pen 50: pilot varsity fountain pen

welcome to the 50th post here at a pen a day...

hooray.

when i noticed that i was approaching the semi-centennial/quinquagenary post here on a pen a day, i started thinking about whether or not i should mark the occasion with some fun over the top event or promotional gimmick... then i realized that not only am i fairly lazy but that the scope of my audience is what i would call quality viewers and not quantity.

i blame you.

just kidding.

so, in honor of the 50th post i decided to feature a pen that i had yet to review, the fountain pen.

when i was in third or fourth grade i remember being into two things, pomegranates, and fountain pens.

both of these preoccupations turned out to be rather brief, as they both stained my clothes and fingers made large messes, were difficult to use and wound up not being worth the effort.

i remember realizing why someone made the ballpoint pen, and why persephone managed to eat only six seeds before finding out that she had signed on to be the goddess of hades, by the way, she's apparently why we have fall and winter.

the pilot varsity is a disposable fountain tip pen that goes for around two to four dollars a pen, they come in seven different colors and are sold individually, in packs of three, seven, and twelve.

the fine print on the back claims that it has an advanced liquid ink system and unique real fountain pen nib that guarantee smooth writing. since i was given this pen by a friend, and it was empty at the time i can't really comment on the ink, however, as you see in the video, i figured out how to refill the unit with india ink, that stuff can be messy but the nib on the pen does work rather well and the overall feel and results came out fairly good. due to my experiences in the past with fountain pens, i no longer carry one around with me, be it in a pocket or bag. its simply not worth the risk of a leak.

because this isn't a stock pen, i have to decide if the novelty of having a pen that looks different and maybe kinda cool is worth the money that i could be investing on another speciality pen. at this point i haven't made up my mind. 

so, enjoy the video, unfortunately i didn't get the part where i basically soaked myself with ink. i'm sure something stupid like that would have scored some more hits on youtube.  

as you can see, there is no shortage of pens to review... 

what have i gotten myself into?

edit:

pen 41: the v ball extra fine has had a facelift, just thought i'd share. new look, same quality.