Bexley 58 Fire Engine Red, Medium Stainless Two-Tone Nib

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This is my Bexley 58 in Fire Engine Red. This pen was purchased on eBay as an NOS Bexley from a discontinued line. This is the second pen that I purchased after my Edison, and my second "Made in the USA" pen. The pen arrived well packaged with a larger sized box in a sleeve. Good thing that the box was larger than the Edison...because this is a big pen! 15.25cm / 6 inches when closed/capped. The box was very nice, again in contrast to the box that Conklin uses. Generally speaking, I take a pen out of it's box and keep it in a cigar box with pen trays, then put the box in storage. I know that some people store their pens in boxes, so I try and leave a review of the box as well.

 

This pen is a pretty red acrylic, described as Fire Engine Red. It came with a cartridge converter, and also an o-ring so it could be used as an eyedropper. Originally I had planned on doing the review using the converter, but due to circumstances beyond my control, you get the eyedropper review (with a different ink than intended, also!). The cap fits well, and the overall look is nice. For some reason, the gold band looks a little "meh". Not sure why, or what it is about the band, but, to me, it just looks a little chintzy (hard to explain, and probably a personal preference). Maybe it's too wide for my tastes. The clip is nice, and holds the pen in the pocket. It's a tight clip, so it is usable with a thinner dress shirt...with one caveat. There is about 1.75cm / .67 inches of pen cap that stick up above the pocket line. It's a little more than I like peaking up out of the pocket. If your pockets have flaps, then it's an awkward pen to to carry, as it props the pocket flap open. For as big as this pen is, it's not a heavyweight. It's fairly light, and if you write unposted it's nimble, as well. Posting the pen while writing makes it a little unbalanced (in my hand). The nib is nice, and lays down a wet line. This is noticeably wetter as an eyedropper with the Diamine ink than with the converter and Noodler's Purple. With the Noodler's ink, I had some dry starts and a little skipping until it settled down. Not the case with the Diamine ink. I let the pen sit capped for 5 days, and it started without even hesitating.

 

The medium is smooth and writes well for me. I would put it on par with my Edison nib but a bit wetter. It fits well in my hand unposted and you definitely notice the pen's girth. It's not uncomfortable to write with, and it mimics the old Waterman pens of yore, according to the Bexley website. I don't have an old Waterman pen, so I cannot speak to that. The writing sample in the photo was done in a hurry, due to the dreaded disease called "lack of time".

 

In summary:

Appearance: 8/10 - The gold band isn't quite right for my tastes. Not sure why. Clip is nice, but there is a fair amount of cap above the clip.

Wetness: 9/10 - It writes wet. Noticeably wetter with the Diamine ink as an eyedropper than the Noodler's with a cartridge converter.

Smothness of nib: 9/10 - It's a JoWo nib, I think, like the Edison nibs. I'm guessing that it gets tuned before it leaves the Bexley factory, though. Very nice.

Ergonomics: 9/10 unposted, 8/10 posted: Posted this pen is too long. Unposted, it's about right and fits my hand without any issues.

Sealing: 10/10 as an eyedropper. Cap keeps the pen sealed against drying, no issues.

Weight: 10/10 - For it's size, it's not a heavy pen. My Conklin Duragraph is a heavier pen.

 

Overall: 8.75/10 - Because I wear casual clothing to the office, many of them have pocket flaps, and the cap is just too long for those. It's a nice, big pen and would probably be better in a desk drawer, or on a desk display than in the pocket. The red color is nice, and the gold clip goes good with the two-toned nib. It's in my regular pen rotation, that's for sure.