V126 Matte Blue

This is my first vacuum filler pen, and so far, I love it. :) It's nice to see a vacuum filler that won't break the bank. Before this, I've preferred to eyedropper my pens, when I could, but vacuum filling is more convenient and far less likely to be messy. Its form is very similar to the Pilot Custom 823, but at a fraction of the price. The nib isn't scratch, but it has just enough bite to let you know you're using a fountain pen instead of a ballpoint or rollerball. I would say the feedback is a little lighter than a well-used pencil. The writing experience itself has been flawless so far. I've had it about a week, and it's never had a false start. As soon as you put pen to paper, it's ready to go, smooth as silk. Right now I'm using blue Iroshizuku ink. The pen seems to like it just fine. It's well-balanced, and doesn't feel heavy in the hand, but it's heavy enough to feel substantial. It's apparently possible to eyedropper the V126, but it involves using O-rings and silicone grease, so I haven't done it. The ink capacity of this pen is such that I wouldn't really feel a need. There's only one thing I can really ding it for: I would've liked a metal clip that was either gold or silver colored. The other colors for this pen have clips that are a bit more elegant than the matte black of this one. That's not enough of an issue that I'd take a point off for it, though.

So we own various pens that might be considered, depending on your specific criteria, competitors - PenBBS 355, various Opus 88 models like the mini and demonstrator, basic Nahvalurs , Jaipur V2, Kanwrite Heritage, Conklin, etc. And at this point these are my preferred pocket pen. (Note that I don't consider many of the previous pocket pens: pretty much anything that doesn't allow for closure of the ink chamber like Opus 88 models, the 355, and this pen do, doesn't really count as a proper pocket pen in my view, and even then some pens are too big for the pocket.) That said, of the above pens what I find is that the Kanwrite Heritage is an excellent host for desk usage involving nib unit changes or flex nibs, while Asvine 126 pens are great for daily pocket usage. These are good nib hosts. I have a Franklin Christoph SIG Fine nib on the stock Asvine feed + unit. I've not had this particular nib behave well in the Opus or PenBBS despite trying different feeds and units. it's been prone to random blotting and other inkflow issues. For the 355 I also had to sand down the finial thread for fit. On this pen, it just writes, with reasonable and safe ink flow. I do regard the factory "extra fine" as more of a fine-plus than an extra fine, but that's pretty much the case on most stock extra fine nibs in my view - they're often barely different than factory fine, and often mean factory fine is closer to medium. It's fine for writing with so long as you don't prefer writing extremely small. It write perfectly well, and perhaps slightly on the wetter side of things. I have noticed that once in a while the feed will stop for a moment for no clear reason (NOT skipping) - I think this happens when I forget to open the main chamber until after I've written extensively with it closed or have pocketed it cap-up without closing the main chamber. I assume that means both behaviors somehow lead to an occasional air pocket interacting with the feed. That said, it's not a frequent issue *at all* and solves itself in a couple seconds most of the time. A blip because I forgot to open or close the main chamber is much preferable to blotting or variable ink flow, so I don't mind this at all. I hate fountain pens that use ink cartridges - ink cartridges always leak, break, dry out, or otherwise cause problems, so IMO this is far and away preferable to anything that uses cartridges. I also tend to view regular piston fill pens as too prone to leaking for pocket use. Which makes this easily the best pen for regular everyday use under $100 IMO. It does post, though a bit loosely. I find the size to be slightly shorter than I care for unposted, and slightly taller than I care for posted, but that's not bad by any means - it's a more comfortable size than the Opus pens all round, though I think the length of the 355 unposted is slightly preferable compared to the Asvine V126. Have two of these and may get one more just to have another nib available for pocket use. Do wish they cam in more colors, especially more non-gold metal finishes.

The quality of materials and craftsmanship were greater than expected and the nib was smooth and surprisingly soft. The pen writes, looks, and functions better than pens 10 times the price. Obviously the nib is gold plated so it won't last like the $300 pen it's a clone of, but value for the money it's totally worth it. I bought a second one (the Grey one) because it writes so well. Having said that, it is a Vacuum Filler and in general Vacuum Fillers have some quirks that make them not flow well if you don't unscrew the back so ink can move into the section for longer writing sessions. But they are safer to travel with as the ink reservoir is sealed when the back screw the back closed so it is less likely to leak on planes and going up in elevation while driving. For context, I refurbish vintage flex fountain pens as a hobby and my collection includes Pelican, Mont Blanc, Pilot, Monte Verde, Conklin, Maybe Todd, Parker, Waterman, Lamy, as well as Pen BBS, Wing Sun, etc. So, I am not new to the fountain pen world.

