The Faber-Castell PITT Set includes four different sizes of markers: B (Brush), C (Chisel/Calligraphy), 1.5 (1.5 mm Bullet), and 2.5 (2.5 mm Bullet). I was hoping that the largest size would be useful for posters but its not quite that chonky. Overall, the Faber-Castell PITT set has a nice range of sizes if you’re not sure what will work best for your project.

The photo above shows the tip sizes. From left to right: chisel/calligraphy, brush, 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm. The 2.5 mm barrel is much larger than the other three pens so its a big pen for me to hold in my tiny, little hands.

The other pen I got was the Pentel Milky Brush pen in white. There is a push button on the end that can be pushed to force more ink into the brush tip.

Oh, that brush tip! Its a nylon bristle brush tip not a molded foam tip like the brush in the Faber-Castell PITT set. I love the brushes that have real bristles because the point is often so much finer. The bristles are soft and flex easily for a great range of stroke widths. Pumping the end will add more ink as needed.

I tested these pens on kraft and grey paper stock. They all performed much better on the kraft stock. The grey paper was a bit too light to show them in their best light (or should I say, best white?)

On the Kraft stock, it was easy to get good results with all the markers though I do find that the Pentel Milky Brush was more opaque overall. The PITT markers worked well and could be applied with multiple layers for a more opaque coverage/

Despite the grey paper being a bit light, it does quickly show that the Pentel Milky Brush is much more opaque with one pass of color compared to the PITT white markers.

Further testing is needed to determine how well these markers will work with mixed media drawings when combined with colored pencils, other pens and markers and paint. The PITT pens are India ink so they are lightfast, permanent, and archival. That is definitely an advantage if you are using these with other tools. The Pentel Milky Brush is listed as being water-resistant but there are no additional specifications though with white inks, they are likely to be lightfast.

Depending on your comfort with a real brush pen, I would recommend giving the Pentel Milky Brush a try. If you prefer a bullet tip or chisel tip or need the archival or guaranteed permanent quality, then I think the PITT Brush Set is a good option though I prefer the Pentel Milky Brush overall.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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When capped, the Hexo is a sleek albeit stubby-looking pen. The clip is a black painted metal and the black of the base of the cap lining/grip section is just visible creating a very pleasing minimal line in the middle of the pen. The pen has a semi cigar look though it is softly hexagonal shaped, hence the name Hexo. This hexagonal shape also contributes to the shine lines and its ability to stay put on a table without rolling away, with or without the cap.

Barely visible in the photo above is the white printed Faber-Castell logo on the barrel of the pen. When posted the logo is visible between the grip section and the cap. It’s not awful or garish though the type is a bit large. Because the logo is printed on the pen rather than being foil stamped or etched, the potential exists that, over time, it will wear off.  Not to be too punny, but it really is a bit horsey.

The grip section is plastic and tapers then flares out again creating a slimmer area to hold the pen. This was a bit of a relief to me as the pen appeared a bit too wide to be comfortable to hold for long if the grip section was going to be as wide as the pen body.

The end of the cap is also engraved with the jousting horsemen logo. When shooting in macro, it’s sometimes hard to tell exactly which way is up so I think this is 90º off  so tilt your head to the left.

The Hexo has a black-plated steel nib etched with the Faber-Castell jousting horsemen logo and radiating dots as well as the nib size. Though the nib looks a little small in comparison to the wide lip at the base of the grip section and the overall dimensions of the pen, its a nice looking nib.

I tested the Hexo with a cartridge in a rosy red color. The medium nib worked well with the mid-tone color. The nib is very smooth straight out of the box. The snap cap and the lightweight of the pen lends itself to being a good everyday writer.

While I was initially drawn to the brilliant metallic rose gold color, I was a little skeptical about the dimensions of the pen. The squatty shape seemed a little ungraceful and I feared it would be a bit like writing with a kid’s crayon. But since the grip tapered down to a more reasonable width and the aluminum kept the overall weight of the pen down and even allowed for the pen to be posted without making it unnecessarily top heavy, I found this pen incredibly appealing to write with. The easy-on, easy-off snap cap added to the appeal. I found myself picking it up frequently over the last couple of weeks to write quick notes on invoices, jot lists, add a couple lines in my notebooks, etc. The cool aluminum felt nice in my hands on these hot summer days too.

When compared to other pens, the Hexo does appear a little wider. From left to right: TWBSI Eco-T Mint, Faber-Castell Grip, Lamy AL-Star, Faber-Castell Hexo, Pen BBS 350, Sailor Pro Gear Slim and Kaweco Sport. The Hexo is definitely the widest pen of the lot.

Posted however, the Hexo is not much longer than the Sailor Pro Gear Slim so it’s sort of living up to my expectations of looking a little stubby.

Weight-wise, the Hexo only weighs 18gms capped and filled with a long cartridge and uncapped and filled, it’s just 12gms. This makes it as light or lighter than a Lamy Safari.

