My top 5 most disappointing fountain pens

[@Calcprof]

I have many Opus 88s and love them. The "piston rod" is a valve that shuts off the ink supply in the barrel from the section. Great for flying, and in general a good safety feature. A bit of TWSBI silicone grease will control the squeak. The nibs are Bocks or Jowos, and are OK. I really like the brand, but as they say., your results may vary. The one you held up is a Fantasia. The Koloro is transparent colors with ebonite. Anyway we agree on many things (some ink colors, preference for very wet nibs, etc.), and I enjoy your videos and look forward to more. Thanks

[@TymberJ]

I only have one Opus 88 so far (a Koloro) but I do like its performance a great deal. I generally prefer wetter nibs, and while you don't *need* to open the valve when writing a short amount, it's drier than I would like if I don't. Totally makes sense that they can be polarizing, but if they tickle your fancy they are darn near unique for their experience and price.

[@Calcprof]

@@TymberJ I completely agree.

[@cerealnana]

Same. In fact I have that exact Fantasia that was shown and it is one of my favourite pens!

[@JohnBarrow1961]

Yeah, she totally whiffed on Opus 88. No clue.

[@marilyngardner4269]

I also love my Opus 88 pens. They're among my favorites, and I have 7 or 8.

[@barbarajloriordan2697]

I own two Kaweco Calligraphy pens (1.1 mm stub and 1.5 mm stub) and have to say that I am happy with them. It helps to understand that these aren’t stub nibs but proper calligraphy nibs. They are meant not for ordinary writing but for careful lettering. If I write slowly at the prescribed calligraphy pen angle (30 degrees or 45 degrees), focusing on individual line strokes rather than whole letters, I find that the pens work out very well. I would not use them for note taking as I do with with my other Kaweco sports, since they are not really made for that.

[@adamzappia2213]

I only have the 1.1 but I write fast with it with zero issues. I’ve only used Iroshizuku inks in it, so perhaps that helps but it’s my favourite Kaweco nib.

[@munozrick]

Thanks for being so honest about those pens. I know others will love the same pens. Whoyou buy a pen from can make a big difference. Most pen shops do an excellent job of ensuring a good out-of-the-box experience. Still, I have to say there are two places - precisely two persons - from whom I've bought pens that turned out to be the best out-of-the-box writing experiences I've ever had: Emy at Venture Pens and Kirk at Pen Realms. I have no doubt that every pen they send out has tested and tuned themselves. Love buying pens from those two.

[@ichirofakename]

1. I'm looking forward to your PG comparison video. If you could get your hands on a Mini, the comparison would be exhaustive. 2. Whaddya know, an Italian pen with quality control issues... AND ANOTHER! 3. My biggest disappointments were the TWO Faber-Castell Basics I bought and then discovered both had arrived with cracked sections. Though yes, the nibs are the best, and I saved them, but the bodies were unforgiveably shoddy. 4. My most expensive disappointment was a Pilot Elite that I bought to get a Posting Nib (PO). The pen is beautiful and flawless, but the nib is not distinguishable from a plain , really. The line it makes is broader than that of my Franklin-Christoph with a Needlepoint nib. Despite my disappointment, I still use this Pilot cause it is an excellent .

[@WaitingtoHit]

I could watch this intro over and over. Also, I like it when you make a negative video. Since these pens (excepting the Visconti) are disappointing and you are asking us to decide their fate, I suggest that you bind them to some explosives and record the results. 💥💥💥

[@samanthareimerart4627]

My first rule is a pen must write. I am also a fan of Benu pens, so the benchmark is high when it comes to ‘writing experience.’ My biggest disappointment, and the only pen I have ever returned was a Conklin All American in Brownstone. In the rare moments that I could actually get ink to flow through the feed, the 1.1 stub nib screeched like a Sharpie marker. The material looked good online but was very light and slippery to hold. It wasn’t worth it to replace the nib and feed.

[@karidru5272]

I have two conklin duragraphs that are wonderful, which caused me to rec the brand a lot... but I have since learned that I got the best ones. So now I'm on team Benu because as far as I can tell they are all absolute gems. They absolutely WILL write, and it's so frustrating that this isn't something that can be relied upon from every pen company.

[@karidru5272]

I've lucked out pretty hard because I worked at a pen counter back in the day and got to try EVERYTHING which gave me a great idea what I like, and now reviewers take the hit for me. You can tell even when somebody hated something for a reason that you'd like it. "This is such a fire hose..." and I'm over here clicking the "buy" button. The pen that I currently have that has worked out for me the least is not its fault AT ALL. My Pilot Metro is lovely, but I've had some health issues that made my hypermobility worse, so now it's too heavy for me to use comfortably. Which sucks because I really liked it. Now you've got me curious about the Compass and how it would stack up against my Sailor Procolor, which I adore. It's so much better made than the $45 it typically goes for would suggest. As you point out, price isn't always much of an indicator but there's an attention to detail I expect after $100 that I don't expect before it. So it's nice when you get it anyway.

[@basta.dotto_]

Well, wait a minute... If you have 4 pens currently inked up, and 3 of those are for review purposes, according to my math, that leaves only one pen inked up, so you don't have to say nay to the Arizona Sunset! 🧡🧡🧡🌅

[@PensandTea]

Hahahahaha I like your logic 🤣

[@basta.dotto_]

@@PensandTea 👏👏👏

[@Draxl2309]

Every time you post a new video with that basket of books in the background I try to figure out a new one each time. So far I only recognize the harry Dresden books and the Robin Hobb series. On a fountain pen note I picked up an ebonite feed for my new 742 because you liked the one you put in your 912 so much and it is brilliant! Thanks!

