Asvine V200 Titanium Fountain Pen Vacuum Filling

Asvine V200 pen with a medium Asvine nib. Silky writer in the paper, good flow, and a good fit in the hand. Before inking I placed a tiny amount of silicone grease on the vacuum plunger, threads on the nib to body, and cap to body, with a touch inside the ink chamber north, south, east, and west. Cycled the piston and cleaned any perceived excess. I wrapped a few turns of pipe thread seal tape on the metal threads on the vacuum rod to ensure longevity perhaps since plastic and metal threads can wear over time. The medium Asvine nib is nice with very good tuning on the tines. Inked up the pen getting about a half full barrel, and I thought that was plenty for the maiden voyage. The pen in hand and nib on paper produced buttery smooth lines with perfect ink flow. The pen was excellent in hand with a nice girth. I highly recommend the pen without any hesitation. Great pen. Great design and execution of detail by ASVINE and workers. Good price. Fine experience. A fine writer and that is the key! Someone asked about centering the nib directly under the clip for a clean aesthetic look that appeals to fountain pen lovers. I found a way that worked for me out of the box. SEATING THE NIB TO THE CENTER OF THE CLIP. Screw the cap slowly in place until it seats. Is it centered? If not, slowly unscrew the cap with the slightest amount of downward pressure on the pen body until you hear the tiny click of the threads. Screw it back in place and the nib should be centered under the clip. It worked for me.

the pen came well packaged and worked with no issues. It writes very well and does not dry out.

As I write this, there are 239 reviews of this pen, mostly 5 stars. I disagree. Since there are so many positive reviews from people who love this pen, I will take a moment to digress. If you want a rave review of this pen, you can skip my review... You are a fountain pen enthusiast, clearly, if you are reading this. I've been on this journey for a long time, enough to accumulate an excessively large collection at every price point up to $1,500. What have I learned? Most of us really own need about two dozen pens--half inexpensive, half luxury. Some people may feel they need only one, but they are soulless bores who don't understand the great fun of having different colors of ink simultaneously loaded into different pens! Why do I say two dozen? Well, there is obviously leeway here, but it's hard to use more than that many at any one time. So if you want to own pens just to have them, there's nothing wrong with that. But if you are thinking about a mainly functional collection, the question becomes what do you want to own? 1. Luxury fountain pens that are truly exquisite and distinctive and that exactly match your own preference. Save your money for these gorgeous instruments that are so much fun to use. Don't waste money on a bunch of budget pens that do not satisfy specific needs or wants. 2. Budget fountain pens that do the daily work--the ones we're not afraid to put into a pocket or a briefcase/backpack or a purse and pull out in the middle of anywhere to write a note or a memo or an essay. Budget pens must be reliable, fun to use, represent good value, and fulfill specific daily needs. The V200 is a nicely designed, attractive fountain pen with significant operational issues that is priced at the higher end of the affordable range. So right away, in my book, it fails the reliability and value tests (more below). Because being unreliable basically ruins everything. Why so many rave reviews elsewhere? Three reasons: 1. The reviews are written almost immediately after getting the pen, when everything seems fantastic. There is no reliability/durability testing yet. 2. YouTubers really only care about getting subscribers and views so they can monetize their channel and/or feel good about themselves. They want to be positive if they can in order to continue getting free samples from retailers to make their videos without having to buy the pens. They spend a relatively short amount of time with the pen before expressing an opinion. The real question: Is the pen one of their dozen pens in regular use? To me, that is all that matters (see above). 3. Some people just don't know any better because they haven't used many pens. I mean, in the early days, I thought TWSBI pens were good value, too, haha. So what's wrong with the V200? The vacuum filler system is cheap and has a good chance of failing--the rubber stopper falls off the plunger, destroying the vacuum seal, and it will not stay on afterward. The V200 uses a cheap filler system that is also used on the PenBBS 456 and Asvine V126 (I own both of these, too). In my experience, using silicone gel on the stopper did nothing to prevent failure. I converted it to an eyedropper filler to make it functional. However, the threads on the blind cap of my V200 got stripped fairly quickly after only light use, and now the blind cap will not screw on securely. These kinds of problem in a $50 fountain pen today are unacceptable. I would avoid this pen. I realize that not everyone will have these problems, just like not all TWSBIs crack, but enough have problems that I would avoid them. What are some good options in the budget segment of the fountain pen market? First, know my biases: I like great nibs, great styling, high ink capacity (when possible), and oversized pens due to their #8 nibs. If you don't share my biases, you may not like my recommendations. For my money, the best affordable Chinese pens today are piston fillers (better reliability than vacuum fillers) in the ~$40 range: -Majohn P139 (comes in #8 or #6 nib with a great flex option in #6) -Majohn P140 (if you like demonstrators) with #8 nib -WingSung 630 (Montblanc 149 replica) with #8 nib; amazing 14k nib option available for under $250 -Asvine P36 in titanium with rounded ends, #6 nib, and a piston filler (cousin of V200) -Majohn V60 is a triangular pen (Omas 360 replica) with #6 nib for $39 (swap the nib out for something better). Cheap but good writer and fun (but not built to last forever): -Jinhao 9019 with nice #8 nib and an extra-large converter available for $13 on Amazon -Jinhao 9016 is the mid-sized cousin of 9019 with #6 nib and extra-large converter If you must have vacuum filling in a budget Chinese fountain pen, I would choose Asvine V800 ($36)--much smoother filling system than V200; the V800 has a #8 nib, including a good stub option. Again, avoid TWSBI--many crack for no reason (as mine did). But in general, vacuum filling requires good engineering and manufacturing, and all the ones that I find most enjoyable to use are far more expensive (Gravitas Vac, Pilot 823).

