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I was disappointed with the rollerball

Fun to find this older review that I somehow missed. Good for all of us that you have kept at it. Thanks! Gorgeous pen, by the way. The age of this review reminds me that I often wonder what became of Lecter.

Whats wrong with this Iroshizuku ink? Mine does the same on paper, why is that?

ordered a nib(only) video is helpful

Thank you for the solid, informative review. BTW, we are in agreement regarding the rotating cap. I find it VERY annoying and I think it makes it more likely that the cap will separate from the pen body because of it's looseness. I also agree that the price is VERY high for what one gets, especially with a gold nib.

Thank you for review. The pen does not worth its price. With this level of railroading. Nope, thanks.

I heard that these are not actually made in Italy but in India, is that true?

I have owned 3 Montblanc pens over the years 2 Fountain and 1 Rollerball and I refuse to reveal how much money I wasted because I was told by pen snobs that I needed to use a Montblanc with a 24k nib to really know a true quality writing experience, I will only say this one was a StarWalker line and the other was a Meisterstück line and they never performed past a single fill because I was sorely disappointed in the writing experience, I have sold them since because they never performed up to expectations. I prefer metal pens with chrome trim I can’t stand gold trimmings but I have also found that I write best with an iridium nib or an 18k black nib something about the black coating gives me an extra smoothness but my Orange Jinhao 159 is my daily driver @ $10.92 with tax and writes beautifully I write almost entirely in Jinhao Sunny Orange ink unless it is something legal and then I use black or sky blue and my bottle brands shift with the wind, I am not a shimmer fan and tend to just stick with plain old straight ink no additives, however I would like to eventually try out a good quality iron gaul ink in black just to get a feel for what Colonial Writers experienced. I am also a big fan of cartridges even though on the back end it is the more costly form of ink fill but the convenience of carrying 2 extra and just popping it in and off to the races. One thing I would like to mention is that I have noticed a lot of people buy fountain pens and then expect that it should automatically be tuned to their writing style then get really frustrated with it every pen and more specifically every nib has to be adjusted to the writer they don’t come automatically adjusted, I am a soft touch with fountain pens and a heavy hand with rollerballs so I have to adjust the space between the nib and the feed or the ink will not flow and everyone is different so it takes adjustment time and it takes the knowledge and skills necessary to adjust the nib to their writing style so I always suggest that people seek out tutorials on nib adjustment and how to write with a fountain pen

I have a soubriquet made of eucalyptus and an ebonite dumka, both have 14k gold jowo nibs. Pierre Miller makes great pens. Thanks for the shootout !

Thank you. This is a great review and I completely agree with you - the finish is breathtaking. I agree with you on all points. I do have a Diplomat Aero (it was a gift) and I absolutely love it. My only complaint is that the cap does not include a cap liner - and this nib is prone to drying out. I also personally really like large ink capacity pens - and the international converter really doesn't carry a lot of ink either. But the pen is beautiful. And that finish - OMG - that finish is glorious.

Very helpful review, thank you.

That's what she said.

It is difficult to see the exact color, but to my eye this Soubriquet cries out for sbrebrown ink!

Lovely pens, lovely review. Thanks.

Kaweco quality control is rather questionable as I received mine and when I inked it up and tried to write it was a no go. Upon closer inspection I found that the nib was one solid piece, there was no slit from breather hole to tip, thus no ink flow. I contacted customer service in Germany and after many back and forth messages with pictures they have finally agreed to send me a replacement nib. We shall see how long it takes for replacement to arrive. In the meantime I ordered a replacement nib from online and have already received and installed it. Pen works great!

At half the price I would buy this thing for its aesthetics. At full price I am forced to stop and think, and then I realize I have no use case for a retractable fountain pen.

Have two Parkers, a fp and pencil. Both are 51series. Remind me of my deceased uncle who helped to rear me as my father, a Marine, went to war and later returned to civilian life. My uncle was a kindly man and I miss him to this day, sixty years later. My father was a good man who had to adjust to life aside from the military. Civilian airspace work.

Diplomat has become my favorite pen brand of all time just based on the quality of their nibs. The construction of their pens is always top notch as well.

You should have compared this to the Flame. Weight and finish.

I hadn’t given too much thought to a rotating non threaded cap, but on reflection, I’d prefer it didn’t. Rotation takes away from the solid feel the pen otherwise projects. We agree.

A squeaky cap bugs the living hell out of me personally

Min wrote fine immediately

I have one on order with a broad nib. Diplomat steel nibs are the best in the business. Have you weighed this pen - how many grams. I’m not at all bothered by a rotating cap. Diplomat only sell new nibs with a section- you can’t get a new nib on its own.

Snugly rotating cap like the Diplomat: fine, even enjoyable. Wobbly rotating cap like the Lamy aion: 🤮

The Aero is one of my favorite pens. All mine take some effort to rotate the cap (and I don't care about it rotating anyway - not a pet peeve of mine). I've never tried a gold nib because of the price jump. I would like to get this brass one but will wait until I see it on sale (< $200).

