Carolina Pen Company Convert Review: A Fountain Pen That Starts Life as a Rollerball

Introduction

The Convert from the Carolina Pen Company is built around a simple but clever idea: a pen that eases people into the world of bespoke writing instruments. In its default configuration it works as a rollerball using a familiar refill, and once you are comfortable with a custom resin pen in hand, it can be converted into a full fountain pen.

Jonathan Brooks, the maker behind the Carolina Pen Company, is widely regarded as one of the premier resin makers in the pen community, and the Convert can be made from virtually any of his custom materials. That flexibility is central to what makes this pen interesting.

Design and Custom Resin Options

The pen’s shape is straightforward but well considered. The end is slightly rounded, the cap angles up before straightening out toward the edge, and a medium-sized step down leads to a barrel that stays straight for about an inch before slowly tapering to a gently rounded finial. Nothing about the silhouette is fussy, which keeps the focus on the resin itself.

Our review unit uses a take on Brooks’ Earth Magic material, with the copper content reduced and more turquoise in the mix. The result is a rich, saturated swirl that leans a little more blue than earlier batches, partly because some of the original dyes have been discontinued. Buyers can choose from his extensive resin catalog, which makes every Convert a personal object rather than an off-the-shelf purchase.

What’s in the Conversion Kit

Out of the sleeve, the pen arrives set up as a rollerball. The section simply pulls off, revealing a standard Pilot G2 refill, one of the most beloved refills around for its smooth, dependable writing. That alone makes the rollerball configuration genuinely useful, not just a training mode.

When it is time to convert, Brooks includes a small canister of extras: a blunt syringe for anyone who wants to eyedropper the pen, a JoWo fountain pen nib, and both a cartridge and a spare cartridge. The included nib can be engraved to your specification, and the engraving on ours was crisp and well executed.

Filling the cartridge with a syringe took a minute or two of shaking to get the ink flowing, after which the nib fed reliably. The included syringe also makes dropper conversion a practical option for anyone who wants more capacity.

Writing Performance as a Fountain Pen

Our Convert came fitted with a medium stainless steel JoWo nib with a standard plastic feed. It is a very generous medium, laying down a decent amount of ink, and Brooks is known for doing a good job tuning his nibs. Do not expect much line variation from a steel nib, but the writing is wet and comfortable, which suits anyone who prefers a wetter pen.

The feed keeps up well during fast writing, which is not always a given at this size. Reverse writing is a little scratchy, though it does lay down a nice fine line. In the rollerball configuration, the G2 refill writes exactly as you would hope, smooth and consistent.

One minor quibble: the cap does post, but it sits shallow and produces a slightly mushroomed look, so the pen is more comfortable and better proportioned used unposted.

Size and Comparisons

At its retail price of $225, the Convert sits in a competitive corner of the maker pen space, so size matters. It compares sensibly with well-known pens such as the Pilot Custom 823, the Lamy 2000, and the Delta Dolcevita, and sits alongside Brooks’ own Charleston model in overall presence.

Other makers have their own takes on the conversion concept, including pens that swap sections or convert between fountain pen and rollerball modes in different ways, but the Convert’s approach of simply pulling off the rollerball section and installing a nib remains one of the simplest and most user-friendly.

Buying Advice

The Convert retails for $225, which feels reasonable for what you receive in the maker pen space: a custom resin body, a tuned JoWo nib, a quality rollerball refill, and a full conversion kit.

Availability is the main thing to plan around. The best chance to pick one up is at a pen show, where Brooks typically brings a number of them and lets you choose your resin in person. Custom orders are possible, but his queue is famously lengthy, so expect a wait if you go that route.

Conclusion

The Carolina Pen Company Convert is an unusual product done well: a rollerball that grows into a fountain pen, wrapped in some of the finest custom resin work available. For anyone curious about bespoke pens but hesitant to commit to a nib from day one, it is a genuinely thoughtful entry point, and experienced users will appreciate the flexibility just as much.