@@JG3ReviewsJames (at least I believe your name is James as you wrote it in Russian in another video, sorry if I'm wrong) can you please do a review on the soviet "союз" pen. It has a pretty good cap with a ruby so it would be a pretty addition to your collection.
What an interesting review. Thank you. Doing things differently is not unusual in Soviet era manufacturing. Enjoyed hearing the Red Army Chorus in the background. :)
You're just so full of surprises, James. Your pronunciation isn't half bad but I'm not a native speaker either, so what do I know?. Nice Komandirskie too. Those Vostoks are absolutely bombproof. You could use it to hammer a nail into a wall and it would still work. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hunt for Russian pens on eBay. Cheerio!
@@JG3Reviews I have several Russian watches and they're all built like tanks, working well with minimal maintenance. I love my 90s Komandirskies, but my favorite watch is a Poljot from the 1980 Olympics. All of them have been quite the conversation starter. I'm hoping to add an Amphibia to the collection in the near future.
Last week I bought my first Soviet fountain pen set. Came with a fountain pen and ballpoint in its case. But didn’t know who made it, the seller said it was a student set. The second you showed the nib and clip, I compared and now I know it’s a Yaroslavl. Thank you for sharing this video.
I very much enjoyed this review, one of the more interesting, unique pens I’ve seen mentioned on UA-cam. Interestingly, in chatting with a Russian friend and fellow illustrator about fountain pens, he’s only ever mentioned Parkers and Monteverdes to me. I’ll have to mention these to him and see if he’s used them!
Thank you for your review of this pen. I’ve been looking for a pen to use for art and I bought one after watching your review. This is the best I’ve found. It’s smooth, produces enough variety in line weight and holds up to the quick hatches used in ink drawing. I love it!
Soviet design philosophy vis-a-vis fit and finish was that if didn't affect the functionality, then it didn't matter. So good enough was good enough. Fit and finish mattered where nib and feed were concerned, but not where barrel met the cap.
Excellent review. One of your best! 👍👍👍 The grooves on the section appear to be in the perfect spot... I actually can't use Lamy Safaris or Omas 360s because I find the triangular-shaped-grips misaligned for my traditional French style of writing...
I bought a Yaroslavl' fountain pen at the Izmailovo flea market several years ago. It was in a set with a matching ballpoint and fountain pen. All I wanted was the fountain pen and I wound up paying a tiny price. It's been a little frustrating because the nib is one of the most comfortable I've used but the ink tends to run dry and can be fixed by turning the piston screw up, so the ink gets back into the feed. I wish I could fix this. I tried soaking and rinsing but the problem comes back. The nib is hooded and looks like a Parker imitation. I have some Chinese Parker imitations with better ink flow than the Yaroslavl' but their nib is not as good. The Yaroslavl' is a great pen if I'm willing to occasionally turn the piston up, somewhat like a mechanical pencil that needs the lead advanced. By the way, I transcribe the name with an apostrophe at the end because the final l is palatalized and symbolized in Russian by a soft sign. A few days after buying the Yaroslavl', I visited the Moscow pen club and bought a gold nib Sacco and Vanzetti pen. They were tried for murder in the US, but considered heroes in the Soviet Union, so they wound up naming a pen factory after them, which is now defunct with the fall of the Soviet Union. Who knows, maybe Putin will revive it, to honor Americans who were considered criminals.
The original chrome Cross Century was my favourite fountain pen. I'll definitely try searching for one of these. I already have two Soviet pens. One has a gold plated cap with a spring-loaded clip and has a semi flex nib, the other one is much more plain and has the same nib and feed design as yours. It's a pity neither of mine have full metal bodies. Both of mine can easily be disassembled for cleaning. The gold one has a seal for the reservoir, the plain one needs silicon grease during reassembly to prevent leaks.
Hello i know i am a bit late but from what i have seen in other video the converter has left threaded threads on it also apparently sometimes there is too much shelack so it is best to soak it in soapy warm water then it shouldn't take much force to take appart the nib is taken out from the inside if i remember correctly and there also might be too much shelack
It's a great history piece. I don't use mine except occasionally, because I don't know the long term durability. But I'm glad to have it in my collection of vintage pens.
