I use Noodler's Black ink in mine, and it is just fine. Ink choice can make a world of difference in fountain pens, and Karas claims that they tune and test each pen before shipping, so it probably would work better with the ink that they used. If you are new to fountain pens, there is a trifecta of nib-and-feed, paper, and ink that you have to play with to get the most out of them. If you test a few combos, and it still doesn't work the way you want, you might try looking at some of sbrebrown's videos on pen tuning. Steel nibs are pretty cheep ($5 to $20 depending on make and whether you buy a feed with it), so if you like tinkering it can be a fun way to turn an OK pen into a great one. Tuning: th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=sbrebrown+nib+tuning Supplies: www.gouletpens.com/collections/replacement-nibs?sort%5B0%5D%5Bfield%5D=price&sort%5B0%5D%5Border%5D=asc
Nick Shabazz thank you! Perhaps another suggestion that looks a bit more classy or robust? A la - a poor man’s Mont Blanc 149 or maybe something similar to this industrial Karas?
After buying a few roller balls from Karas Kustoms (using the ever popular G2 Pilot refill), I bought one of their "Decograph" fountain pens. Maybe I won the "nib lottery" and got a good, steel nib, but I LOVE this pen. Their machining is great. The Decograph itself comes in a milled aluminum "tube" that only adds to its panache.
From my understanding they also take kaweco nibs (the same ones as the metal sports or liliput), so if you're unhappy with the Bock don't hesitate to switch!
My Fountain K experience was similar to yours. I converted it to a roller ball (optional add-on) and it's great. I do have the larger Ink fountain pen. It has a larger Nick nib (#6?) and it's fantastic.
A lot are, yes. This is a #5 nib that is friction fit. The only interesting nibs from Bock are their titanium nibs. Titanium nibs aren't very common. They're known for their spring, being in between steel and gold, if not more springy than gold in my experience. Titanium nibs also have some feedback. It's not scratchy, but they're not glassy smooth. They are not made in #5 by Bock, however, so you can't get one on this pen. You can get the Karas Ink pen that has a #6 nib in titanium. You can get the gold nibs on this pen, but that jumps the price to $170. That's a tough pill to swallow. At $170, there are a lot of nice gold nibbed and high end steel nibbed pens that are better than this.
All good points Nick. It's a good pen although the lack of secure posting for the cap is annoying sometimes. I haven't had an issue with the cap coming off on the anodized version so maybe that's exclusive to the raw finishes. A baby's bottom is unfortunate but that's the luck of the draw sometimes with Bock. A nibmeister like Nib Grinder can take care of that for around $15-20. The fine #5 steel nib can be a little scratchy so I'd go with the medium if I had to do it again. It resists drying out better than some fountain pens although I personally prefer the Karas Kustoms Ink fountain pen.
Hey Nick great video man, that spacer with the spring also acts to help depress the converter and maintain a constant flow, so you dont have to shake and encourage the pen when the converter is in.
I've got quite a few fountain pens and use them for every writing need. I've found that the cheap and cheerful Sheaffer No-Nonsense fountain best is the one I use most often.
Funny that you mentioned the Lamy 2000 as an example of a fragile pen. Most fountain pen people think that pen is virtually indestructible. We knife people are weird sometimes.
Thank you for touching on some other parts of the pen. As a pen nerd, I like seeing custom machinists jumping on pens. But a pen has four parts fill, the feed, the nib and the body. It seems to me that all these pens targeted at knife guys just use generic fill, feed and nib mechanisms. Bexley is the real production-level fountain pen manufacturing left in the US. They make "traditional" (as in non-metal) bodies, but their models have different fills, feeds and nibs. These "custom" pen makers just shove someone else's generic guts into their own body. It's like a knifemaker creating a new handle scale for an established knife, but then calling it a whole new custom product. This practice sort of seems like cheating to me. May I suggest checking out Edison Pens out of Ohio. They are a custom pen maker. They aren't machinists turned pen makers, they are pen-focused, through and through. P.S. You mention it's not Karas fault, it's their nibmaker. A real penmaker would know better than to shove a cheap nib in their "custom" pen.
Cameron Knight You sound so stuck up. It’s a 120$ pen for the base models made in a country with value labor. Did you expect them to custom manufacture nibs? Outsourcing is the only real practical option for smaller companies. Guess what? It’s a size 6, you can pick up a new nib very easily. I don’t at all understand the other complaints, It’s a pen! There’s only so much variation you can practically do. Just let people buy what they want before bringing philosophical debate to your writing utensils.
I'm a fountain pen enthusiast. I can tell you flat out that's a bum nib. Not just kind of bad, it's flat out defective. You should get it replaced by the vendor if it's yours. I shuddered when you did the writing sample.
Interesting that you called out the Lamy 2000 as not very durable. The fiberglass reinforced nylon that they use is just about the most durable material you can get a piston filled pen in. If a piston fill isn't for you though, I guess I get it. The only thing more durable is the Macrolon lined stainless steel 2000s, but having handled one, they're so heavy that it's uncomfortable to write with, making it kinda a terrible pen. Good for whipping out to write down a signature, but if that's what you want a fountain pen for, you can do a lot better for a lot less money. The stainless steel 2000s are basically for if you're someone who loves the Lamy 2000 and love stainless steel and want a stainless steel Lamy 2000. If you're just someone who likes fountain pens, it's just kinda not worth it.
