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KrazyIvan
December 7th, 2013, 09:02 PM
For the complete set of pictures and the hand written portion, please visit my blog. Thank you for reading! (http://inktronics.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/nussbaum-pen-co-the-jon-ross-blue-rings-review/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/11262803976_7055db1427_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/11262803976/)
Nussbaum Pen Co Jon Ross Series Pen Reviewed at www.inktronics.wordpress.com (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/11262803976/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

Nussbaum Pen Co. Jon Ross Series, Blue Rings

Medium Nib, Ink for hand written review is Stipula Musk Green

I found out about the Nussbaum line of pens last spring while browsing isellpens.com. The design caught my eye. I made a mental note and then proceeded to forget about the pens. When I purchased my Lamy 2000, I remembered these pens and decided it was time to try one. I soon discovered there are more models available. After looking at the various models, I kept coming back to the Jon Ross series of pens. The one with the blue marble acrylic accents was calling to me.

The Nussbaum headquarters is not too far away from where I live. A six hour drive, roughly speaking. (Actually I just drove to Phoenix a few times and made it in an average of 5:45 hours.) I have never had issues getting any of my orders from isellpens.com and this was no exception. Most of the time I get my order earlier than what is expected. This may be due to my proximity to them.

I don't normally write about packaging that a pen comes in. It just does not interest me. The Nussbaum pens, on the other hand, come in a leather pen sleeve. Nice. I am not aware of many pens that come in such useful packaging. I think it fits in perfectly with the environmentally friendly theme that sometimes comes up when talking about fountain pens.

Okay, enough about the packaging. The pen is almost a flat top Sheaffer looking pen. The eye catcher here is the band of blue marbles acrylic on the cap band and another helping of this great accent on the end of the pen barrel. The relatively straight barrel tapers just slightly of the section. There is also a slight step on the back end of the barrel that seems to be there so the cap can post.

I use the pen un-posted. The cap while not heavy, feels very solid. When posted, it can add some weight that makes the pen feel slightly unbalanced. The clip is tight with almost no give at all. It moves enough to clip it to a shirt pocket. I had to fumble a little to get it to clip to a jean pocket. I also had a bit of a time to clip it to the elastic in my pen case.

The section threads are at the very end of the section right up to the nib. This has both its advantage and disadvantage.The advantage is my fingers never touch the threads. The disadvantage is that when filling the pen with a converter, the threads make it a little more difficult to clean, after filling.

The nib options are, well, limited. Well , actually, there are no nib options. It is a medium nib, nothing else. I have seen this nib before. It is the same nib as what is on my Italix Parsons Essential. It has the same feed and the nib is very smooth with good flow.

Note, the following is observation after the written portion was complete and is not in the written version. I used the pen for two converter fills before writing my review. I noticed after the second converter fill, the flow was a little bit iffy on start up. I had to prime the converter to get it going again. This may be because I did not flush the pen before using it nor did I flush before filling it again. Since it did not do this initially on first fill, I am guessing a flush will cure the start up issue. Normally I do not go for medium nibs but I am pleased with the setup.

The filling system is cartridge/converter. The converter is the larger international size that I usually associate with higher end pens. I noticed something that I am not totally sure if it is the converters fault or not.When opening the barrel, the threads were really tight. I thought maybe because the pen was new. After I filled the pen and screwed the barrel back on. The last turn and a half gets very tight. I thought maybe it was the converter being clamped down under the barrel.

Overall, it is a great pen for the money. I like the fact the pen comes with the leather slip case. That is not something a lot of pen brands can say. The inlaid blue acrylic and chrome accents bands look unique and it is fun to use!

Thank you for reading!

Ivan

Fountain Pen Sith Lord

I am using some vintage onion skin paper for the hand written portion this time around. Enjoy. (http://inktronics.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/nussbaum-pen-co-the-jon-ross-blue-rings-review/)

Goldfish
December 7th, 2013, 09:51 PM
Thanks for the review, Ivan. when I ordered ink from them last time I noticed their pens, and was wondering about them. I might order one :D

kaisnowbird
December 7th, 2013, 10:27 PM
Thank you for the review.
They are tempting... I might have to put one back on my Wish List. (It's the M only nib that got it de-listed the first time.)

KrazyIvan
December 7th, 2013, 10:59 PM
Thank you for the review.
They are tempting... I might have to put one back on my Wish List. (It's the M only nib that got it de-listed the first time.)

I know what you mean. In reading some of Todd's description, it looks like more nib option may become available but it depends if it does well or not. For what it is, it is a good nib. It is a #5 nib so there may be some nib swap options available via Edison Pens.

kaisnowbird
December 8th, 2013, 05:28 AM
Thank you for the review.
They are tempting... I might have to put one back on my Wish List. (It's the M only nib that got it de-listed the first time.)

I know what you mean. In reading some of Todd's description, it looks like more nib option may become available but it depends if it does well or not. For what it is, it is a good nib. It is a #5 nib so there may be some nib swap options available via Edison Pens.

Hi Ivan, thanks for the info -- more nib options would be great. By the way, how did you find the fit an finish of the pen? And what did you think of the quality of the material?

KrazyIvan
December 8th, 2013, 08:44 AM
The fit and finish is good other than what I noted in the review. When tightening the barrel it seems unduly tight on the last turn. It feels like you are clamping down on the converter.