Romus Demonstrator Pen

[trdsf]

I got a couple of the Romus demonstrators; I was disappointed in them when they were loaded with Pelikan ink, but they perform magnificently with Hero. And I can definitely see myself spending more than just time at that site Disillusion provided...

[nickapos]

 

Thanks for posting this. I am looking for an alternative to Platinum Preppy. While I absolutely LOVE the Preppy nib–has a nice feel that is different from every other pen I own, and a very nice one at that–I cracked the cap within weeks after getting it. I think my non-caffeinated brain tried to screw it on one day rather than just pull it. Would you say that these pens are more durable than the Preppy or pretty much the same? How would you compare the nibs of the two?

 

Hello there,

 

I believe that all plastic pens have the risk of a cracked cap of depending on how you handle them a cracked body. The plastic pens that have one or two metal rings in the edge of the cap are more resistand to cracks. I do not think that even these pens are immune to it but I think it will be difficult to crack a pen with metal rings in its cap by overtightening.

The romus pens if I recall correctly have no metal rings and is not made of very durable plastic. The nibs are quite fine too.

Having said that, I have used daily in the past cheap chinese pens for a few years without them developing any cracks and without me being carefull of how to carry them either.

I have two of these pens, but haven't used them for some time.

[vibhi204]

The pen looks good and looks like writes really smooth so nice pen but are some other colours available in the market??

[LWJ2]

I've used Noodler's inks in mine without a problem.

 

 

I got a couple of the Romus demonstrators; I was disappointed in them when they were loaded with Pelikan ink, but they perform magnificently with Hero. And I can definitely see myself spending more than just time at that site Disillusion provided...

[hani]

there are these 5 trans cols available.

[rockydoggy]

I've purchased several of these and have been using them off and on since last fall. On the positive side, the nibs have been consistently smooth, especially given how fine they write. As a result, they're really good for editing. On the negative side, I've found that the pens dry out much faster than average. In a few cases, I could actually see the ink level drop over the course of several days without use. I suspect that the cause is the part of the cap that screws on to keep the clip in place. I tried putting silicone grease on the threads but the drying out still occurred. I may next try gluing the piece on and also greasing the threads of the cap itself to see if that does the trick. In the meantime, I'm resigned to inking these up only if I know that I'm going to use them consistently. Otherwise, I turn to other pens that have better seals. In terms of comparable inexpensive pens, I've not run into this issue with the Preppy, the Dollar piston-filler, and even the Centropen Pluto--I can let them sit for weeks (and weeks . . .) and they consistently write as soon as I pick them up.

[trdsf]

I had the drying-up trouble with the Pelikan but not the Hero. I can only assume that the Hero is a 'wetter' ink, and that's what the Romus prefers. Haven't tried other inks yet; I swung by the local stationery shop yesterday with the intent of picking up a new ink to try out, but all they had was J. Herbin in colors I wasn't especially interested in (tea, and olive green... might go back and give that olive green a try some time, though)

[hani]

I am using the camlin royal blue ink , I have not had the dry out problem till yet

[Avastgard]

Just so that people know.If you click on the ebay link from rockdoggy.you will see the vendor as Sundaystreets.I bought the clear demonstrator pens from him 2 for $12.free shipping.They are both fine smooth and wet.They write better than my Platinum3776 or namiki falcon or Sailor 1911.He even let me make an offer when I bought 2 more,and yes they are all like silk.Cheap as hell though.

I offered $8 for both pens and the seller accepted minutes later. They even have two tone nibs!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clear-Demonstrator-Fountain-Pen-buy-one-get-one-pen-free-piston-type-/151063931643?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232c1caafb

[GHigley]

Interesting. Mine has a tendency to leak into the cap.

Mine too. I expect these need to be fiddled with (as their Noodler's "Nib Creaper" counterpart likely does) to be made to work better/correctly. I've the Noodler's "Ahab" and "Konrad" and while I find them interesting pens, I have yet to find them useful. The Romus Majestic went to the office with me for one day. With little jostling nib up in my shirt pocket and some desk laying, a surprising amount of ink was in the cap by the end of the day. I was glad for the demonstrator pen making the issue clearly visible.

 

I'm new to the hobby and so far new pens at any price that require more than a cleaning, filling and possibly a bit of nib smoothing strike me as defective. I expect in time I may feel differently, but that's my take on the Romus branded "Nib Creaper" as well. I've many inexpensive pens that were great right out of the gate. Most are. I paid $4.50 each for a pair of these direct from India. I've three dozen Chinese pens that cost about that and I've only a couple that have any issues.