I like the color and smooth, metallic sheen of the pen. The smaller nib and the wide pen is a little odd. The snap cap is very satisfying and the nib performance is excellent at the price point. The clip is aesthetic and works well. Aesthetically, I like it a bit better than the Lamy AL-Star and since the Hexo accepts standard international cartridges and converters, the pen is more convenient. The price point is competitive but is it enough to convince a first-time fountain pen purchaser to buy a Hexo rather than a Safari or an AL-Star? Or even to be a contender against the Metropolitan or the piston-filling TWSBIs? It’s hard to say exactly where in the market to place the Hexo and it’s look and price.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 18 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Faber-Castell Hexo Rose Gold Medium Nib(€28.93)
• Ink:  Pelikan Edelstein Ruby Cartridge ($8.75 for pack of long cartridges, Ruby cartridges may no longer be available but other colors in the Edelstein line are)

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Fontoplumo for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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The new colors are spring-tastic! The rubberized, rounded grip is confortable to hold, the slightly triangular shape and rubberized dots keep the pen from rolling, with or without it’s cap.

The new colors are a nice addition to the dark colors they already have in the line.

For our giveaway, sponsored by our good friends at Goldspot Pens, we have three pens to giveaway. They are available in these configurations:

• Pearl Rose (M)
• Pearl Turquoise (EF)
• Pearl Mint Green (F) <– my favorite!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what other color you think Faber-Castell should make the Grip Fountain Pen (and which one you’d like to win). Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person. We will select three winners, each winner will get one pen. If all the winners select the same pen, they have to play Rock, Paper, Scissors for who gets which one.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, May 24, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winners will be announced on Tuesday (Monday is Memorial Day and even in this time of COVID-19, we still want to sit in lawn chairs in our backyard and drink beer, okay?). Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner(s) do(es) not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

The post Giveaway: Faber-Castell Grip Fountain Pens (Pearl Mint Green, Turquoise and Rose) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Recently I was pushed outside of my comfort zone with pen reviews – you know, the comfort zone of the same three or four pen manufacturers that make a style and size of pen that fits, that works, that feels good. Comfortable. This time, I had the chance to review a Faber Castell pen. A pen constructed of metal, and wood, and, well, not acrylic. Something outside of my comfort zone.

But the manufacturer and material weren’t the only things outside of my zone. I also had a pen with… a medium nib.

Medium nibs are not me. I’ll allow a nib to start with a medium width if it is to be ground into an italic or stub, but I don’t do medium nibs. Ever.

The Faber-Castell Ambition pen originally pulled me in due to the combination of materials – several Ambition line wood-based pens were made with exotic woods; pearwood, coconut, walnut to name a few. I am quite familiar with acrylic, plastic, celluloid pens. However, I realized I often shy away from pens made of metal or wood. When I contemplated the reason behind this, I realized that kit pens were to blame.

For those who have not heard of kit pens, here’s a brief introduction. I relate it to my years as a model builder – model airplanes, model ships, model rockets… I’ll stop before I make myself into too much of a nerd.

Model kits are available for all of these items. Kits are made for many different skill levels, but basically kits that are not too different from Legos. Kits are made of plastic, wood, metal or a mix of materials that are intended to be put together following step-by-step instructions so the finished product looks great. But the tough steps such as cutting the wood or plastic from a blank sheet have been completed for you.

Pen kits also come with the preliminary steps completed – the barrel and section already cut out. Because they are more standardized, these kit pens have a recognizable feel. For some reason, I had acquainted wood and metal pens with these kit pens and I had stayed far away.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Picking up the Ambition pen, the first thing I though of was luxury. Rich materials, a solid pen, a well made presentation box. The pen looks impressive – a warm brown wood body and beautifully finished metal all around.

All of this absolutely changed as soon as I opened the box to the Faber Castell Ambition pen. Just picking up the pen felt luxurious – beautifully grained wood and heavy but incredibly well-balanced metal section, cap, and finial. The whole pen just felt rich. Rich with luxury, materials, goodness.

But the nib – to me, medium has always meant generic. Too many years of trying out fountain pens from the novelty section of business supply stores I suppose! The medium on the Faber Castell pen was smooth and delicious right out of the box and has yet to skip in my testing.

Let me get this straight, though. This is not a heavy pen. I could write for hours holding it – but the balance throughout the body and section of the pen just feels like it is well-made and expensive.

The Faber Castell Ambittion Pearwood pen comes in at 34g. The size (capped) is similar to a Lamy Al-Star (shown below).

However, uncapped, the Ambition is noticeable shorter and shorter than a Pilot Metro as well.

Posting the pens, the Ambition comes in between the two. I found myself preferring to use the pen unposted (small hands) but when it is posted, the cap snaps on firmly and doesn’t jiggle around.

The Ambition is a cartridge/converter fill pen and doesn’t come with a standard international converter. It did come with a short standard international cartridge – if you prefer to use cartridges, you can fit two short ones in the body for a quick change if you write the first dry.

As I noted earlier, the nib wrote very smoothly right out of the box – no smoothing or adjusting necessary. No skipping. More importantly to me, I loved the medium nib – this was not what I have experienced previously with this size. Usually a medium nib makes my handwriting look like I’m writing with a crayon – mushed together and unreadable. This pen simply felt… right. I felt like I was writing with an expensive, luxurious pen that performed its job perfectly, the first time. Isn’t that what more expensive pens should do?

But the Ambition isn’t a tremendously expensive pen, either. $88 for a high end steel-nibbed pen – compare this to recent releases from other manufacturers coming in around $150 – $200. And still, the Ambition beats all of those in writing experience.

I would not hesitate to recommend this pen to individuals who love writing, love beautiful pens or want something that lives up to the promise of luxury.

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