After an unconscionable wait for the pen, (ten days! by combined FedEx and USPS ((I've heard they've changed shipping methods)) it arrived today and I put it right to work. I filled it with Noodler's Brown and have been writing in my various journals and have written a letter. The truth is a have some pens that I love, Edison's, Pilot's, the Lamy 2000, a couple of Bexley's, but I can't remember a pen that felt so absolutely made for me. The feel of the micarta is just fantastic.The photos don't do it justice and are going to discourage some people. That's a shame. The weight and shape of the pen are pure perfection and the medium nib writes as smoothly as everything save perhaps my Pelikan. I am very happy with this pen.