Customer Reviews

somehow, i didn't notice the dime in the picture of this pen. It is a very nice looking pen, but a lot smaller than i expected. It is a little bit wider than a wooden pencil. That being said - i quite like it. It needs a bit of a tune up before use. The ink didn't flow very well out of the box, but after some tweeking it is now performing well.

Quite a nice pen. The design is excellent, and it writes well. The compact capped form is handy and fits in a pants pocket without trouble, and it fits the hand well when open. The barrel seemed a touch narrow when writing at first, but I adapted to it after only a few minutes of use. The aluminum construction is lightweight and lends itself to a light stroke on the page.

The nib takes a little 'warming up', that is it improves with use, but after a couple of weeks of light use I find it writes well. The pen has also survived a few inadvertent 'drop tests' with no mess, loss of functionality, or obvious damage. I'm glad I got this pen; it is well worth the cost.

Just received my tiny Rook in the mail today. It is so cute. Once I figured out how to open it. . . it began writing instantly. It writes very smoothly for me. I love the look of this pen and its portable size.
The fine nib isn't as fine as other Japanese F pens (i.e. Hero) or even my Sheaffer 330. It's between a fine and medium western nib.

The look and size of this pen is fantastic but loses its appeal as soon as it touches the paper. I am very disappointed in this pen. The ink flow was abysmal. The tip was very rigid and would scratch the paper. This is not a smooth pen at all. I feel like I wasted the money on this pen.

My newly purchased Rook is a really nice fountain pen: I fitted it with a Diamine Turquoise international cartridge and from the get-go, flow was optimal, it writes a nice, steady, and consistent line, and it\'s compact size is just what I was looking for. For the $, it\'s a good deal if you need a fp.

I love this little pen! I love writing with fountain pens, but find the design of most of them to be lacking in elegance or imagination, especially for the price. This pen had a clever, functional, and beautiful design.

It is quite small, but writes comfortably in my largeish female hands. I emptied out the cartridge and filled the pen with J. Herbin Rouge Hematite, which is a perfect ink for this pen.

It's lightweight enough to clip to a shirt without dragging it down.

Most importantly, it writes beautifully, and right out of the box at that. I adore my Ohto Dude, but probably spent two hours adjusting the nib until it wrote well. This is smooth as silk.

I love this little pen.
I like to always keep something to write with in my purse or pocket, and this is so small that it's in no way a hassle. Not to mention it's even good if I'm not carrying a purse! This little guy fits in tiny girl-jean pockets, and can be clipped discreetly to a waist ribbon on a dress or tossed in a clutch purse. Not to mention it's fashionable so it can be pulled out in any occasion and will probably get some people asking where you got it, it's a cute conversation starter.

Writing-wise I don't have the same complaints as others. I did notice a more watery look to the ink when I first used it, but I always use a pen for a while to be sure it just doesn't need breaking in. It has served me well for a long time, never stuttering or skipping. I did notice, probably because of the fine nib, that some inks write lighter than expected, but it isn't a really big problem in my opinion, it's something I see in a few of my fine-nibbed pens.

I loved the size and style of this compact pen but was quite disappointed in how the ink flow was erratic and the the overall writing experience was scratchy. I, too, observed a slight misalignment between the metal part of the nib and the black part under the nib. Perhaps poor quality control. I'm kind of bummed because I bought extra ink for this pen, but will probably not use the pen, nor consider buying another Ohto.

Nice design, compact size, excellent fit and finish, all metal. The main gripes are irregular ink flow (which may improve with use), small size for my man hands and the cap closure is tight making it difficult to open the pen. There is nothing to grip when opening.

While I enjoy the shape and weight of this pen, it's a drag to write with. No matter what kind of paper I write on, it feels like I'm writing on a knobby plastic cutting board. Ink flow with the supplied ink was erratic, and using different inks has only helped the problem to a small degree. The black plastic piece beneath the metal nib does not line up straight, so I thought I might experience the leakage problems I've read about other reviewers having, but I've had no trouble. I would not recommend this item, and I'm sorry that I bought it.

