Faber Castell Loom

Faber Castell is a German stationery company that produces high end “design” range pens along with marker pens and pencils for school supplies. They also own (?) the Graf Von Faber Castell brand which produces luxury end fountain pens along with their infamous “Pen of the Year” range which commands prices in the thousands.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t understand why Faber Castell fountain pens don’t get more attention in the fountain pen world. I own a few of their Faber Castell branded pens, as well as two of the higher end Graf Von Faber Castell pens, and they all perform consistently well. The Graf Von Faber Castell typically uses higher quality materials, but the nib performances on both brands are fantastic. Faber Castell make, in my opinion, the best steel nibs in the market.

The Loom is one of the mid-priced options in their range. In terms of aesthetics, it’s a little contemporary for my tastes. I prefer a more classic or minimalist style, but the build quality is high considering the price point. The pen body is made of a brushed aluminium outer and maybe a brass interior? I’m guessing here as the weight is a little heavy for it to be made purely of aluminium. The cap appears to be made of aluminium only and seems a little lighter than the body. All in all, very sturdy in the hand.

The nib is wonderful and smooth as usual. This one is a little wetter than the other Faber Castell nibs in my collection, by a small margin. Its only noticeable with wetter inks like Diamine though, for every other ink I own, it just feels a bit more lubricated. I have heard that the steel nibs are a bit inconsistent, but out of the handful that I own, they seem pretty consistent to me.

The Loom unfortunately does not come with a converter in the box, which is a little inconvenient. It seems that Faber Castell pens are pretty inconsistent in terms of converter inclusion in the box on purchase and it will really depend on the retailer whether they include one. However, it takes a standard international, so if you do forget, you’ll likely have one in your collection you can temporarily borrow to get you going. It comes with an empty cartridge spacer to keep your standard international cartridge in place when using – don’t mistake this for an empty you can refill with a syringe! Its missing the end of the cartridge so you’ll make a big mess if you try.

Fountain pens in the Faber Castell Design range deserve to be included on any best of or beginner fountain pen list and there’s a design that will suit everybody. I’m keen to try the newer Neo Slim range one of these days as well. I highly recommend trying these well priced pens out.