I've had this pen for a couple weeks now, and done a good amount of writing with it. Some journal entries, a letter, general fast notes. Been writing with it using Iroshizuku Syo-ro.
Comes in a really nice storage box with a short standard cartridge and a converter. Good solid feel and weight to it in the hand when closed. The cap is a screw cap, but only takes one full rotation to cap/uncap, so you don't feel like it's taking forever to get the pen open. The bulk of the weight is in the cap, on the end where the metal is for the clip. As such, it doesn't really post very well. It can be posted, but it's a bit long, and very top/back heavy when posted, so likely most would write with it not posted. The clip is a hair tight, so while it will hold onto your pocket or a pen loop nice and securely, if the material it's being clipped to is thicker, it may need some manipulation in order to get the clip to open and slide over the material.
I picked up the Purple Nights model, so the cap is solid black instead of continuing the same pattern as the barrel onto it. The metal accents are well done, and balance the pen's looks out really well. Very classic fountain pen looks with pretty clean straight lines and just the slightest curves for the grip. The grip is a tiny bit short for the thickness of my fingers, so I do have some feel of the threads and such when writing, but that is minimal, and they aren't large/obtrusive or sharp and annoying feeling.
Very good ink flow, I'd call it write in between writing wet and dry. Solid lines, but dry pretty fast. They use a Bock #6 nib and feed, so you can buy any standard #6 nib to swap out for different styles easily as desired. The nib does have a bit more wiggle room to it than I would have expected. It wasn't lined up perfectly on the feed out of the box, but just a little shift of the nib to line it up by hand worked easily. The nib has just a touch of tooth/feedback when writing with it, which I am ok with, since it is just the slightest amount. It is not like a wet ice on ice smooth writing feel.
A note on the Omniflex nibs: pretty much all reviews I have seen and read regarding the Omniflex nibs say the same thing, proceed with caution. They are often not up the task of having enough ink flow for general writing with that nib, and really force you to write slow in order to not get skips and railroading. They also are reported to be hard starting often times. I skipped the Omniflex nib for those reasons, and only include that info in case anyone is looking into the Durograph as a flex nib option and checking out this review.
Pros: Solid pen with great looks and a nice weight and feel for the price point. Easily
swappable nibs with standard #6's to change up the size/style being used, and spare nibs are fairly inexpensive. Very nice consistant writing experience, even for longer writing sessions.
Cons: Doesn't post very solidly, and when posted the pen feels long, and very top heavy, not well balanced at all for writing. The nib may need a tiny bit of adjustment one in a while to put it in line with the feed, although that is easily done.
Overall: The only deal breaker I could see with this pen is it being really not postable while writing. For some, that just doesn't work for them, and can get a bit annoying if just jotting a fast note. For a sit down writing session like letters or journal entries, I find that less of an issue.
Stock image, since my photo taking is currently extremely sub-par:
Comes in a really nice storage box with a short standard cartridge and a converter. Good solid feel and weight to it in the hand when closed. The cap is a screw cap, but only takes one full rotation to cap/uncap, so you don't feel like it's taking forever to get the pen open. The bulk of the weight is in the cap, on the end where the metal is for the clip. As such, it doesn't really post very well. It can be posted, but it's a bit long, and very top/back heavy when posted, so likely most would write with it not posted. The clip is a hair tight, so while it will hold onto your pocket or a pen loop nice and securely, if the material it's being clipped to is thicker, it may need some manipulation in order to get the clip to open and slide over the material.
I picked up the Purple Nights model, so the cap is solid black instead of continuing the same pattern as the barrel onto it. The metal accents are well done, and balance the pen's looks out really well. Very classic fountain pen looks with pretty clean straight lines and just the slightest curves for the grip. The grip is a tiny bit short for the thickness of my fingers, so I do have some feel of the threads and such when writing, but that is minimal, and they aren't large/obtrusive or sharp and annoying feeling.
Very good ink flow, I'd call it write in between writing wet and dry. Solid lines, but dry pretty fast. They use a Bock #6 nib and feed, so you can buy any standard #6 nib to swap out for different styles easily as desired. The nib does have a bit more wiggle room to it than I would have expected. It wasn't lined up perfectly on the feed out of the box, but just a little shift of the nib to line it up by hand worked easily. The nib has just a touch of tooth/feedback when writing with it, which I am ok with, since it is just the slightest amount. It is not like a wet ice on ice smooth writing feel.
A note on the Omniflex nibs: pretty much all reviews I have seen and read regarding the Omniflex nibs say the same thing, proceed with caution. They are often not up the task of having enough ink flow for general writing with that nib, and really force you to write slow in order to not get skips and railroading. They also are reported to be hard starting often times. I skipped the Omniflex nib for those reasons, and only include that info in case anyone is looking into the Durograph as a flex nib option and checking out this review.
Pros: Solid pen with great looks and a nice weight and feel for the price point. Easily
swappable nibs with standard #6's to change up the size/style being used, and spare nibs are fairly inexpensive. Very nice consistant writing experience, even for longer writing sessions.
Cons: Doesn't post very solidly, and when posted the pen feels long, and very top heavy, not well balanced at all for writing. The nib may need a tiny bit of adjustment one in a while to put it in line with the feed, although that is easily done.
Overall: The only deal breaker I could see with this pen is it being really not postable while writing. For some, that just doesn't work for them, and can get a bit annoying if just jotting a fast note. For a sit down writing session like letters or journal entries, I find that less of an issue.
Stock image, since my photo taking is currently extremely sub-par:
