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Hi everyone, this is actually my first ever fountain pen review. I must admit that I won't have a point of reference since I only recently got my first (and only so far) pen - but I guess my first impression was a good one, and I thought I'd try my hand at reviewing it. I've read through the guidelines and I'll be following the template as close as I can. So, a reasonably priced entry level fountain pen - the Faber-Castell Loom. The Faber-Castell Loom Piano White Appearance & Design (9) - Simple, modern and classy The Loom comes in two variants, the metallic finish and the piano finish. I got the piano finish. The first impression I got when I received the pen was that it looked slightly smudged with fingerprints. I had to give it a quick wipe before it looked all shiny and perfect. Smudging is a bit of a problem for the piano finish in this regard. It has a grip section with ring designs, and it is pleasing to the eye. It does not, however, really contribute to improved gripping. Apart from that, the reason I picked this pen for my first was that I liked its minimalist and modern design - it clearly does not have the intricate styling of the higher end pens, but is classy enough to stand out among the company of similarly priced pens. ... Construction & Quality (8) - Solid Most of the parts detach and attach conveniently, and the build quality is good. The cap comes with a clip that has a small spring that makes it a little flexible. Speaking of the cap, I find that it's capped on too tightly on the pen, thus requiring some effort to yank it out. Perhaps this will smooth out over time. Apart from that, it's a sturdy pen that can probably take a beating. … Weight & Dimensions (7) - short and heavy It is actually a slightly heavy pen, compared to the other pens in the same range. This is due to its steel parts. This has both a pro and a con. I like the weight as it lends a little bit of control to the writing, but it gets tiring quite fast. Also, it doesn't sit well in a shirt pocket. I imagine it'll be fine in a jacket, but for everyday uses, it kinda yanks your shirt a little. Thought I'd throw this little practical bit in. … Nib & Performance (7) - Nice nib, lousy ink The pen comes with a steel nib. I got mine in F. There were no skips, and the flow is smooth even when I sped up the writing. My biggest complaint about this pen though, is the stock cartridge. The Loom that I got came with a cartridge of blue ink, and the ink made a terrible first impression. It appeared faded, and was too light. Even my cheap ballpoint pen could come out with a more readable color. (On this note, I also have the Faber Castell black ink - in short, stay away from FC inks. They're too diluted for some reason. I've since bought a Waterman Serenity Blue ink and I think that's a safe ink for a newbie like me. I love it so far). ... You can see the simple patterns on the nib, as well as the grip section Filling System & Maintenance (6) - Cartridge only The pen does not come with a converter. I purchased the FC standard converter and it fits nicely in the pen. I understand that many pens in this class come with a converter, so it's a shame that the Loom does not. The cleaning and refilling mechanisms are smooth and I've done it with zero complaints so far. … Cost & Value (8) - Great entry-level price Overall, this is a decent entry level pen. I got it at around $40. It's slightly more expensive than the Lamy Safari (might be my next one - been reading too many good things about it), but in my opinion it carries an aesthetic look that looks like it should be priced higher. I do wish it comes with a converter for that price, but I'm ranting here... … Conclusion (7.5) - I'm loving it Overall, I'm really satisfied writing with this new pen. I find myself coming up with all sorts of excuses to write more, take notes manually, and more. It doesn't come off as too elitist in my workplace, and I think it's a great pen to have around for everyday writing. Looking forward to my next one already!

My next pen will most likely be a Faber-Castell with a fine nib. However, I can't decide whether to go with a Loom or an Ambition. I like the design of the Ambition better, but it's €55 is 26€ more than the Loom. I have just renovated my kitchen, so my pockets are not exactly overflowing with money. Are the nibs and feeds identical on these two pens? If that's the case, my choice will be slightly easier. Thanks in advance! /Andy

I own mostly Indian pens and I want to breach out into foreign brands. On WilliamPenn.net, the Loom and Safari cost similar, but people abroad prefer the Safari as it costs cheaper. Given that both cost the same, which one is better? And if there are other recommendations in the Rs. 2500 range apart from these two, that would be great too.

I recently decided to buy the Faber Castell Loom. As it is not available in India, I decided to buy it from an online store. After a thorough lookup for the Loom, I came by a site called https://www.penboutique.com where some of the Looms are on an offer of 32$. I don't know about any online fountain pen sites except Goulet. Currently the Loom is sold at Goulet for 55$. What I'm asking is the offer from penboutique is a dealbreaker or is it a shady site? (Mentioning again, I know nothing about online pen stores outside of India) https://www.penboutique.com/collections/loom?tab=products&sort_by=price&sort_order=asc&page=1&rb_product_type=Fountain Any help is much appreciated.

I already own a Lamy Safari fine which is around 2 years old and a Metropolitan fine which should be almost 1 year or so. I have laid my eyes on the Faber Castell Loom for a while now. Just want to know about it a bit more. I want to know the nib size of the fine and the medium sized nibs of the loom in comparison to the Safari. And which type of ink I should use with the Loom. Any help is much appreciated.

