Crocodile Ncr64 Green Marble Celluloid (Lots Of Pictures)

[KreepyKen]

So I've been using fountain pens for about six months. I started with a Sheaffer Viewpoint 1.1mm that I found at Staples. Since then, I've picked up a couple Metropolitans, a couple Ahabs, a Monteverde Invincia, and a Plumix (love that nib!). Recently, I went a little berzerk with eBay and picked up a (bleep)-load of Chinese pens. As they come rolling in, I'd like to share my thoughts with everyone on their performance.

 

My first contribution in the Pen Reviews section is for the...

 

CROCODILE NCR64 Green Marble Celluloid Fountain Pen

Price: $18.50

Nib: Medium, Steel, 22KGP/two-tone

Country of Origin: China

Filling System: Piston / Cartridge (International Standard, I believe)

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_01.jpg

 

Appearance: 10 / 10

Immediately upon seeing this pen on eBay, I fell in love with it's looks. The Green Marble looked beautiful, and although somewhat tacky, I thought the crocodile styling of the clip and finial looked cool. When the pen arrived, it didn't disappoint...at least not in that regard (more on that later). The green marble of the cap and barrel is, in my opinion, stunning. It has a shimmery/iridescent quality to it that glows and sparkles in the right light. The finial, section, and end cap all have a similar marble pattern, but they're all black. It's a subtle detail, but one I really appreciate. The crocodile clip is pretty tacky in person, too, but I love it, rhinestone eyes and all. There is also a gold crocodile emblem on the top of the finial. Not as tacky as the clip, but fits the motif of the pen to a tee. I absolutely love the way this pen looks.

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_02.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_02b.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_02c.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_04.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_05.jpg

 

Build Quality: 4 / 10

The NCR64 seems fairly weighty at first, but all the weight is in the cap, which must be made of some sort of metal. The rest of the pen is mostly plastic. The threads inside the cap are metal, but the coupler on the barrel is plastic, so it feels cheap to screw the cap on and off.

 

When the pen arrived, there were some tiny black plastic pieces in the converter. I fished them out, but wasn't sure where they came from until I washed the pen. The little black pieces were from the post inside the section that the converter installs on. Only a small portion of the post remained, so the converter would attach to the section, but not tightly. I had to fill the converter with a syringe, insert it, and tape it to the section to keep it in place. It's a kludge, but it's working.

 

After I got the converter in place, I did some writing, and when I went to screw the cap back on, it didn't stop turning. The threaded coupler came unglued from the barrel, so I had to glue it back in place and let it dry overnight.

 

For a pen that cost $18.50, I find these defects absolutely unacceptable.

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_09.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_07.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_08.jpg

 

Nib: 4 / 10

I wasn't sure what to expect from the medium nib. I know some Chinese companies fall in line with Japanese companies and their medium nibs are ground finer and compare to western fine nibs. I hoped that was the case with Crocodile. It's not. The nib is pretty fat, even for a medium. I have small handwriting, so I prefer a fine or extra fine nib. Writing with this pen is like writing with a crayon. If I force myself to write larger letters, it looks decent. There are random hard starts, but they're few and far between. The only other complaint I have is that the line is not consistent. The nib seems a little mooshy and will "mash" the line every once in a while. For example, in my writing sample below, look at the "o" in Algernon and the "ac" in Blackwood. I don't like that. I like a nice, consistent line.

 

I will say, though, that the nib is super smooth. There is practically no feedback at all. The nib just glides along the paper. If it wasn't for the fat, inconsistent line it puts down, I'd love this nib.

 

I always like to check out the imprints on these nibs. This one has another crocodile on it, but I'm not sure about the words engraved. Either I'm going blind, or they botched the letters. To me, it looks like it says this:

 

22K GP

CR0Co

ROMEDILE

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_03.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_03b.jpg

 

http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_10.jpg

 

Comfort: 10 / 10

I've done quite a bit of writing with this pen, and it's very comfortable. My hand didn't cramp up once. The pen is easy to hold despite the smooth, plastic section. The pen posts securely, and it's comfortable to write with it both posted and unposted, although I have small hands, so I prefer to write with it unposted.

 

Overall Score: 28 / 40

I think this is a really beautiful pen, but for $18.50, I expect better build quality. If I can ever find another one on eBay for cheap, I may buy it for parts (to replace my section). And once the current ink runs out, I may try to find an EF nib for it. I could probably turn this into a pretty nice writing instrument.

[richardandtracy]

Thanks for this review.

 

It's a pen I have had my eye on for a while (well, the blue variant) and have always held off a little because I've not been sure as to the company's quality. By Chinese pen standards, it's quite pricy & doesn't seem to live up to its price tag compared to others.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[KreepyKen]

Something I noticed after I wrote this is that the design is identical to the Kaigelu 316 (with a different clip and finial decoration). If you can find a similar blue style in the 316, it might scratch your itch (unless you fell in love with the silly crocodile decorations, like I did).

[richardandtracy]

I must admit I have a thing for Duofold lookalikes, and have the three colours of K316. However there is no blue, which is why I was interested in the crocodile. I have a Jinhao 1200 with a very similar dragon clip, though it's now one eyed, so while I don't much like the clip, it won't put me off.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[mongrelnomad]

Save some money long-term and buy yourself a decent Japanese or European pen, or even a TWSBI. Those mainland-Chinese pens are not worth the (bleep) materials they're made of.

 

The only time I ever felt ripped off was with a free hero. I'd paid a dollar for shipping, and it was pure theft.

Edited September 24, 2014 by mongrelnomad

[richardandtracy]

An interesting viewpoint, however it is useful for people to review the pens so that others can make an informed decision as to whether to purchase or not.

There was a time when all items from ROC/Taiwan were also considered to be of low quality. That has changed since, and now people are happy to buy from there.

 

To make a blanket statement that because a 'Hero' pen you received was poor quality, a 'Crocodile' will be too, is as sensible as saying all German cars are awful (eg Mercedes or BMW) because you had experience of an East German Trabant (and they really were awful). Different manufacturers have different quality levels, and the purpose of these reviews is to disseminate information pertinent to the particular model being considered.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[KreepyKen]

I'm actually looking at this exercise as cheap fun. This Crocodile and another I have on the way were more on the pricey side, but everything else has been under $10, with most of the pens in the $1 to $5 range (including shipping). I expect some duds, but I'm having fun checking them out and sharing what I find. Some of these pens are gorgeous. If they fall apart, I'll fix them up as best as I can. If they have lousy nibs, I may get better ones to replace them. I have no expectations of greatness from any of these pens. I'm just enjoying them for what they are, and sharing my experience with everyone.

 

That said, I have four more that came in over the last few days: Jinhao x450, Yiren 823, Baoer 100, and Baoer 508. I'm even having fun trying to decide which to test & review next.

[a_m]

Is this real celluloud ?

[vig2432]

Is this real celluloud ?

I dont think it is real celluloid atleast for this price range. Real celluloid is generally difficult to manufacture and work with. I do not know any way to distinguish between celluloid and acrylic(which the pen seems to be made of) other than celluloid has a camphor smell

Edited April 25, 2015 by vig2432

[a_m]

I dont think it is real celluloid atleast for this price range. Real celluloid is generally difficult to manufacture and work with. I do not know any way to distinguish between celluloid and acrylic(which the pen seems to be made of) other than celluloid has a camphor smell

 

 

Yes. its really difficult to say what is celluloid and what is acrylic, unless some user confirms it - but then even users are not really sure.

 

I have a Guider celluloid - but that seems as if some some form of perfume put into it !!!

Edited April 26, 2015 by anup