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I just discovered that I am quite unable at doing real "reviews" of the inks that I want to discuss . Apparently, I lack that sort of cool objectivity that makes a true review something a bit impersonal but for this same reason a very useful and unbiased point of view. My point of view is obviously not unbiased, as I am driven by passion, and I have never "reviewed" something that I do not like and, in a way, something that I wouldn't suggest. So, here goes my very personal and subjective opinion about Graf von Faber Castell (GvFC) Olive Green ink. For a complete disclosure: I like it... I was attracted by this ink as soon as I saw it for the first time in the net. I have obsessively searching for a green ink to perfectly match what is probably my preferred pen, a Montegrappa Extra 1930 in black bamboo celluloid. I bought and tried a lot of green inks, some of which I found very close to my "ideal" green for my pen. In general, I do not like "blue", cold greens, I dislike too brilliant greens, and those tending to turquoise (even though I like true turquoise shades). I like inks with rich shading, somewhat unsaturated, not too light (with exceptions) and sober but with enough personality not to be boring and excessively serious. There were a lot of these point scoring high in the photos of GvFC Olive Green. There was, however, a quite authoritative, real review of the ink published in a pen forum, criticizing the lack of lubrication of the Olive Green (and, in general of all GvFC's inks), qualifying it as "dry" and fairly unfriendly ink. Would I give it a try anyway? Well, the color was too much perfect for my tastes not to trying... I have to agree on the fact that GvFC Olive Green is not the wettest of my inks. But it works for me. I tried it with my Montegrappa a Extra, fitted with a stub nib. Montegrappas are, in general, moderately wet pens. Even so, the ink behaved flawlessly on both a very smooth and a quite hard laid papers, Fabriano's Grifo and Ingres (these are two of my preferred media). The color is outstanding, and I hope that my photographs would render justice to the true resemblance of the Olive Green to the deep shades of my pen's celluloid. The ink is low saturated, almost matte, a character that I really like. Shading is fantastic, at least with this particular nib, on both kinds of paper. As we already know, it is not a wet ink, but is "moist" enough to produce a noticeable variation in "density" with any of the graphs that I used for my test. At about $30.00, the Olive Green ink is not cheap, but the bottle contains 75 ml. At 40 cents per ml, it is in the price range of Kaweco inks, which I do not consider expensive.

Hello! I know I've put this question almost a year ago and people seemed to disagree with me,, but lately I have got vibes that the intuition range of pens from Graf von faber castell is being discontinued. You can barely find it for sale. Ihe ivory color I know for a fact that is discontinued, and I'm beginning to think that the whole range is, because on their official website the range is not being listed anymore. Is anyone more knowledgeable than me? Is it really being discontinued? I really need to know. I recently traded one of my other pens for an Intuition Ivory because I could not find it anywhere else to buy.

I have the choice between EF and M on a GvFC classic. I would probably have gone for an F normally but this is really a good opportunity so that is out of the question. I am happy with a fine line, as long as it isn't scratchy and has good flow. I hear GvFCs are on the wetter side so that pushes me towards an EF. Does anyone have any experience or comparison of an EF v M? I've again heard that GvFC, being German, tend towards a broader side of things. For comparison, I have a TWSBI EF which isn't too fine or scratchy for me (I think it's a good one though). I also have a MB 146 M which is a good thickness, although I'd like something a bit thinner here. I also have a Waterman Carene in M which is thicker than I want for my GvFC, a Nova with a Bock #6 medium which again is thicker than I'd want for this pen. That all said, if the EF is likely to be scratchy I'd rather go for a wider line to get a buttery smooth writing experience. If anyone has any samples that they could take a picture of, I would be extremely grateful. Otherwise any input is appreciated. Thanks!

I bought a Graf von Faber Castell Classic (Pernambuco Wood) fountain pen earlier this year new. I wanted a pen for air travel that had cartridge filling but also had a piston or similar filler system for more economical use when not travelling. It had to have a broad oblique nib. The only other cartridge filling pen I have is a Mont Blanc Bohème where the cartridges seem to quickly self-empty into the cap, on an airplane or not. Pity because it has a nice OB nib, which is more than I can say for its big "Le Grand Meisterstück" sister's OB nib. I was pleased when I got the G v F-C Classic pen. It looks to be very well made and writes beautifully, with nicely controlled ink flow, using Pelikan ink. Disappointingly however, it has proved to be rather leaky. Now I know that we have had very hot weather in the south of France and even at 800m/2500 feet altitude, we have seen 38ºC. It seems to be leaking from both the nib into the cap and around the filler unit, into the back cover. I am reluctant to return it, as I suspect it will come back exactly the same and this is a characteristic of its design rather than any fault. I will buy some G v F-C ink, to make sure it is not the fault of the Pelikan ink being too low viscosity but I very much doubt if it will make any difference. it shows that I suspect it will be essential to wash out the pen before air travel and take cartridges with me. From some other comments, I had hoped otherwise. I looked at some other pens with ink shut off but was not enamoured of the nibs. Wilson

If someone offered you this pen, used, for ~135$ would you buy it?

