Penfriend Avis 3

My 13 year-old, well-used Cross Bailey Fountain Pen had stopped writing smoothly and the engraving had faded, so I contacted Penfriend for assistance. From the first phone call, Amaya was incredibly helpful. I was initially hesitant to send my pen by post for repair, but Amaya let me know when it had arrived, kept me informed about the progress of repairs, and was transparent about costs. The repairs were done in a timely manner and the engraving was refilled. It came back to me looking and writing as if it were new again. Amaya even hand wrote a note back to me to explain again what had been done. I was also surprised at how affordable the pricing was for a repair. It is much more reasonable than several of the other options I had been looking at.

As fountain pen experts, you do expect a certain standard of customer service and knowledge, but my expectations were exceeded. I could not recommend Penfriend enough, and I will be returning to them for all my pen needs.

When you spend so much money on a fountain pen you do expect a good level of service. However my expectations were still somehow exceeded!

I was initially a little bit unsure as they do not have a physical shop. Amaya explained that the business model moved to online due to the higher rents in London. She made it clear from the start that there was absolutely no pressure to buy and she let me try the Pelikan M1000 Renaissance Brown Edition with various nib sizes.

She also reassured me that I could change the nib size within a couple of days if I needed to.

Amaya was interesting and very knowledgeable! She showed me some of the Japanese pens she uses and give me a lot more information about those nibs too. She also spoke a bit about the maintenance work she performs herself.

In today's world where every business is trying to shimmy AI into their customer experience journey, it's so refreshing to receive such a great personal service.

I'm now convinced that I have the right nib. I'm enjoying this pen for the moment but I'd certainly buy from Penfriend.co.uk again in the future. I'm looking forward to seeing them at the next London Fountain Pen Show.

I have several vintage pens that I use in rotation (including a lovely Parker Vacuumatic!). However, I was shocked to learn recently that Parker stopped making 'propelling pencils' a long time ago! (In the 1950s & 1960s I had a lovely 'silver' Parker pencil given to me by my godfather- but that lovely pencil disappeared inside a heavy bank ledger many years ago!). However, a few years ago I bought an old Parker 51 pencil in beautiful condition but its rubber had gone so hard with age, I had to drill it out! Apparently, not even Parker have any stock of new rubbers left, but Penfriend (London), Ltd. have been extremely helpful and have adapted a different manufacturer's rubber to fit. My pencil is winging its way back to me as I write!

Amaya of Penfriend has been so helpful and a delight to deal with, bless her. Terrific service, and Penfriend will be my first choice next time I have a 'pen-in-need'! Highly recommended. Thank you, Amaya!