Fifty4T - Titan Forged Carbon Fiber

Tl;dr: Pen is 10/10. Nib and writing experience is a boringly smooth, semi-stub nail. Unless seeking a No.8 Nail of a Nib, or seeking a pen to hold a different No.8 Nib, it's nearly impossible to recommend over the Kakari.

The Fifty4T Titan is a special pen. In this forged carbon fibre variant, it is light weight, it carries a good, but not overwhelming amount of ink, it is comfortable in the hand. The carbon is textured, but not unpleasant. This is a 10/10 pen from its build quality alone.

I am an owner of a Kyuseido Kakari as well as this pen, and the comparison cannot be ignored. Size wise, while some YouTube reviews claim they are bigger, sitting them next to each other shows that outside the physical nib itself, and the section thickness, the pens are roughly the same size. Rumor and general workmanship suggests than either Ben Walsh offered some consultation on the Fifty4T Titan or that it is manufactured in the same facility. The high quality that exudes from the pen as a result is unsurprising.

Subjectively, it is the writing experience where this falls apart for me. I inked it up and began using it, and it wrote perfectly... fine. There is nothing special about the writing experience if you own a similarly-built pen already. The feel in the hand, the way it handles as you write... these are familiar, and in a good way. But the nib is not special like other pens in its class. It's smooth, it works, the ebonite feed provides good flow (and is a huge plus here), but the nib itself, the thing that contacts the page and connects you to the ink is lacking. And it stands out. It doesn't help how the laser-etched logo also strikes a non-cohesive tone to an otherwise lovely industrial design. Out of interest, I compared the nib to that in the Gravitas Monster and also the Moonman/Majohn P140, and found that the profiles of all these nibs are the same. They write the same.

Another disappointment is how little this pen can be deconstructed for maintenance. The section is glued. The rear assembly requires specialised equipment. You can remove the nib, but this voids the warranty (this is no different than the Kakari, or a Pilot 823, mind you). It provides the impression that the manufacturer does not believe their pen will survive heavy-handed maintenance. Not a good look in this price class either. Especially without a roll stop of any variety. All this being said, I knew this before purchasing, and am ok with these restrictions for the most part.

This pen is, with VAT, around 850 Euros. A Kakari runs about 100 Euro less. I am not asking for a gold nib here. I'm not asking for anything fancy. I am asking for something that feels different. I find it difficult to believe that a soft steel nib cannot be developed or sourced, or that the market for this pen would have been so shrunken by offering a Titanium Nib for a 100 Euro surcharge. At the very least, I cannot believe a pen in this price class is using a nib with laser-etching instead of at least stamping. Something, anything, to make it feel or look as special and different as the pen itself.

I don't regret this purchase at all. I bought it explicitly knowing that the nib was likely to be unimpressive, which would make the justification of putting a King of Pen nib in it much easier. But this is out of reach for many, as the King of Pen, especially in Europe, MSRP's for way over what it should.

If you read this far, I hope it helps.

Apreciez penița! Apreciez calitatea! Perfect!

this is one of the best pens in my opinion. I like pens made form durable materials. I love CF, Titanium etc. this pen is one of those well built and it is also very very beautiful. the Carbon fibre has very nice rough texture. Writing with this pen is also jaw dropping experience.

I was very interrested in this pen when I first saw Emy's video on it. But I did not expect to love it as much as I do, now that I have it and use it. The pictures and videos do not do justice to this pen at all in my opinion. İt is an amazing writer that has a great buid quality to it that you can only feel when you have the pen in your hand. The writing experience with the #8 steel nib is flawless as usual. That is to be expected as any pen I get from Pen Venture is bound to write beautifully because Emy checks all of them and even smooths the nibs to your liking. I thought the filling system might turn out to be a bit finicky but it isn't. I watched the video made on it while I had the pen in my hand; it just looks way more complicated than what it actually is. Very smooth and easy fill and you get an almost full barrel in one go!!
The carbon fiber is just beautiful and sooo soft to the touch. And I love that among all the smoke black colours of the rest of the pen, the piston rod shows off in its brass colour glory. I wasn't too sure about that when I first ordered the pen but it turns out I love it. It looks beautiful peeking around the ink every now and then.
The price tag might seem steep but it is worth every single dime in my opinion, the pen is that good... I have fifty4t in my radar now; I hope they come out with more interresting and innovative designs for us to enjoy. This is my first titan from them but hopefully it won't be the last

The pen is very well constructed. The forged carbon is very nice and is contrasts nicely with the smoked transparent barrel. The filling mechanism is easy to operate and gives you an ink capacity that would last a long, long time. The #8 nib is smooth and pleasant. The pen overall is well balanced. Would not hesitate to recommend this pen. Also, Pen Venture is a great place to shop. Reliable, honest, and have excellent customer service. They know what they’re doing.

Very well designed pen, the forged carbon fibre feels smooth to the touch and I do prefer the smoked see through barrel, it complements the overall design. The #8 steel fine nib is well tuned and writes flawlessly with a hint of feedback and wet for a fine nib, which is my preference. Ink filling capacity is amazing on a first draw, practically fills the entire barrel. I would like to try this pen with either a medium or broad nib when they become available. Excellent service from Pen Venture in processing the order for shipment.

I am very impressed with the engineering tolerances, the look and feel of the pen, and how smooth the nib is. I agree that this is the wettest nib that I own. That means that I will have to adjust to longer drying times. This may become one of the few pens that I always keep inked.

I'm very pleased with this pen. I like the forged carbon fiber cap and knob. The extra texture makes it easy to remove from the sleeve I carry this in (a three-pen sleeve). I don't post so I prefer to hold the cap in my other hand while writing. Kind of a fidget thing I guess. Out of the box, the nib was quite smooth. The only demerit for the pen is the nib is a bit too wet for my preference. I'm checking the company's site to see if they will offer extra nibs. I'm looking for a cursive stub italic. While the reservoir's capacity is tremendous, I prefer to use about 1/4 to 1/3 of the capacity. I can always add more if I need it or change inks if I get bored and waste less ink. The filling system works well and is easy to use. This pen will be regularly used. I wish they made it easy to get different bodies. I think the black cap and knob would pair nicely with the amber color.

Great service, speedy delivery and pen is feather light. Love the nib, has a hint of feedback and not too juicy!