 

At the price (and hype level) of the Noodler's versions of these Indian pens, you can guess what I think of them "un-tuned". I'll stick to buying the wonderful Noodler's Inks for now and leave the pen tinkering for the future.

[trdsf]

I get a little leakage into the cap, but only when the ink level drops to about half. If they weren't demonstrators, I probably wouldn't even notice.

[hani]

This Pen is also listed on the site "www.uniquepen.in" under the name CLICK Majestic Piston F.P

[Seele]

This Pen is also listed on the site "www.uniquepen.in" under the name CLICK Majestic Piston F.P

 

That's how the industry functions there, I believe. A set of relatively simple injection moulding tools would cost about half a million dollars at least, and you also need the injection moulding machine and operator. It would work best if a firm with all these things can offer plastics mouldings to other companies so that they can be assembled into pens, perhaps with individual variations such as nibs fitted, or specific materials. So, you can find pens with twins, triplets, or cousins quite easily, and that has nothing to do with plagiarism at all, just a sensible way to offer a range of different models. In a sense, Noodler's operate pretty much within this Indian system even though as a seller, they are located in the US.

[Avastgard]

 

 

 

It's my understanding that they're both made in India of the same material. More information is here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/189154-noodlers-piston-fillers-secret-identity/

They do seem to be indentical. I have a set of 2 Romus, and I was wondering if it wouldn't be better if I got a flexy nib from Fountain Pen Revolution and put it in one of them instead of getting a noodler's nib creeper.

[lightspirit]

 

Thanks! I've had a fetish for nice pens for a very long time and have over the past few years grown interested in fountain pens. And yes, I despise ball point pens. That is about on the same level as button down collars, pleated pants, and shoes with tassels.

I prefer FP, like you, but sometimes ya gotta use one, like signing a register receipt on that cheap glossy paper. FP won't work. On some other register tapes The water based FP ink feathers like crazy. I have to use BP at work sometimes to write stuff in tiny spaces on coated or printed paper.

I do carry a Parker 45 flighter F nib which works rather well in most of the tiny spaces. But sometimes I ignore the pen in my pocket, as I have a customer sign something. Even though I was able to get it back, one customer walked with a Montblanc Meisterstuck BP I was carrying for a while. At least with the FP I can hold the cap while I let an older customer(who grew up using them) sign with it. A flighter model won't get scratched up in pocket and can even survive being dropped and stepped on.

[lightspirit]

Mine too. I expect these need to be fiddled with (as their Noodler's "Nib Creaper" counterpart likely does) to be made to work better/correctly. I've the Noodler's "Ahab" and "Konrad" and while I find them interesting pens, I have yet to find them useful. The Romus Majestic went to the office with me for one day. With little jostling nib up in my shirt pocket and some desk laying, a surprising amount of ink was in the cap by the end of the day. I was glad for the demonstrator pen making the issue clearly visible.

 

I'm new to the hobby and so far new pens at any price that require more than a cleaning, filling and possibly a bit of nib smoothing strike me as defective. I expect in time I may feel differently, but that's my take on the Romus branded "Nib Creaper" as well. I've many inexpensive pens that were great right out of the gate. Most are. I paid $4.50 each for a pair of these direct from India. I've three dozen Chinese pens that cost about that and I've only a couple that have any issues.

 

At the price (and hype level) of the Noodler's versions of these Indian pens, you can guess what I think of them "un-tuned". I'll stick to buying the wonderful Noodler's Inks for now and leave the pen tinkering for the future.

I recently bought a Pakistani made 717i Dollar piston filler. All of $10.50 USD for pen and airmail from dealer in UK. Writes excellent!! on the second fill now and no leaks. It also comes in a Demonstrator model with colored piston rod to match the section color.

Very happy with this solid burgundy 717i so I plan to also get the 717q (Qalam) with italic nib at the same price...and maybe another 717i (international??). I understand the Q version is made for the writers of Arabic, yet it also lends itself to many other languages with wide/fine script.

Edited October 9, 2014 by lightspirit

[GHigley]

I recently bought a Pakistani made 717i Dollar piston filler. All of $10.50 USD for pen and airmail from dealer in UK. Writes excellent!! on the second fill now and no leaks. It also comes in a Demonstrator model with colored piston rod to match the section color.

Very happy with this solid burgundy 717i so I plan to also get the 717q (Qalam) with italic nib at the same price...and maybe another 717i (international??). I understand the Q version is made for the writers of Arabic, yet it also lends itself to many other languages with wide/fine script.

 

Hey LS,

The "Dollar Pens" with an italic nib sounds very interesting and the price is certainly amazing for a piston filler with such. I gotta try one. What UK dealer did you get them from?

Many thanks,

GH

[mehandiratta]

This is a long overdue review of a pen I received as a gift from a very kind FPN member: the demonstrator named Romus.