[@PensandTea]

I do have another instagram account (the_bookish_canadian) where I posted the whole cart of you want to see the entire thing 👌🏻

[@Draxl2309]

@@PensandTea I'll have to check it out! I can't wait to get my leatherbound copy of Tress of the Emerald Sea 😁

[@JohnBarrow1961]

Wow, talk about completely striking out on what Opus 88 pens are and how they function. Holy smokes.

[@HeidiRaatz]

Biggest disappointment has to be the Conklin Duraflex Sunstone with Omniflex nib. Um... Luckily I was able to re-home it with someone who actually likes it. I also re-homed a TWSBI Vac700R Iris, the one that was a special edition, mostly because I wasn't completely in love with it and therefore it got little use. Also I think I've figured out that I'm really not a fan of fully clear demonstrator pens! It only took collecting about 70 pens to get there. 😀

[@SB-999]

I have only sold off 1 pen, a TWISBI Vac700, and I have thrown away a couple cheap pens that I "tinkered" with a bit too much and broke them. Otherwise, I still have every pen I've ever bought. I like keeping them so I can go back to them and re evaluate. Oftentimes, my opinion has changed over time. Plus, when I got into this hobby, I was buying different pens at a very fast rate, I feel I didn't give every pen a ton of writing time. I've slowed down my purchases and I often revisit my "shelved" pens for fun. It keeps my brain happy. I don't think I'll ever mass sell any of my pens. They really don't take up too much space on a bookshelf, so why bother? I like having a variety.

[@anibal5845]

How did you like the Vac700? Any cracking in the barrel or anything like that?

[@BCSpecht89]

I would question trying to sell off pens that are so disappointing and don't work well. I wouldn't want to buy such a pen even at a really cheap price.

[@geslinam9703]

As long as you are honest about it not writing well, I don’t have an issue with it. Someone who is able to work with the nib and get it to write would be fine with that.

[@Goldilockszone123]

I would buy the Opus 88 in a heartbeat. Usually it’s a problem of expectation not that they don’t write.

[@arlenealennox3136]

I had high expectations for my Lamy 2000, and I was so disappointed in the Extra Fine-which was not at all.

[@josh1216]

Same. I really liked it overall...but the 2000 is just not a good pen for a EF. (The nib is cut far too sharp: the "sweet spot" is real and is magnified with an EF.) If you like the pen otherwise, should look at getting a replacement nib in a bigger size.

[@edgaraquino2324]

Sorry for your pen troubles...I think because you are into pens & inks more than the rest of us, you tend to see the nuances much more clearly...as a consequence, expectations are higher & the guttings more severe...Anyway, although you are describing disappointments, you do it so well they do not appear to be :))...any chance you can save them by having them "tuned up?" Mine is the Parker Sonnet Cicele...I have made some adjustments & it seems to be writing better...Good video & thanks!

[@jacobus57]

I would happily that the Opus 88 off your hands. And for context, Opus pens use the same eye dropper/one way shut off mechanism that the Namibian Emperor uses. It is an excellent system.

[@peerlessautumntree]

Platinum Kanazawa Leaf, I heard so many good things about them, it's a nice pen and I love the design for the Autumn Leaves, just not $300 CAD nice. A bit underwhelming for a while, but at least I learned that I care very little for gold nibs so I can avoid those nibs and their price tags in the future. Oh but what really sucked was a month later I found the Wancher Kuretake Kindai Maki-e (the cherry blossoms and maple leaves design), which was pretty much the same as my Platinum without the gold nib and was nearly $200 CAD cheaper. Oh well.

[@joistevens4454]

I’m new to fountain pens and bought the Compass it writes like an extra fine and scratchy! I have tried different inks! I’m so glad that you did this review because I kept thinking what is wrong with me that I can’t get this pen to work right. I wonder if Goulet pens would do some thing about this. Or is it buyers beware?

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I’ve always chosen well and been lucky and very happy with a mighty majority of my pen purchases over many years so far. The only major disappointments I’ve had so far are with Monteverde and modern Conklin pens. And a few of the Chinese pens I bought and soon tired of. I’ve had recurring, frustrating issues with nibs/feeds of both Conklin and Monteverde pens straight out of the box. There are some quite attractive and affordable pens from both brands. Alas, abysmally hit & miss nibs mean I’ve long sworn off buying anymore Conklin and Monteverde. Among your picks, I’d say that excepting the annoying catching of the cap threads, I really like everything else about my own two Tibaldi Bononia pens, including the same Pearl Mist you have. My pen has the Broad nib. The Sailor Compass is actually a really well made pen and is good value on price. The nib does write rather dryly which isn’t great. But it writes very nicely and consistently. The lack of nib size options is presumably the main reason the pens don’t sell as well as they otherwise would. The Opus 88 is an eye dropper filling pen. And works perfectly well. But I don’t want generic Jowo steel nibs anymore. So, I’ve sold my clear Opus 88 Koloro. Kaweco’s B, BB and calligraphy nibs are my favored ones. Kaweco nibs are definitely inconsistent. I think their M nib is, arguably, their most reliable. A Visconti which disappoints must sting like crazy. Mainly because the pen’s price tag.

[@ironmic9244]

I don't buy generic JoWo nibs either. Even the gold nibs. I feel JoWo writes the same compared to Bock. I think the Sailor Profit Jr., same pen as the Compass, but from Japan, as I am sure you already know, is pretty good, but I can't handle the MF. I wanted it as a knock around pen, but none of these knock arounds I buy, I use for that purpose. I think you might like the Tibaldi Bononia LE. It's fantastic. Smooth, excellent to hold; very comfortable, piston, 18k nib. I have mine in an OB, and it's a right foot OB. I was surprized. The nib though is probably the most beautiful nib I have. It's a two tone nib, engraved into an eagle. So awesome. Here's something i recently found. The most expensive pen ever sold is a Tibaldi for $9 mill.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