Great video. I love fountain pens. From my few Pelikans I bought before the prices shot up (yee-ikes, I hadn't looked at the price of the M200 in a long while! do they think the nibs are actually tipped with iridium???) all the way down to my cheap little Zebra. It would be a shame for someone who's brand-new to fountain pens to get one with a nib like that Karas came with and think that's the way fountain pens are supposed to be.
My first time watching a pen review.. It looks like a simple pen yet full of complications.. I'm carrying some ball point I picked up for free in a Sorrento restaurant..Good enough..
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Never thought I would be watching pen reviews. But now I want to buy one.
Dang you’re right. I just got one and the nib does not deliver on the ink flow. I wonder if the karas inks are better?
I use Noodler's Black ink in mine, and it is just fine. Ink choice can make a world of difference in fountain pens, and Karas claims that they tune and test each pen before shipping, so it probably would work better with the ink that they used. If you are new to fountain pens, there is a trifecta of nib-and-feed, paper, and ink that you have to play with to get the most out of them. If you test a few combos, and it still doesn't work the way you want, you might try looking at some of sbrebrown's videos on pen tuning. Steel nibs are pretty cheep ($5 to $20 depending on make and whether you buy a feed with it), so if you like tinkering it can be a fun way to turn an OK pen into a great one.
Tuning: th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=sbrebrown+nib+tuning
Supplies: www.gouletpens.com/collections/replacement-nibs?sort%5B0%5D%5Bfield%5D=price&sort%5B0%5D%5Border%5D=asc
Hey Nick can you put a oring on the threating to hold the cap on.
"Won the nib lottery" now added to the long list of gem Shabazzisms!! Great review, as always!
The new cap design insures the cap won't unscrew in your pockets anymore! Big needed update
Where's the Delica for size comparison ? At least the clip doesn't have proprietary hardware .
What’s another fountain pen for approximately the same price that writes very well?
TWSBI Eco
Nick Shabazz thank you! Perhaps another suggestion that looks a bit more classy or robust? A la - a poor man’s Mont Blanc 149 or maybe something similar to this industrial Karas?
I finally lost my fisher space pen bullet. What cheap metal pen should I get to replace it?
Demiweeb I carried a Parker Jotter daily for a long time. Nick loves it, and so did I.
Ooo...I miss my Fisher Space Pen. I've had 2 and even bought my sister one in her favorite color with matching ink.
After buying a few roller balls from Karas Kustoms (using the ever popular G2 Pilot refill), I bought one of their "Decograph" fountain pens. Maybe I won the "nib lottery" and got a good, steel nib, but I LOVE this pen. Their machining is great. The Decograph itself comes in a milled aluminum "tube" that only adds to its panache.
+13noman1 I’ve got a decograph review coming soonish!
Cool to see a FP review, i have a few myself including a Conklin, Monteverde, TWSBI, Pilot, etc
Great video
Wow years ago when I started watching your knife reviews you got me into fps and I'm just realizing this. Still not getting into watches. No, sir.
From my understanding they also take kaweco nibs (the same ones as the metal sports or liliput), so if you're unhappy with the Bock don't hesitate to switch!
Thanks Nick. Now I suddenly have another addiction to spend money on.
Blue pen with silver grip... it looks amazing.
My Fountain K experience was similar to yours. I converted it to a roller ball (optional add-on) and it's great.
I do have the larger Ink fountain pen. It has a larger Nick nib (#6?) and it's fantastic.
which one do you recommend Namisu Nova Ti or karas kustoms pen?
Thank you Mr Shabazz.
Hey nick, got any plans on a benchmade proper review?
Why yes. Mine should have arrived this morning... :)
I’m not familiar with fountain pens. Is the nib replaceable?
A lot are, yes. This is a #5 nib that is friction fit.
The only interesting nibs from Bock are their titanium nibs. Titanium nibs aren't very common. They're known for their spring, being in between steel and gold, if not more springy than gold in my experience. Titanium nibs also have some feedback. It's not scratchy, but they're not glassy smooth. They are not made in #5 by Bock, however, so you can't get one on this pen. You can get the Karas Ink pen that has a #6 nib in titanium.
You can get the gold nibs on this pen, but that jumps the price to $170. That's a tough pill to swallow. At $170, there are a lot of nice gold nibbed and high end steel nibbed pens that are better than this.
All good points Nick. It's a good pen although the lack of secure posting for the cap is annoying sometimes. I haven't had an issue with the cap coming off on the anodized version so maybe that's exclusive to the raw finishes. A baby's bottom is unfortunate but that's the luck of the draw sometimes with Bock. A nibmeister like Nib Grinder can take care of that for around $15-20. The fine #5 steel nib can be a little scratchy so I'd go with the medium if I had to do it again. It resists drying out better than some fountain pens although I personally prefer the Karas Kustoms Ink fountain pen.
