Sheaffer VFM Gunmetal Grey Lacquer w/Matte Black Powder Coated Appointments and Medium Nib Fountain Pen

I am an amateur fountain pen enthusiast. I have a few pen, ranging in price from a few dollars to about $200. About ten years ago i purchased a Sheaffer, but it had a medium nib and I have since discovered that I prefer fine. I thought I would give this pen a try since I like the other Sheaffer and it is Lee's than $20.This pen exceeded my expectations. This pen writes better than some of my more expensive ones! The ink flows incredibly. This pen is also about the thickness of a ballpoint pen so it does not tire my hand as some larger and heavier pens do. And to top it off, the blue color of the pen is nice and bright; brighter than in the picture. I like it so much I'm considering buying another as backup.

This is my first fountain pen, I like it. I am still learning so sometimes if not careful can get a stained finger, but not a huge deal.It came with a cartridge that lasted me about a month, but I did write a lot for my studies, maybe 50-100 pages. Cartridges are cheap, writing with this pen is fun, I would recommend.

This is a good daily-carry pen. I won't carry expensive pens, so my pricier pens get little use--the Conklin, Lamy 2000, Caran d'Ache, etc. are all in a drawer. But I keep a tray of daily-carry pens filled with different inks by my chair, cheaper pens that I won't be too upset to lose or send through the wash.So I'm a connoisseur, not of fine, but of cheap fountain pens.This Sheaffer VFM has a cool matte look. I like the shade of blue. The nib writes well out-of-the box. The pen is solid and well-built. The cap goes on with a satisfying click. The feed section threads into the body of the pen smoothly.All-in-all, this is a worthy competitor to the Lamy Safari and Al Star, which price out at $10 to $20 more than this pen. And it's just enough better built out-of-the-box to beat the sub-$10 Chinese pens (not heftier, but a better initial nib experience and prettier color).If you think pens are for carrying and using, and style means something to you, I think you'll like this pen. It's a cheap daily-carry that punches well above its weight in price.

I like the look and weight of the empty pen...The listing says it comes with one black and one blue cartridge, It came with one blue cartridge that doesn't fit! I haven't purchased a fountain pen in many years. I don't know what cartridge works, but it must be very, very short. Any cartridge I have ever used in the past would not fit. *** Well, after scheduling my return, this continued to drive me crazy. Turns out that someone had jammed the Black cartridge down the barrel upside down! I still sent it back, but at least I understand the problem now.

So far this pen is a real disappointment. The pen looks lovely and it came with one cartridge. Short of breaking the pen, sending ink flying everywhere, I can find no way to insert the cartridge into the pen. It is apparently too long. When I insert the cartridge into the nib end of the pen and try to put on the top and screw them together, there is a full 1" of cartridge showing where the top and bottom of the pen won't meet. I've used as much force as seems wise. Customer service, though very nice, was unable to help. One hope - I ordered the universal cartridges when I ordered the pen but they have not arrived. Perhaps Shaeffer included the wrong cartridge with the pen and I will have success with the universal cartridges!Update: The cartridges that Amazon said would fit arrived and were identical to the one that came with the pen. As you might imagine, they didn't fit either, so I returned everything. I'm very disappointed and don't know where to go for an economical functioning fountain pen.

Very nice fountain pen. Would recommend.

Matte black VFM rollerball: An excellent quality, very affordable rollerball pen that came in a nice gift box. Looks very similar to a Pilot Metropolitan rollerball, only slimmer. This is a good pen for people who find the (more expensive) Parker IM rollerballs too big for their taste. Virtually the only thing I don't like about this pen is the included Sheaffer slim medium-point rollerball ink cartridge (refill), which is too bold for my taste. Fortunately, you can adapt almost any "Schmidt / Euro style" rollerball or gel refill to fit this pen. I currently have a refill from an Ultra-Fine Amazon Basics gel pen in mine, but Uni-Ball Signo, Pentel EnerGel, or Pilot G-2 refills will all also fit after trimming a mm or so from the end of the substitute refill.

