I have had the 1911 in black for a little over a year now and it is still one of my favorite pens. The nib is incredibly smooth and it is very reliable. I can leave it uncapped for a while and it still writes the instant I pick it up again (although I have never left a pen uncapped and unused for more than 5 minutes). For whatever reason, it lays down a line of ink that dries very quickly compared to my other pens, which is great for a left handed writer like myself. The size of the pen is very comfortable, it does not weigh too much, but it is not too light. I believe that they are great pens for the price and that they are definately worth trying out.