The Majohn A2: an artist fountain pen review

[@MaiikaK]

Aloha Stephen, I’ve been using fountain pens only since 1990. Over the years, it has become obvious that some feeds need to be allowed time to become saturated so the ink flow is consistent. With 50 pens in rotation (and all of them loved and used), some feeds still require a resaturation (not a real English word, but you understand) period for the flow to be good. This is one of the fountain pen quirks that has only become apparent over the decades. Frustration and determination have been friends to understand what is a manufacturing problem and what can just be inherent with the different materials used in feeds. Aloha and blessings. Thanks for the reviews of new pens coming on the market.

[@stepheninks]

That is quite possible. I don’t know if it’s that, or if it’s more of a design flaw, since I have the metal version of this pen and it isn’t a problem. Also, since the pen is now flowing with no issues, I guess only time will tell if it will become a problem again.

[@louishalleux]

Happy with my A1 😊

[@stepheninks]

Nothing wrong with that!

[@gunsmokeandghouls]

When screwing the plastic to metal try turning it the opposite way a few times and then screw it together like normal. Going in reverse at first will keep it from cross threading and stripping the plastic. An engineer once told me this and it seems to work. Interestingly, i think lamy al stars have some plastic to metal threading with no issues ive heard about but lamy use abs plastic not cheap Chinese. A drier pen would be good for a lot of cross hatching, i may check this out.

[@stepheninks]

I think that it could be good for that. I tend to like drier pens myself, but only when intentionally so. I definitely enjoyed the pen more with the converter in over the cartridge. Having used the cartridge for the last week or so since filming, I have noticed it drying out, which is a very different thing from it being a consistent dry writer. Just a fair bit of warning.

[@mikevandebunt811]

I guess I'm glad I picked up the A1 following your earlier review. The A2 seems to be a downgrade, rather than just a different material for the body. (I don't see how the plastic body could affect the metal feed, so that's weird.)

[@stepheninks]

It might just be that the feed was made with less quality control, since the pen is cheaper than the A1. Maybe they just thought they could get away with it.

[@Rob-lu2ns]

Pablo has my like and subscription.

[@stepheninks]

Pablo pretty much runs this place now.

[@Rob-lu2ns]

​@@stepheninks in all seriousness, I do really enjoy your videos, thank you for taking the time to make them.

[@DBachiniLima]

I have both the A1 and the A2. My A2 was more expensive and I like it much more because it's lighter. The quality of it is excellent and it has become my go-to pen for daily use away from home. The button is a bit harder anyway, but it's actually very durable. The unit of the nib is the same in both pens. A2 retired my A1. I don't know what the reason for the initial problem, maybe the ink took a long time to flow properly?

[@stepheninks]

It’s possible. I don’t know from my initial test of about 2 weeks. Only time will tell. It has started to behave just like the A1 as far as flow. I’m still worried about those plastic on metal threads. I’ll have to see how it’s looking after 6 months of moderate use, which I plan to do.

[@magnoliamike]

Use the cartridge converter this way, you can turn it to make sure the nib and feed our primed when you use the eyedropper it happens a lot slowly

[@stepheninks]

I do that often. Personally I prefer to fill the pen directly from the nib for just that reason.

[@ichirofakename]

1. I don't understand the use case for a click pen when drawing. Unless you love the pen for reasons other than its clickability. 2. Some other reviewer mentioned the excessive dryness of the cartridge compared to the converter. So it's a thing.

[@stepheninks]

Don’t think it’s necessarily better or worse for drawing. Just that this pen can be used in that way, so how does it hold up. All of my writing instruments are drawing instruments. Shame about the cartridge. Seems to be working okay now. Maybe it was stage fright?

[@MissMarilynDarling]

Never touch your nibs to your fingers the oils in your fingers will impeed the flow of the ink I would wash it with some dawn dish soap to get all the oils out and only use napkin or fibercloth to touch the slit of the tines of the nib the only time I ever touch the top of a nib is if its getting ink barnacles the oils from your fingers will keep them from forming :)

[@stepheninks]

While this is very good advice, I feel like I can’t treat my pens so delicately. I do wash them out often, and wipe them clean of oil from time to time, but I also don’t think that this is the reason for the poor flow of this pen. For every minute of fooling around on the screen, there is about an hour of tinkering, trying to troubleshoot, cleaning, flushing, refilling, etc. I haven’t treated this pen any more roughly than I treat my other pens, and I think it’s a QC issue for this model.

[@gunsmokeandghouls]

Is this a western style nib size or on par with a Japanese style extra fine nib?

[@stepheninks]

I think it’s closer to the Japanese but still a hair wider.

[@adrianmuino3412]

I am always concerned about liking in this kind of pens, and maybe yours was dry because the seal was not good enough. Anyway I like the color and the cat.

[@stepheninks]

It’s possible. It might also be possible that the pen just needed more time to soak up the ink. It has a very narrow feed. I don’t k ow if that’s a valid reason though, be use the metal version didn’t do that to me.

[@catmyc]

I'm using the same pen but I cannot draw as well as you do. I think it must be the fault of my pen! :P

[@stepheninks]

Makes sense. You should probably get 3-4 more pens, just in case. I like to get 6 of them, and place them in between my fingers, like Wolverine. That’s a more advanced technique though.

[@neilpiper9889]

It would have been called Moonman except for a copyright challenge from Kaweco I believe

[@stepheninks]

Given how many of this company’s pens are direct copies of other pens, I can’t say that would surprise me.

[@KashurTraveller]

No matter how costly is the ink pen. It still stains ur clothes and hands. The reality is these pena are now obsolute. I have large collection of fountain pens. But I have started to dispose off them.

[@stepheninks]

You’re free to do what you like of course, but “obsolete” seems more like an opinion than a statement of fact. Personally, I don’t have a lot of problems most of the pens in my 50+ fountain pen leaking onto my hands, much less my clothes. Sounds like you have had some bad experiences with them. I wouldn’t blame you for moving away from them in that case. I’m still having a great time with mine.

[@sushanart]

I've seen positive reviews of the A1 and the A3, but not the A2. The plastic against metal seems like a stupid move since the A1 doesn't have this problem. Since I'm a newbie and don't have the knowledge of "tinkering" with faulty pens this was really off-putting. I would go for the A1 or the silent A3. Appreciate you not giving up on the pen though. 😇🩵🙏🙌

[@stepheninks]

I think that may and all tinkering should be a secondary concern. The pen should work out of the box. If you want it to do something it’s not designed to do, then tinkering could help. I won’t give a flawless review to a pen that makes me “fix” it. To be fair though, it seems like you can get this pen to work right eventually. I don’t want to give it a full pass just because I like the look.