@@ironmic9244..Hi, always cool to share pen thoughts and experiences with you. Yes, I actually have a Sailor Compass (U.S.) and a Profit Jr. (same pen -from Japan). I like them. But the M-F nib seems a little too dry and the line-width really just an F. I’d take these Sailor pens over many other comparably priced ‘starter’ pens (Lamy Safari et al) every time. I have looked and lusted after the piston-filling LE Bononia pens w/18c gold nibs. Darn, the prices deterred me. But I haven’t stopped wanting one still. You just reminded me to look and think again, and even buy one sometime. I have yet to act on my desire to get one each of Leonardo, Santini, and Scribo. The Scribo is likely to happen first, I think. I’m looking to get yet another old, celluloid Stipula pen soon. Stipula has always been dear to me. The modern pens are usually rather meh, though. And oh, that’s a fun bit of trivia about a Tibaldi being the most expensive pen ever. I just hope the reborn Tibaldi today continues to improve and give us many fantastic pens going forward. edit: I’ve always preferred Bock to Jowo. I know Bock can be notoriously inconsistent in terms of writing performance. However, the good Bock nibs can really be quite excellent - certainly better than anything Jowo has offered, in my experience, so far.

[@ironmic9244]

@@sajjadhusain4146 I just don't like fine lines, so the MF was no good for me. Mine is not very dry, but is as expected for an MF. I am not a fan of the Safari. Actually, I detest the pen. I am also not much for pens in that sphere. You'll like what Tibaldi has to offer, because they were bought out by the same family that own Montegrappa. It was one reason I made the decision to buy it. I have the Pomegranate. I wanted the Mer du Nord, but couldn't find it in an OB. There are other Tibaldi LEs out there, but not easy to find. I forgot to mention last time that Ranga is also on my list. I'd like to get one in ebonite and with a titanium nib. I just saw a nice Delta this morning. The Delta Alessandra Manzoni. I really like this pen, but Delta is now using JoWo nibs, and as you wrote, Bock writes better. Jowo writes the same across the board. Back when they were using Bock nibs, a Pelikan wrote differently than a Visconti, and a Delta, or OMAS. The good thing about my Leonardo pen was when they were using Bock nibs when they were relatively new. Something happened there around 2018 when some pens that were using Bock started switching to JoWo.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

@@ironmic9244 ..I never bought a Lamy Safari because I just hate everything about the pen. I feel quite similarly about the Pilot Metropolitan and the Diplomat Magnum, to name just two that instantly pop to mind. So, we agree about Bock nibs. Can be quite hit & miss, but are sometimes distinctly excellent. I have commented elsewhere that while I initially welcomed the return of Delta, I’m disheartened by the news that the pens will be fitted with Jowo nibs. That means I won’t be buying any of the new pens however good and pretty they may be. Even Montegrappa has reputedly been using Jowo nibs for long. However, they are also known to be tweaking, tuning and grinding those nibs in their own special ways in-house, which apparently elevates them from being a run-of-the-mill Jowo nib to something that writes uniquely wonderfully. Montegrappa have also used Bock in some of their pens. I’ve always generally preferred pens having their own brand nibs that write distinctly well. So, my collection has invariably been dominated by pens from the Japanese Big Three, and Aurora, particularly. I’ve also had no complaints with my Viscontis. Of course, my vintage Esterbrook, Sheaffer and Waterman pens also all used their own nibs. I love that. Does ‘modern’ OMAS use Bock? I think they do. The only Tibaldi pens I own are two Bononias and an Infrangible. I’ve seen the LE Pomegranate 👌…and a gorgeous green one (don’t recall the name). Isn’t there also a limited edition model called the ‘Vintage’? Those apparently come with C/C filling system. Anyway, getting an old vintage Tibaldi pen would be another worthy purchase. I used to have four Ranga pens. Now, I have just two. My favorite being a very oversized Model 5, in a gorgeous all-dark, true red ebonite. I bought a #8 size 18k Bock gold nib to fit the pen with. A sublime writing experience, to say the least.

[@SundayMorningStorm]

I got an Platinum Century #3776 that had a VERY scratchy medium nib, but returning it to Japan would cost me almost as much as the pen itself... A few years later (2 weeks ago, lol) I was finally brave enough to work on that nib, after having worked on quite a few steel nibs. Now I love it! But it shouldn't have passed QC!

[@andream3568]

Carrie, that was me with the blue lagoon homosapien.. my colors turquoise and aqua!! Yes plz! But when I got it, it appeared mint green and dark teal! I couldn't keep it. No clue how it wrote bc i wasnt going to ink it, since i was so disappointed with the color! If I had seen it in person, I wouldn't have splurged. Sailors disappointed me.. I don't get the hype. The Lamy 2000 was a hit after I got the right nib.

[@johntaylor2054]

Hi. With the Opus88s, you need to grease the rod and threads with the Twsbi lubricant. This stops the Squeaking and I use mine with the Pilot Parallel blade units(for size 6 nibs only).🤗 Cheers from Australia.

[@MummyBrown]

I switched out the ‘meh’ stub nib on my Fantasia for a medium Franklin Christoph SIG nib and now I love it.

