Customer Reviews

Costomer reviews are usually helpful - before considering a product, I scroll down the reviews, hoping those are genuine, client, ones.

Now, this this pen is so extraordinary, that I have decided to write a review, too, to make sure to praise the writing wonderpen!

First, the price / quality ratio is amazing! It is a very well-crafted stylo à plume, like the Japanese make them, epecially the Pilot company. (I have recently realized that I have many Pilot pens and mech. pencils - more than those manufactured any other firm.)

So, the Penmanship is yet another addition to that fine, legendary family.

I read here that with this pen some buyers have had some problems - well, mine started writing beautifully from the very first stroke. Ideal ink flow, perfect line, strong and flexible enough nib (the same the Prera has, only the EF calibre). I fell in love with this pen and crave grabbing it, going back to it the moment I can. You need a good paper though to have an optimal writing experience - but the Penmanship will write well on virtually any paper.

I intend buying one more of this pen, to carry one around and to keep one home, in a safer environment. Arigato, Pilot team! And thanks to JetPens for importing and promptly delivering the products.

An amazing pen for the price! Produces a very fine line, comparable to my 0.3mm Hi-Tec C. The ink that came in the included cartridge seems to make the pen a little scratchier (and it has a bit of an odd chemical smell to it?), but once I refilled the cartridge with Noodler's Heart of Darkness, it writes very smoothly considering how fine the tip is. I emptied and refilled the included cartridge with a syringe, but I believe the Pilot CON-20 and CON-50 converters are also compatible.

The body is lightweight plastic, and the triangular molded grip is actually quite intuitive and comfortable. The screw-on cap can be inconvenient, but it's a minor complaint in an otherwise effective design.

All in all, a wonderful choice for those looking for a cheap, refillable pen that produces a very fine line. With a converter and a bottle of ink, you can also write in any color. Perfect for detailed drawings or sketches...I'll definitely be using this a lot!

For the money, you couldn't ask for a better extra-fine fountain pen.

True, the Penmanship is usually a little dry and scratchy at first, but after some tuning or a short breaking-in period, it's well worth the investment. The line is indeed *extra fine*, slightly thinner than a Signo DX 0.28 mm. The steel nib provides only a tiny amount of flex and virtually no variation. The sleek design is surprisingly ergonomic, but extended periods of writing may tire your hand as the nib dries out and becomes scratchier, requiring a half hour of capped time to "recharge."

These quirks aside, however, remember that you're paying only $7.50 for an amazingly precise and refillable fountain pen.

I'm relatively new to fountain pens in general and am used to writing with gel (Signo 207) or liquid ink pens (Pilot V5) typically in .5mm, but have recently switched to the .38mm. My goal was to find a fountain pen that wrote in a thinner line compared to my Lamy Al-Star Safari in EF. I did some side-by-side comparison lines with a .5mm Pilot V5 (liquid ink), .38mm Signo 207 gel ink, Lamy Al-Star Safari w/EF nib and the Pilot Penmanship in EF. The results are as follows...the Lamy appeared to be just the tiniest bit wider than the .5mm V5, however that could have simply been because it feathered a little on the cheap paper I used, so we could almost call it a draw. The Pilot Penmanship was noticeably thinner than both and was just fractionally wider than the .38mm Signo, which again, could have been the paper, but probably less of an issue between these two pens compared to the V5 & 207 though. If I had to put a number to it, I'd say the Penmanship is approximately equal to a .4mm gel in width. Now all that said, let's talk about how it is to write with...on cheap paper, it felt scratchy, on nicer papers it smoothed out considerably...in my regular journal, I wrote a full page without a single skip or scratch on the up-strokes, so I feel this pen is simply more susceptible to paper quality than some of the wider tips (which I guess make sense since the wider the tip, the more surface area the pen has to scroll over the minute imperfections in the surface of the paper itself).

If one is obsessive about tiny writing, I don't think you're going to find anything thinner than this nib...from what I've read in other reviews, it appears that this nib can be swapped onto a few of the other Pilot FPs (78, Prera, Plumix), but I don't know if it can go on any others. For $8, it's a heck of a deal! The screw-on cap is secure, but maybe slightly awkward to take on and off continuously, but at least it can post on the other end. Just wish there was a clip to hook onto the rings of a notebook!

I lost the first of these pens last week (6 days ago) at work, and it only took 3 days for JetPens to ship my replacement! Awesome!

I love the way this pen writes! The extra-fine nib is perfect for the way I write (I have to write between small spaces), and the blue of Noodler's Ink Baystate blue looks wonderful on paper with this pen.

The CON-20 and CON-50 fit well into this pen, and well worth the purchase.

