I have had some really bad experiences with Stipula but as of lately, I have had outstanding performing pens. I saw the Etruria pens and I really fell in love with all of the different colors and styles. They are not cheap at all, that’s for sure so I guess that’s why I waited so long to buy one. The right pen had to come along and so did the right price. I bought this pen from a fellow in Canada that posted it for sale on the Pentrace Green Board. It took a little more than 2 weeks for it to arrive here at my door. Mail is hit or miss when it comes to the mail service in Canada. For example, I bought a Stipula Saturno from another fellow in Toronto and it arrived in 6 days. That is the fastest that I have ever received a package from Canada.
The Pen came in a typical Stipula box, really nothing exciting but who really cares about the packaging. The pen is the most important thing to me, as long as it is in great shape and it writes flawless, I really do not care. Since I never owned a Stipula Etruria, I really had no expectations regarding the pen. I read about how large the pen is but that really doesn’t mean a thing to me. I have to hold it in my hand to see if the pen is the right size for me.
Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5
I was very excited when the pen arrived and I tore into the package and I pulled out the box. I took in a deep breath and then I opened the box, Man O Man I was blown away. The pen looked like the perfect size for my hands and the colors of this pen is truly amazing!! The pen is a very dark blue, almost a grayish color, and there is what looks to be silver swirls. The swirls have a herringbone pattern with the silver and blue alternating. From some of the pictures I have seen on the net, the blue is not as pronounced as the photos from Stipula show. It is not a big deal at all because I have plenty of blue and black pens in my collection. The color and pattern are extremely unusual and that is what makes this pen so appealing. It has a very neat appearance with a very high gloss finish. This can be a bit troublesome for a few people because the pen is a bit on the slippery side.
Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5
The design of this pen is your typical large Stipula Etruria. The length of the pen capped is about is about 5.67 inches long and with the cap posted, the pen is a tad over 6 ½ inches. At its widest point, which is the center point of the pen, is well over 1 7/8 inches. This is not your Mommy’s pen, that’s for sure!!! I say that this the same length of the Pelikan M1000 capped. While the Pelikan is a bit longer than the Etruria with the cap posted, it is not by all that much. The nib on the Pelikan is substantially larger but I would consider this a competitor of the Pelikan M1000, Montblanc 149 and the OMAS Paragon full-size to just name a few.
There is a lot of heft to this pen and it weighs in at approximately 1.2 ounces. This is not a light weight pen by any means, this is one big daddy!!! The width might be too much for some people and then I would recommend getting the Smaller Etruria, unfortunately there is none that I know of that has this design. The Etruria d’Inverno closely resembles the Etruria Ocean Blue with the color and pattern. This pen is made out of celluloid Acetate and I am very partial to Celluloid pens. Acrylic is nice but I find it very difficult to match the colors, striations and patterns. Celluloid is a material that has been around for quite some time. I find it to be pretty durable under normal circumstances and the colors and patterns are absolutely mind blowing. Celluloid needs to be treated a bit differently than Acrylics, like keeping the pen out of direct sunlight for extended period of time. I wont go into all the “Do’s and Don’ts” but there are a few.
I find celluloid to have a different feel to it. I sure it is probably is just me but I find that celluloid warms up quickly in my hands and it feels almost like an extension of my hand, I feel close to the same with Ebonite. To me celluloid feels natural while Acrylics seems to feel less natural and cold. Anyways, the pen looks very classy and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and to the hands. There is a serial number on this pen and it is located under the words “Stipula” and they say “Etruria 5473”. Stipula always seems to use serial numbers but I don’t think this is a limited edition but I think they use it as a way to keep track of the pens and where they go after they leave the factory
The balance of this pen is a bit off when the cap is posted. The pen is fine and balanced without is posted. The weight of the pen seems to rest on the web of the hand, between the index finger and thumb. I find that to be extremely comfortable fit and almost like a well fitted glove. The cap band is the typical Stipula wheat design that encompasses the entire band. The cap band is made out of sterling silver; I think that contributes to the weight of this pen. Instead of using the silver and gold finish to the cap band like in the Amber Etruria, they stuck with silver. I think it gives this pen a cool refreshing touch to this pen, kind of like an Ocean would. The silver also compliments the silver and blue herringbone design of this pen. If they would have used gold instead of the silver, I think it would have lost the atmosphere and the theme of this pen. The clip is also made out of sterling silver which adds to the theme. I really dig the clip to this pen because it is spring loaded with plenty of tension to it. The good thing about it is that the pen will have an extremely snug fit while in a shirt or coat pocket. The pen being so heavy and vulnerable to slipping out of the pocket, the clip is tight enough to hold the pen in place but gentle enough not to rip your pockets when clipping the pen to your pockets.
Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5
The original nib that came with this pen is a standard Stipula Medium width nib. I decided to swap the nib with my Saturno, which has a 1.3 Stub nib. I did try out the medium nib before swapping and I have to admit that it is super smooth and perfect flow for me, which is a heavy flow but not dripping. Now with the swapped nib, this pen has some serious character. This is my first REAL stub nib and I was always hesitant to buy pens with stub nibs due to my writing angle. With my unorthodox writing style, all stubs were very scratchy to me and I really had no need for them. Well, my curiosity of stub nibs really reached a disturbing level. I bought a Sailor Magellan Lapis Lazuli with the 21kt gold music nib and I really fooled around with the writing angle and I found the pens sweet spot. Well with this nib, the 1.3 stub, it was smooth from any angle of attack. The width is very close to that of the Sailor Music nib and extremely juicy!!! The horizontal lines on the Stipula were really thin but not as razor thin like the Sailor Music nib.
The flow on this pen is phenomenal and it really is a smooth ride from start to finish. If I were to choose only one stub nib to use for the rest of my life, I would choose either the Sailor Music nib or the Stipula 1.3 stub. I am really leaning towards the Stipula 1.3 stub to be quite honest!! The nib is made by the Bock Nib Works of Germany, this is typical of Stipula because they contract out their nib manufacturing to reduce costs. As far as I am concerned, Bock nibs are arguably one of the best nibs manufactured today. You figure a majority of pen companies’ contract out their nib manufacturing and it seems that Bock owns a majority of the market. I think the only other nibs that are more prevalent are the Iridium Point Germany nibs. What more can I say about this pen other than it is a pleasure to use?? It is really hard to compare this pen with any other pen in my collection due to the fact that each pen is unique with its own personality. This pen writes as well as my best writing pens in my collection. With that said, I will not continue on because I think I said all I needed to say in regards to the performance and the nib design of this pen.
The Filling System 4.5 out of 5
Ok, the filling system on this Stipula is called a Convertible Piston Filler. What that means is that the section unscrews and there is this very large odd looking converter. The converter holds about 4 times as much ink as a standard converter does, in fact it might hold even more than that!!! You can even remove the Convertible Piston to put in a standard cartridge converter in there and believe it or not, it reduces the weight of the pen dramatically. It seems to take a standard converter like a Waterman and also takes the international cartridges (short).
If you do not want to replace the Convertible Piston Filler with a smaller converter, then you can use the rear of the pen like a piston filler, to fill the pen. It is similar to the method Pelikan and OMAS pens uses to fill the pen with ink. The main difference is that the Piston in the Stipula is not intergraded like a Pelikan or OMAS. Regardless, you can pretend that it is intergraded!!! J/K!! I believe that the ink capacity is among one of the highest that I have ever seen. The only one I think is bigger the Stipula 22, but we won’t go there with the Stipula 22.
The only problem that I find with this filling system is that the piston knob is very loose and it moves around freely especially when the pen cap is posted. The posted cap can easily be turned and causing a really nasty mess. One way to remedy this situation is to not post the cap, that’s what I did. This pen is heavy enough and long enough to where posting is not really necessary. This is one of the few pens that I do not post the cap and that is due to the size of the pen. I could really knock the pen for a poor design when it come to the loose Faux piston knob but considering that this is not a true piston filler, it is forgivable in my opinion. Even though this is not a true piston filler, I still give it very high marks due to the large ink capacity and the versatility of different filling methods such as standard ink cartridge, standard ink converter and the Convertible Piston Filler. As the user, you can choose which method works best for you, that’s what I really like about this pen, the freedom to choose!!!
Cost 3.5 out of 5
For a wonderful pen like this, the price does not come cheap at all. The MSRP of the Stipula Etruria Ocean Blue is right around $455.00 or so. The cheapest I have seen this pen new is $339.00 at www.penseller.com. Since I bought this off of the Green Board, there is a nice price drop. I was able to get this one to my door for right around $220.00, which is a darn good price. The pen is used but I don’t think it was ever really used. The pen came in the box with all the papers and everything was in perfect shape. This is a fantastic pen at a good price; I would not have paid more for this pen. I think this pen is absolutely fantastic but over priced IMO!! I would love to get some of the other colors in the Etruria Model but the Etruria seems to be a bit of a hard find used on the green board.
Conclusion
This is one of the top tier pens from Stipula and I can see why!! The pen was manufactured to near perfection with the exception of the loose piston knob. If they would have used a bit more resistance then I would consider this to be a flawless pen. This pen will set you back a few dollars, that’s for sure, also this is a huge pen especially when it comes to the girth! This is not for people with small hands or people who like smaller, thinner and lighter pens. This is a mammoth of a pen in all aspects and if you like that kind of pen, then this very well might be for you!! By definition, this is an oversized pen and there is no doubt about it!! This pen writes like a true champ and with a nice flow of ink. I really wish they would have used a larger nib that was single tone rhodium plated to go with the theme of this pen but that is only a minor issue. Do I give this pen a SAVAGE ENDORSMENT? Yes but conditional, this pen is not for everyone!!!
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