Graf Von Faber Castell Guilloche Pens

[Radius Solis]

Hello there,

 

   Actually ( like most of you ) I have more than enough pens and "worse" almost all of them are either Faber Castell or Graf Von Faber Castell. ( 5 FC Ambition and 1 Guilloche to be precise ) And while I didn't have such intention I noticed that a local seller has rather enticing sale for Guilloche pens, most notably for Guilloche Olive Green or Cisele Anthracite. ( I'm not happy that they are only available in M nib though but I'd appreciate a smooth transition from lower level Faber Castell to upper level Graf Von Faber Castell pens when such deals are present )

 

  What I wonder is I have a feeling that only me likes and invests in GvFC pens and they're largely ignored here , just curious if they are not that good pens. ( Tbh I didn't use any other pens beside Preppies , so not in position to judge )  I have Black Edition EF and it's rather cool pen but common theme for me at all Faber Castell pens is ink vaporizes in days, that's why I can't happily use all pens in different colurs and doubt it's a smart idea to add another pen if it should be deal breaker ( aka is it common at other brands as well ? )

 

Thanks in advance

[A Smug Dill]

16 minutes ago, Radius Solis said:

I have Black Edition EF and it's rather cool pen but common theme for me at all Faber Castell pens is ink vaporizes in days,

 

Poor cap seal effectiveness was what a friend warned me about, when I saw a good deal on GvFC Guilloche pens and was on the verge of jumping in. I'm grateful for her sobering advice.

 

To be fair, while my Faber-Castell Ambition pens here seal ineffectively, the cheaper F-C Essentio, Loom, and Grip fountain pens I have here seal better when capped, even though they're no match for (the most common models of) gold-nibbed Pilot, Platinum, and Sailor pens in that regard. I also find F-C's steel EF nibs (a little) too broad and too smooth for my liking.                                           

[Radius Solis]

I fail to understand how come FC designs that great pens in such sorry state when it comes to being airtight.

 

I began to think of 3d printing / moulding of a more effective cap mimicking Preppy to some extent and even designing a pen case with controlled temperature ( as read that primary reason is breathing due to temperature change ) but most logical move is staying away I guess.

 

Still to be seen

 

Thanks for prompt response.

[dms525]

I have several models of Graf von Faber-Castell pens. I think they are great writers. The broad nibs are terrific when ground to cursive italic. 

 

In my experience, the screw-on caps on the "Classic" model are very good. The Intuition, which seems largely discontinued, has a good snap cap seal. The Guilloché pens have the poorest seal, although I have not had big problems with ink drying out. But they are my newest GvF-C pens, and I may see this down the road.

 

David

[InesF]

I own only one F.-C. Ambition (with steel nib) that seals well with no visible drying within a week of not use.

I understand the concern about nib drying, hating it by myself. I got rid of (almost) all my former fountain pens that tend to dry out and never even thought about buying another pen of such a brand.

[Radius Solis]

7 hours ago, InesF said:

I own only one F.-C. Ambition (with steel nib) that seals well with no visible drying within a week of not use.

I understand the concern about nib drying, hating it by myself. I got rid of (almost) all my former fountain pens that tend to dry out and never even thought about buying another pen of such a brand.

 

Then I must either be quite unlucky or incapable of using cap   ( Actually didn't try classic Ambition ones yet, all 3 Ambition OpArt are same and imo Guilloche as well. )

 

And for Guilloches I asked, I decided that M nib is too broad for my taste so skipped, even EF isn't thin enough for my taste. Guess I'll try to get rid of some Ambitions and hopefully find a new brand I can tolerate in sea of manufacturers with ugliest pens ever collections.

 

Thanks for response.

[Radius Solis]

19 hours ago, dms525 said:

I have several models of Graf von Faber-Castell pens. I think they are great writers. The broad nibs are terrific when ground to cursive italic. 

 

In my experience, the screw-on caps on the "Classic" model are very good. The Intuition, which seems largely discontinued, has a good snap cap seal. The Guilloché pens have the poorest seal, although I have not had big problems with ink drying out. But they are my newest GvF-C pens, and I may see this down the road.

 

David

 

Maybe that's why I get good deals for these pens They are essentially defective by design? But I'm still annoyed by the fact that "best" pen in my collection is plastic Preppy 0.2 😕 

 

[PAKMAN]

Never intended to collect these pens. I ended up buying one while on vacation in Germany and have purchased two more since.  I quite love the way they write.

[Tashi_Tsering]

I like GvFC pens, and I have 4 in my collection. I've never had any problems with these pens.

[Azulado]

I have two Preppys, 05 and 03. Although they are good pens, they cannot compare to an FC Ambition, the best pen among those I have tried. There are others that are very close, but that FC has a very good nib (M). The sealing is acceptable, the ink never dried up, but it appears somewhat darker. For me it is not a problem. 
On the EF question, I have a 0.30 mm Safari F which was excellent. I also have a 0.30 Kaweco Sport that writes very well. My Hörner Terra F must be around 0.35 and is similar to the Faber-Castell (both have Jowo). 
I don't know what you expect from an EF, but if those sizes feel wide to you, you may only find what you're looking for in the Japanese brands, which I haven't had the good fortune to try.
By the way, Hongdian also have 0.30mm EFs which are very good and quite wet. The consistency of these nibs is very good, I have tried 5 and they were all excellent. Bravo for your quality control. 
About the sealing of the Preppy, the one is perfect, the other one is only good. Even in Platinum there is some not serious variation. 

[Radius Solis]

You all make me doubt if I managed to get bad lemons consecutively or simply I don't know how to seal a cap

 

That's literally what happened in 3 days, maybe I'd care less if it was different ink but Diamine Desert Burst has some shading even in EF nib (unlike many ink I have) and it simply turns into a dull dark brown when vaporized so refilling almost every time I write is pure annoyance. 😕

 

1 hour ago, PAKMAN said:

Never intended to collect these pens. I ended up buying one while on vacation in Germany and have purchased two more since.  I quite love the way they write.