[@LoneEagle270]

For me, my biggest disappointment was the Diplomat Aero. I can't describe exactly why, but the section does not agree with my hand. On paper, I like everything about the pen. I just don't like using it. The section feels too thin, but I've used pens with similar thicknesses and they're fine. My biggest annoyance is there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not for me

[@hmadrone]

Thinking back, I often have an initial burst of enthusiasm about each new pen. After that fades, there's at least a ripple of disappointment as I discover what it is about each pen that falls short of my perfect writing/drawing experience. I'm a left-handed under-writer, and so pens that don't work on the push stroke don't work for me for everyday writing (I'm looking at you, LAMY everything; you are not a good lefty under-writer experience). I had high hopes for the tortoiseshell Bluedew Flex when I first bought it. It always wrote inconsistently, sometimes flexing beautifully and other times going into long periods of ink starvation. I had the first nib replaced because it was misaligned (it's always worth contacting the seller if you think you got a lemon). The second one worked better, but it would still write for about half a page and then refuse to write. After a few hours of rest, it would write another half page. I worked gently with the nib to make sure it was in contact with the feed and learned how to use flex pens generally (i.e. to slowly write one beautifully lettered haiku or to slowly ink one drawing rather than to use them as daily writers. Also, use only wet inks.), but my initial disappointment was massive. Many people probably have a similar experience of flex nib pens; they're finicky special purpose pens that you need to learn how to use instead of being magical tools that turn everyday handwriting into copperplate. The other big disappointment I had was the Monterverde Invincia abalone, which is a stunningly beautiful pen. I had a lot of problems initially with skipping and hard starts, but, after the experience with the Bluedew, I decided to work with the pen for a while and a few different inks to see if the experience improved. I gave it thorough flushes between inking, and noticed that the tines were ever-so-slightly misaligned. I contacted the seller and they sent me a new nib. That helped, but it still tended to skip in ordinary writing. It's also a very heavy pen, and not a crisp writer, so I tucked it away in its box for use when I want the experience of its heavy beauty and have the patience to deal with the finicky writing experience. I paid a lot for that pen, and am still disappointed that its writing experience is worse than anything else I own except possibly the Bluedew and my two LAMYs.

[@ironmic9244]

Ahhh the honeymoon period, where the pen can do no wrong, except for not write. Look at those ripples as learning experiences of what you want to look for in the next pen. Once I finally figured out what exactly created the best writing experience for me, my pens brought me bliss. Seriously, I became addicted to writing. Last year I bought only 7 pens, and none were a disappointment. Have you tried a right foot oblique nib? It might work better for your writing style, because more of the nib will come in contact with the paper.

[@cathiescott7382]

Also the pen I have the most trouble with are ironically Kaweco sports. I can tune a nib but two I have not been able to get to write at all. I do have a double broad nib that writes beautifully. I do like broader nibs with a juicy flow

[@josh1216]

I actually quite liked my Sailor Compass. Found it much better than the comparable Lamy Safari. Though I hadn't tried any gold nibs at that point. I think, more than any other brand, Sailor has a massive difference between their gold and steel nibs. Going from their gold to steel would be jarring in a way other brands, Lamy for instance, aren't. (Don't use it anymore, but still have a soft spot for it.)

[@ibpopp]

That's why I prefer vintage--fewer problems, and much better priced. Going on your colour preferences, might I think you would love mookaite (pronounced 'mook-ite'), a vividly coloured Australian chert. Thanks for a good show.

[@deniseplasse5126]

I have had a couple of those moments when I bought some of my higher end pens. Custom 823 (dry writer after half a page! 😢) along with the Flex custom 743. I upgraded the feeds to ebonite and now they are both FANTASTIC!!!!

[@MohamedMElbadwihi]

Weird that your 823 was an issue with the feed. What ink are you using?

[@kanck7909]

My top 3 disappointing fountain pens. (in no particular order) 1. Opus 88 Jazz - the inside of the barrel was stained. Even though it's an eye-dropper. Sold it at quite a loss. 2. Lamy dialog3 - Just too heavy. The twisting motion doesn't feel as smooth as I thought. I got it used luckily so the price is ok. 3. Max model from Divinepensplus - the section sucks. It's wider close to the nib so it forces you to choke back or it hurts your fingers

[@cathiescott7382]

Actually the piston rod on the Opus closes off the ink flow so the pen won’t leak. All your other points are completely valid though I do love my Opus pens. They are a good fit for me

[@jacobus57]

It's not a piston rod. But you are correct that the rod controls the one way shut off valve

[@cathiescott7382]

@@jacobus57 true but she referred to it as a piston rod in the video. Perhaps she also realized it shut of the ink because she knows way more than me. It is interesting how much personal tastes vary with pens just like they do in food preferences.

[@donhall-aquitania1025]

I’ve learned that many nibs need fine-tuning even on expensive pens. Why didn’t you just get your money back for the Tibaldi?

[@Innieminnie]

Agreed. I have LAMY steel nibs, LAMY 2k, two kawecos, pilot e95s, pilot prera, faber castell loom, and two twsbis. All of them needed tuning excluding my 1.1 mm twsbi vac700.

[@dennisclason3376]

Actually, the "piston rod" on the Opus serves an important purpose: it seals the section off from the reservoir. The pen can't leak when the reservoir is sealed. Go on a plane ride, or drive through the Eisenhower tunnel, and no leaks. I'm not sure what you meant by having to convert the Opus to an eyedropper. My Opus Demonstrator came equipped with an O-ring to seal the barrel threads. I should probably put some silicone grease on the threads the next time I ink it up, but I haven't had any leak problems. Most disappointing pen: Monteverde Super Mega CF with an Omninail nib. I knew going in that the Omniflex didn't flex much, but this one doesn't flex at all. The nib aside, I like the pen. I have big hands (XL gloves or even XXL) and it feels great. The nib is an okay (not great, okay) fine-ish point nib, and that's how I use it. One of these days, I'm going to be pissed off sufficiently at the nib to replace it with a Jowo broad or stub. (If I could find a 0.8mm Italic or so, I'd do it right now.)

[@PensandTea]

Oh yeah the omninib was definitely a disappointment for me too! I forgot about that one

[@paradockz]

love the mic clipped to the pen lmao

[@r0b0tcat]

I don't have a Compass, but I think it's called Profit Jr. In Japan? The Lecoule has the same nib. I'm not in love with either my Lecoule or Profit Jr, but I'm not that disappointed because together they cost me less than the sale price of the Compass. The Compass price point is way too high. But I think Sailor's equivalent of the Platinum Preppy is the High Ace Neo. I have a couple of the Calligraphy pens and they surprised me with how good they are.