Thanks for the heads up Nick!
p.s. thanks for getting me in to watching reviews for pens knives and watches!
Hey Nick great video man, that spacer with the spring also acts to help depress the converter and maintain a constant flow, so you dont have to shake and encourage the pen when the converter is in.
I've got quite a few fountain pens and use them for every writing need. I've found that the cheap and cheerful Sheaffer No-Nonsense fountain best is the one I use most often.
Funny that you mentioned the Lamy 2000 as an example of a fragile pen. Most fountain pen people think that pen is virtually indestructible. We knife people are weird sometimes.
+Brad Hutchison Hah, that’s entertaining. One man’s Diva is another man’s beater
Nick you need to do a review on Schon Design Pens.
Someday!
Great review, Nick! I've been looking at this exact pen for a while, but the way it writes has convinced me to look around a bit more.
Nick, nice review of a fountain pen. I carry and use a fountain pen daily and the nib is the most important part. Thanks for discussing the nib.
Crayola for the win !
Crayons only fail in hot desert conditions.
Otherwise you can't go wrong 😁
Hooper45 1 word: Tactical icebox fanny pack
Nick uses fountain pens!
This further confirms that he is a man of good taste.
1:15 - Goulet Pens did do this. Threw it in his parking lot, ran it over, and it was fine
Write on Nick, write on.
Thank you for touching on some other parts of the pen. As a pen nerd, I like seeing custom machinists jumping on pens. But a pen has four parts fill, the feed, the nib and the body. It seems to me that all these pens targeted at knife guys just use generic fill, feed and nib mechanisms. Bexley is the real production-level fountain pen manufacturing left in the US. They make "traditional" (as in non-metal) bodies, but their models have different fills, feeds and nibs. These "custom" pen makers just shove someone else's generic guts into their own body. It's like a knifemaker creating a new handle scale for an established knife, but then calling it a whole new custom product. This practice sort of seems like cheating to me. May I suggest checking out Edison Pens out of Ohio. They are a custom pen maker. They aren't machinists turned pen makers, they are pen-focused, through and through.
P.S. You mention it's not Karas fault, it's their nibmaker. A real penmaker would know better than to shove a cheap nib in their "custom" pen.
Cameron Knight You sound so stuck up. It’s a 120$ pen for the base models made in a country with value labor. Did you expect them to custom manufacture nibs? Outsourcing is the only real practical option for smaller companies. Guess what? It’s a size 6, you can pick up a new nib very easily. I don’t at all understand the other complaints, It’s a pen! There’s only so much variation you can practically do. Just let people buy what they want before bringing philosophical debate to your writing utensils.
I'm a fountain pen enthusiast. I can tell you flat out that's a bum nib. Not just kind of bad, it's flat out defective. You should get it replaced by the vendor if it's yours. I shuddered when you did the writing sample.
+Joe Perry Yep. Hooray bock!
You look like you are holding the pen sideways and making the left tine do all the work.
What knife reviewers need to know about pen reviews... Show writing examples!
Yeah, I'm trying to do that in later videos :)
Interesting that you called out the Lamy 2000 as not very durable. The fiberglass reinforced nylon that they use is just about the most durable material you can get a piston filled pen in. If a piston fill isn't for you though, I guess I get it. The only thing more durable is the Macrolon lined stainless steel 2000s, but having handled one, they're so heavy that it's uncomfortable to write with, making it kinda a terrible pen. Good for whipping out to write down a signature, but if that's what you want a fountain pen for, you can do a lot better for a lot less money.
The stainless steel 2000s are basically for if you're someone who loves the Lamy 2000 and love stainless steel and want a stainless steel Lamy 2000. If you're just someone who likes fountain pens, it's just kinda not worth it.
Great video. I love fountain pens. From my few Pelikans I bought before the prices shot up (yee-ikes, I hadn't looked at the price of the M200 in a long while! do they think the nibs are actually tipped with iridium???) all the way down to my cheap little Zebra. It would be a shame for someone who's brand-new to fountain pens to get one with a nib like that Karas came with and think that's the way fountain pens are supposed to be.
CSharp I'm 100% sure if you contacted Karas about any nib problems that they would exchange or correct it to your satisfaction post haste.
My first time watching a pen review.. It looks like a simple pen yet full of complications.. I'm carrying some ball point I picked up for free in a Sorrento restaurant..Good enough..
The 14K nib is actually pretty decent.
Is your is silver or tumble one?
Going to get this pen soon !!!!!
Thanks for your answer
If I want to get a girl excited I tell her I'm going to give her the Full Nick Shabazz
Too hideous for that price. A $2 Jinhao looks better.
Now I know what a 'nib' is :-)
80$... And here I make do with bulk bic cheapos lol.
Great review! FYI it's pronounced KaVeco :p sorry to be that guy
It's hard not to hear "a $2.50 BIC pen writes better".... First world problems.
In this case, yes. But most fountain pens are a huge improvement.
It's not a tacticool pen thumbs down!!! Gerber impromptu 👌