The Noble Savage- My Fountain Pen Reviews

OMAS Ogiva Vision- Review

2006-03-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

I have been wanting the OMAS Ogiva Vision for quite some time now, at least since I really started to like OMAS pens about less than a year ago. Since I like demonstrators and I like the style and length of the Ogiva in general, the Vision model would be a great addition to my OMAS collection. I happen to be at John Mottishaw table at the 2006 Los Angeles Fountain Pen Show for a few nib adjustments on my Tibaldi Fountain Pen nib and I sat down and saw his menagerie of New and Used Fountain Pens. Since he is an Authorized OMAS dealer amongst other things, I knew he had some cool stuff to check out.

I was originally looking for the Ogiva Vision in High Tech (Silver Trim) rather than the GT (Gold Trim) I couldn’t pass up the chance to pick this pen up at a great price and also have the nib adjusted for my style of writing. The pen is slightly larger than the OMAS D-day Anniversary Pen and that is definitely a good thing!!! There were a few of them available but only in a Fine nib and I wanted a Broad or a Medium but I really wanted the broad nib. I saw the pen and I knew I had to buy it, there was no way around it!!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

The pen is a demonstrator but since this is the GT version, there is a slight tint to the color of the pen. The HT version had a completely clear appearance on the Barrel, Cap and Section while the GT had a slightly yellowish tint to it. It matches the gold trim and the gold colored nib.The pen is, well, see through and that is why they call it a Vision!!! The pen has no rough edges and the pen looks like it had good quality control at the factory in Italy. Overall, this is a smooth pen that will get lots of attention like all demonstrators do.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

The dimensions of this pen are as follows: 5 5/8 inches with the pen capped and a width of 1 ¾ inches and an approximate weight of .8 ounces. This is not what I consider an Oversize pen nor a small pen. I would say that this is close to a full size pen that fits very well in the hand. The weight is standard for a pen of this length and width. As I said, this is an Ogiva body that is clear or in my case, OMAS calls the slight tint “Bronze”. The cap is very light and posting it does not throw off the balance at all. So If you prefer posting the cap, you are not going to notice the pen being top heavy, or at least not in my opinion.

The clip on this pen has the standard roller wheel on it which makes clipping the pen to a pocket a total breeze. One thing that I saw that I really didn’t care for was that the wheel is made out of plastic rather than the standard metal wheel. The Wheel is black and it matches the washers and rubber components inside the cap and also in the piston mechanism.

There is a trim ring that has the standard “Greek key’ design that most Italian pens are known for. Some do not like trim rings especially when they are so close to the nib, to me, this is not much of an issue but I do understand the complaint. The cap band also has the “Greek Key” design also and I would be surprised if it didn’t have it!! The barrel is slightly faceted but not to the extent as a Paragon is. The section area where your fingers are when you write is not faceted and rather comfortable.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

Ok here are the real important things that you all need to know, the nib!! The nib on this pen is a single tone Gold colored nib that is about the same size as whats on the fullsize Paragon and 360 Magnum. The nib is 18kt gold with the typical OMAS arrow looking design. The nib on this pen is friction fit with a nice ebonite feed which is really needed for a heavy flowing pen.

This particular nib was originally a fine but I had John Mottishaw swap it out with a broad nib instead. My OMAS D-Day Anniversary pen also has a Broad nib and it is as smooth as smooth can be. I was hoping that this would be the case!! I like heavy flowing pens and when John Mottishaw removed the old nib and unit to exchange it with a broad nib, there were a few things he had to do first. He inspected the feed and he cleaned out some of the ebonite shavings that were imbedded in the feeds channels. John wanted to know if I like a heavy flow and of course, you all know that answer. So he increased the width and depth of the channels on the feed. He also wanted to make sure that the feed would keep up with the nib to ensure a constant and consistent flow of ink to the nib. Once that was done, he had me test the nib out and see if the nib needed a bit of smoothing and it did!! About 2 minutes later and several times under the microscope, the nib and pen were ready for the ultimate test, the Savage test!!!