This is a phenomenal pen! I have a bunch, mostly for art and sketching, but more and more for writing too. This is an incredibly versatile wet and smooth pen, that handles even dry chromashading inks and shimmer inks with no issue at all. It’s also beautiful in the rainbow anodized version and nicely balanced. I guess if you want it to post you’ll be upset, but I want something well balanced so I don’t post anything. This may be my favorite of all.

Better than expected. Excellent materials and construction. Writes well. Good value. Smooth transaction.

I didn’t have a good experience with this pen. It skipped quite a bit across all inks I tested. It felt like a pen where the nib has been over smoothed. About a year into owning it the plastic cracked in half in the body of the pen. I’ve had a twsbi break like this in The past (but a better writing pen) and could buy a replacement part for a few dollars and fix it. Just replacing the plastic tube in this case was half the cost of a new pen. Between performance issues and the high cost to fix this seems like a rough choice.

I own 35 fountain pens, from the cheapest, most bargain basement Jinhao 80 that was like…2 for 10 bucks or something like that, to the 280 dollar LAMY 2000 that the Jinhao is copying, all the way to a Vintage Montblanc Meisterstück 149 that, due to complicated matters involving European economic policy and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, happens to be worth even more than they usually are. I’ve seen estimates of 2-3 grand for the exact one I have. I have pocket pens, I have steel nib pens, I have gold nib pins. I have converters, I have piston fillers, I have vacuum fillers, I have eyedroppers, and by golly I even have a pair of dip pens and a QUILL. I am NOT a casual collector of fountain pens. This is a lifestyle to me, and I take it very seriously. All of that to say this…this is the best pen I own (and I own three of them) and I’m here to set the record straight about it. That 4.0 rating it currently has? Entirely too low, but there’s a reason for it. This is, as the V in its model number suggests, a vacuum filler. Now, I have just a handful of small complaints about this pen, and none of them are really about function. The first (and most important to this review), is that vacuum fillers are inherently kind of a pain in the butt if you’re not well educated on their function, and they don’t do a great job of educating you about how to use them. They can be difficult to fill if you don’t know some tricks, and they can run dry and start skipping, again, if you don’t know how to prevent that from happening. So I’m going to use this review as not only a review, but an opportunity to educate anyone who is buying this as their first vacuum filler. First, filling (do this over a sink, or something else you don't mind getting ink on): unscrew the blind cap at the back, pull it all the way out, and dip the nib into the ink, far enough that it at least covers the breather hole (though I’ll usually dip mine far enough that I’ll have a ring of ink about a millimeter up on the section. More cleanup, but it works better), then plunge the blind cap back down. If all goes according to plan, it should pull up some ink. If it does, great. If not, repeat that until it starts to draw up ink. Now, it’s important to note that you will never fully fill the barrel doing this. That’s where the next step comes in. Once it starts to draw ink, it should maybe halfway fill the barrel. At this point, pull the plunger all the way back out, hold it over the sink, and VERY gently push it back in, slowly, and watch the nib and feed. The second that you see it starting to push ink out of the feed, STOP. Hold the plunger EXACTLY where you started to see ink coming out, submerge the nib back in the ink bottle, and finish depressing the plunger. This is usually enough to finish filling it, but even if it’s not, you can repeat this step until it’s entirely full. Each time, you should have to push the