This pen should check a lot of my boxes. Blue? Check. Matte finish? Check. Sturdy construction (mostly)? Check. It has a huge ink capacity and feels solid in the hand. It even posts decently. The problem - and it's a big one - is that it's just not a great writer. It's nice and smooth and wet when it wants to be, but then it will just have little stuttering hard-starts, missing the beginning of lines so much that I get frustrated trying to write with it. (And before you ask, yes, I write with the vacuum valve open, so there *should* be a good supply of ink getting to the nib.) So many people seem to swear by these, so you must stand a pretty good chance of getting a good one. I just didn't though. This was my first Asvine pen, and I'm not eager to try more if this is the writing experience I can expect. EDIT, 2025 So after basically writing this pen off, I did some work on it - I took the nib out, did some adjustments to bring the tines to a more reasonable level of separation (they were too far apart, if I remember right), then made sure everything was aligned properly. And now, after these adjustments, it's a pretty decent writer - very smooth, no more skips and hard-starts. While I added a 4th star, I can't give if 5 stars because I shouldn't have needed to do all this in order to have the thing write consistently.

これは、良いです。この価格でプランジャーフィラーが手に入れられるとは。 機構もさることながら、作りも良く気圧を保つシール材もシリコン製で各部に嵌め込まれており、真面目な設計をされた万年筆です。 コーラ瓶の様な色味も大変美しくTACCAの北斎深緑インクを入れて書くと文字と本体の色味が合っています。 筆記感は所謂ガチペンですが、ペン先とフィードが出荷時から調整されているらしくジューシー且つ適切なフローで、文字に陰影が出来、筆記が楽しくなります。 イリジウムまで金メッキされてる仕様ですが、スケート場みたいにツルツルの筆記感になる直前のヌラヌラ感です。 ペリカンや上質なJowoスチールニブ装着の欧米万年筆、中華ではPENBBSのスチールニブ等には及びませんがこの価格でこの筆記性能は文句ありません。 逆によくこの価格でここまでの商品を作れたものだと感心してしまいます。 そのうちこの万年筆に合うペン先を探して交換してみるのも楽しそうです。 今のところこの独特な筆記感が面白いのでこのまま使おうと思います。 追記→ Kaigelu 316 万年筆 のペン先が装着出来ました ペン芯は交換せずペン芯だけを交換しました。 私のKaigelu 316 万年筆 のペン先は非常に弾力性がありスチールかつフレックスでもないのに、フレックス級の文字が書けます。イリジウムも良いものなのか、ヌラヌラと良く書けます。 このAsvine v126ペン芯との相性抜群で素晴らしいインクフローです。

Çok güzel kısmen hızlı geldi. Kalem çok şık ve sağlam çok tatlı pistonlu görüntüsü falan çok iyi ve sağlam bir şekilde geldi.

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Bonjour, j'ai reçu le stylo plume rapidement. Le stylo est très agréable à utiliser, la plume est solide et je peux écrire et dessiner avec. J'ai acheté une encre brune, j'adore le rendu ! C'est un chouette produit, à voir avec le temps.

Die Füllfeder ist wirklich sehr schön und hochwertig für den Preis. Wenn man sie mit etwas Geschick schafft voll zu füllen, passen doch fast 2,5ml rein, was sehr lange hält. Der Tintenfluss ist, wenn man sich im Klaren ist, dass man das Vakuum-Ventil gelegentlich öffnen soll, sehr gut - eher Nass. Skipping ist bei sehr glatten Papier manchmal ein Problem, da die Feder sehr poliert ist aber es hält sich nach ein wenig einschreiben wirklich in Grenzen und auf normalem Papier ist kaum der Fall. Dafür schreibt sie wirklich ungemein weich. Nun, Extra Fein ist sie vielleicht nicht ganz mit diesem eher üppigen Tintenfluss. Eher western-fine bis medium oder japanese-medium, je nach Tinte natürlich. Da ich eh eine Sheen-Tinte (Diamine Bloody Absynth: dunkelgrün mit pinkem Sheen) reingeben wollte, passt mir das eh gut, da der Sheen wirklich gut zur Geltung kommt. Diese Tinte kann jedenfalls auch gut der Grund für das Skipping und hard starting, das manchmal auftrat, sein. Die ist eher mürrisch und zäh (aber sooo schön!) Für diesen Preis kann man nichts falsch machen, so lange man weiß, was man hier kauft und wie man damit umgeht. Lieber bissl recherchieren vorher im Zweifelsfall. Befüllen braucht Fingerspitzengefühl und wird schnell zur Sauerei. Wem das zu blöd ist, der kann sie auch als Eyedropper mit Verschlussventil verwenden. Optimal jedoch zum Reisen bzw. generell für unterwegs!