I've been following Bark & Board's work for some time. As a fountain pen aficionado and user, I decided to give them a try. I could not be more pleased. The pen is not only beautiful but functional, and has become my daily driver at work. Here's my review broken into key segments:

Nib & Reservoir
Two of the most important parts of a fountain pen are its nib and reservoir. Bark and board uses 14K Gold Medium Point Schmidt Nibs. The nib is fantastic. The glide is smooth and as with all gold nibs, the feedback is excellent. These Schmidts write wet, which is something I prefer. However importantly, it's not too wet. My Leonardo puts a lot more ink on the paper, and these Schmidt offer a nice balance of wetness. The reservoir is a standard Schmidt "dip and suck reservoir" with a slider for drawing ink from a well. It's easy to use, and most fountain pen users will be familiar. Nothing fancy, but solid and reliable, which is what you want in a pen.

Materials & Craftsmanship
Danny was great to work with. He took a personal interest in what I preferred in a pen and its materials, and then took artistic license and ran with it. For the material, he chose a beautiful fordite, an automotive material that is pliable to work with, but feel firm and strong. It has a beautiful black and white "Sienese" color pallet, albeit with small red and blue accents throughout. when cut for pen purposes, it creates unique patterns that are truly one-of-a-kind. Descriptions do not do it justice, you need to see the pictures attached. The barrel is perfectly sized - not overly fat like many home-turned fountain pens, and not too thin like the Chinese machined knock-off hero pens. It's a great intermediate size that is comfortable to write with. As an attorney, I do a ton of writing, and this fountain pen has become my daily driver. The turn on the fordite is smooth and glossy, and the pen is polished to perfection. It's firmer than the epoxy on my extremely expensive Leonardo, which I like. When I write with my Leonardo, I always feel like I'm going to break the pen. With Bark and Board's pen, I feel I can be more sure fingered and firm when writing.

Customer Service
As stated, Danny is a pleasure to work with. Extremely user friendly, he even went out of his way to discuss whether I preferred writing with the cap posted, and answered all of my questions. He provided updates throughout the process. Most importantly and impressively, he's an expert craftsman and artist.

Overall Review
This fountain pen blew away my expectations. It's beautiful enough to be a statement piece (several partners asked where I got it from), yet a solid enough of a performer with thoughtful (not cheap) parts to be used as an everyday writer. It's a functional work of art - hard to come by these days. My advice - buy one of Bark & Board's fountain pens, you will not be disappointed.