PENBBS 456 Sakura fountain pen review 

I have the 456 in Galaxy which has become more common recently. The Sakura is lovely. As for performance I agree. It has a wonderful nib. The filling system is also great. Maintenance on the pen is easy and hold a large amount of ink. I like it more than the Pilot Custom 823. Great presentation.

Hi Rob. I love the colour of this pen. Glad the pen is working well for you.

I like PenBBS. Proof that a pen can be quality (except maybe the magnetic filler😁) and remain affordable. I can agree their fine (their standard ones with a bit of upturn) can be dry. It's just a result of the main market in Asia and the style of writing. The more rare medium is a lot nicer for Western writing styles. More Western style flow. As to design quirks: plenty of high end pens are design nightmares, IMO. More designed to look unusual on one's desk than actually get used. Even the Parker arrow clip is not that nice to use, IMO. Pink pens just weren't generally that common in the past, and as my focus went towards vintage, I have only 2. A Peter Pan and a lower end Cardinal. Trying to find both Esterbrook CH that were pink. (Powder blue is definitely the most common CH, based on what I have seen.) The sakura pattern is lovely!

I absolutely love my 456! I have it in Galaxy. My only criticism is the lack of ink window.

I had 2 penbbs pens, 309 - their worst pen, and now 456. The nib was bad, the nib collar was cracked and the new nib units don't fit. So when I ordered their calligraphy nib, I had to swap collars. Also threads that the nib collar screws in are definitely getting rubbed off (not smooth). So for me I would not recommend them.