Thank you for the lovely video. Another back to the past thanks to a fountain pen. I appreciated also the final quote. Hope that is right: До свидания и спасибо
Impressed .... Russian, ,, and I like the tea cup too. Odd colour converter, never seen one of those before. The pen is ok but too thin for me like the cross pen, ,, which mine didn't write so got binned. .. I don't like cross pens because of previous let downs. Some unusal things on the pen. Well done for learning Russian whilst living there. Best wishes to all PenPeople... mind how you go 💙 LeZc @@ ' O ' ring seals
Not a convertor, but piston filler. No way to remove the piston, or install a cartridge. Just piston is hidden under the metal barrel. The screw threads high up would be an issue if the puston could be removed.
@@JG3Reviews I'm not 100% sure. You may be right. But in Russian fountain pen is "перьевая ручка" Перо - feather. For historical reason - like in the past people used to write with goose feather. Авторучка is usually is a ballpoint (mostly with a clicking mechanism). And other reason- left side of the letter A is a bit curved so I thought it's probably Я. But it's just my guess.
As with most good Soviet products, the first think that springs into my mind is: "Where they stole/copied/bought that?" There were very clever people in USSR but most of them weren't politicaly connected, so they ended up as emigrants or in goulags. Even in Eastern Bloc, Soviet products were seen as subpar, as they were very good in manufacturing of only one thing: weapons. Soviet weapons and desigs are great, everything else, not that much. Lada Niva have engine by Porsche (contract) and British-designed 4x4 (clone/copy), GAZ military jeep is in fact old Ford AB side-valve engine (GAZ autoplant was built by Ford in 1920s) in Soviet variation of Willys jeep (which they got in Lend-Lease during WWII). They packed-up whole factories in East Germany and transported them to USSR to have technology which Soviet Union lacked. Soviets had that "different approach to things" simply because they lacked means to do it any other way.
Wrong. Soviets made more good things than just weapons. Wristwatches, radios, cameras, and lighters all spring to mind. I personally work on Soviet watches all the time and they meet or exceed their Western counterparts. The USSR was the second-largest maker and exporter of wristwatches for decades, only behind the Swiss, for good reason. I also bought a brushed-steel Soyuz pen set with the original box as my first fountain pen. Incredibly good writer. I think there's a review of it on UA-cam.
@@jakekaywell5972 Poljot watches were good, you are right. Radios and cameras were made on stolen German equipment from 1945, as were lighters, Soviet TVs used SECAM system because French sold them their production line when they transferred to PAL. Want good Eastern Bloc watches? Try Prim. That also makes me think, Soviets looted factories in Czechoslovakia, which had tradition of making good watches. Hmm... I lived through Eastern Bloc, mate, I know, what I am talking about. Maybe Soviets sold better products on the open market but considering that Soviet products were looked down upon as far as I am aware, and their quality was appalling all the way through, I have no reason to change my opinion. Maybe Ladas were the best consumer thing they ever produced but that was Italian design, not the Soviet one.
@@jakublulek3261 Living in the Eastern Bloc does not automatically grant you special knowledge, but since you pulled out that card, my whole family lived in what was the Hungarian People's Republic. Radios were largely Soviet designs, the best ones were made by VEF and Radiotechnika, both Latvian. While you're right concerning camera production, the German equipment wasn't "stolen" (such as Leica and Contax). It was given by the provisional German government as reparations. However, even after that, the USSR made original camera designs without German legacy underpinnings. The Zenit-E is likely the best known of these, with it still holding the title of most-produced 35mm SLR ever. Prim watches are solid pieces, but still no better or worse than your typical Raketa or Slava. Poljots are generally better than all three, but that said, even the most basic Pobeda with the ZiM 2602 movement was solid. It was a licensed-built LIP K-26 from France with a few modernizations made to it, but it was the "people's watch" for good reason. Cheap to make, cheap to repair, easy to repair, accurate to within 15/sec day, and reliable. The VAZ-2101 "Lada" only looked like a FIAT 124 on the surface. VAZ engineers had to make more than 900 changes to the 124's design to make it tough enough for Soviet conditions. Its pretty much a different car mechanically. Generally, there no technical difference between Soviet products sold on the home market and those sold elsewhere. Apart from changing badging from Cyrillic to Latin-based letters, of course.
USSR killed and tortured millions of its own citizens. Starting a video with its anthem is akin to playing an anthem of the Third Reich. Sorry. This time dislike. I am Ukrainian. I can't tolerate that.
I can understand and respect you for that. As I said, it is the opposite of my affiliation. But I used it only for historical connection to the time period. Your country's history of oppression by them would more than justify your reaction.