For the price and daily utility, this pen is gold!

I just wish it had a clip to stay put in my lab coat (which is the reason why it was lost to begin with).

I use this pen for drawing with the Platinum Carbon ink. The point is very fine, much more so than my Lamy Safari EF, allowing for great detail. The result is great. I will be buying more of these.

I have this pen in the clear body and I absolutely love it. It writes smooth and even. I love the extra fine point. Not scratchy to write with but very fine. Comfortable grip.

Amazing pen at any price. I have another fountain pen that I use only because I paid ten times as much for it.
After writing with it for a while all traces of scratchiness left. Comments about it being scratchy must be due it being brand new or to cheap paper — it is a very fine point. I don't know how Pilot does it.

I got this last week. It had a hard time starting, so I changed the ink out. Still no luck. Got the flow better writing with the nib almost sideways. I was so frustrated I bent the tip slightly downward and widened the channel. I filed the tip a bit with a nail file and voila. It is finally working. It is still a bit scratchy, but that is to be expected with a tip this small. All in all, I am disappointed. The Platinum Preppy I got with my ink writes great with no modifications or tinkering. Maybe I just got a lemon.

I am truly impressed by this pen. It is so cheap, but it is much, much better than that $150 Cross pen I was using. I like its light weight so that I can concentrate on writing. It becomes my daily pen now. In the meantime, I am ordering one more for a back-up pen.

This pen is super awesome. It's cheap so I can buy a lot without feeling guilty. The line quality is fine and smooth. The grip is firm and fits my tiny hand. I've got a lot of compliments on the sleek design. Plus it's great for writing in Japanese, lettering, or drawing!

Now for the downside, it might be kinda small if you have big hand. Not good for lefties (verify by my lefty friend). Converters are pricey. And it takes sometimes to break in. It'll be scratchy and not so smooth at first. Just give it a little time and it will write smoothly!

I like it so much I bought 6 of these. I'm thinking of getting one for my sister and my best friend too!

Buyers should be aware that all fountain pens take a page or two of writing before it writes completely smoothly and has totally smooth ink flow.
The simplest way to get the pen moving again if it's gotten a little dry by not writing with it at all for 30 min to one hour (depending on the humidity and brand of ink used) is to open your ink bottle, even if you're using a cartridge, and simply dipping the tip of the pen in the ink for about 10 sec. If it's still skipping by not getting a steady flow of ink, then use the nails of your thumb and middle finger to gently scrape off any paper fibers that could be damming up the ink flow. This only happens when writing on cheap'o paper, like most of us do, such as regular notebook paper or the cheap stuff used in copying machines and the paper most of us use in our printers at home.
Even pens with an extra fine nib write flawlessly on vellum or paper with a high rag content. This pen will write nearly flawlessly on the cheap stuff. It is that good. I was given one by my brother last Christmas with a fine nib, but I want one with an extra fine nib. Otherwise I usually use a 3x0 drafting pen. I write extremely small and I am always writing organic chemical reactions or writing quantum mechanics. A writing instrument that puts out a very fine line is very important in my work.

It is my 3rd kind of fountain pens, I never ordered from this site before and was pleased with it, I will be ordering much more from now on.
About the Pen:
There's not much I can say, other than that is a relatively well made pen. It is plastic so it scratches easily. I also worry about the screwing parts, since they made of plastic I worry about over turning it and breaking it. The delivery was very quick 2-3 days, to US (Florida). Nice stylish pen, writes very thin and fine lines. I've also ordered a converter that was mentioned above, it is very helpful! Ink I'm using is "waterman-serenity blue" very nice color, if you slightly mix it with "waterman- audacious red" it gives your purplish color!

This pen is amazingly fine and amazingly smooth for how fine it is -- and cheap. I have no idea how Pilot does it. Reviews that downgrade this pen indicate to me that every now and then there's a lemon. In my opinion it would be worth taking a chance on having to sending it back for exchange.

LOVE IT!! If you love fountain pens, and love an extra fine line then this is the pen for you!!!!!!! As usual, my Jet Pens order arrived on the third business day!!!!!! It always seems that I place an order, turn around and there it is!!
Oddly enough the line quality of this pen (and the clear body which I also purchased) is like the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25. Seems like I'm always happy with a Pilot product.
This pen started up right out of the box (not really a box). It writes a smooth skip-free line.
I use this pen and my other fountain pen for drawing/sketching so they have to be able to make a line with all stroke directions - side to side, up or the usual down stroke.
Additional note for lefties:
I am ambidextrous, albeit right hand dominant. So, though I use most fine-point pens with my right hand I checked the writability of this pen with my left hand and it worked just fine.