 

The pen is light and entirely transparent, only the feed, the nib and the golden rings on it are solid coloured.

 

 

The nib is golden coloured, with the inscription - "Majestic super tipped fine". It is a very fine nib indeed, it writes an even very wet line, it is very smooth and very comfortable.

 

 

The cap screws on, it takes a turn and a bit more to unscrew and open, slightly more then the Pelikan m400 that I own, but slightly less then my Pilot 78G. It is a piston filler, and the piston moves smoothly and it holds quite a bit of ink.

 

 

It writes very wet, but very fine, a beautiful glistening line of ink that does not feather and it is absolute joy to write.

 

When i received it I filled it immediately with ink - Dux blue black (a Hero brand) and started writing - it is light, about as light as a Pilot 78G, but very well balanced.

 

Here is a pic of a page written with it - on a Rhodia paper. The top part is written with my Pelikan m400 with a fine nib, the bottom with the Romus demonstrator.

 

 

I think I was very fortunate with this pen, as Sam - the FPN member who sent me this pen, mentioned that it has been Sam-tuned, resulting in it writing and behaving so well.

I fell in love with it immediately, and it became my daily carry work pen, together with the m400, and the wancher blue morning pen. The latter one unfortunately fell out of grace somewhat, but I still carry it with me ( it's so pretty, this is an excuse enough ) though i end up writing more with the m400 and the demonstrator.

Watching the ink sloshing inside is mesmerizing.

Another bonus point is that it keeps my fingers clean. One reason of carrying the m400 with me every day is that its section flares slightly, resulting in the nib and feed not being flush with it, and creating an edge over them. This design means that I can write and stay clean, I only realized it after writing with my white tortoise for 2-3 days. The section of the Romus pen does not flare up, but it is longer than the pelikan's, long enough that I somehow stay clean-fingered again. This alone immediately awarded it high points for me.

 

I was initially afraid that it would leak, or drip, but it has been a perfectly well behaved pen. Only once, when it fell from the desk - on a carpeted floor, while capped, I found a drop of ink in the cap and immediately rinsed it off; but the rest of the time - two weeks already, daily carried to work in a three pen case, it has been wonderful.

 

Very happy with it.

You have an amazing handwriting..... simply love it

[migla9]

I've purchased several of these and have been using them off and on since last fall. On the positive side, the nibs have been consistently smooth, especially given how fine they write. As a result, they're really good for editing. On the negative side, I've found that the pens dry out much faster than average. In a few cases, I could actually see the ink level drop over the course of several days without use. I suspect that the cause is the part of the cap that screws on to keep the clip in place. I tried putting silicone grease on the threads but the drying out still occurred. I may next try gluing the piece on and also greasing the threads of the cap itself to see if that does the trick. In the meantime, I'm resigned to inking these up only if I know that I'm going to use them consistently. Otherwise, I turn to other pens that have better seals. In terms of comparable inexpensive pens, I've not run into this issue with the Preppy, the Dollar piston-filler, and even the Centropen Pluto--I can let them sit for weeks (and weeks . . .) and they consistently write as soon as I pick them up.

 

I picked up the Romus pens a few weeks ago on ebay - 3 for $12.99 with free shipping! I agree with the other comments here (weird smell, wet/fine line, fairly smooth writing), but the one issue that prompted me to search here on FPN is exactly what rockydoggy describes. I have one filled with Noodler's North African Violet. I can see the ink level dropping day to day when not in use. Not drying out - it always starts up just fine, but evaporating. The cap has no extra openings and the screw threads seem to fit securely. I suspect the vegetal resin used may be somewhat permeable.

 

Otherwise I find it impressive to have a piston demonstrator pen at such a price.

 

SBRE Brown has a video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6i_k6-F_0o&feature=em-subs_digest

[rockydoggy]

A quick update re: my ongoing experience with these pens. In my May 2014 post, I mentioned trying to seal possible air leaks in order to control the drying out that plagued my Romus pens. The silicon grease on the threads didn't help. Then, in frustration, I simply coated the finial of the cap and the area around the base of the clip with several coats of clear nail polish. That seemed to make a some difference. It's still unfortunately not a pen that I can fill and then not use for several days and assume that it'll be ready to roll. It's odd--I can't recall another model with this particular issue. Maybe I've had pens that dried out like this but I didn't notice it because they weren't demonstrators . . . . Bottom-line: If I know I have a lot of grading or editing to do, I might load up one of my Romus pens out of pure stubborness. Most often, I'll simply grab one of the fine-nibbed Pilot Metropolitans or Sheaffer school pens that I keep around and get to work.