plunger down a shorter distance to see it starting to push ink out. Congratulations! You’ve now filled a fountain pen that’s sort of notoriously finicky to fill, but actually easy as can be once you know this trick. Secondly, for keeping it writing wet: this filling method has a benefit that’s quite often seen as a drawback until you know how to leverage it. That same plunger that draws the ink into the barrel also functions as a stopper. Basically it cuts the barrel off from the feed. This is great for preventing burping and various other types of ink catastrophes, BUT it means that once the ink in the feed is used up…it’ll start writing dry and skipping. When it begins doing this, simply unscrew that blind cap at the back again, and allow it to sit, nib down, for a short period of time, and then screw it back down snug. This moves it back just far enough to allow the ink to saturate the feed once more. If you’re writing several pages, you may have to do this a couple of times. If you’re taking a quick note, you’ll only have to do this occasionally. Either way, that’s how you solve the skipping issue that so many cite as a problem with this pen. Now, to my other little complaints, just for transparency’s sake: the extra fine is honestly way too fine unless you need to be able to take detailed notes on a piece of paper the size of a postage stamp. Even for those with great handwriting, it’s near impossible to write smoothly with something that tiny, and they’ll inherently feel scratchy (the medium nib is a TRIUMPH though. Beats my Montblanc nib and it’s actually a bit depressing the extent to which it beats it) And Asvine offers a pretty decent 1.1 stub in like…every other pen they make, except the one pen that’s my absolute favorite (this one). No idea why they seem to stubbornly refuse to offer that stub in this pen. If they did, I’d preorder it immediately. I also wish they’d standardize their housings so you don’t have to buy the Bock version if you want to swap nib units. (Especially since the cheaper Asvine nib is actually a better writer than the factory supplied Bock) Aside from that, it’s near perfect. It’s robust, relatively heavy in a good way, the colors, though limited, are quite nice (the black looks amazing, but is frosted, so it’s a bit harder to see how much ink you still have left. Not a dealbreaker, but something to consider. And aside from the lack of a stub option, they do offer it in a fairly versatile array of nib widths. A note for pilots or frequent travelers: I don’t really recommend taking a filled fountain pen on an airplane. They’re more sensitive to changes in pressure, and the reduced air pressure in a plane is known to cause them to leak, BUT if you fly a lot, love fountain pens, and refuse to empty them and refill when you get where you’re going, the plunger acting as a stopper that seals the barrel off from the feed makes vacuum fillers inherently the least leak prone type of fountain pens. One final note: vacuum pens are notoriously a bit of a nightmare to clean, and it’s an unearned reputation. It’s the Pilot Custom 823’s fault for being so popular, but being…inadvisable to fully disassemble for cleaning. If you’ve heard that these are a pain to clean, worry not. These can be fully disassembled with ease for cleaning. Also be careful and remember that if you need to unscrew the blind cap, don’t write with it like that with the cap posted, because when you forget that the blind cap is open, and you try to remove the cap, you’ll yoink the plunger all the way out and cause all grades of calamity. Also the pen is sort of huge, so I don’t really recommend using it posted anyway, but that’s personal preference. Oh also be careful putting Diamine Writer’s Blood in this thing, or any other clear demonstrator. You think it’ll look cool, but it actually looks super creepy. Like you’re carrying around a syringe full of blood 😂😂😂 Alright I think that’s everything. Buy with confidence, and help me peer pressure them into offering a stub. 😂

