Review: Manuscript Master Italic Calligraphy Pen @CultPens

This pen was sent over by Cult Pens for me to check out. I've never used a Manuscript fountain pen before, and I quite enjoy italic nibs, so I was looking forward to checking it out!

ABOUT

Body Material: Plastic & Metal
Trim: Chrome
Length (capped): 139.1 mm/5.47"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 123.6 mm/4.86"
Length (posted): 149.9 mm/5.90"
Barrel Diameter: 9.1 - 12.3 mm/0.36" - 0.48"
Section Diameter: 8.8 - 10.9 mm/0.34" - 0.43"
Nib material: Steel
Weight (all): 24 g
Weight (cap): 4 g
Weight (body): 20 g
Fill type: Cartridge/Converter (converter not supplied)
Price: £14.99inc VAT (£12.49 ex VAT)
Where to buy: Cult Pens

PACKAGING

The packaging for this pen is simple and useful. There is a cardboard sleeve wrapped around a rectangular metal tin. The tin is labelled Manuscript in the lower right hand corner. Inside, in a removable felt bed, is the pen. It was posted, sitting in the nest, and it came with two ink cartridges.

Tins like this are quite useful! I use tins like this for various purposes.

APPEARANCE

There is nothing particularly unique in the appearance of this pen. It's a rubbery black torpedo-shaped pen. The finial is just a rounded cone. The chrome clip is attached externally, and is sort of shaped like a wave. There are no markings on the pen except for the Manucript logo below the clip. The clip and logo were misaligned upon arrival but were realigned by twisting the cap.

The end of the pen has a removable, threaded end plug. What purpose that serves, I'm not sure. The section is the one thing about this pen I don't like. It's fairly thin, narrowing towards the nib before flaring out slightly into a metal lip again. At the narrowest point, there are grooves in the metal, presumably to facilitate grip.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is a steel 1.1 mm italic. It has a single slit, no breather hole, and is marked with the Manuscript logo, as well as England. It's on the smaller side, but it suits the pen.

Out of the box, the nib wrote well. It's a nice, crisp, precise medium italic. With moderate pressure, some line variation is possible, aside from the natural variation. It's a pleasant, expressive nib that doesn't skip or hard start.

It offers some fun line variation to normal writing, and is a size that is usable for everyday writing. Since it's not a gusher of a nib, that also makes it easier to use regularly as well.

IN HAND

The clip on this pen is springy and easy to operate. The section is the part of this pen that I dislike. It's metal, slippery, and the grooves hurt to grip. It's also quite thin, so although I can grip and use it, my hand cramped up pretty quickly. (Especially when focusing on learning a calligraphy style). Gripping it higher up on the section isn't helpful because my fingers juts slip down anyway. The section  makes this pen better for shorter writing sessions for me.

Unposted, the pen feels too heavy towards the front, where the large metal section outweighs the plastic barrel. The cap posts securely and adds more balance and weight to even out the balance.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

I thoroughly enjoy this nib, so I'm disappointed the section is so uncomfortable. There's nothing wrong with the pen - it works well and was well-adjusted upon arrival. The nib is expressive, fun, and writes well. Darn that section. It's still a decent pen to try out the 1.1 mm italic nib though. Especially because with fountain pens, it's inevitable you'll acquire more than one anyway. If you have smaller hands, the section will likely work better for you than someone with larger hands.

Thank you to Cult Pens for sending this pen for me to review!

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I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.