Pros & cons as always in history. However in the other hand the URS suffered and helped to win German fascism as no other country in Europe. They paid the highest price. Respect to the people and their anthems into their context. I can’t be proud of my country’s history. Who can? Very few countries. And don’t forget the history is written by the winners....... Nice pen review, nice context. Spasibo.
@@joanm.2987 pros & cons? when you hear the anthem of German nazis you also speak about pros and cons? Soviets were not better that Hitler's Nazis. Not better at all.
@@MaxSvyezhentsev Not for nothing, but to be quite frank this was a review about an old pen, produced by a defunct company, in a now defunct political system, from an age of bizarre behaviors. If your a man, then buck-up, take a good size grain of salt, and then have a Coke & Smile. If you're a lady at least try the Coke. This was not a pro fallen ussr video. If you are looking to decry former and/or current Russian oppressions and atrocities, seek channels that glorify that type of content. And stop looking for the kgb under every rock. God help you.
@@TONY19021965 the review started with a symbol of that regime. And as a subscriber of the channel, I pointed out that this is offensive. My comment did not concern you. So buck-up, get some Coke and go mind your own business.
Sounds like the Russian Military Chorus singing their National Anthem in the background. Nice review. Spasiba.
Yes, It's a public domain recording from the 40's.
James, I love their albums. I am also a lover of Russian Orthodox Liturgical Music.
@@danielste-marie779 Me, too.
Technically the proper way to pronounce it would be spasibo as there is a o on the end of the word (спасибо). But i guess it is not really a problem .
@@JG3ReviewsJames (at least I believe your name is James as you wrote it in Russian in another video, sorry if I'm wrong) can you please do a review on the soviet "союз" pen. It has a pretty good cap with a ruby so it would be a pretty addition to your collection.
I’m impressed with anyone who can speak another language so fluently, let alone a difficult language like Russian
What an interesting review. Thank you. Doing things differently is not unusual in Soviet era manufacturing. Enjoyed hearing the Red Army Chorus in the background. :)
You're just so full of surprises, James. Your pronunciation isn't half bad but I'm not a native speaker either, so what do I know?. Nice Komandirskie too. Those Vostoks are absolutely bombproof. You could use it to hammer a nail into a wall and it would still work.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hunt for Russian pens on eBay. Cheerio!
Ha! And very rusty. It's a great watch, I've had it since the mid-90s and it's still going.
@@JG3Reviews I have several Russian watches and they're all built like tanks, working well with minimal maintenance. I love my 90s Komandirskies, but my favorite watch is a Poljot from the 1980 Olympics. All of them have been quite the conversation starter.
I'm hoping to add an Amphibia to the collection in the near future.
Last week I bought my first Soviet fountain pen set. Came with a fountain pen and ballpoint in its case. But didn’t know who made it, the seller said it was a student set. The second you showed the nib and clip, I compared and now I know it’s a Yaroslavl. Thank you for sharing this video.
I very much enjoyed this review, one of the more interesting, unique pens I’ve seen mentioned on UA-cam. Interestingly, in chatting with a Russian friend and fellow illustrator about fountain pens, he’s only ever mentioned Parkers and Monteverdes to me. I’ll have to mention these to him and see if he’s used them!
Yellowed plastic was also popular in Russian culture specially as a color of cars, refrigerators and other things.
Yes, our landlady's phone was identical in color, and so were some of the Soviet govt. installed kitchen radios in many flats.
@@JG3Reviews Of course they came in that color when new.
Interesting, different. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your review of this pen. I’ve been looking for a pen to use for art and I bought one after watching your review. This is the best I’ve found. It’s smooth, produces enough variety in line weight and holds up to the quick hatches used in ink drawing. I love it!
Soviet design philosophy vis-a-vis fit and finish was that if didn't affect the functionality, then it didn't matter. So good enough was good enough. Fit and finish mattered where nib and feed were concerned, but not where barrel met the cap.
Great observations, I just woke up and your soothing voice put me to sleep. Love your gentle humorous style! Unique pen
Excellent review. One of your best! 👍👍👍
The grooves on the section appear to be in the perfect spot... I actually can't use Lamy Safaris or Omas 360s because I find the triangular-shaped-grips misaligned for my traditional French style of writing...
A very insightful review, thank you.
Very interesting pen and commentary!