This pen was filled with Aurora Black ink and tested under the direct supervision of the Nibmeister, John Mottishaw. The Pen is a smooth and super wet writer and instead of a broad, I would say that this pen feels almost like a Double Broad nib. No sign of skipping and the line is smooth and wet from the first stroke all the way to the last stroke. This has been a typical OMAS writer for me, Buttery smooth nibs that lay down wet lines. What more can someone ask for? I know there is nothing more I could ask, that’s for sure. The ebonite feed provided plenty of ink to the nib and that enabled the nib to glide effortlessly across any paper I have written on, within reason.

The Filling System 5 out of 5

This is a piston filling fountain pen that seems to hold plenty of ink in its chamber. Integrated filling systems are something I look for when I buy a pen. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fountain pens on the market that are simply gorgeous but with cartridge converter filling systems. Sometimes the filling system will even prevent me from buying a pen. I do not avoid cartridge/converter all together but I do avoid Cartridge only systems. They are not practical for me whatsoever!!! Regardless the piston knob moves up and down without any hesitation and the action is super smooth too!! OMAS gets an A+ for the filling unit!!!

Cost 5 out of 5

Believe it or not, I got this pen at clearance price at the LA Pen Show at the John Mottishaw table. The price was 145.00 for the Ogiva Vision while the cost of the Plain Ogiva was substantially less. Considering that this pen has been discontinued, the prices have fallen dramatically from where they were 2 years ago. I don’t know if OMAS is going to do away with the Ogiva altogether or just the Vision series. Now is the time to get your Ogiva if you have been thinking about it. There are a few reputable sellers on Ebay that are selling the plain black Ogiva with either GT or HT trim brand new for around 120.00 to 139.00. This really is a steal due to the fact that this pen has many options that would make this pen even more expensive than what it is going for right now.

Conclusion

Right at this point, OMAS is going through some serious changes and some may say for the better, while others say it is for the worst. Regardless, OMAS is getting rid of some of its lines and then they are also reintroducing the Paragons with a whole new style. I happen to not be a fan of the New OMAS products that are replacing the Classic Paragon Style. As far as I am concerned, perfection does not need improvement. Well, the market will decide the direction that OMAS is going to take. If the market does not like the new style to include the new style paragons well, there is little OMAS can do. Either the go with what the public wants or they will try to push new product while the company will suffer huge losses.

Well, OMAS has survived many years of new styles and models of fountain pens. Sometimes classics need to remain and I for one, love the Ogiva. The pen is large enough for people who want a little bit more in a pen. While on the other hand it is not an oversized pen and can fit comfortably in most peoples hands. The faceted barrel is not as pronounced as that of its sister, The Paragon. There are 2 times as many facets on the Ogiva than on the Paragon and this males the pen even more comfortable to handle.

The clear demonstrator (Vision) allows the user to see how much ink is left in the chamber as they write. Also it is easy to see the parts move while you are filling up your pen with ink. I have always liked demonstrator pens and I am fascinated by watching the piston work and the pen fill with ink. For the money you cannot go wrong, that’s for sure.

I am unsure where you can get them but I would consider getting a hold of John Mottishaw and asking him, since he is an authorized OMAS dealer. If he is out of stock on the OMAS Ogiva Vision, then look elsewhere and do some bargain hunting. I am sure you will be awarded with a wonderful Ogiva Vision. I rate this pen very high and this pen does have a lot of strengths like the piston filler, Ebonite feed, 18kt gold nib. Good ink flow and construction. I find only 2 weaknesses on this pen, one of which is the cap is rather difficult to post but the same goes for the Paragon. The second is the Material that the Vision is made of. It is susceptible to staining from some inks like Purple, violet or reddish color inks. So it is wise to use inks that are normally not staining and rinse the pen out when it is not going to be used for a while. The pen should be fine after than. I rather be safe than sorry, if you know what I mean!!!