Hey guys, I'm planning to buy a Graf von Faber Castell Intuition Platino (with the large nib) and an Anello as you can get both of these pens for quite attractive prices on the German used market. As I never wrote with these pens and don't have a brick and mortar store nearby, I'm contemplating about the right nib size to get. Usually I'm writing with Japanese F or Western EF nibs, so I think that I should go with EF again, but then I read somewhere that the GvFC EF-nibs write quite fine. Could anybody who already owns a GvFC with F or EF nib please compare it to other brands? In particular, how do the nib sizes compare with other popular German pens like Pelikan M800/M1000, Montblanc 146/149 or Lamy 2000? I would be particularly thankful for writing samples of a GvFC and other F/EF nibs side-by-side. Thanks a lot for your help, Simon

Hello! I'm trying to collect white/ivory pens, but I don't want to have doezens of cheap jinhaos and lingmos, or other cheap brand, and also not extremely expensive one. I might like the statue of zeus pelikan a lot, but it's too expensive for me to be comfortable using it daily, everywhere. Well I guess I'm not trying to collect them, but to own a few nice ones. I own 3 right now (A caran d'ache leman, a montegrappa fortuna, and the Pelikan m600 pink, which is mostly white), I will definitely buy the white tortoise, and I have also another 3-4 pens on my radar right now, and all of them cost exactly the same (+/- 10$), maybe the sailor a little more. Which one should I buy, if I could only buy one. It doesn't matter my prefferences on what I like, I want to know what is more appealing to everyone else.

Graf Von Faber Castell Here are my new Graf Von Faber Castell Pencil’s. Alas, still no Perfect Pencil. The difference between these and the Perfect Pencil is the heavy metal cap (is it silver?), integrated sharpener and integrated eraser. Appearance: The pictures speak for themselves. I very much like the look of these. Lead: A lighter, harder lead which nevertheless has a nice soft feel. Goes down nicely on GVFC paper. Here they are… Close- up of the ends… A GVFC pencil resting on it’s GVFC Grain Leather A5 Notebook holder… Face down in their GVFC pencil-pot… As you can see, I’ve being going all- out on GVFC Accessories lately…

Hi guys, Check our latest post on Penficionado. Does it deserve to be called Pen of the Year 2015? What is your opinion: http://www.penficionado.com/index.php/2015/06/pen-of-the-year-2015-graf/ Warm regards, Iunal

Hello all, Does anyone know typical resale prices for the Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year series? I've been looking at these pens for a while now and I found many people saying the PotY does not hold it's value well. From that I was they should sell for less than retail price when they come up for auction on eBay. I am interested in the first few years of the PotY models but specifically the 2006 mammoth irovy model. I found some records from about three years ago when a couple PotY 2006 pens were sold at "bricks and mortar" auction houses and they were valued at the time between $800-$1200 and sold for between $1000-$1100. What I see on eBay doesn't follow that and I usually see them for more than orignal retail price. I was hoping the great pen afficianados in FPN could help me find the real prices that I should watch out for. Thanks, Petar

Hi, I saw the great reviews of the new Graf von Faber-Castell inks, and I would like to ask if anyone has some experience with the Stone Grey? I have one in the mail along with a bottle of Moss Green, but as it seems it takes way longer than expected to get here...I don't know if they'll arrive this year... Thank you in advance!

I saw some of these pens yesterday in a pen shop in Oxford. I just wondered if anyone has one and what they think of them. How does the Fine nib compare with other brands, and are they all slimline pens?