[@Fish-nt5wb]

I had an Opus, too. I forget exactly, but I think there was an O-ring wrapped around the plunger that rolled itself off into the barrel, and I didn't notice. Couldn't get the end-cap screwed back down. Put some pressure on it. Plunger pushed against the dislodged O-ring, plastic plunger shaft bent, and that was the end of it. It's made in such a way that, even if you noticed the O-ring, you couldn't have taken the pen apart to fish it out and replace it.

[@wittwittwer1043]

I can't hear Parker, but I wish I could; I like cats. My biggest let-down was a Pelikan M700 M nibbed Toledo. When I got it home from Fahrney's Pens in D.C. I quickly inked it up, and it barely left a mark on the paper. I sent it to Pelikan in Germany, noting that the pen wrote "like a dry stick." When I got it back, it wrote as it should have written after un-boxing. I had a similar with my Visconti Medici, but I sent it to a nib smith instead of Visconti. It writes satisfactorily now. I got both a Bronze Age and the Medici too early; both have palladium nibs. I wish they both had gold ones. My feeling is that ALL fountain pens should write correctly out of the box, but particularly in the case of expensive pens.

[@ChrisGVE]

I think I can relate to the Tibaldi, I found one discounted at CultPens and I figured why not, I got it and I’m lucky it does not exhibit the same flaws as yours, though looking at it I can totally see that the quality is not there, it does not compare to Leonardo which goes for about the same price and is also Italian. I got lucky, I won’t do it again. Other than that I hadn’t much disappointment with my pens, but maybe I am easy to please, or that over time I learned to tune my nibs so that I am more likely to be able to “help myself” when a nib is unsatisfactory, and if it is really bad I try to re-grind to reset the score :) But I recall one disappointment early on with The Good Blue pens for calligraphy, I expected this thing to be great but meh, looking back I expected it to write like a vintage but back then I did not know the difference. Learning: don’t expect much from “modern” flex if they are not Falcon nibs (real Falcon pen or FA nib). Once that limitation is understood, then I can even appreciate the “elastic” nib from Leonardo.

[@SaraHagen-oz4lv]

Up to now my greatest disappointment was with the Pilot 823 (brown one with a fine nib). Everyone is so excited over this pen, so I bought it as my first expensive pen for almost 300 Euros. It arrived, I inked it up with Diamine Ancient Copper, but it was scratchy (on Tomoe River paper!), the ink flow was not really good and the tines were not aligned. I was heavily disappointed. And I have no nib meister at hand to fix this problems. Won't buy a Pilot again.

[@jacobus57]

That's a warranty issue. Why didn't you return it to the vendor?

[@adamzappia2213]

That’s unlucky! I’ve owned more Pilots than any other brand - Prera M... 743 EF & SF... 823 M... 845 F... Custom Urushi M and I’ve also tried others from a guy I know with way more Pilots than I own and every one has been fantastic. I have heard the off story of some of the 823 F nibs being a bit scratchy online. I wouldn’t let it discouraging you from buying another Pilot. The Custom Urushi is by far the nicest nib I’ve ever used.

[@SaraHagen-oz4lv]

@@jacobus57 Well, at first the little ring got lost in the sink when I flushed the barrel to ink the pen up with a Pilot ink. Then I lost my temper a little bit when the nib was skipping again while writing. I´d say Pilot and I had a really bad start with one another. 🙂

[@newjezreel]

Thank you for your review. I love your channel for a while now. I wanted to point out The Opus 88 Fantasia pen, one of my favorites. I have a couple of those. The piston is a tap off for the ink flow for burping prevention or to stop the flow all together. Its my pocket pen for everyday use. 😊

[@dacksonflux]

My biggest disappointment was the Conklin All American. I bought the black+rose gold special edition. First, it has an enormous step that is very uncomfortable to hold. Second, I got it with the most frustrating nib complete with uneven tines, baby's bottom, and feed issues. I bought a replacement nib that also needed work but writes much better. All together terrible experience for such a beautiful pen.

[@annoxelia5440]

I have a Sailor Compass and it writes beautifully. And I don't see any QA issues on mine. Maybe I got lucky... I suspect they haven't sold well because they are a fairly small and there are no nib options.

[@ichirofakename]

My Compass is also perfectly fine, and pretty in yellow. Besides the lack of nib options, the price is also unattractive.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

The Compass is just fine. I have the limited edition ‘Kurogane’ black pen. I prefer the similarly priced Lecoule. Though both share the same M-F nib. The Lecoule somehow seems to write nicer. And I like its solid color models and the flat top design. A much cheaper, steel nib alternative to the Pro Gear Slim.

[@annoxelia5440]

@@ichirofakename I paid $30 for mine which seems reasonable. $25-30 appears to be the standard street price these days.

[@ichirofakename]

@@annoxelia5440 So did I, a while back. Doesn't it cost like double the price of comparable offerings from Pilot and/or Platinum? Anyways I am not unsatisfied with mine, esp. it's nice yellow color.

[@Izanuela22]

I would love to have a decent pen shop where I could try out pens. Because so far, I only can do research online and watch reviews, buy, wait, ink it up and THEN realize that it is not for me. So far I could send nearly everything back, but I really wish I could finally find a pen that I actually love… Germany makes so many great fountain pens, yet we don’t really have stores where they sell them… 😢

[@itscassburton]

Okay wait a second...I was already a fan of your videos and have watched so many at this point. But I spy Robin Hobb behind you, and now that means we have to be best friends.

[@jaygoodwin8833]

I love the feedback sailor compass/junior and lecoule

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I like the Lecoule better than the Compass. But both are very good.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

Seconded! I do, too.

[@RameshIndhewat]

I wish I'd watched this this video before buying the Kaweco Calligraphy set. You're absolutely right. Hard starts, skipping and unless you hold it just right, it's not going to write. The same about the Opus 88. I bought the Mini Year of the Rabbit with a B nib, and the filling system is just weird plus the nib is verry fussy about which inks it wants to work with. Thank you!

