Yellow Filigree

"Hi, Norm! I got the Bookworm Yellow Filigree yesterday, and I’m thrilled with the pen. It’s beautiful and writes very nicely. So I thought I’d write you a review for it. Here goes:

I just purchased the Bookworm Yellow Filigree fountain pen and I am very happy with this pen. I inked it up with Diamine Autumn Oak, which beautifully highlights the color of the barrel. The filigree is gorgeous, too. Just enough bling to set it off without being ostentatious. I love this pen partly because yellow is one of my favorite colors, particularly this shade of golden yellow. The barrel has shimmery lights running through it and it is gorgeous. Also, the pen writes very nicely. Norm must have inspected and tuned it, because it writes with no hesitation or scratchiness. I can’t stand a scratchy pen. It writes wet enough as well. I am thrilled to have found a source for fountain pens where every pen that goes out is inspected and corrected as needed. After buying LOTS of pens that come out of the box scratchy or dry, I can finally buy fountain pens knowing what to expect when I receive my pen. I am and will continue to be a repeat customer. Well, Norm, I guess that says it all. I am very happy with my yellow filigree pen. I love the color; it makes me happy to pick it up and use it. Of course, having it write nicely makes me very happy as well. I will definitely buy pens from you again in the future. Thanks, and have a great day!"

D. H., Colorado Springs, CO

"Dear Norman, Thank you for your wonderful service. I have the Bookworm Yellow Filigree inked up, and it's a delightful pen. Thank you for whatever work you did on the nib and feed to make it work right out of the wrapper. And thank you for your delightful note enclosed in the box. I'm happy to let others know that you give good service at a good price."
A. S., Mineola, NY

"Hi Norman, I received the pens yesterday. I am happy to report that all 4 pens [Invincia Stylus and Uranus 966 pens] work great right out of the box! I have been using fountain pens for many, many years and have bought more than my share. I have found that buying pens online is pretty tricky. I generally prefer to go to a store and try out the specific nibs, to make sure the alignment, flow and smoothness are what I expect. I have had mixed experiences even with high end pens like Montblanc (I even took a pen to their repair center, but it has never worked quite right). I really like Lamy pens, but I would not buy them online either, because of the variations in the nibs. The reason for mentioning this is that your shipments are the exception. I have now (between this last order and the previous one) purchased about a dozen pens from you. Every one of them has had great flow, smoothness and alignment. Every one. Thank you again for your attention to detail and as always, your handwritten, sealed note."
T. D., Thornhill, Canada

"Good morning Norman. The pen arrived yesterday. Record time! As I expected, the Israeli customs does not stop the cheap mail options. I was attracted by the name as I am a book worm. The design is good. There is a lot of thought there and the nib is excellent. Thanks very much for giving me a lot of pleasure."
C. S., Israel

"Mr. Haase, I received my new pen today. I love the Book Worm and find the small flaw is only a 'character mark'. I inked it with the Chocolat Private Reserve from my last order, and enjoyed making a long list with it. I am pleased with how pretty it is and feminine it feels in my hand, and yet looks like a fine tool when in my husbands hand. Very pleasant to view and a nice pen to write with. Slightly heavy, but not awkward. Amazing value for such a slim price."
J. F., Dallas, OR

"Norm: I was very impressed with the last three pens that I bought from you. In fact the Bookworm Yellow Filigree is sitting on my desk in front of me and I use it every day. It writes very smoothly and I love it...it is a truly fine writing instrument and it looks great!"
A. S., Laurel, MD

"Bookworm safely arrived yesterday. Inked this AM. Like it! I am normally not into "gaudy" pens, but this one "grabbed" me for some reason. I also normally do not like "heavy" but do if well-balanced in MY hand and this one is."
C. H., Louisville, KY

Here's a pen I couldn't resist importing from China. First, what a great company name....Bookworm! Second, it's really quite a stunning design with its metal filigree work, capping the middle section of celluloid or resin (it's difficult to tell what the actual material is).

The reason I'm offering a pen of such size and heft -- 5-3/8" capped and 6-1/2" posted, with underlying brass construction -- at such a low price is two-fold. First, these do not come boxed. Second, the 'fit & finish' leaves a bit to be desired. There are no egregious problems, but I noticed that the black barrel end or cap on almost all of the pens I received had less-than-perfect lacquering. Primarily, this means that there are either some very small bubbles in the lacquer, the lacquer wasn't applied perfectly evenly, or both. In many cases this isn't apparent without an examination employing a loupe (which I do with all pens), but I wonder if posting the cap too many times might not expose the brass underneath (the pen is large enough that posting isn't required). Anyway, rather than ship these back for exchange, I thought I'd offer them to you at a very reasonable price, as they're so distinctive.

This new version of the Silver Checks comes with a Chinese calligraphy nib, or 'art' nib. As can be seen from the upward sweep of it profile, this type of nib bears no relationship to a western-style calligraphy nib. This nib should be thought of more as a 'metal brush', designed to approximate the brushstrokes used in traditional Chinese calligraphy. Although words can indeed be written with this style of nib, it should in no way be considered a regular writing pen, and works best when held more like a traditional Chinese calligraphy brush, as illustrated below. Even to describe the point as a 'light-medium' doesn't really mean too much in a conventional fountain pen sense. The two-toned, steel nib differs in design on its face from the conventional nib (detailed further down the page) as well. I certainly can't say that I've mastered writing or drawing with the pen, but it's been fun trying

Other than the filigree overlay -- which is quite well done -- there's no other ornamentation (such as a brand name) on the outside of the pen. With the overlay, the double cap rings and the somewhat dagger-like clip, I guess the designers felt more would be gilding the lily.

Removing the slip cap -- which securely reattaches with a satisfying snap -- reveals the two-toned steel nib, in the attractive ovals pattern that's also employed by certain Jinhao and Duke models, although the nibs themselves are not identical. Also revealed is the company name of Bookworm, engraved in script. The nibs I received fall into my light-medium category, meaning that it lays down a line somewhere between a typical western fine and medium nib.

Unscrewing the section from the barrel, one finds the included piston converter for bottled ink (as well as the second instance of the name Bookworm). The converter includes a little agitator ball to help prevent adherence of the ink to the plastic walls of the cylinder, but it's still recommended to run a dilute solution of dishwashing soap (two or three drops to a small bowl of water) through a new pen a few times, followed by water only. Step one is effective at removing manufacturing oils that can tend to make the ink less than enthusiastic in heading from the converter to the nib, and step two removes the traces of the detergent you've used...which tends to have the opposite, diuretic effect.

The pen will also fit international-style ink cartridges, such as those from Private Reserve.

IMPORTANT SERVICE NOTE: Every nib that ships from His Nibs is closely examined under high magnification and tuned or adjusted if needed. About 85% of modern nibs need some adjustment out-of-the-box from the manufacturer for an optimal writing experience. Most commonly, the tines of the nib are misaligned -- which would cause scratchiness at the minimum; the slit between the tines is partially or fully closed -- which would starve the nib of ink and at best cause skipping; or the slit between the tines is too wide -- which will either again cause skipping, or conversely, flooding. There are other factors -- such as separation of the nib from the feed -- that are inspected and repaired before any pen leaves the Palace.

The only 100% guarantee of course comes when the pen is actually filled with ink and written with for the first time, but our pre-shipping inspections and tunings have eliminated 99.99999 (my finger is getting tired) of the frustrations that a customer experiences when first using a new fountain pen. Although this can be time-consuming on occasion, it affords our customers a much more pleasant experience when receiving a fountain pen from His Nibs -- and saves us the frustration of dealing with returns!