Ruthless Review! Fosfor Pens Sandalwood Handmade Pen

June 29, 2015

Hi All! Here comes a new "ruthless review". My ruthless reviews have a few peculiar features:

Concise;
Very strict. If a pen costs hundred of euros, no faults are allowed.
- A good pen gets a 60/100,
- A great pen an 80/100,
- An almost perfect one a 90/100.
- Only a divine pen can have above 90.
Don't care about the box,
Add a few peculiar criteria:
- Nib appearance;
- Usability in shirt pockets;
- Out-of-the-boxness, meaning to what extent a nib was perfect right after leaving the seller.

Fosfor Sandalwood pen (Custom made)

I don't have own pictures, but you can see an example here. Mine is the same, just with a red ebonite section. It's my first Indian pen and I'm really happy!

1. Appearance and design: 8/10
If you like a perfect, timeless minimalist design, this is great. No complaints here, just that the inner of the cap scratches a bit the section, which is not nice.

2. Construction: 10/10
Really sturdy, perfectly hand-crafted. Couldn't find a single contruction fault so far!

3. Quality of materials: 9/10
Genuine sandalwood, with a lovely scent to it. What else do you want? I remove one point because it's prone to staining, but that's the price to pay.

4. Weight and dimensions: 7/10
A bit too large for many hands, I'm afraid, but has the right length. Super-lightweight, also, which may be an issue for some.

5. Nib performance: 7/10

Nice standard JoWo steel nib: stiff, but reliable; a bit soulles, though. It can be a hard-starter on very dry inks, but it's not a major issue.

6. Nib appearance: 5/10
Meh.. Not exactly the most beautiful nib out there. It looks like this. JoWo could do a far better job, but it's not Fosfor Pens' fault.

7. "Out-of-the-boxness": 8/10

The nib needed a bit of tweaking to get the ink flow right, but it was easy. Good job here!

8. Filling system and maintenance: 6/10

Standard C/C system, nothing special. The converter looks well-built enough.

9. Clip and usability with shirts: N/A

This is a desk pen, so this field doesn't apply.

10. Cost and value: 10/10

USD 100 + 12 for shipping. Considering it's hand-made, and Manoj of Fosfor Pens is a great seller to deal with, this is an excellent price.

Final mark: 70/90, or 77.8/100

This is a very good pen indeed. If only it had a nicer nib, it would be a great pen. To give you an idea, at the moment it's at the same level as a Platinum 3776 with music nib, and very close to my Omas Arte Italiana. Enough said

To conclude: go on Manoj's Fosfor Pens' website and get one now. No affiliation, etc. etc.: the guy is great and knows how to make really unique stuff.

Edited June 29, 2015 by TassoBarbasso