In the end it comes down to how the pen "feels in the hand", which one can only tell after using it for a while. Cheap pens are not necessarily better or worse than more expensive ones, and both in my opinion can be fun. Like you I am a user, I do not want to have a pen sitting around just to be admired. A great and valid discussion.

What a cool review, I think I will stick to the Parallels😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

What I like about this finish is that it's a good match for the Zeppelin steampunk feeling of the Aero's visual design. The two, appropriately, mesh perfectly like a pair of cogs.

Thank you for the review (o: I .. think the price is about somewhere between a factor 3 and 5 too high for what you get, but it IS a beautifully made item.

The rotating of the cap makes me question the longevity of the capping mechanism.

Am not sure about price being too much. Pens have gotten very expensive. Orient, Chinese in particular, have made impressive gains. Yes overall design very good save cap.

Conid used to customise pens similar to a musician's instrument. You could make custom requests and they would do it. They were so successful that they no longer bother to do that. They sell pens in pre-made batches through a retailer. Much of the appeal of a Conid is gone, yet the price has stayed the same or increased. Not to mention, the Conid has some design flaws that have not been corrected in over 6 years. It seems obvious that they stopped innovating due to their massive success. I welcome more competition in the market.

I can confirm this pen needs the breather tube. Fabulous flex for just fifty quid!

Rotating slip caps never bothered me. If it was a threaded cap, I'd be very upset

I’ve had my Aero for about 3 years and I not previously been aware that the cap could rotate. I’d like to say it doesn’t bother me but now I’ve discovered my Lamy 2000 does it too … excuse me please, while I quickly fashion a hat out of tinfoil.

Thank you for another great video!🙏

You are not insane. A cap should not slip, not at that price. Have a good summer

I am 100% with you on the rotating cap business. That and the price are a deal-breaker for me even though I love the pen.

The professional photos of this pen didn't quite do it for me to buy this pen, but you flinging it around with your "real life photography skills" seems to makes this pen much more attractive and usable as an everyday pen... So another bloody pen to add to my cart.

Heavy metal! Cue up the Dio: When there's lightning, you know it always brings me down 'Cause it's free and I see that it's me Who's lost and never found… ha! Sorry, love the pen, great review Stephen….jude

Thanks!

I bought a few cheap architect nibs, they are very smooth and good for a daily writer, but my favorote one is a custom medium architect I did myself. The line variation is insane but it sucks for anything other than printing as it skates all over the page

The distressed brass is gorgeous on the Aero; I don’t think photographs do it justice. I have an Aero in Flame and another in Citrus Green. The cap rotations are slight enough to pardon considering how much I enjoy their aesthetics and overall writing experience. While I don’t *need* a third Aero, Oxyd Brass is irresistible.

There is something in the water in or around the Diplomat factory as they ‘merely’ use Jowo nibs yet they are unanimously praised as being a cut above stock Jowo. I have owned precisely one Diplomat Aero and while the pen didn’t quite fit my grip style, I still sometimes gaze up into the night skies, wondering where that wonderful nib is right now. And is the nib thinking of me, too? (What is this, a Disney film??)

A rotating snap cap does not bother me in the slightest. If it dried out in less than a month of non-use, that would bother me. All of my Diplomat’s stay wet for at least that long.

I love the design, too, and I especially like the distressed look of this one! I own and enjoy my Orange and Black Aero (M steel nib). As long as the cap doesn't feel loose, the rotation wouldn't bother me but if it does feel loose, it would drive me nuts! Mine is snug without being tight - at least IMHO. Tx!!

They should have just come out with the bronze model because of course that is next. Regarding the cap rotation, does not bother me at all. I have a Cross Pinnacle and it rotates quite a bit but it has an inner seal and it never dries out, even for months.

Does the clip move left and right?

I keep my edc, a MB Mozart, loaded with Bay State Blue, and have never had a problem with it. Only once did another ink go inside this pen, and that was when I was at a pen show and had none of this ink, so refilled with a different blue ink, which I found to be entirely unsatisfactory. Someone recently posted on a Facebook fountain pen page that she thought I was brave or something similar. Not at all! Cleaning a glittery blue ink from an eyedropper-fill demonstrator pen today I had considerable difficulty removing the debris, was unable to get all the discoloration out of the cap, the section, even the tub of the ultrasonic bath. No such problems accrued to the pen that has BSB in it. Regarding your video, thanks for all the effort and the various unavoidable noises, but the accent was something like a Brooklyn accent as imagined by Hollywood, and not at all like a Boston accent. You do often amuse me, though, and I enjoy your care and attention to detail. Thank you.

We can safely add to the argument qualities particular to the pen-person duo. My first fountain pen, in my childhood, was a very cheap plastic colorful pen. I would love to find a similar one again. This time, though, I would not put nankin in it! :P