Zebra V-301

[Zookie]

They have a very long felt feed that takes forever to fill with ink.

Mine had all the usual problems that folks complain about until I "primed" the feed with a syringe. Now I've had at least 6 months of problem free writing.

I've also refilled the cartridge a couple of times. It's a good pen for little money if you know how to fix the quirks.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Zookie

[Capuchinoman1]

I am new here, but have been perplexed by Zebra's problems with this Z-301. I mean the first pen to write in outer space, come on guys, you can make better pens than this.

 

I bought my fist one at a Walgreens last fall/winter & got so angry with it, after trying all of the things you have all mentioned, that I really thought badly of Zebra corp. I decided to give Zebra another chance and bought another one in a different part of the country. Same inept problem.

 

In looking at the design of the cartridge, I decided, like "mhguda" to try the Parker converter, and it fit beautifully. Then, others said that this pen will not allow flow of ink into the converter through the nib. Oh, contraire! It took a couple of time and was very bubbly, but it worked. I did have to bore out the end cap on the barrel to screw it back on. That was two weeks ago, using waterproof ink & it works wonderfully. I don't know if it was soaking of the internal felt or not, but it hasn't been any problem since.

[Honeybadgers]

I found a bunch of Monteverde Poquito's at my local Fry's Electronics for $6 each with a cartridge (they take the monteverde/kaweco/templar mini converters) and have been very happy with them.

 

I think the biggest problem I have with most of these cheap "disposable" fountain pens is the wick feed. They are so prone to drying out and clogging it's insane. They're the reason I can't stand the pilot Varsity, petit1, etc. What's so hard about using a simple plastic wick like the platinum preppy?

 

Also, I don't get why so many makers fill their converters with such awful ink. I guarantee that the $0.00001 of ink inside that little plastic tube is the make-or-break of almost every cheap fountain pen ever made, even if they "upgraded" their cartridges to an ink they buy from a reputable maker to the tune of $0.15 each (which would be absurdly more expensive than it would actually be at a mass production cost) they'd still have a healthy profit margin, and might actually convert someone to buying their product again. I remember several fountain pens I had as a teenager in high school that I got frustrated with, and thinking back, I am 99% certain it was due to the garbage cartridges.

When I used to make fountain pens, I sent them to people with the included ink cartridge, which I'm sure now was trash. If I ever start making them again for people, I'm going to include a vial of real ink for use with the converter, as well as a couple of proper J. Herbin or Monteverde ink cartridges.

 

As it stands, Jinhao could put the 992 on a store shelf in proper packaging for $5 and include a few good cartridges and absolutely kill the stationary store impulse buy market. Same goes for the Wing sung 6359 (if it wasn't such a huge trademark violator) or the hero 9026 for $2 and make a KILLING (that pen writes so well it it's insane)

 

The American stationary aisles of modernity are really, really sad. My local community college is kind of a pioneer because they sell the varsity as a "wow" fountain pen. The only places in Seattle that genuinely sell actual fountain pens and paper are a stationary store in a japanese grocery, and the university bookstore has taken a liking to selling some medium-end pens and an impressive array of inks.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[jekostas]

I am new here, but have been perplexed by Zebra's problems with this Z-301. I mean the first pen to write in outer space, come on guys, you can make better pens than this.

 

 

Uh, this was Fisher, not Zebra

[bluebellrose]

@fpdougm: my experience mirrors yours exactly. When I replaced the cartridge with the supplied ink by a converter with my own ink, all my problems went away. To the extent that now, two years on, I don't even have to think when I want to use that pen. It can be lying in a drawer, unused, for months; I fish it out, put nib to paper, and it goes. Every time.

I have a feeling when you are using a converter, you are pulling up ink though the wick into the converter, therefore saturating the feed until the ink from the converter starts working and by the time that happens, the wick is already saturated.

[mhguda]

Possible. But explain this: It has been at least a year since I used that pen, maybe two. I have certainly not refilled it, in even longer than that. I just pulled it out (it's sitting in a drawer with my other currently not-in-use pens), uncapped it and put the nib to paper. Bang! it wrote. If that's ink from when I first filled it, and there I do think you're right, that is still an impressive feat: it's still liquid and at virtually the same concentration that it was when last I used the pen.

Thanks for reminding me of it!

[danielfalgerho]

I can't believe this V301! It took a little work but it's incredibly smooth for a F nib, feeds nicely, perhaps a bit on the dry side but good ink should take care of this. A lot of bang for the buck.

[mhguda]

Just pulled this pen out of its resting place again, and I can repeat my post of slightly over 2 years ago, almost word for word.

 

Had not used the pen for all that time, but now, put nib to paper, got the same excellent line as the last time. The ink in the converter is at about the level I left it at all that time ago. So this is ink that has been in the pen for six years, used intermittently, and still no skips, no nothing. Just writes.

This time I'm taking it for a longer spin. Thanks for reminding me of it, danielfalgerho

[Cordovian]

I bought a Zebra V-301 about 6 or 7 months ago. I inked it up and my immediate impression was "Oh, that's absolutely terrible". I put it back in it's package and tossed it in a desk drawer at work.

 

Flash forward to today, I came across the pen and thought I'd give it another try before tossing it. Much to my amazement, the thing writes excellent now! On close inspection there appears to be some type of fiber material between the nib and feed. Not sure if it supposed to be there or not but I can only guess that it took time for enough ink to saturate the fibers before it would actually write. Turned out to be a keeper.

 

If you bought one and stashed it away like I did, you might want to dig it out and give it another try.

[amberleadavis]

I bought these when they were on closeout. Great little pens.

[Misfit]

I’ve bought a few of these. The first had a normal (to me) nib. I lost it, and got another one. Shock! A hooded nib. Not a fan. However, it writes every time even if it’s weeks later. I keep it in my purse.