In advance, as always, I did not buy this pen, it was provided free of
charge in return for an honest review.
I always wonder when it comes to the naming of pens, some have model
numbers like most of the Hero and Jinhao ranges (Probably to avoid any comeback
on copyright), some have grand names that speak of grand purpose, such as the
Graf Von Faber Castell Catherine Palace, named for the building of the same
name. Some...
Well, Super 5 has the feel that the creator might have been watching
Battle of the Planets when thinking of the name, couldn’t get past the idea, so
counted up the heroes and then added “Super” to it...
Cheerfully, the pen isn’t anywhere near that derivative...
The Super 5 I was given to try came in an all black finish, with a 0.5
mm “calligraphy” nib. Immediate question
posed on those dimensions would be how can you do calligraphy with a nib that’s
leaner than most medium ballpoints?
The answer...?
You can’t...
That said, what you can do is a lot of writing, and that’s what I’ve
been doing. The construction is
interesting, plastic cap and back with a solid metal nib and barrel. The net result of which is that the pen is
very base heavy, almost as much as the average desk pen when it comes to trying
to find the balance point. This in turn provides a very stable grip because all
the weight of the pen is in your fingers, and because it’s metal, you can apply
as much or as little grip as you like and the pen is good for it.
The flow is good, fast enough to write at a good pace, not so fast that
you end up pooling it and having to drain it out. The nib is absolutely firm, no give in it at
all, similar to the regular LAMY nibs, but with a leaner profile to them. It takes international standard cartridges,
was supplied with one containing blue ink, and a curiosity in the form of an
international cartridge with no base on it.
Bemused, I just fitted the standard Blue cartridge and got to work with
it.
Nice lines, good feel to the pen, and while it’s not as cheap as most
entry level pens, the weight and construction of the barrel gives it the feel
of a much more expensive pen. For me, it
was very comfortable to use, no weight in the back of the pen and no resistance
when I was writing. The speed of the
flow suggests that the pen is set up more to use the Super 5 inks that I got
with it, inks that are thicker than regular fountain pen ink whilst being very
wet at the same time. I’m going to give
them a try in the next few days and see what comes of them.
Overall though, I like this pen, very comfortable to use, light enough
that long writing sessions won’t cause fatigue, and cheap enough that if
something were to happen to it, I wouldn’t be able to get another one.
Recommended.
