Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've only had this pen for a few days, but I'm already in love with it! This is the first fountain pen I've ever owned, but it's easy to use, writes well, and looks excellent. My ONLY complaint is that the instructions provided were NOT clear. My pen came with the converter (the thing you use to use this pen with an ink bottle) already inserted, and the sealed ink cartridge separate in the case. None of the parts were labelled clearly, and the pictures in the instructions weren't clear either, so inserting the cartridge involved a bit of guess-work on my part. So, here are my instructions for you: -The converter (see pictures) comes already inside the pen. You will need to remove this to insert the cartridge -To remove it, unscrew the body of the pen from the nib (the metal part unscrews from the black part -- see picture) -Gently pull on the converter (there's no ink in it, or at least there shouldn't be since you haven't used it, so don't worry about messes). It should come out without needing you to twist or turn it, just pull. -To insert the ink cartridge: HOLD THE NIB SO IT IS POINTING UPWARDS (this will prevent messes from the ink). The ink cartridge has 2 ends: a tapered one and one that's got a little hollow section. Insert the cartridge with the hollow section first, and push it into place (DO NOT TURN OR TWIST IT AS YOU INSERT IT, JUST PUSH IT GENTLY). The instructions say you "may feel or hear a slight click when the cartridge is fully inserted," but I did not feel this click -- if you don't feel a click, you may carefully remove the ink cartridge and check if there is ink in the hollow end. If there is ink in the hollow end, it was inserted correctly, and you need to carefully push it back into place (again NIB UP!). Be careful -- if the cartridge was inserted correctly, there WILL be ink in that hollow end, and if you tip it the wrong way you might end up with ink everywhere. -Try writing! It might take a second for the ink to start flowing, but it should work just fine! Again, that's just how I personally inserted the cartridge, it seems pretty straight forward but if you are a newbie and don't know anything about fountain pens (like me), having the instructions (and pictures) clearly laid out might help. My advice to Pilot -- in the instructions, include pictures of each part of the pen so we know what each part is! Also, including better pictures for the instructions will help make things clear, the black and white illustrations are only helpful if you already know what the different parts of the pen are. I have yet to try the converter, so I can't comment on that part yet. But overall, the pen writes GREAT, the nib is a nice fine tip, and the barrel of the pen is completely gorgeous. If you love to write, or you have a friend/family member who loves to journal, or is just passionate about nice pens, this is a great gift! Perfect for someone who's never had a fountain pen before!