 

 

Faber Castell is my gateway drug into fountain pens, otherwise I was pretty immune to grandfather pens. I also enjoy how they write when they did

 

1 hour ago, Tashi_Tsering said:

I like GvFC pens, and I have 4 in my collection. I've never had any problems with these pens.

 

Seems they just hate me only

 

1 hour ago, Azulado said:

I have two Preppys, 05 and 03. Although they are good pens, they cannot compare to an FC Ambition, the best pen among those I have tried. There are others that are very close, but that FC has a very good nib (M). The sealing is acceptable, the ink never dried up, but it appears somewhat darker. For me it is not a problem. 
On the EF question, I have a 0.30 mm Safari F which was excellent. I also have a 0.30 Kaweco Sport that writes very well. My Hörner Terra F must be around 0.35 and is similar to the Faber-Castell (both have Jowo). 
I don't know what you expect from an EF, but if those sizes feel wide to you, you may only find what you're looking for in the Japanese brands, which I haven't had the good fortune to try.
By the way, Hongdian also have 0.30mm EFs which are very good and quite wet. The consistency of these nibs is very good, I have tried 5 and they were all excellent. Bravo for your quality control. 
About the sealing of the Preppy, the one is perfect, the other one is only good. Even in Platinum there is some not serious variation. 

 

Actually recently tried 0.5 Preppy and hated serious skipping at it ( therefore cancelled an order 50 pieces as price was enticing ) but I love 0.2 one. They are ofc nowhere near FC Ambition when it comes to build quality or appeal but practically never drying up is huge plus. I have two EF nibs that are great, three M nibs I didn't actually try. But ink eventually dries up and that annoys me 😕

 

Even got silicon grease but as I know that I'm exempt of any talent in such stuff , I couldn't try to see if more sealant helps.

 

And for EF nib, I'm all way into thinnest consistent nib, I'd love to try Platinum 3776 EEF nib if they weren't making ugliest pens on the planet and probably known universe as well. I'd try Otto Hutt but EF wasn't available in retail so skipped.

I had noticed some Hongdians at Amazon, if you say they're great, maybe I should get some to check.

 

Thanks for detailed response.

 

 

 

 

[Azulado]

35 minutes ago, Radius Solis said:

Actually recently tried 0.5 Preppy and hated serious skipping at it

The same thing happened to my Preppy 05 and 03. It improved with a few passes of low abrasive sandpaper, something very soft, the amount of material I was able to remove is tiny. But it started to write well. I say this because the "baby botton" always comes up as a possible cause. But I did not flatten the contact surface. In fact this has happened to me with other nibs of various brands, most recently a Kaweco 1.1 which now writes beautifully. For me it is a mystery. The 8's technique may work, but I prefer to use Richard Binder's technique.
The 03 was even worse. From reponde wrote beautifully, as it began to fail. After several tests, I have come to the conclusion that the Preppy is tremendously ink sensitive. The behavior changes radically from one to the other. It has worked well with Pilot blue and very well with Parker Quink blue (05). But the Pelikan 4001 royal, very reliable, was horrible, very dry. 

 

49 minutes ago, Radius Solis said:

And for EF nib, I'm all way into thinnest consistent nib, I'd love to try Platinum 3776 EEF nib if they weren't making ugliest pens on the planet and probably known universe as well. I'd try Otto Hutt but EF wasn't available in retail so skipped.

You have the option of ordering an FP Nibs Nibs. He has EEF in option of various brands. In addition, he also works with Jowo, Bock and Schmidt. You decide which fountain pen you put the nib on. I have a friend who bought a Jowo with an ebonite feed and I can't wait to try it.
About the Hongdian, the polish is very good, but they have some feedback, very nice for me, but that's a matter of taste. What caught my attention is that they have a rich flow, uncommon in an EF. 

[Radius Solis]

22 hours ago, Azulado said:

The same thing happened to my Preppy 05 and 03. It improved with a few passes of low abrasive sandpaper, something very soft, the amount of material I was able to remove is tiny. But it started to write well. I say this because the "baby botton" always comes up as a possible cause. But I did not flatten the contact surface. In fact this has happened to me with other nibs of various brands, most recently a Kaweco 1.1 which now writes beautifully. For me it is a mystery. The 8's technique may work, but I prefer to use Richard Binder's technique.
The 03 was even worse. From reponde wrote beautifully, as it began to fail. After several tests, I have come to the conclusion that the Preppy is tremendously ink sensitive. The behavior changes radically from one to the other. It has worked well with Pilot blue and very well with Parker Quink blue (05). But the Pelikan 4001 royal, very reliable, was horrible, very dry. 

 

You have the option of ordering an FP Nibs Nibs. He has EEF in option of various brands. In addition, he also works with Jowo, Bock and Schmidt. You decide which fountain pen you put the nib on. I have a friend who bought a Jowo with an ebonite feed and I can't wait to try it.
About the Hongdian, the polish is very good, but they have some feedback, very nice for me, but that's a matter of taste. What caught my attention is that they have a rich flow, uncommon in an EF. 

 

Actually never tried Preppy with different ink than provided cartridge yet but sorry to hear that Pelikan 4001 didn't work well. Have 2 bottles of Purple and a bottle of Waterman Purple for cheap pens , to be seen

 

I'm not into investing money in fountain pens nowadays except when a deal too good to pass on shows up.

 

And just ordered cheapest Hongdians Amazon offered ( an F Black Forest and an EF Warrior after told that nibs are interchangeable ) , thanks for the tip.