In my previous post on this pen, I covered the buying experience and the brief passing phase of buyer’s remorse before coming to accept and enjoy the pen. I had owned it for not quite a week.

Now, at still only two weeks in, I feel it necessary to say more about the issues I have with the pen and to correct a few misconceptions. Although mine was an impulse buy, I would recommend trying the pen before buying if possible and also to read the many online reviews – from which I now see that this model has been around for over 10 years.

To recap, the potential issue arises from a combination of two design factors, namely the short grip section and the faceted barrel. If you do not wish to grip the pen around the metal, hourglass shaped section but higher up, then your fingers meet the facets. These are fine if they correspond with where you wish to rest your fingers: but if they do not, then you are instead holding a sharp ridge between two facets, which is uncomfortable and unsteady.

At the time of my first post, I explained that on my pen, when the barrel was fully tightened, the facets stopped with a ridge in the centre, or “12 o’clock position” (if viewing the nib head on).

Of course, we want to hold our pens comfortably and in such a way that the tipping of the nib touches the paper at the smoothest angle, to write well without scratchiness or skipping – “the sweet spot.” Depending on an individual’s writing style, – whether they be left or right handed, whether an under-writer, over-writer or side-writer, facets may or may not be helpful.

The big news that I wish to share, is that the wood barrel sleeve is not attached to the metal inner barrel (which I presume is brass) and can be adjusted. At least, I am speaking for my own pen only and have not examined any other samples. Thus if the facets are not where you need them, simply twist the barrel firmly a little way beyond its tightest point. You do not need to move it far. You may line up the nib with the flat surface, or a sharp ridge, or perhaps half way between these points as a compromise.

I discovered this by accident when I noticed that after capping and uncapping the pen for a few days, the barrel ferrule was sinking down inside the barrel.

When I unscrewed the barrel, I found that the metal barrel liner, was beginning to protrude.

Having discovered that the barrel sleeve could move over its liner, I tried pushing the liner out further (using an empty plastic cartridge and pushing the barrel down against a hard surface):-

The good news: You can therefore twist the wood barrel sleeve to adjust the position of the facets in relation to the nib, if you need to. For example, if a flat facet at the 12 o’clock position suits you best, just twist a few degrees and you are there. It is a bit like the feature of the Parker 75 which allowed you to rotate the nib for the optimum writing – a solution to the problem caused by adding facets to the grip section.

If you like the nib aligned with a facet, this also has the added bonus of enabling you to cap the pen with the pocket clip aligned to the nib or to post the cap thus aligned, (although writing with this cap posted will make the pen unbalanced).

The bad news: the barrel is not meant to move on the liner and moving it will soon make it loose. Two new problems are caused by solving the facet issue: (1) when you uncap the pen, the nib section and barrel liner, are pulled forward out of the barrel sleeve and (2) when you go to unscrew the section, instead of unscrewing, the barrel liner rotates in its sleeve.

Experimenting with nib-to-facet angles, I found myself suffering FOMO: this was made more complicated by having more than one writing style – whether under or over writing. “Am I missing out on a smoother writing experience, if only the barrel were turned a few more degrees?” The angle for one writing style was not the same as for the other. Imagine the distraction and stress of having this thought if you were taking an exam.

Already after only a few days of experimenting, my barrel was getting looser and I noticed a gap between the section and the barrel appearing, each time I pulled off the cap. It is a pity that there is not a screw, or a hex nut we can tighten in the barrel liner, to arrest this movement. I have stuck a little Sellotape on the barrel liner to try to make it a tighter fit.

In conclusion, I do actually like the pen. Theoretically having a facet against your finger, should give a steadier grip than if the only points of contact were rounded edges of a tube. The facets certainly look bold and attractive – especially as they are echoed in the metal cap. (Incidentally, the cap is made of metal, although the metal is thin and it has a plastic liner).

When I bought the pen, I was on my way to see a concert of music by Frederick Delius. The piece, a cantata entitled “A Mass of Life” is quite a difficult listen – a huge, powerful, exuberant, out-pouring of passion – which probably needs to be heard more times than I have yet given it, to enjoy and appreciate it properly. Meanwhile, you might think “Why bother with this, when there is more readily satisfying, melodious and recognisably-structured music available?” Perhaps there is an analogy here with the Ondoro: it is a challenge but there is nothing quite like it and it is worth the effort of persevering. Or perhaps I am just making excuses for a flawed pen or one that was not suitable for my particular grip?

The nib is excellent. When it is writing smoothly, I can happily write or doodle with it. I sometimes think that a writing sample reveals more about the comfort of a pen: how neatly can I write with it? If the writing is shaky and rushed, it suggests we cannot wait to put the pen down. If it is neat, then it shows the writer to be relaxed, comfortable and at peace with the pen!

If I were to give up on the pen, then at least the nib unit can be transferred to the Faber-Castell Essentio, a cylindrical and facetless aluminium pen that I bought last year. But it has not come to that yet!

The pen does make a nice companion for my Ashera fountain pen, hand finished in multi-lacquered elm burl wood. The Ondoro is not lacquered and polished but its wood is faceted and is Smoked Oak (not just stained to look like it) – a chemical process which I imagine adds a bit to the cost. It is not correct to say that the wood is untreated.

The Ondoro might not be my favourite pen – at least not today. But I am using it every day which is a good sign.