http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/P1200906_1_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/P1200929_1_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg Parker Penman Emerald vs Graf von Faber-Castell Moss Green I was planning to do this comparison for a while (about 8 months). Why did it take this long? Good question....and it doesn't even matter I think. Here it is http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_001_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg On the scans you can spot the difference somewhat easily, but to the naked eye they are very similar. The Emerald is a more vivid green, and the Moss Green is just a bit more "mossy" I'd say. Haha Both of them shade nicely and behave great, no problems at all. http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_01_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg I love the Maruman paper, because its very smooth, but it bleeds pretty easily with a wetter nib. http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_1_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg A little bling and a little moss (and some bleed-through, but as I said earlier its just the paper) http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_002_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg This is on some thinner notebook paper. http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_003_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg A bit of Clairefontaine. They both can have a nice pinkish/purplish sheen! Penman Emerald http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/P1170414_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg GvFC Moss Green http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140102/P1170560_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg Some extreme moss sheen remained from an ink drop. http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140416/P1180500_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg Moss Green on top, Emerald on the bottom. http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg And a little surprising result (at least for me) from the Moss Green (on the left): http://kepfeltoltes.hu/140807/IMG_0007_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg The is a whole lotta blue in the GvFC. The Emerald also showed a little blue what can be seen on the previous scan. I hope you found this interesting

So, the cost for Noodler's, Diamine and Toucan inks are downright inexpensive compared to Caran d' Ache and retail on Pilot Iroshizuku. Of course, we all search for deals or spend money with our favorite retailers. The question from Top Pen was should he spend the extra money on CdA? Let's hear from you inky buyers. (Because we all know Amber doesn't need a reason to buy ink).

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/2014-Inklings/slides/2014-Ink_650.jpg

I was walking around a bricks and mortar shop and was grabbed by a beautiful counter display of two bottles of Graf von Faber Castell ink on one of the usual plastic display bases. One bottle was full and one empty, which really showed off the attractiveness of the bottles. Since they were out of stock of the blue, I scribbled a few lines with a dip sample of their "eternal" Carbon Black. I usually use Noodlers Bulletproof Black for specific needs, but it seems to take forever to dry and frequently smudges. The GvFC dried MUCH faster, with no smearing and no unpleasant odor. So I figured what the heck, and bought a bottle ($30 for 75ml) since I really liked the bottle and the ink seemed worth a good try. I haven't had time yet to put the ink through its paces, but since I haven't read a whole lot about these inks around here, thought I'd post a few pictures of the bottle. I wish my pictures did it justice. http://www.fototime.com/%7B1BA646A3-F2EC-4D9C-B914-75E615E91277%7D/origpict/DSCN7664.JPG http://www.fototime.com/%7B006D3F3D-4258-46C4-80DA-497D433EF026%7D/origpict/DSCN7666.JPG http://www.fototime.com/%7B6CFB8408-3977-4114-8D8B-472570E1B72E%7D/origpict/DSCN7665.JPG

Today I have received the Graf von Faber Castell Pen of the Year 2014 Special Edition and I wanted to share with you a review of this gorgeous pen. For these that are not familiar with the pen of the year series, Graf von Faber Castell started a pen of the year back in 2003 and it did run the programme until 2012. After a break in 2013 they have re-started the series this year with a new concept that has essentially two limited editions. A "regular" limited edition of 1000 pieces (similar in run with previous pen of the year) and a new special edition pen of the year limited to 150 pieces. You can find more information about the POY 2014 in the official website at http://www.graf-von-faber-castell.com/pen-of-the-year/poty-2014 The POY 2014 is not yet available everyone and it has just started to appear. Apologizes in advance for the photos that are not so great: The box cover is the traditional Graf Von Faber Castell cardboard The real box is in lacquered wood with the GvFC Coat of Arms Inside you can see the pen that is truly gorgeous. Sorry again if the photos do not capture the beauty of the jasper stone: [ attachment=242615:ppIMG_3578.jpg] While I didn't see the regular LE 1000 edition I have been told that the jasper details are different but I am very happy with the unique structure of this one: The size of the pen is similar to previous pen of the years (here you can see the 2012, 2008, 2011 compared to the 2004 ) The box this year doubles as a collection pen holder - under the main tray you can see the pen box. This is an excellent idea and can be very convenient Ready to start writing! The nib is even better than previous pen of the year. I am not sure if this is due of this being the special LE edition but I suspect that extra attention was paid to the special editions. Previous pen of the year were good writers too but not as smooth as this one. Another difference with previous editions is the ink window that is now transparent (and no longer blue/grey) making it very easy o see how much link is left. The true masterpiece seems to be not just the pen but the Nib too. It is a very smooth M as good as the Montblanc if not better Here you can see it compared with a Nakaya and the Pen of the Year 2012 and compared with the Montblanc Ludovico Sforza 888 I think that Graf von Faber Castell is often under-estimated and the regular models (e.g. anello wood fountain pen) are excellent writers too. What do you think about this pen ? How would you rate it, in terms of look, compared with other LE edition from Montblanc and other brands? Thanks! Christian

Hi Everyone, I was just wondering if Graf von Faber Castell stopped selling spare parts online or if I am just not able to find the spare parts section on their website. I would appreciate any help or info. Thank you