[@NCcrumpet]

For me it was the Pilot Vanishing point. My expectations were SO high and it was the most I'd spent on a pen. The tines were super tight and I hated how it wrote for a long time. I did tune to write better, but I still feel a little resentment every time I write with it. All my Kakunos have been much better writers so I feel like a dummy for falling for the hype. It was a good lesson for me to temper my expectations with any pen purchase. P.S. I'm also a Benu superfan after being resistant to them at first. I was surprised by Benu in the best way, Maybe they make up for the disappointments?

[@shazzagirl9803]

When I decided to move to a medium price range pen I feel like all I got was super disappointment unfortunately. I thought the Visconti Van Gogh was so beautiful and perhaps this is what I would collect. That was my very first experiences with Skipping and hard starting. The Pollard Willows was sent back 3 times with 2 nibs and I gave up. I purchased the starry night and lollies that did actually write but the nib was awful and noisy. This was about 4 years ago and I'm pretty sure they changed the nibs. What will shock you is that I have only had 1 Kaweco out of 5 that writes and that is the student and I love it.

[@edisontrent5244]

I have a tibaldi n60 in bora bora. 100% agree with everything, plus had to prime it or leave it tip down in order to get writing constantly.

[@pen_journal]

Same bro, can see my comments above

[@norm5785]

Very cool video. Thank you for sharing. Everyone stay safe, warm, happy and healthy. From Henrico County Virginia

[@edwardstaats4935]

My most disappointing pen is the Pilot Metropolitan. It is a wonderful pen in so many ways, but hard to write with

[@gloriavillanueva2913]

I see Jim Butcher's name in the background. He's from my hometown! I even named one of my pens after one of his characters since I purchased it while in Chicago, and I am currently reading his son's book, James J Butcher. ❤

[@andreapalma7570]

I also didn’t like my Opus 88 because it’s a giant baseball bat (though very comfortable to hold unposted). I also don’t care for how long it takes for ink to come through and flow well. I played around with the piston plunger valve thing and that can help force ink through. It’s an “ok” pen, but mainly the size and huge cap, just put me off. I wish I had gotten an Opus Mini instead. Huge disappointment with Pilot Vanishing point. Mine skips and only works well if I rotate it and hold it by the clip, which is not comfortable at all. I was given 2 Sailor Compasses. They would be ok if priced at under $20, including converter. But they both had to be tuned as they were super dry. One of them, ended up being scratchy after tuning. The other one I used for several months and it got moldy. I’ve cleaned it several times and can’t get rid of the smell.

[@user-gl5ld9vm7i]

What do you think of the new steel nibs on the Visconti mirage mythos?

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I think they are quite useless. For the price of the pen, that is pretty inexcusable.

[@cynthiarichter792]

I agree with you on the Sailor Compass; I was very disappointed. I do have two others that are ok, but just barely. I kept thinking everyone likes them so much, they must be pretty good. Not from my standpoint. I recently bought a Magna Carter and found it was cheaply made; writes ok but it just doesn't have the quality as others. Why is it that pens from the same brand are not always the same in quality? I also don't like the Monteverdi brand.

[@Sonicman415]

Nib tuners and grinders make my life SO much better! My Aurora Optima in Lilac M nib, wrote fine but was stiffffffff.. I recently had Mike Masayamo grind it into a cursive italic and it’s so much more fun now! I think there might be a weirdness w the filling system though :( At least it writes like a dream now.

[@trlan55]

My disappointment would be the Sailor Compass. It's scratchy and dry. What is the best way to make it wetter - any suggestions?

[@rudolphaswad8723]

Lamy 2000 was probably my first true disappointment in a pen when i first got it, it would dig into the paper like trench then i got it fixed it writes better but still not the most enjoyable which is a shame since it's my first "expensive" pen above 200CAD

[@BHernandez64]

But where did you get that shirt please? I love it!!!

[@PensandTea]

It’s from Philip DeFrancos Merch line (he’s a big KZbinr)

[@peggylove1]

I have that Tibaldi in blue and it is one of my best writing pens. I love mine. You just got a dud. I would notify the distributor that your pen is not as advertised. I have none of the construction issues you’ve had.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I bought my second Tibaldi Bononia in the irresistibly pretty red Seashell finish. With a double broad nib. Totally worth it.

[@SimplyAubs]

Thanks for the video! I know it's HARD to talk about Pens we had such high hopes for...but thank you for putting this out and letting us know!!! Cheers!

[@deprecor1]

Regarding the Visconti/Emmy's discussion at 18:40. I think Emmy from pen venture fine tunes every single nib that comes out of his store. Isn't that the reason what that Visconti was so good? It was not the Visconti pen, but Emmy's job! (and then Emmy fine tuned Kerry's Visconti)

[@ciannacoleman5125]

I just bought my first expensive pen (Leonardo MZG) and it was a major unplanned splurge lol. I wont get it for a few weeks but hoping it will be one of my favorites (right now love my TWSBIs). I have one Kaweco Sport (B) and honestly I am not a fan of the pen. I know they are one of your favorites but it just doesn't like to write for me with the couple of inks I've tried. I will try it with some more inks before giving up but that is my biggest disappointment pen (only been collecting a few years and have tried like 6 total lol). Actually, my _biggest_ disappointment was my very first attempt at FPs when I bought a Manuscript Calligraphy pen set from Hobby Lobby and the thing just refused to write well: constant hard starts and drying out as I wrote. I have since realized there are a ton of good pens in the same (or cheaper) price point, but that almost scared me off FPs lol.

[@LauraRPh]

Unfortunately, the Sailor Pro Gear was my first disappointing pen. It didn’t seem worth the $. And the Extra Fine nib was very scratchy, even though tuned ok. I was so sad. But I did return it and got a much cheaper pen that I love. Lol.

