Oh gosh this is so wonderful! I'm so pleased to have received a fountain pen as a gift! I'm also pleased with the 5 ink cartridges it comes with as it should last me a very long time! I especially love the fact that it is an item that my Santa really loved for themselves as well! It vouches for the quality of the item! I tried it out pretty much immediately and it writes great! I'll use the blue ink it came with first and then switch to the black cartridges. Not sure if I'll try bottled inks (with a converter) in the short term but I have friends who switch their ink colours frequently so it's definitely a possibility! Thank you ever so much!!