Gravitas - Ultemate Vac Ultem – Pen Venture

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Gravitas - Vac 2.0 Grade 5 Titanium | Stone Washed

Juris

<3<3<3

I love this pen. As usual the Gravitas did not disappoint me. Perfect machining, absolutely perfect fit and finish.. this pen is another masterpiece. I love writing with it, I love the materials, and I love how much ink it holds. just pure Gravitas, what else to say.

Gravitas - Vac 2.0 Aluminium | Black

Another Great Gravitas Pen

I ordered this pen even though I’ve had some issues with two of my six Monster pens—which amounts to a failure rate of nearly 30%. One of my Monsters (black aluminum) suddenly started leaking after three months of regular use (with Artisan Pastellier Rose Cyclamen ink; it still leaks in small amounts, even though I haven’t used that ink in it for months and am now using the fountain pen with GvFC Viper Green; otherwise, the pen works reliably). Unfortunately, two service requests regarding this issue went unanswered.

The other one (TiSinX titanium) is now, unfortunately, completely unusable, as every time I fill it, large amounts of ink immediately ooze out in thick drops from the same spot (though this could be due to using Diamone Desert Rose—I didn’t initially know that such inks might cause problems). I may contact Pen Venture at a later date regarding the purchase of a replacement ink reservoir (if possible with Ultem).

I haven’t had any problems so far with the Ultem Monsters or the Gravitas Exclusive Rainbow Skittle Monster.

The Vac 2.0, which is what this review was actually supposed to be about, is another great pen. Unfortunately, the Diamine Lady Grey ink I bought along with it seems much too dry for this pen, so I screwed in the gold nib from my Gravitas x Kyuseido Kakari, and now it writes like a dream; ironically, the original nib now writes just as beautifully in my Ultemate Vac - so I guess I have to review the new steel nib separately.

The Kraken filling mechanism works extremely well again and feels almost a bit more powerful in this pen than it does in the Monster; and the new ink window is a joy as well.

It's extremely well balanced and although I very much enjoy the girthier (and heavier) monster, fast note taking is kind of more comfortable with this pen—although, purely for aesthetic reasons, I actually like the flat ends of the Monster a little better.

However, there’s a minor flaw (which definitely isn’t due to the new gold nib, since it also occurred with the original nib) that happens when the ink reservoir is full and you screw the Kraken mechanism shut. Sometimes a large drop falls onto the paper then, but I suspect this can be prevented by simply not letting the reservoir get completely full.

That aside, the pen is a pure delight.

The broad nib I orderd it with is pure delight as well. It's nicely soft and writes very consistently with my (fairly standard, I guess) 50° writing angle. The line width is very consistent, which is a nice experience, given that many broad nibs these days have stub-like characteristics. Interestingly, this nib has this kind of character when using it in reverse for very, very small margin notes—something I haven't come across before with round-ground nibs. I kind of like it.

All in all another great and beautifully designed pen - but only time will tell if it's prone to the same problems as some of the Monsters.

The ordering process and shipment was smooth and seamless as always with pen venture and I received my ordering within just a few days. Emy added a kind handwritten note, a Monster maintenance tool and vial of silicon oil.

That creates a kind of personal shopping experience—which is something, also given that the store appears to be expanding quite rapidly.

Fifty4T - Titan Ultem

IanM

Fifty 4T Titan Ultem - First Impressions

Emy has just sent me the 50/40 Titan Ultem. It’s a very well balanced pen made from a variety of rugged materials. This pen will outlast me, safe to say. The first and continuing impression the pen gives is its superb machining. The fit and finish is of the highest order comparable to artisanal products made in limited numbers by engineer-designers: like musical instruments, pocket knives, tobacco pipes and wristwatches. There is no feature or detail in this pen that distracts from my pleasure in using it. I respond to the common critiques of the 50/40 in the following way: (1) There is no clip. This is true. That this is a shortcoming is not true. I don’t need a clip. My writing surface is flat so it doesn’t roll off and the pen never leaves the studio so I don’t put it in my shirt pocket. (2) The Ultem material is the color of urine. I don’t see it that way. It’s transparent canary and provides a lively contrast to the titanium. If you prefer, the clear and smoked options are also available.(3) The nib should be gold. I disagree. This steel nib is comparable to premium Swedish surgical steel. There’s nuance and flexibility in its response. And the discrete etched logo is the only product marking on the entire pen (with the exception of the pen number out of a series of 250 at the bottom of the cap). (4) It’s too expense. That is an opinion not an argument. I had no problem paying the €640.

Gravitas - Pocket Titanium Grade 5

Geoff Goldsmith

Beautiful pocket pen.