This was my first Ohto fountain pen. I liked the design in the pictures, but was a little skeptical because of the reviews that I'd seen for the Ohto fountain pens in general. I ordered it, and I am very glad I did. The size and shape of the pen is even better than I imagined. The fit and finish of the pen itself is a little "tinny" and OK, but it writes like a dream right out of the box. The ink flow is Goldielocks perfect for me (I'm a lefty) not too wet, not too dry. Love the pen!

I love the design of this pen!! The way it folds up is great, it looks phenomenal, and the thin, anodized feeling of the barrel is quite nice to hold onto when writing. The fine line it makes is perfect, with just the right flow to make a dark line, but doesn't bleed, and looks perfectly neat and tidy. It allows me to write small and compact, the way I like to.

LOVE THE PEN. It is true that at the beginning, I was disappointed with the nib because it was scratchy and rough. However, it's been 5 days since I got my Ohto Rook Fountain Pen and I've been using it ever since. Either I got so use to writing with it, or because it is not as new anymore, I do not feel the scratchiness when I write! In fact, I am completely in love with this pen and I will use it forever!! The Ohto Rook Fountain Pen is my FAVORITE so far :D

I had been looking for an inexpensive fountain pen that I could carry around in my shirt pocket and the Ohto Rook has proved to be ideal. When posted, it is a perfect length and feels very comfortable in the hand. My pen wrote smoothly from the moment it arrived and the ink flow is very good, with no skipping. While a converter won't fit in the pen, it does take inexpensive short international cartridges. This has the advantage of being able to carry an extra cartridge in a pocket or handbag should the pen run out of ink when one is away from home or office. The aluminum and orange color makes for a striking look and design.

This is no posh pen but an inexpensive workhorse that happens to look fantastic. It is just what I wanted as an everyday writer when away from home.

I love this pen! It writes well, puts down a fairly fine line - not as fine as say, my Sailor, but it is a fraction of the price. It's design is very clever, compact is an understatement! It also seems to travel well. The body is metal, not plastic, and the finish and quality seem high. I'm not sure how the anodized? finish will stand up to long term use, but for now it's a very attractive and functional little object.

Small stature but big on style. This is one of those odd little things that you run across, don't spend too much money on, that works about as well as you would expect. It is a small pen, and when it arrived, at first I didn't remember what I had ordered that was so damn small! But, it works. If you want a great writing pen, go with a Sailor or Pilot. If you want something that no one else has, or has seen, go with this one. It writes okay, albeit not perfectly, and the fine nib is much like an extra fine nib from other manufacturers.

4 out of 5 stars, as it needs to write better to get the 5th star.

This is a fine little pen! And when I say "little," I mean LITTLE. It's super tiny, but quite comfortable to write with when posted, at least for my smallish hands. The cap snaps securely onto the pen, and holds well when posted, also, so you don't need to worry about it flying off.

The only thing keeping this pen from getting full stars was that I had to carefully adjust how the feed and nib lined up before I started writing. Didn't take long, but I was worried I would break it, as this is my first foray into the fountain pen world.

It's a pity it won't take a converter (truly, even a mini-converter would be too long), but for now I'm liking the J. Herbin Perle Noire cartridge I have loaded in it.

I wanted a mini fountain pen, and this certainly fits the description. Capped, it's the same length as my Fisher Bullet Space Pen, and it's not much thicker. Posted, it's plenty long enough to write with, due to the extra long cap, although it feels a little thin. For now, I'll carry it in a shirt pocket, but could probably carry it in a pants pocket like the Fisher.

Writing quality was very poor at first, with little ink flow. After flushing it out, adjusting nib and feed, and finally spreading the tines slightly, it now writes well. So far I'm using a Monteverde red cartridge, which isn't the greatest ink in any case. I have other colors, and a cartridge can be refilled, using a syringe, with any ink you want. This pen isn't suitable for eyedropper conversion, and there's no converter I know of that would work.