Very interesting review, thank you .
Those 3 are flanges, James. LOL! Great review, love your work. God speed.
Thanks! Man, when a brain freeze hits, it hits.
@@JG3Reviews
No worries bro! You're still awesome. At this point in time you are definitely my favorite pen reviewer. God bless you brother.
I like it. When I see that clip I think of the word Staunch. Strong looking.
I bought a Yaroslavl' fountain pen at the Izmailovo flea market several years ago. It was in a set with a matching ballpoint and fountain pen. All I wanted was the fountain pen and I wound up paying a tiny price. It's been a little frustrating because the nib is one of the most comfortable I've used but the ink tends to run dry and can be fixed by turning the piston screw up, so the ink gets back into the feed. I wish I could fix this. I tried soaking and rinsing but the problem comes back. The nib is hooded and looks like a Parker imitation. I have some Chinese Parker imitations with better ink flow than the Yaroslavl' but their nib is not as good. The Yaroslavl' is a great pen if I'm willing to occasionally turn the piston up, somewhat like a mechanical pencil that needs the lead advanced. By the way, I transcribe the name with an apostrophe at the end because the final l is palatalized and symbolized in Russian by a soft sign. A few days after buying the Yaroslavl', I visited the Moscow pen club and bought a gold nib Sacco and Vanzetti pen. They were tried for murder in the US, but considered heroes in the Soviet Union, so they wound up naming a pen factory after them, which is now defunct with the fall of the Soviet Union. Who knows, maybe Putin will revive it, to honor Americans who were considered criminals.
The original chrome Cross Century was my favourite fountain pen. I'll definitely try searching for one of these. I already have two Soviet pens. One has a gold plated cap with a spring-loaded clip and has a semi flex nib, the other one is much more plain and has the same nib and feed design as yours. It's a pity neither of mine have full metal bodies.
Both of mine can easily be disassembled for cleaning. The gold one has a seal for the reservoir, the plain one needs silicon grease during reassembly to prevent leaks.
Hello i know i am a bit late but from what i have seen in other video the converter has left threaded threads on it also apparently sometimes there is too much shelack so it is best to soak it in soapy warm water then it shouldn't take much force to take appart the nib is taken out from the inside if i remember correctly and there also might be too much shelack
Thanks!
Ive found one on ebay for very cheap should i go for it and buy it?
It's a great history piece. I don't use mine except occasionally, because I don't know the long term durability. But I'm glad to have it in my collection of vintage pens.
Thank you for the lovely video. Another back to the past thanks to a fountain pen. I appreciated also the final quote. Hope that is right: До свидания и спасибо
Чтобы открутить конвертор, крутите по часовой стрелке
Спасибо, я попробовал. Он не хочет двигаться ни в одном направлении.
Больше спасибо !
Impressed .... Russian, ,, and I like the tea cup too.
Odd colour converter, never seen one of those before.
The pen is ok but too thin for me like the cross pen, ,, which mine didn't write so got binned. .. I don't like cross pens because of previous let downs.
Some unusal things on the pen.
Well done for learning Russian whilst living there.
Best wishes to all PenPeople... mind how you go 💙
LeZc
@@
' O ' ring seals
Not a convertor, but piston filler. No way to remove the piston, or install a cartridge. Just piston is hidden under the metal barrel. The screw threads high up would be an issue if the puston could be removed.
I think it's not АР on the clip. It's stylized Я and ЯР for Ярославль. Thanks.
I definitely read it as AR, but you may well be right. Here's a close up. photos.app.goo.gl/a83Tbz4VPx1E1AcR7
@@JG3Reviews I'm not 100% sure. You may be right. But in Russian fountain pen is "перьевая ручка" Перо - feather. For historical reason - like in the past people used to write with goose feather. Авторучка is usually is a ballpoint (mostly with a clicking mechanism). And other reason- left side of the letter A is a bit curved so I thought it's probably Я. But it's just my guess.
In the cccp, pen writes you!
😆
As with most good Soviet products, the first think that springs into my mind is: "Where they stole/copied/bought that?" There were very clever people in USSR but most of them weren't politicaly connected, so they ended up as emigrants or in goulags. Even in Eastern Bloc, Soviet products were seen as subpar, as they were very good in manufacturing of only one thing: weapons. Soviet weapons and desigs are great, everything else, not that much. Lada Niva have engine by Porsche (contract) and British-designed 4x4 (clone/copy), GAZ military jeep is in fact old Ford AB side-valve engine (GAZ autoplant was built by Ford in 1920s) in Soviet variation of Willys jeep (which they got in Lend-Lease during WWII). They packed-up whole factories in East Germany and transported them to USSR to have technology which Soviet Union lacked. Soviets had that "different approach to things" simply because they lacked means to do it any other way.
