X750 Vertrag Fountain Pen by Bulow

Got this as my introduction to fountain pens and was sorely disappointed. When I loaded the ink and tried to write with it, I had a difficult time getting the ink to flow. It also seemed very scratchy on the paper. When the ink would flow it was very blotchy. If I were to return to write with the pen after a short period of time of not writing, I would have to dismantle it and twist the converter to get the ink flowing again; very inconsistent pen. After contacting Bulow and cleaning the pen as recommended (which resolves the problem 99% of the time per the response), it seemed to function worse. Inquired a second time about other suggestions to resolve the problem and after few days I got no response. Since then, I've used a much less expensive pen that works beautifully; it's much more predictable and writes very smooth.That was my initial experience w/ the Bulow pen. Since then they have resolved the problem and after using it for about 6 weeks the pen works great. I think the problem was the converter. After reading other reviews on the pen I noticed a common theme, the converter was a problem. I use the pen with an ink cartridge and I have not had much of a problem since then. I have noticed if I leave the cap off the pen and am not writing with it for a while it takes a little effort to get the ink flowing again but other than that it is a great pen. Maybe that's a fountain pen issue. This is my introduction to fountain pens but my critique of it is that it feels very good in my hand and when writing with it. I can place the cap on the end of the pen and it stays (surprisingly not true with all fountain pens) and the ink flows well; it does not have a scratchy feel at all. All in all, I am very satisfied w/ the pen. Would definitely recommend the pen; but maybe not so much with the converter based on my experience and the other reviews.

Given the price of these Bulow pens, I didn't hesitate to purchase an X450. It was a good pen: a bit on the heavy side which I like (~45g), looks OK, and writes smooth and wet (I had the medium nib). I figure I can't go wrong with an X750, which is more expensive and perhaps one rung above. The pen came fairly quickly. It looks just like in the picture, nothing overtly flashy and gives a feeling of solid construction upon first touch. I was pretty happy. But it pretty much went down hill from there.Upon closer inspection, the pen feels like a cheap knock-off. (Some people said they are the same as Jinhao which can be had for close to half of the price.) The converter is tilted when fully pushed in. There is a visible gap at the top of the cap between the ring and the rest of the cap. The chrome end of the cap already flakes out a piece after a month. But the biggest problem is that the pen is on the dry side, at least when paired with the trial ink that came with it. I had start problems and had to push ink down to nearly dripping to fix it at times (knocking the pen against paper doesn't solve it). Some review here claims it's all the problem of a small plastic bead being inside the converter. I took it apart and removed the bead. That of course didn't help at all. Compared to the pleasantly surprising X450, this is a big disillusionment.In all fairness, one is not supposed to expect a great deal out of a $19 pen. I was only let to that expectation from the reviews and from a decent X450 of the same brand that sells for a bit less. Now that I've tried it, one thing is clear, there isn't consistent quality from the brand. To me, this is an average quality pen and hence 3 stars.

I just received this pen and it is very nice. The body is metal and the pen heavy with a nice solid weight. I ordered the pen with a bottle of Noodlers bullet proof black ink. It took a few tries to get the refillable cartridge to suck up some ink. This pen came with the standard medium width nib and it lays down a nice dark line, but it does occasionally skip. That may go away with use as the pen is broken in.I bought this pen for sketching and the Vertrag 750 had better ratings than any of the competitors I had looked at. This is an English pen made in Britain. It came with their standard medium nib, not the more pricey German nib. I do not know where it was made, but I am assuming Britain. My test writing so far has been with some scribbling and cross hatching. The skipping is intermittent and does not happen very often.So far, the pen is a pleasure to use and I am looking forward to sketching with a tip that won't wear out like my hard felt tip technical pens. I always end up throwing them away before the ink is gone because I wear the tips out. My sketches are in the Georgio Morandi style - lots of cross hatching. Hopefully this pen will be a good substitute for the technical pens and actually save me some money over time.

Purchased the Vertrag X750 from Amazon in 2009. Pen stopped working shortly after I bought it. Converter did not let ink through. No no luck with cartridges. I still have it and use it like the old-fashioned "dip-the-pen-in the-inkwell" pen. Took a chance and purchased another Vertrag X750. Crazy right? I love the looks of this pen. X750 #2 is so much better performing than my first one. The converter worked. Ink flowed after a few false starts, and I used it all the time. But today, right in the middle of a novel revision, the converter fell apart. I tried to put it back together, but no luck. Thankfully, I had some new ink cartridges I'd bought during my recent efforts to revive Vertrag X750#1. Popped one in to X750 #2 and voila! It writes. I'll just use cartridges from now on because I'm not spending any more money on fountain pens or accessories until I sell my book! Guess I'm destined to write with ether blue or black ink! Too bad. Would have loved to load up some other colored inks. I'd have to give this pen only 3 to 3.5 stars, including my overall experience with BOTH X750s. Will update by end of year to see if this beautiful pen still lays down a nice, semi-thick, wet line.