Asvine C2000 Stabilized Wood Fountain Pen #8 Fine Nib Blue Red Large Handcraft Pen with Converter Pen Box Collection Set

I was very excited about this pen. This is the first #8 nib from Asvine, after Jinhao, Hongdian, Wingsung and Majohn/Moonman related to Chinese pens. Also the pen is made of stabilized wood: it is a mix of wood and resin to ensure stability in the long term. I go the blue/red version with the 1.1 nib. The stub nib is also unusual for Chinese pens: another added reason to pick up this pen.I wrote with this pen for more than two weeks (and I am still using it for journalling). This pen was a pain from the start:1. It would not write and I had to prime the converter, use water and other tricks to get it started.2. The nib was extremely dry and scratchy: I don’t have experience with stub nib, but this was not what I was expecting from this nib. I have other Asvine pens and they all wrote immediately with a well-tuned nib. Further inspection revealed that the tines were misaligned. I tried to fix them the best I could and the pen started writing wetter and smother, although occasionally the nib still catches the paper. Also, the down strokes often rail roads (I don’t write putting pressure on the nib, there is no need for that with this pen). I will work on it some more and I am sure it will get better, eventually.3. As other reviewers have noted, the pen dries up when it is not used. After two days the ink in the converter was half gone and only wrote two pages with the pen. It also hard starts all the time when I first use it during the day. There are fixes for this problem if you search the internet. I don’t think it is a big problem at the end.Packaging & Accessories: 10/10Usually Asvine plastic box with foam insert. The box is a tad small for the pen (more on this below) and the pen comes with a nice converter with a reinforced nipple. The pen is a cartridge/converter pen and it accepts standard Chinese cartridges (3.4mm bore).Aesthetics & Quality 9/10The pen has an unusual aesthetic: the cap has a flat top, while the end of the pen is round. This is a big pen and it has to be to make sure that the #8 nib looks good with the rest of the pen/From the top, the cap exhibits a flat top with a nice gold clip (possibly a tad too small compared with the rest of the pen). The clip is nicely springy and usable. The cap tapers down, where you find “Asvine” written in golden ink and in the back “C2000” in golden ink. I find the size of the characters nice. There is a step down and the pen keeps tapering down to a round finial.Unscrewing the pen reveals the #8 nib: this is a big golden plated nib that shown a nice scroll work that seems “art deco” inspired. It reminds me of the Parker arrow nibs. There is the nib size imprinted in the nib (1.1 in this case) and “Asvine”. Moving toward the end of the pen we meet a golden round part and the wooden section, which is generously sized. Then the cap threads, which are golden plated as the nib, and slight step-up. The section is comfortable and long enough to accommodate different ways of holding the pen.Nib and writing quality 6/10Here is the pain point for me. The nib didn’t work for me out of the box, as mentioned earlier. I had to work on it quite a bit to be able to write with it.The nib shows some flex if gently pressed (see sample) but it is a stub and it shows line variation naturally. I personally like this stub very much when it works: it is smooth like glass, it has nice line variation that gives character and flair to my handwriting. The main problem I have with this nib is that it is not constant: it will write perfectly for a few sentences and then the down-stroke would start to skip (or railroad) and then the stroke across will be scratchy and all of a sudden writing feel likes plowing a field and very tiring. It is disappointing as this is a great nib when it works. But I have hopes that I can fix these problems and make it exceptional.The nib has an ebonite feed that helps with the flow (of course when the downstroke doesn’t skip).The pen shows the signs of a cap that allows air in as the nib is always dry when I first use the pen and the ink in the converter disappears (I finished a converter in less that 5 days and only wrote about one page a day). This can be fixed (there are plenty of solutions available on the internet) by using glue and other products. This is something I plan to do.Weight and Dimensions: 8/10The pen is big and long (see picture where the pen is compared to a Hongdian CA35) and it doesn’t post (well, given how long it is why would you want to post the cap in the first place). It is not heavy, given that is wood and the section is long enough to be able to find a comfortable hold. The section is a bit on the thicker side, so for people with smaller hands this might be a problem. I have medium (tending to large) hands and the section and the pen is just fine for me.Cost & Value: 7/10The pen is not cheap, but it does offer a lot. A new material (stabilized wood), the first #8 nib from Asvine with ebonite feed and an interesting shape not seen before. Also, the color range is interesting.Conclusion: (40/50)In conclusion, I think this is a nice addition to a collection as the pen has some unique features, like its shape and a nicely designed nib. I am disappointed at the nib quality, and I think Asvine should be more careful with quality control before shipping pens out with nibs with misaligned tines. This comment applies also to the cap not sealing properly, although I consider this less of a problem compared to the nib. At the end, the nib is the most important component in a fountain pen.UpdateAsvine was kind enough to provide the rubber gasket they developed to fix the drying issue and the related vide. The gasket solves the issue and now the pen is perfect.

The pen is a beautiful Blue Red coloration in a larger size, but not overly large. It has some weight to it, but not overly heavy like a lot of metal pens are. The ink flow is pretty good through the extra fine nib and feed. It is a quality pen and not overly expensive.

This is a very nice, stabilized wood fountain pen. It is large, but feels good in the hand. The nib is a #8 and, as with all Asvine nibs in my experience, writes smoothly out of the box. As the pen is wood, it has a unique pattern and the pattern and colors make for an extremely attractive pen. The only problem with the pen is there is a hole in the cap liner, under the finial, that allows the nib to dry out between uses. It dries out quickly, in fact. So far this is the only downside to this pen. There are videos online about fixing this leak issue, but I don't know that I will make that effort. It is a shame as it practically ruins this pen for long term use.

This is the second C2000 that I bought this year because I enjoyed the first so much. Both have EF nibs, both are smooth, wet writers, and neither of them dries out when sitting capped for up to 3 days. I’ve left them both sitting that long horizontally because of the drying out issues I read in other reviews. I wanted to see for myself. Neither has dry starts either. Your results might vary. The price is very fair for the quality and performance of the pen. I’ve used Iroshizuku Shin Kai and water resistant, pigmented Sailor Seiboku inks.

I purchased 3 of the C2000's; the looks of the stabilized wood is great and the nibs are smooth. However, the caps of all 3 pens have air leaks, which causes the nibs to dry out in as little as 24 hours. The problem is where the finial attaches to the cap to hold the clip in place; this is either a design flaw, or a problem with assembly. This problem leaves the C2000 pens unusable. This is the first problem I have ever experienced with any Asvine pen, I hope they correct the issue.

The wood material both looks great(though I’d seen some reviews where the pen doesn’t look so hot, possibly QC issues? But mine I feel looks as it should) It has an excellent feel in the hand thanks to the wood, and the nib is tuned well, it does have feedback, but pleasantly so. Even has slight bounce to the nib surprisingly! The feedback could possibly be since I chose the stub nib(though it offers reasonable line variation)but regardless I certainly see myself using this often. It’s an incredible value of a pen for the reasonable price! And worth the wait to receive it!