chevron engraving, mother of pearl star, and diamond in the clip. The one I purchased has a Fine nib and I can exchange the nib within 6 weeks. I basically like Broad and Double Broad nibs and never Fines. Oddly, I am very attracted to this nib and it writes like no Fine I've written with. It is a very smooth, wide writer, and very wet. It writes almost a medium line. I love line variation and have many stubs and cursive italics. This pen doesn't have much line variation but has some odd "personality" that I enjoy. I keep thinking of sending it back for a broader nib but hesitate. I know some of you will say, " just keep it and enjoy it." I think I'm curious if others have ever experienced this. Thanks