Any Experiences With Serwex Pens?

[wikionion]

I have some FP experience and am considering getting some Serwex pens (http://goo.gl/Qfp9rY). I'm rather attracted by the decent reviews, nice nibs, and cheap shipping, as well as the price.

 

Currently I have an Ahab and a Preppy. My Preppy's nib is rather stubborn (perhaps randomly so), so I'm looking for a Preppy replacement. My ink is Noodler's Polar Blue, which tends to bleed, so I'd like a really fine nib (student = cheap paper).

 

I'm considering a Serwex 77B or 962. I'm also slowly getting better at my italic hand, so I really want a stub as well. Do any of you have experience with these pens? Do you have any advice or recommendations?

[pokermind]

I once purchased a new Serwex Executive. I don't know if they still make that model, but I had to expend a fair amount of effort just to get it to write (the ink just did not want to flow), and the nib needed some serious smoothing. After I got it working, I still didn't like it, but I found a fellow FPNer to give it to who really liked this pen.

 

There are enough good reviews of Serwex that maybe I just got a lemon (or maybe it just wasn't the pen for me). And maybe these other models are way better than the modeI had bought. But if you're looking for a cheap pen, I would recommend either a Pilot Metropolitan or a Nemosine Singularity.

[Sasha Royale]

What I have learned, about the fountain pen industry of India, has been fascinating.

The fountain pens, used by shopkeepers and students, are excellent value. You might have to tolerate a "noisy"

nib.

 

Enjoy the discovery.

[Randal6393]

Have a few Serwex pens in my box. Not bad at all, especially for the low prices. The nibs are workmen's nibs, nothing spectacular. And the Italic nib is much too fine for my taste. But certainly worth investing in. (Especially since many times extra pens seem to hitch a ride and take up space in my pen box.)

 

Enjoy,

[rwilsonedn]

The few Serwex pens I have are all low-end eyedropper-fillers, but all seem to write quite well.

ron

[Tas]

I have two grey Serwex pens. I say have, I should say had.
Whilst the nibs are lovely to sketch with (one flex, one fine), I found that no matter what ink I used, both pens would dry up completely after being left alone for about a week.

 

The nibs are now in Frankenpens and are much happier in their new bodies.

[I like mango cheesecake]

yeah, don't get the cheapest ones. I got the 962 and I got a really cheaply made one. Fit and finish was extremely poor and the piston seal was marginal at best. I eventually chucked the pen in the garbage after about a week or so.

[mhguda]

I was going to offer to send you one of mine, since it's been a while since I last used it. But, the piston seems stuck! I can't make it move. If I manage to get it working again, I will post here and you can PM me your address; that way you can try it out without risk and if you like it, you keep it.

The one Serwex I find myself returning to time and again is the MB model. A really nice writer and it has a nice weight to it, too.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Something I find with MANY Indian pens, including my lone Serwex eyedropper, is a strange placement of a vent-hole in the cap so that it looks directly onto the point and feed; I'm not very surprised when they dry out.

[mhguda]

I got the pen sort of working again, in that the piston moves about half of the total intended range - enough to get a decent fill of ink. The nib is an original serwex nib I imagine, the gold-colored triangular one. I ground it to a decent stub and it's actually a pretty nice writer. If you want it, wikionion, PM me with your address and I will send it to you and you can figure out if you like it. If you don't, you can always send it back, send it on, or give it to someone else. The main reason it got put away was that I got so interested in other pens it just got snowed under...

[Abner C. Kemp]

I purchased one and received it the other day. I can't remember what model it is for the life of me. I will say this.. for the price the pen is perfectly decent. That being said, the fit is finish is nothing to write home about. The rings on my pen are not flush and they are slightly crooked, the clip is very cheap and could easily be bent or broken, and the pen has a plastic odor. I must say that the piston functions pretty smoothly on my pen but it is rather difficult to get a full fill. The nib is a tad toothy but not horrific either.

 

So while I'm not kicking myself for purchasing it (being that it was ~$4), I certainly don't see myself using the pen much. I have a Chinese pen made by Hero that cost even less with much better fit and finish and a smoother nib. Serwex pens do have some pros though as there is a wide variety of nib options for next to nothing so if you wanted to try out some different nibs it might be worth purchasing. The fact that they offer eye dropper pens is also nice if your looking for a quick jotter pen that you won't need to refill very often.

