Gourmet Pens

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Review: Cute Two Q-12 Snowhite Violet Fountain Pen - Medium

What's this? A look-alike? Nope, it's not a Pilot Petit1!

ABOUT

Body Material: Plastic
Trim: Plastic
Length (capped): 4.1"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 3.65"
Length (posted): 5.17"
Barrel Diameter: 0.39" - 0.52"
Section Diameter: 0.39" - 0.41"
Nib material: Steel
Weight: 10g
Fill type: Cartridge/Eyedropper
Price: ~$3.00 - $10.00USD (prices may vary depending on source)
Where to buy: Amazon - Black
Amazon - Orange

PACKAGING

The Snowhite arrived in a simple cardboard and plastic packaging. It doesn't do much to protect the pen, but the pen is sturdy enough, being made of plastic. The packaging isn't in English, so I can't tell you what's on it! However, it is recyclable, so at least I don't have to debate whether to keep it or not. I like as little packaging as possible, or very useful packaging.

APPEARANCE

The Cute Two Q-12 Snowhite fountain pen looks a lot like...well, the Pilot Petit1 fountain pen. Imitation is a form of flattery, right? The violet pen is all plastic, with a clear cap, a violet plastic top and clip, and a translucent violet body. The feed is violet to match the body.

The center band has the pen name and model written on it in white. Inside, the supplied cartridge is violet. It's also a little warped and weird, but it fit into the pen. The cap has little ridges on it to secure it when posted.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is a plain steel nib that, once again, very much resembles the Pilot Petit1 fountain pen nib. It has some writing on it but I don't know what it says. It's a cute little nib that matches the body well.

I didn't flush the pen, just popped in the cartridge. As soon as the feed was saturated, the pen wrote really well. I was really impressed and really pleased with the performance of the nib. It is a nice medium, even for what a Japanese nib (assuming it is Japanese made, at least). The ink flow is nice and steady. What is interesting about either the ink or the nib is that the ink dried almost instantly once it hit the page, even on Rhodia. It was like writing with a fine liner pen. The nib also had no line variation whatsoever - hard as a nail. But it flows well and writes well, which is the whole point of the pen!

IN HAND

This is where the pen differs a little from the Pilot Petit1 fountain pen. The Pilot pen has a more secure posting mechanism for the lid. This lid has to be pushed on very hard to stay in place, and even then, when it rubs on the web of my thumb, it can wiggle off. If it isn't posted deeply enough, it could just fall off. It's a small pen so if you have larger hands, it may be difficult to write with without being able to post it. For me, I can manage with it unposted. Posted, unless you can keep it securely posted, it'll probably be too small.

However, it's light and comfortable. There's nothing sharp or bothersome on it. It's the same size as the Petit1 fountain pens.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

This pen is pretty much the same as the Pilot Petit1 fountain pen. Given the price point being similar to that of the Petit1, and that they have the same features aside from the Petit1 having a fine nib and the Snowhite having a medium nib, they're about the same. They have similar colour options and sizes. If you prefer a medium nib, then you could always try out the Snowhite instead of the Petit1. Otherwise, the Petit1 is easier to get.

Do a gal a solid and if you fancy any of these and want any item of your own, use my affiliate links :)