Wrong. Soviets made more good things than just weapons. Wristwatches, radios, cameras, and lighters all spring to mind. I personally work on Soviet watches all the time and they meet or exceed their Western counterparts. The USSR was the second-largest maker and exporter of wristwatches for decades, only behind the Swiss, for good reason. I also bought a brushed-steel Soyuz pen set with the original box as my first fountain pen. Incredibly good writer. I think there's a review of it on UA-cam.
@@jakekaywell5972 Poljot watches were good, you are right. Radios and cameras were made on stolen German equipment from 1945, as were lighters, Soviet TVs used SECAM system because French sold them their production line when they transferred to PAL. Want good Eastern Bloc watches? Try Prim. That also makes me think, Soviets looted factories in Czechoslovakia, which had tradition of making good watches. Hmm...
I lived through Eastern Bloc, mate, I know, what I am talking about. Maybe Soviets sold better products on the open market but considering that Soviet products were looked down upon as far as I am aware, and their quality was appalling all the way through, I have no reason to change my opinion. Maybe Ladas were the best consumer thing they ever produced but that was Italian design, not the Soviet one.
@@jakublulek3261 Living in the Eastern Bloc does not automatically grant you special knowledge, but since you pulled out that card, my whole family lived in what was the Hungarian People's Republic. Radios were largely Soviet designs, the best ones were made by VEF and Radiotechnika, both Latvian. While you're right concerning camera production, the German equipment wasn't "stolen" (such as Leica and Contax). It was given by the provisional German government as reparations. However, even after that, the USSR made original camera designs without German legacy underpinnings. The Zenit-E is likely the best known of these, with it still holding the title of most-produced 35mm SLR ever.
Prim watches are solid pieces, but still no better or worse than your typical Raketa or Slava. Poljots are generally better than all three, but that said, even the most basic Pobeda with the ZiM 2602 movement was solid. It was a licensed-built LIP K-26 from France with a few modernizations made to it, but it was the "people's watch" for good reason. Cheap to make, cheap to repair, easy to repair, accurate to within 15/sec day, and reliable.
The VAZ-2101 "Lada" only looked like a FIAT 124 on the surface. VAZ engineers had to make more than 900 changes to the 124's design to make it tough enough for Soviet conditions. Its pretty much a different car mechanically.
Generally, there no technical difference between Soviet products sold on the home market and those sold elsewhere. Apart from changing badging from Cyrillic to Latin-based letters, of course.
And try to copy something yourself. And Russia has excellent factories for the production of everything.
USSR killed and tortured millions of its own citizens. Starting a video with its anthem is akin to playing an anthem of the Third Reich. Sorry. This time dislike.
I am Ukrainian. I can't tolerate that.
I can understand and respect you for that. As I said, it is the opposite of my affiliation. But I used it only for historical connection to the time period. Your country's history of oppression by them would more than justify your reaction.
Pros & cons as always in history. However in the other hand the URS suffered and helped to win German fascism as no other country in Europe. They paid the highest price. Respect to the people and their anthems into their context.
I can’t be proud of my country’s history. Who can? Very few countries. And don’t forget the history is written by the winners.......
Nice pen review, nice context. Spasibo.
@@joanm.2987 pros & cons? when you hear the anthem of German nazis you also speak about pros and cons?
Soviets were not better that Hitler's Nazis. Not better at all.
@@MaxSvyezhentsev
Not for nothing, but to be quite frank this was a review about an old pen, produced by a defunct company, in a now defunct political system, from an age of bizarre behaviors. If your a man, then buck-up, take a good size grain of salt, and then have a Coke & Smile. If you're a lady at least try the Coke. This was not a pro fallen ussr video. If you are looking to decry former and/or current Russian oppressions and atrocities, seek channels that glorify that type of content. And stop looking for the kgb under every rock. God help you.
@@TONY19021965 the review started with a symbol of that regime. And as a subscriber of the channel, I pointed out that this is offensive.
My comment did not concern you. So buck-up, get some Coke and go mind your own business.