Bought this hoping I would love it because my husband buys fine point gel pens that I hate. This is nice looking but doesn't have the feel in my hand that I expected from Sheaffer and the ballpoint says medium on the cartridge inside but writes like a fine point. I like to keep journals and calendars for my daughters with poems and sayings written in my own handwriting so I guess I should have paid more. In the product description it sounded like there was one black medium refill included but I only received the one in the pen. I have to wonder if that's a mistake or I'm missing the refill? I do like the outside blue color but guess I'll be physically shopping for a pen. Where do people go to find a good pen now a days?

Firstly, this is a cheap fountain pen (strictly a cartridge only pen) by European standards. Anyone wanting a pump-fill pen (or a converter) should look elsewhere. It's a decent everyday pen but is rather outclassed by many others in its price range.It takes universal/international short cartridges; Sheaffer produce ones marked VFM - they are just universal fit cartridges. Sheaffer proprietary cartridges will not fit. It will only accomodate one cartridge (no room for a spare): the reason for this is that the working cartridge is locked in place to avoid leaks, making this a good bag/pocket/school/travel pen.The pen writes smoothly, with good ink flow and no skipping. The line width doesn't really vary and has little character. It is a small, narrow pen with a light feel. I doubt that I could use it to write a long essay - it is a tad slippery and has no 'presence'.The cap can be posted on the pen to alter the balance, but it is not a good fit and wobbles. The pocket clip isn't hinged as on 'better' Sheaffers.The pen's finish is good, but I feel that it may not be durable in the long term. This is essentially a school or pocket pen, good for casual use and for travel.Is it worth £14 or so? In my view: NO, not really: there are more versatile Waterman and Parker pens (and Chinese ones) which will accept ink converters and which write just as well.I only paid £7 for mine, and at that price there is little to complain about. But at the recommended price it only earns 3 stars.At a lower price the Jinhao X250, X450 or X750 pens perform better and are more versatile. However, they are larger pens, although they are very smooth writers and (for me) are comfortable for long essays. For a very fine line (and versatility of cartridge or bottled ink) the Jinhao 51A is a much more interesting - and much smaller - pocket pen.A much better pen is the which may be found in a two pen set for £12-16. I'd recommend a Parker Vector, IM or Urban, or a Waterman Kultur or Allure, or Pelikan Jazz Elegance as far better choices at around the same rpice or a tad more.Not recommended unless under £8.A very large number of people have complaints about this pen. By far the most seem not to have much common sense which goes as far as reading reviews, or even having a basic grasp of what a fountain pen is. That said, this is not a great pen; it is not even a good pen - it is a pen . . . and in reality not a very good one.

This is a lovely pen. Colour is bright, as illustrated, and the satin finish with slightly larger barrel is very comfortable to hold.Couple that with smooth writing ball point and ink that doesn't smudge and this is a very nice pen to use. It has weight but not so much as to tire holding it and it is well balanced.Bought in 2 colours and both lovely. Would definitely buy again.One was a gift for a friend and she is very happy with her pen too.Bought on offer and at reduced price it was extremely good value.

I’ve always had a fascination for pens from a very early age, beautiful fountain pens are my absolute favourite but sometimes they aren’t always the most practical of pen.I must admit this is my first sheaffer pen. For some reason they have never appealed to me as a brand before, I never liked their style. I saw this pen in a fantastic violet/pink colour and it was very inexpensive so I decided to give it a try and it’s a great pen.I wouldn’t hesitate in giving this as a gift to a female friend/relative as I have enjoyed using it.I love the funky colour.

I bought this to use up some Sheaffer cartridges I had (they didn't fit as it happens) but using some ordinary cartridges I had, I tried it out and it's become my favorite to use daily, fountain pen (I have many). Really impressed and terrific value. I may look to get another Sheaffer, I have always used mainly Parker in the past. Highly recommend this pen.

I bought this for the peacock teal colour, as I'm a Harry Potter nerd and figured it's a good colour for a grown-up Slytherin. Lucius Malfoy would definitely like it. I've been making notes with it in my law degree textbooks, and it not only writes smoothly and feels comfy to grip, it gives me that bit of extra motivation to work hard at my studies, with my imaginary husband's approval :)