[@houghwhite411]

Sailor Lecoule Sailor is just not my cup of tea Twsbi Eco Piston filling is cool but everything else is meh, I even got an airleak in which I don't know how to fix until a month later Kaweco sport Not my cup of tea, writes too dry and too feedbacky I'm a pilot type of guy, not just because of the glide but also for it's tiny amount of give on the nib In the end decided to get gold nib from Pilot (vp gunmetal is best VP out there)

[@marilyngardner4269]

Believe it or not, my most disappointing pen is a Scribo FEEL that I still have. It is also the pen I paid the most for, although I have a few collectible pens that are now worth more. The pen did not write well when I received it and I ended up sending it back to Italy, where the CEO of Scribo worked on it himself (or he at least tested it; he sent me a video). It's better now, but still too far from my best writing pen to be worth the expense. It is a hard starting pen and tends to dry up unless you use it daily And while the pen is beautiful, it has no ink window so I never know whether it's hard starting or just empty. It's an acceptable pen but certainly not worth the premium price. I may have been better off with a Scribo flex nib rather than a regular gold nib, but I hesitate to spend $700 or more to test that theory out.

[@nataliagawior3910]

As for Sailor, that's not their first trip-up. I had the Sailor Young Profit in EF and it was my introduction to Sailor pens (bought it via JetPens). Absolutely abysmal writing experience. Back then I had no experience with Sailor so I thougt it was normal for a pen to be this scratchy, for the converter to fall apart during cleaning - I could never put it back the way it was out of the box. Made me hate Sailor pens pretty much until a few months ago (through your videos, btw). I now have a 1911S demonstrator w/ B nib and I'm quite happy with it. That stiff nib is still not my favourite, but the overall experience is much more rewarding than with the cheapo line.

[@jillmiller9268]

My biggest disappointment was my Visconti Medici dynasty in Rosewood. $700 pen that writes like crap. I get to spend more money getting it tuned. Grrr. Hey Carrie if you are looking for another warm colored ink give Robert Oster’s Antelope Canyon at Pen Chalet a try. I really like it. lots of shading. An orangey brown. Sometimes yellowish.

[@denised8828]

The Sailor Compass was definitely a disappointment for me. I like my Tibaldi but so far my biggest let down is a Montegrappa Venetia (maybe I need to try another ink in it?)

[@sajjadhusain4146]

Oh, no…a very pricey pen like the Venetia being a let-down must especially hurt. I was briefly considering even buying a Venetia myself recently. Luckily, I’ve had nothing but happy experiences with Montegrappa. I have several of their pens. And I love them all.

[@Diviine-Desiign]

Diplomat excellence A2 has been quite a disappointment for me. No one could fix it's deviated section and scratchy nib. I had to finally return it with a deficit..

[@archivist17]

"Anyhoozles"??? 😆😆😆

[@PensandTea]

Hahaha yeah 🤣

[@PhillipsBanjos]

I thought the Sailor Compass was fine. It had dropped to about $30 usd when I got it. Any more than that and I would have been disappointed in it. Biggest disappointments were the Visconti Rembrandt and the Monteverde Mountains of the World. The Monteverde would constantly hard start and skip. I ended up sending it back. They tuned the nib a bit and it was maybe 10% better but still pretty much unusable. I replaced the nib altogether and it's a little better now. I think I need to work on the nib and try some wetter inks.

[@pen_journal]

Actually for the Tibaldi, I got the same experience in terms of the 1) screw on cap 2) the barrel screw on the metal section part and 3) Poor writing experience... I had the Bora Bora N60 Limited Edition btw. But i find that after i tuned the nib, its writing experience can be redeemed (it writes wetter now, after increasing the space between the tines. Now, it's actually liveable... given the fact i just love the colours and shape... But for the price, it's definitely a disappointment in the poor engineering and poor nib writing experience.

[@astromanager]

My biggest disappointment was my Sailor 1911L with the zoom nib. So many reviews gushed over the pen and the nib. A) I was expecting a large pen, but it's just large compared to the rather small standard 911 and B) the zoom nib is just really kind of uninteresting. It's unusable close to vertical where you see the most line width difference (due to scratchiness), so it's basically a B you can use in reverse to get a EF/F. meh. On the other hand, I gush about my KOP and its M 21k nib to whomever will listen! :)

[@mgscheue]

I like my Sailor Compass. For the (sale) price, I think it's fine.

[@ichirofakename]

If they made one in , I might buy a second.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I wish they put out one with a regular M. I’d buy it.

[@pen.venture]

:D... here is where a retailer who can check nibs/adjust and also wants to go above and beyond only making a sale - can make you rename the title from"my top 5 most disappointing fountain pens" to "the time I almost got disappointed by a fountain pen" :D

[@MJK2600]

Totally agree on Opus 88. It took me purchasing 3 different versions from 88 and your description is spot on! Boring and expected more...

[@SammiShane]

I only have 13 fountain pens which for some people is a lot and for other people is like a drop in the bucket... But I got an Ellington pens Stealth model, because it was gorgeous, as a Christmas present for myself last year on black Friday... it is the worst pen I have and my second most expensive. The nib makes this terrible squeaking sound and Ellington pens says "they'll do everything they can to make sure you're happy with your pen purchase" but they basically just told me the pen does that and didn't offer any suggestions to fix it and I literally can't write with it without getting a head ache 😬 I think its worse when you spend more money on a pen expecting a good experience and its dissapointing. Like if my kaweco perkeo sucked I'd be fine with it but spending close to $50 for a pen that literally causes harm rather than any enjoyment... oof

[@ByTresja]

Thanks for talking about this subject. If I finally (after decent research) decide to buy a pen. I just want to love it and I hate to admit to myself that I don’t, so I won’t give up on them 😂. My disappointment is the pilot custom 91, but I’m holding on…..

