Has anyone here tried an Asvine V200?

[carlos.q]

Ok... I would like to get my hands on a Conid Bulkfiller as much as the next guy. But these things are scarce and when they do show up they are very expensive. So it looks like no Conid in my plebeian future. But then I take a look at Amazon and find this acrylic and titanium beauty:


83560

Presenting the "Asvine V200 Titanium Fountain Pen Vacuum Filling, Iridium Fine Nib Clear Transparent Acrylic Smooth Writing Pen Case Set" at $47.99 with a proprietary Asvine nib and $57.99 with a Bock nib. I have found two reviews on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/Y_4NKKc967c?si=FkkExV1w8li8-rdz

https://youtu.be/hG48NgbgoAY?si=GQiWbv9yA1GwB9dS

Has any of you tried out this pen? I may not have a thousand dollars to throw around for a Bulkfiller but I would be willing to cough up $48-$58 for a Conid look a like.

[Dougc]

I have had 2 Conids and they are nice, well made pens but the hupla over them is like with any mythical creature.
I recently sold my Minimalistica and still have a Slimline.
I think there's a pretty good chance the Chinese version comes close.
I have a Majohn vac that is a great pen for 25 bucks.

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[Jon Szanto]

I have a V126 that has the same vac system but a different body style. It works well, holds a good amount of ink, and costs less than $30.

Additionally, I have other Asvine pens of differing filling systems, including a new P50 (piston-filler) that just showed up on Friday. Every one of them has been impeccably made and even the house nibs are smooth and write very well from the start. I've changed out a couple of nibs only to get some italic/stub action, not because the nibs are deficient in any way. Additionally, every one of them seems somewhat remarkable in being able to be closed for weeks and not dry out. I'm not a big Chinese brand evangelist, and I mostly purchased these to have some knowledge to share with members of our pen club. Having said that, the Asvine brand pens don't take a back seat to any Western pen in terms of fit, finish, or function, at least in my arsenal. They are regularly in rotation with pens costing much more, and are a significant step forward.

I will say that looking at the pen you are considering, seeing the o-rings on the back, I can't imagine posting that beast!

[Dougc]

My Slimline has the same o rings used for posting and it is such a pain I don't post this pen.

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[Osiris]

The posting doesn't work on the V200 anyway, because they didn't do it correctly. It doesn't post very deeply because the cap just goes onto the knob; it doesn't go over the barrel at all. And the two O-rings are in separate grooves, not in the same groove like on the Conid Regular and Slimline. This causes the O-rings to roll out of the grooves when you try to slide the cap over them, as opposed to locking up against each other.

If you'd rather have a round top than a flat top, there's also the piston filling Asvine P36, which I think is a much more coherently designed pen(both visually and functionally) that also copies the Conid aesthetic.

[carlos.q]

Update: I finally gave in and bought the V200 with a broad Bock nib. When I opened up the box I was surprised as this is a very large pen, as large as a Pelikan M1000 or a Montblanc 149. It looks beautiful, the vacuum filler works very well and the nib is flawless. I now have it inked up with Scribe Indigo so I can safely say that I am using a poor man's Conid filled with a poor man's Parker Penman Sapphire ink.

I mean, a guy can dream can't he? :wink: