Stypen up Crimson red retractable fountain pen #11101

I've had a Stypen fountain pen for almost 20 years and the tooth of time started gnawing on the rubber coating of the pen. So I started looking for a Stypen with the exact same nib as my old one. Unfortunately the only Stypen with that particular nib was the retractable "UP" version. The nib style was very important to me since it writes beautifully. The new pen doesn't have to hide in my old pen's shadow in terms of writing qualities. After writing with it daily for a while now I can honestly say that the retractable feature is totally useless and very finicky. I have different brands of international standard ink cartridges on hand (from Pelikan to super cheap) and had to discard several full ones already (mainly Pelikan). Here's what seems to be the problem: Some of the ink cartridges have what looks like a little plastic lip or trim on the back rim. It's like a little plastic edge that is left over from the manufacturing process. If I use one of the cartridges that has one of those (no matter how teeny and narrow it is) the twist mechanism that makes the nib emerge somehow gets stuck and it won't budge. I have not tried it yet but it seems as if I will have to trim off the edges on all the cartridges just to make sure the pen works. Also, the retractable feature is really more a gimmick rather than serving an actual purpose. Unfortunately it is also something that can break with extended usage.

Cute idea and a pretty nib, but it dries out really badly if you don't use it every day. And I don't like the rubberized body and the really cheap feeling plastic cap.It does write well though.

The pen looks nice, size is perfect,however it does not write, either scratches the paper and hardly any ink emerges, or releases an occasional blob of ink.Absolutely not useable !

I cannot figure out why this pen scrolls the nib back in and has a cap too. The nib feels scratchy when writing.Sorry- this one is jut not for me. The pen works.