With many goodwill found on web, I bought the FC Loom Gunmetal - M nib A short review on the pen I got, for using more than a week ProsThe finishing of the pen is unbelievably well done.Cool design, especially the cap, bravo!Sturdy, aluminium section and barrel. (metal thicker than Lamy AL)Love the nib, handsome and is smooth so the writing experience is pretty enjoyable.No hard start, no skip even in speed writing, not too wet, not too dry, very reliable.Unbeatable price from Cultpens, with a silver Loom ballpoint as a gift.Helpful FC converter (bought separately), it is easy to get it fully loaded. ConsThe cap is toooooo tight. Really hard to get the pen "open".The matte finishing is nice, but too nice, the section and the barrel metal are too smooth that making it slippery, and the rings on the section can't help neither. I can't control the pen well, it even "escape" from my hand when I'm in thinking during a writing pause.I need to push the cap a bit hard to get it posted, feeling quite guilty to do so actually... Too light for me if un-posted. Line variation is limited, yet there will have some when pushing the nib hard. Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-ro ConclusionFor this price range, really difficult to find another to beat Loom.Light, classy, reliable, smooth and affordable: Loom satisfies all for sure.I can't hold the pen well, so it seems not the pen for me, just personal.

I just got my gunmetal Loom in a matte finish today. I was really impressed with the finish but noticed the section fits very poorly to the body of the pen. The run out of the body is so far out theres a big step on one side to the section. Do any of you guys with a Loom have this problem? This is the only pen in my 70+ Pen collection like this and I really didnt expect it from Faber Castell. Hopefully the pics will describe what Im talking about. I ordered the pen direct from Faber Castell. Should I exchange it? This cant be normal for them! Please see the pic of the worst case fitment along with fitment on the opposite side of the pen.

I currently own a pilot metropolitan with a fine nib and find it a little too thin and scratchy at times (I have checked if the tines are misaligned). I am planning on purchasing a faber-castell loom as a second pen, but I'm not sure if I should get the fine or extra fine nib. The fine nib seems too broad on the goulet nib nook, and I'm leaning toward the extra fine loom since I am currently a student and do not always have access to good paper. Does anyone know if the smoothness of the extra fine is comparable to the fine on the loom and how the extra fine loom compares to the fine metropolitan? All suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

I just bought a Faber-Castell Loom and inside was a full cartridge and an empty cartridge. The empty cartridge doesn't have a closed bottom. Whats the purpose of that empty cartridge? Is it to just prevent the full cartridge from slipping down? Or is the empty cartridge suppose to have a closed bottom and I just got a defective one?

Hi everyone! I'm new to Fountain Pen Network, and I have some question regarding Faber-Castell Loom. And piston converter. I just brought Loom, and when I put in the converter in and turn it a little to ensure it is in place, the nib/feed started turning too. Sort of like unscrewing from the body. Might be a stupid question but why does it do that? Is it because it is for changing the nib? Another burning question I have is whenever I ink up my pens using a piston converter, there is this air that goes up first before the ink starts to fill the converter. I have fully submerged the nib into the ink, so I am wondering why is it like that? Any suggestions for me to get rid of the air when I ink up my pens next time?

I have only one Faber-Castell fountain pen: the Loom. The nib is quite good, so I'm thinking about possibly buying more F-C pens down the road. Which brings me to my question: does F-C use the same kind of nib for all of its fountain pens, or does it use something different on its more expensive models (such as the Ambition or Ondoro)? And if it does use different nibs for different pens, have you noticed any differences in nib performance worth mentioning?

I received a beautiful Faber Castell Loom for Christmas and I was just wondering why the nib doesn't have a breather hole? It's a beautiful and unique looking nib, but I just thought the lack of a hole was interesting. Anyone know?? I have noticed that when I remove the cap (to write), that there's little to no nib creep from the air pressure change--which I LOVE! My Safaris and Metropolitans have pretty substantial leakage whenever I remove the caps. Thanks! Sorry for the poor quality pic.

Hi all, I was going to order a Faber-Castell Loom and I was wondering if anyone knew if a standard international cartridge would work with it? One review mentioned that they couldn't fit one in there but everything I can find says the it takes international cartridge. Is there some other reason that an international cc wouldn't fit in this pen? If so, are there any other options? I know I could refill cartridges but I would really prefer to use some sort of filling mechanism. Thanks!

I bought a Faber-Castell Loom today because I like FC`s pens for their excellent steel nibs from Bock in Heidelberg. The Loom is very nice for a cheap pen, just the weight is something I don`t like for I`m used to writing with mainly lightweight pens. So what to do? Find a lighter barrel for the pen. So I rummaged in my box of cheapo fountain pens and found an older Schneider ink spiller with a plastic barrel that not only fit to the Loom`s section but also matched colourwise. The Faberschneider Frankenloom was born: http://i39.tinypic.com/2i8gio7.jpg The barrel`s threadings fit 100 percent to the threadings of the section, and the outer diameter is the same, as you can see here: http://i41.tinypic.com/aadv1v.jpg Here`s a pic of the really excellent Bock nib the Loom has: http://i39.tinypic.com/rkzts6.jpg The result of this Doctor Frankenstein operation with pen body parts is a finally light-weight fountain pen with that you can write countless hours without getting tired by a heavy barrel that`s constantly pulling your hand down. I got the Schneider pen from Aldi. It came in a set of two pens and a pack of cartridges and was sold for 1,99 there.They sell these there twice a year so good luck in finding some. Greetings, Moxoftritonytes