I’m really happy with this pen. The machining on the body is really nice and the tactility of the grip is amazing. It also looks lovely.
If I had any criticism it would be that the cap doesn’t post as securely as some pocket pens but once you get used to it is perfectly useable and doesn’t affect my enjoyment of the pen.

Gravitas - Monster Aluminium | Black

Complete pile of shite

Bought a Gravitas Monster. Kept in pen sleeve in padded case. Used carefully. Treated carefully. Filled twice. Noticed ink all over my hand. No obvious problem. When home I emptied the pen and notice a thin crack in the barrel at the "turning knob" end, just before the aluminium. Now unusable. Ink seeping out. Complete waste of money. Complete crap. Either desire flaw, or poor materials or both. Watch out. Will never buy another Gravitas POS, nor from this retailer again.

1 2 3

Another Great Gravitas Pen

I haven’t had any problems so far with the Ultem Monsters or the Gravitas Exclusive Rainbow Skittle Monster.

The Kraken filling mechanism works extremely well again and feels almost a bit more powerful in this pen than it does in the Monster; and the new ink window is a joy as well.

That aside, the pen is a pure delight.

All in all another great and beautifully designed pen - but only time will tell if it's prone to the same problems as some of the Monsters.

That creates a kind of personal shopping experience—which is something, also given that the store appears to be expanding quite rapidly.

Gravitas - Vac 2.0 Aluminium | Black

The best Jowo #6 pen body on the market. Just an overall fantastic pen. Delivery was also really quick. Im in the US and recived the item in less than a week.

Excellent pen!

Almost Perfect!

This pen is nearly perfect!
The fit and finish of my pen is perfect, there are no gaps, chips, burrs, spurs or cowboy boots anywhere on this pen; the Ultem is polished to the point of looking like amber polycarbonate.
The filling mechanism is a vacuum filler system, but it has a secondary ink chamber between the primary ink chamber and the feed, similar to the system that an Italian pen company pioneered about 28 years ago.
The nib and feed are very smooth. I have a Fine nib, and I find the line to vary from Fine to Medium, depending on which ink and paper you use. The nib is relative wet, which makes it perfect for me, because I find Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue to be “dry” enough to cause hard starts and skips with most of my pens, but Gravitas pens seem to thrive on it. So, if you think this pen is too wet, try the Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue ink.
The cap threads…okay, yes, whenever you you force two dissimilar materials together, like an Ultem/plastic cap and metal threads, the softer material is going to wear out sooner. Oftentimes, that’s intentional; you sacrifice the cheaper/easier to replace part, but prolong the life of the more expensive/more difficult to replace part. It should be cheaper to replace a cap than the body of the pen, which is an assembly of various parts, glued together. You can minimize damage from cross threading when capping the pen by rotating the the pen and cap in an uncapping rotation, gently pushing the two parts together, until you feel the threads “snap”. Some pens may require a “double snap”. Then everything should be lined up correctly to allow you to cap the pen without damaging the pen.
On the plus side, the clear material lets you see how the precisely machined lip inside the cap meets the forward edge of the grip section, preventing the nib from drying out very quickly. Had the pen inked up, sitting on my desk, untouched, for over a week, and it started writing as soon as the nib touched paper.
Would definitely buy again if I lost this pen!

My experience with Ultemate Vac and Pen Venture

This is a good quality pen - exectly as showen in the photos on the website and has all the quirks etc. as described in videos. I love it, the qiality is very good and the extra fine nib on this pen is just gorgeous. I bought both this pen (at a great price) along with my Gravitas Carbon Black in Fine nib and I tend to prefer this pen for its dimentions and ease of writing. Few important things to mention. This was my first purchase from Pen Venture and my experience with this team was A+++. Their response time to queries, shipment etc. was the best in my experience. DHL as a complany is excellent in terms of time they take for delivery, but boy are they expensive!! their charges on this end (after already paying shippment cost on checkout) were phenomenal - more than the VAT+Taxes on this end in UAE. All in all very satisfied and will highly recommend Pen Venture and Gravitas to the community. Thank you to Ben Walsh (His accent reminds me of many years I spent in Dublin) and Pen Venture Team.

Great Alternative to Pilot 823

This is a great alternative to the Pilot 823 and honestly I’d pick this over the 823. First, I’ve tried an 823 several times and I don’t care for their nibs, which is usually the case with Gravitas but it appears they’ve changed their nibs. The broad nib on this was acceptable. Broad line and a big juicy. I LOVE how deeply and securely this pen posts. It is truly great in the hand and perfectly balanced. It’s also so easy to take apart if you desire and for cleaning.

Gravitas - Ultemate Vac Ultem

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