[@herbertschulz9468]

I've missed your videos. I hope all is well with you and you're so busy with the new job you just don't have time for `hobbies'.

[@da2357]

My most disappointing fountain pen is a Kaweco Brass Sport. It hard starts and skips a lot. At some point, I may send it to a nibgrinder for tuning. I really wanted to love this pen, but it’s a huge disappointment. :-(

[@wwbdwwbd]

Another disappointing Visconti... In other totally unsurprising and entirely expected news, if you go scuba diving, you'll likely come in contact with water.

[@danielroddy8146]

Biggest disappointment? Otto Hutt Design 07. I love the feel of pen and the way it writes. However, when capped it dries out in a few hours.

[@atulchandratiwari5672]

hi, what are those books you have decorated your room ?have u tasted Tata Tajmahal chai ?-hope you are well ,salute ,

[@GarryEves]

Interested to hear about your issues with the Tibaldi Bononia. I have the Bora Bora version and have the same issues.

[@managingmarlys]

I am not a fountain pen connoisseur, but the one that has most disappointed me out of what I do have is the pilot metropolitan. I keep trying to rationale the horrible writing experience, but no, never again!

[@inkandbarrel]

At the LA show I tried several of the gold-nibbed limited Visconti pens, and the nibs were super scratchy. Too the point that my steel-nibbed Visconti were just nicer writers. But most disappointing of all time for me? Otto Hutt Design 01. Writes amazing but is so thin it is just not comfortable to write with... I kind of want to just rip the nib off and give it to a turner to use in another pen.

[@jolienkrispijn]

I'm sad about Visconti's Quality control being the way it is. I think the pens are beautiful, but I have tried a few in shops and they write crappy. I saw Emy has (or had) an Arizona sunset for a nice price and I know he can tune it before shipping it. But not sure if I can allow myself to spend that much money on a pen 🤣😇

[@josh1216]

If you really want a Visconti, pick up one of the new Mirage Mythos pens. They don't feel like a step down and they are (relatively) inexpensive. They do have a Schmidt steel nib, but it writes so well. (Honestly one of, if not the, best steel nib I've written with.)

[@jolienkrispijn]

@@josh1216 thanks for this info! Will see if I can try one of these in a store!

[@Calcprof]

Several disappointments: A Pineider with a magnetic cap. Severe nib creep, and magnetic cap not sealing well. Lamy Dialog CC: Seal when closed is not as good as the seal for the Vanishing Points. A Montblanc 149 that leaked out of the box, then returned for maintenance, took forever, then wanted to charge me $100+ dollars for the maintenance that should have covered by warrantee, then took home, and still not completely leak free.(This pen appears to be lost at the moment, though it is possible that I may fin it some day, you never know.) Some unmentioned pen from Ireland: Maker is difficult to deal with, communication is poor including saying it was shipped at one point, when it was not. Pen(s) however are wonderful. A Montegrappa Symphony Celluloid from the 90s that originally leaked from were the converter attached to the nib unit. Eventually fixed with a new converter and some silicone grease.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

Magnetic caps really piss me off. Lame gimmick pretending to be a cool feature.

[@Calcprof]

@@sajjadhusain4146 The Monteverde Ritma works OK. I don't offhand know of any others that are OK

[@sajjadhusain4146]

@@Calcprof..I don’t like the Ritma. But then, I have sworn off buying a Monteverde pan again anyway. Just hope the magnetic mechanism lasts a long time. I suspect it won’t.

[@marilyngardner4269]

I had the exact same problems with a pen maker from Ireland. Took over a year to sort out, with numerous empty promises along the way

[@impish22]

Yay.. how fun.. thanks again !!

[@redson39]

I own a sailor compass I don’t like it at all

[@newjezreel]

the worst pen I had was the Diplomat Nexus, the nib was awful. It was a paper shredder, no matter how many times I would tune it, it always ended back to the way it was. hard starts constantly. I love the concept, I hated the end result.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Mine was a Stipula Etruria with a t-flex nib. I could not get it to write no matter what I did. The t-flex nib is wonderful in any other pen. But I couldn't get any nib to write for long in the Stipula. It is a gorgeous pen, but the writing was awful.

[@CatawbaGuy]

Just take them to a pawn shop, that's what I do with stuff I no longer want.

[@tiantuatara]

I like my Opus pens but they don't make me drool. I have a Compass that I picked up at a giveaway table at a pen show and the nib is the worst garbage I've encountered. My Pro Gear Slim is great but that Compass - ugh. And this will make people scream, but I don't love my Lamy 2000. I have to be so particular with the way I hold it, in order for it to not hard start constantly, that it is a lot of effort and I just don't want to use it.

[@pat999x]

All of my pen disappointments were all my fault. I should never have purchased them. But they were pretty and inexpensive. They even write well. The problem? Too big for my hands. Writing for more than a few minutes hurts! But so pretty! I can't write with them much, but I can't give them up

[@archivist17]

Really thought-provoking category. 🤔 So many different reasons you could be disappointed. I'm not sure if I have many disappointments, but I'll have a ponder. The tale of the Tibaldi is tragic. Such a shame that a good looking writing instrument can be so ill-suited to it's primary purpose. Quite the dilemma.

[@jeffroberts532]

Basically, every modern Kaweco that I’ve owned has been a disappointment. The vintage Kaweco’s have been great. But the modern ones are all over the place with nib width & quality for me. And I’ve tried many of them because of the consistent good reviews. Ugh!

[@Mikey-ii8ef]

I love using the Benu as a 🎤!!!

[@karlgozo]

My regret is the Montegrappa Nazionale Flex 🙄 At least bought it at a good discounted price.

[@neilpiper9889]

Pilot pens never disappoint

[@dacksonflux]

I hate my metro

[@neilpiper9889]

@@dacksonflux I agree