[cedargirl]

I have a number -

 

101 special (eyedropper) Fine steel nib - holds a whole heap of ink - works well.

MB cartridge filler with silver coloured "iridium Point Germany Nib" - It was a terrible nib and I reground it to a sharp italic.

162 piston filler with gold coloured "iridium point" nib - works well. I reserve this for bright red inks, as it has a bright red barrel and cap.

 

They are made of low grade plastic, but they have ebonite feeds, so they flow better than many plastic feed pens.

 

I also have a Camlin 22R eyedropper with steel Ambitious nib - works well; and one of the new Dilli piston filler pens with a fine RH oblique stub nib. This is the finest oblique stub nib I have and it gives a certain flare to the writing because of the reverse oblique, despite being a fine nib - it is fun. The only problem with this pen is that the piston twist cap has cracked - and it was the dearest of the lot at $18.

 

They are very low cost pens; I bought all of mine from Fountain Pen Revolution (in fact two of them were freebies with other purchases); FPR customer service is hard to beat; Kevin offers a choice of nib selection and supplies one of the two modern flex nibs that are available today (I swapped mine out - I can't flex!); many of the nibs on these pens are no.5 press fit nibs that can be replaced by other brand nibs (be careful, though, some can't).

[Scribble Monboddo]

Yes, I have an eyedropper 101 and the new Guru, which looks like a Serwex to me. Handwritten reviews here http://scribbledemonboddo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/serwex-101-eyedropper-flex-2013.html and here http://scribbledemonboddo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/fpr-guru-flex-nib-2014.html _ and briefly ,my advice is to give them a try if you want something 'cheap and cheerful'. I would avoid the MB as the oneI had fell apart before I could review it, and the cap isn't big enough to accommodate a flex nib safely, but don't let that put you off trying one or two of the others. Also, as many above have noted, you can buy the flex nibs on their own from FPR ($15 for three), and it's amazing how many pen bodies they fit if you fancy a spot of creative tinkering.

 

For a cheap fine stub, you may be better off trying a Pilot 78G sold as a B, which is actually a roughly 0.9mm italic - see http://scribbledemonboddo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/pilot-78g-b-italic-nib-2012.html

[Aramchek]

They're pretty good for the price. While they do look and feel very cheap, and the piston is anything but smooth, they do typically write quite well. One of them did leak, but some silicon gel sorted that out. The MB is infamous for ruining nibs when you put the cap on - happened to me as well.

[mhguda]

I got one with a regular (not flex, not stub) nib from FPR, and found that the problem with capping was much less. Maybe the FPR nibs are slightly too big for the pen...

[Tas]

  On 2/26/2014 at 10:13 PM, Ernst Bitterman said:

Something I find with MANY Indian pens, including my lone Serwex eyedropper, is a strange placement of a vent-hole in the cap so that it looks directly onto the point and feed; I'm not very surprised when they dry out.

 

So true - I taped over my hole.

Made NO difference

[wikionion]

  On 2/27/2014 at 3:13 AM, mhguda said:

I got the pen sort of working again, in that the piston moves about half of the total intended range - enough to get a decent fill of ink. The nib is an original serwex nib I imagine, the gold-colored triangular one. I ground it to a decent stub and it's actually a pretty nice writer. If you want it, wikionion, PM me with your address and I will send it to you and you can figure out if you like it. If you don't, you can always send it back, send it on, or give it to someone else. The main reason it got put away was that I got so interested in other pens it just got snowed under...

 

Thanks for the offer! It seems that the pen is in less than perfect condition: I am a rather functional guy, so does it _work_? (I'm a nerdy demonstrator user anyway.)

 

Also, can you check the stubbiness of the nib? (thin/thick measurements)

[mhguda]

Hi wikionion, the pen works, in that it does take up ink, and it writes. But yes, it is in less than perfect condition, so I won't feel bad if you want to bow out. But, you might want to tinker. In fact I am now doing that myself and may hold on to it until I am satisfied that it works well.

My estimate of the stub - actually more of an italic, since I don't think there is any tipping left, but hey, these pens are not meant to last forever and it is smooth enough - would be about 1mm, maybe a little more. I don't have a good way to measure it.

[maus930]

I have several Sewex pensand find them to good writers and reliable -- most are eyedroppers

[ceac]

I have a Serwex MB from FPR with the better medium IPG nib ... it's a great writer.