I got this with high hopes. This thing loves to skip. Mostly at the start of upward motions, but also when crossing ts. I got a set of replacement tips, and i have the same issue. I use diamine writers blood, that isn't the issue, as it flows fine in other pens I use. All nibs and pen itself was cleaned before use, ive tried pulling out nib and realigning, the cap is fully unscrewed while writing, but no matter, this thing simply loves to skip :( Edit: after even more disassembly and cleaning, this thing is hopeless. I have no idea why, but this thing refuses to write consistently. Ill stick with scriveiner. This thing constantly skips and false starts, it has moments of hope, just to randomly not work. No other pens I have behave like this, this thing SUCKS Edit 3 : Shes Stubborn, but Im unmoving. So, the culprit was literally EVERY nib i recieved, after ordering a p36 and that having the SAME exact issues, hard starts, skips, sometimes not even at all dispensing. Full disclosure THE PENS ARE GREAT- THE NIBS SUCK. After spending about 15-20 mins on each nib, opening the tines on an even surface, and then bending the tines back down toward the feed while on a hard even surface. Doing this got overtime and monitoring got inkflow to finally be consistent, however it is absolutely INSANE I got 2 pens and a pack of nibs, so a total of 5 nibs, and all needed adjustment to write properly. Now, I got both pens working, no stops or skips, and they are great, but if you are new and just getting into fountain pens, maybe get something more functional out of the box 2nd Purchase: Get the black version, writes perfectly out of box, issue was NOT the nib, I bought 3 packs of replacements and none worked, so I just got a new pen, this time the v200 in black, THIS one is superb. It is my favorite. The other was absolute garbage. Don't buy the silver model. Company never reached out to me, they claim good service, but never once addressed anything in my reviews.

J'avais l'habitude des TWSBI Vac700R, j'ai voulu essayer celui-ci qui se remplit selon le même principe et qui est moins cher. Avec le recul, il se remplit aisément et écrire avec ce stylo-plume est très agréable. Il semble très robuste et, pour avoir plusieurs modèles de stylo-plume Asvine, c'est, selon moi, le plus agréable à utiliser et le plus robuste de cette marque. Je le recommande.

Immaculate flow. Very pretty and pleasant to hold in the hand. It's quite heavy, and it takes some time to get used to, may get tiring when writing a lot.

La he probado poco, pero de momento escribe fluido y no rasca el papel. Para rellenarla bien, hay que esperar un poco a retirarla del tintero después de apretar el embolo hasta abajo.

TL:DR - This fountain pen has great construction/premium feel with the clear acrylic and titanium. The vacuum design provides an easy to fill experience. package includes a couple extra o-rings and a tool. Medium nib is solid and standard across the board. Provides a pleasure writing experience with the asvine hongdian non-carbon ink and affordable. Can see ink levels with clear acrylic. Great vacuum fountain pen This pen feels so pleasing to write with I don't know if i can put it into words. This was my first ever vacuum fountain pen and as someone that's just starting to get into fountain pens it may have been a bit of a stretch for a beginner but everyone's gotta start somewhere. The pens construction is really well done, it still surprises me how affordable this pen was and how premium it feels in the hand. The clear acrylic with the titanium construction provides a really light pen that may look heavy but allows you to flow freely when writing. The vacuum suction is really good and I haven't had any leaks or malfunctions with this pen after using it for a couple of weeks. I purchased the asvine hongdian non-carbon black ink as that is what the product is suggested for use and paired with this pen provides a really enjoyable writing experience. The flow of the nib is pretty good and pretty instant as soon as it touches paper, the feedback is standard for a medium size nib and the flex seems pretty standard as well. This pen is a great package overall, it has premium construction and great flow with a vacuum style design. It would make a great gift for anyone into fountain pens and an excellent writing companion for those that need it. All that for such an affordable price, you can't really complain.

Esta pluma es muy bonita y tiene un buen flujo. El punto un poco más Bold que mediano. Al inicio se tapaba un poquito pero con el uso ya fluye muy bien. La amo.