Sheaffer VFM Fountain Pen Review

I recently stumbled on to this inexpensive fountain pen, the VFM, from the Sheaffer company. While I haven’t found myself reaching for it much, and it won’t crack my top-five list anytime soon, it’s a decent pen for beginners. At less than ten dollars, it’s worth your consideration, for sure.

I chose the shiny chrome edition. It’s a nice-looking metal pen with a plastic grip and a steel nib. While some reviewers have stated that the cap posts, it certainly doesn’t on my model. It feels good in the hand, with decent weight. However, I wasn't that impressed with how it writes. It is a cartridge/converter pen that takes standard international (not Sheaffer) cartridges.

The VFM is available in some other colors on Amazon (blue, black, and red). You might initially mistake it for a Pilot Metropolitan, at least from a distance. However, it’s no Metro. Mine suffered from some hard starts. I wasn’t able to find a consistent line with the VFM. The Platinum Plaisir far exceeds it in terms of writing quality and reliability, as do even some inexpensive Chinese pens. It’s not a bad pen. It’s just not a great one. While I won’t throw it away, I may give it away. Or maybe I won’t, as I don’t want a friend to have a bad introduction to the hobby. However, maybe I just got a lemon. That’s certainly happened on Amazon before!