After all the fiddling with nib and feed I had to do, this could have been three stars instead of four. The end result is an excellent little pen, with no defects in materials, and if you're lucky, you'll get one that works right away. On the other hand, you might have to tune it a bit.

First Fountain Pen In 25 Years.
The first thing I did with this pen was to write on the ceiling while locating studs to hang shelving.
The second thing I did was chase my cousin around her house trying to get the pen back!
I carry this pen in my pocket and compare it to the Fisher Space Pen I also carry. So far, each have their pro's and con's, but the Ohto Rook Fountain Pen is a lot more fun to pull out and show off! Everyone is interested in the thing the minute they see it and after they find out it's a fountain pen they are amazed and want to play with it.
I don't write books. I keep only the sparsest personal log. I have lousy hand writing. This fountain pen makes it more fun to write, perhaps I will write more just for having the Otho Rook fountain Pen!

I love this little pen! It has a very smooth writing line, and when you post the cap, it's comfortable in the hand. I generally prefer broad nibs, but this one writes really nicely.

I so want to love this pen, but after using it for several weeks, I've got to give it a thumbs down. With small hands, I actually like the tiny size, and it's lovely to look at. I find it somewhat difficult to open, and also hard to keep the top in place when the pen is in use; it seems to want to slide off, and if I stick it on firmly, I usually end up partially unscrewing the top of the pen when I try to pull off the top after use.

But the real problem is the nib, which works poorly even after weeks of use. It's uneven, it's blobby, I get spots with virtually no ink at all and others that are much thicker than fine--and that's just in one 3/4-inch downward stroke. The only way I can get even a decent result is to push down hard, which yields a fat line of text and makes my hand hurt--hardly what I'm after in a fountain pen with a fine nib. Compared to my other "entry-level" pen, a Kaweco Sport, this one just doesn't compare.

From the moment I received this pen, I was shocked. I didn't expect the pen to be smaller than what I actually thought it would be. I like writing with the cap on even though I have small hands. When writing with the pen, I actually get to write how quickly I want to, From slow to fast, this pen has a good consistent flow of ink. No matter how fast I write, the ink flow keeps on coming. Ever since I have been taking it to school for class, I have been using this pen. My friends really love the pen a lot. When my friend dropped the pen on accident, I was surprised that there was no visible scratches or marks on it. This is one of the best pens ever in my opinion.

Like others reviewing here, I purchased the Rook for its looks. Five stars in that category for the brushed metal, and contemporary design…I have had a number of people comment on the Rook when I am writing with it.

The Rook is tiny, not that I was surprised. Unposted, it is impossible to write with; like writing with a pencil stub. Posting the cap makes it usable. Initially I had a hard time inking it up and the ink flow, once it started, was inconsistent. After a short break in, these problems disappeared. The nib is German, writes smoothly, and lays down what looks more like a medium line than a fine one.

Overall, the Ohto Rook is a better than average pen, and for the price, perhaps should be considered a very good pen.

The pen design is simply GORGEOUS. I love it's aluminum body and I love its beautiful orange color and I love its ability to fold into a nice convenient tube. This was exactly what convinced me to purchase it in the first place. I feel that it is a great pity, but compared to the fountain pens created by kaweco, the ohto rook fountain pen is very rough and inflexible to write with. I really hoped I would fall in love with it, but I am very disappointed...

I've spent money on fountain pens for the last 15 years from 5$ to 90$ and every one of them fails so often that I've thrown them away. I used to keep a cup of water on my desk. I would have to dip the nib in the water to get it writing. Got this one today, it wrote my name and a few other things and failed. So this could be called the 15 minute pen. This thing couldn't cost more than that dime laying next to it in the picture to manufacture. Lower the price and send me a refund, minus the dime.