Writes a *very* fine line, which I love, just a hair thicker than my .3mm ballpoint. After flossing with a nylon quilting thread, it lays down a consistent line with Private Reserve Tanzanite. It has a little bit of a scratchy feel, but maybe that's because the nib is so fine. I use a con-50 converter in it. I wish I'd gotten the clear instead, so I could convert it to an eyedropper and see when I need ink. Maybe I'll have to buy one of those now.....

This was my very first fountain pen, and so it holds a bit of special place. That being said it is really a great pen, it has the finest line, if not a bit on the scratchy sound when writing. But the sound has no bearing on how well it writes, the line is extra fine and consistent as well. I bought this pen with the squeeze type converter, and I must say that it works really well. I also love that fact that it has the ergonomic grip so you have to write with the proper grip. I also like that the cap is a twist on one. I will say that it is meant more to be a desk pen, as it doesn't have a clip, which in my book would have made it even better. But not enough for me to knock off a star. All in all a great pen to start off your fountain pen collection.

I thoroughly enjoyed using this pen as my daily writer. I used it with both Pilot cartridges and the corresponding converter. It has an extra fine nib, and produces an extremely fine line. In fact, it writes a finer line than any other EF nib I have used. The pen writes relatively smooth considering how fine it writes. It is not incorrect to say that it is "scratchy" but that comes with the territory with such a fine nib. I find that it even writes well on cheap notebooks and the like, though occasionally paper fibers can get caught in the nib.

I carried mine in my pocket for months, and eventually it broke because of that. The plastic body isn't made to hold up forever. If you are more careful with it, you could get much more use out of it. Overall, considering the price, this pen is a great value!

I've tried many a pen for quick writing and easy drawing and this one is unparalleled in consistency of ink flow, fine line and easy to manage.

I've made it one of my top choices and daily users.

I bought one of these on eBay years ago and did not know it was called the Penmanship. I always referred to it as my "eared" pen. :-) I love extra fine lines but like them to be dark and my nib not to be dry. This fits the bill, and for an amazingly cheap price.

I love the "waist" on the pen too, otherwise called the shaped grip. The ears keep it from rolling off a desk, and the tiny cap seals out the air very well, so the pen stays wet. I don't know why I don't use this pen more. It is fabulous for writing on calendars or in datebooks or on any porous paper that won't handle a wet or vintage nib. The black and red minimalist look is very cool too.

I am coming back for a clear one for my spouse, who loves very fine black lines.

The only incompatibility I found with this pen is that it is uncomfortable for me to hold. My normal grip has the distance between my thumb and index finger and the nib tip measuring about 0.75 inches. The ergo grip of this pen increases that distance to more than 1 inch, which changes the dynamic of my writing (not for the better). I compensate by positioning my hand lower down at the very bottom of the ergo area where the plastic flanges out, which is not where my fingers are supposed to be, and my middle finger ends up being very sore after less than 5 minutes of writing. As a result, I won't be using it as often and for as long as I'd like to.

It's too bad because I really like the XF nib and inkflow, which I have had no issues with. Depending on where you like to position your fingers though, the ergo grip may or may not work for you.

P.S. Jet Pens' service was awesome!

The design is great, but the function is lacking. I find this pen to be very fussy and would not recommend it. Half the time, it won't write at all and the other half, it barely produces a line. I am always taking it apart to clean the nib, which helps a bit. I ended up buying a Lamy Safari, extra-fine nib, which is a better fountain pen by far!

If you are looking for a cheap, worth the buck fountain pen that produces thin, fine lines, look no more!! The Penmanship should make you very happy. However do not expect an exceptionally smooth nib, or a wet line, cause this pen is inevitably a bit scratchy and the nib is a bit dry.

Right now the only problem I have with this pen is that it cannot produce a horizontal line from left to right without fading to almost nothing - I hope it is not because of my receiving a defective unit. Otherwise this pen has been good enough for the money. I am glad overall that I purchased it.

This pen is not for lefties. Being ambidextrous, I was able to test it with both hands. From the left side the ergo grip doesn't hold the pen at quite the right angle for the best writing. It's more scratchy and less ink seems to flow.

From the right hand, its great -- incredibly fine tip and very smooth for such a low price.

This Pilot PenManShip is Awesome! The lines it produces are extremely thin which is a good thing for me. It is scratchy at first but after the ink starts flowing, it will write really smooth. Overall it's a great fountain pen for taking notes or just everyday writing and the best part is the price. It's really cheap although dont let that throw you off, the pen is cool, above average writing, and its got style (thats the best part).