Do I recommend this pen?? You bet your bottom I do!! This is a wonderful flowing pen that has all the characteristics you would normally want with a pen, such as:

18 kt gold nib that is smooth and springy
Ebonite Feed
Nice flow
Integrated Piston Filler
Large Ink Capacity
A Demonstrator
Medium to full size pen
Wonderful construction
Reliable
Affordable
BTW did I mention that it is a Demonstrator and a piston filler?

So with all of the goodies you can imagine on a pen, this one shouldn’t be passed up, or at least give it a try!! The Ogiva is really a great pen for those who are not really jazzed by the shape of the Paragon or the 360. The Ogiva is micro faceted and the section is smooth and perfectly round for discriminating fingers!! This pen is definitely a true winner that will make us fountain pen fanatics quite happy!!!

Aurora Optima- Review

2006-02-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

I heard a lot about the Aurora Optima but I could never get around paying the big bucks for it. Well, an opportunity arose and it was a deal that I couldn’t refuse. So I bought it and now the wait began for the box to arrive in the mail!! Well, since this pen was used and I got such a good deal on it, there was no box or papers to go along with it. No big deal, the boxes and paperwork just sit in my closet and collect dust. If I can save money on the pen by not having a box, then I will go for it!!! As I tore open the USPS Priority Mail box with great anticipation. I really didn’t have a clue on how big this pen was so I really didn’t know what to expect. The only things that I knew what that this pen is an Aurora Optima, 14kt gold nib, maroon color and a piston filler.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

This pen has a matte to semi gloss shine on it with a gold band and clip. The appearance of this pen is a very conservative Italian style that is for all occasions. The Color of this pen is a maroon color or a dark dried blood color with black on the tassie and on the piston knob. There isn’t much to this pen that would bring undue attention; it is a simple yet elegant design that has worked for quite a few years for Aurora. There are also the words “AURORA” around the band of the cap with a “Greek Key” design etched in gold with 2 smaller black bands in-between. It has a rather conservative look to it which is what I usually look for in a pen (but not all of the time). There is a solid imprint on the barrel of the pen that reads:
“AURORA ITALIA”
“FABRICA ITALIANA”
“DI PENNE A SERBATOIO”

We will get into more detail with this pen in the next section.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Let’s get to steppin’ with this pen. This pen weighs in at an impressive 1 OZ while the length is 5 inches capped. With the cap posted the length is a comfortable 6 inches with a girth of about 1 ¾ inches. This pen is a bit smaller than I am used to but I find that I have to post the cap on this pen for it to be comfortable for me to write. As for the material of this pen, I assume that this is made out of some acrylic resin. This is a slightly older model than the newer Optima and I know that the new Optima FP are made out of a material similar to celluloid called Auroloide. So as for the exact material that is used, I am really unsure but I would guess it is acrylic resin.

As I stated earlier, there is a gold cap band with the words “AURORA” engraved along with the “Greek Key” design. This seems to be a typical feature on Italian pens such as Ancora, OMAS, Aurora, and Filcao to name a few. Even though it is prevalent to Italian pens, it is not exclusive. The Clip has a slight curvature to it with a large gold ball at the end of the clip. This is not a spring loaded clip and it is more of tension fit when you clip it on to a shirt pocket or something. The clip is attached underneath the cap tassie, while the cap tassie screws into the cap on top of the clip ring. This secures the clip in place and as long as the cap tassie doesn’t come off, the clip will stay put. This is not my ideal design for a clip but some times the design warrants this type of clip.

The construction of this pen seems to be extremely solid and durable. I am sure it can withstand the daily use and abuse put on by the average fountain pen user. The grip section is made out of a black resin and it conforms to the fingers for a comfortable writing experience. The threads are far enough away from where the fingers would be placed. This is another important factor when it comes to comfort or at least for me!! The balance of this pen is quite nice even though I have to post the cap for added length. Regardless, the pen remains balanced with or without the cap posted. This pen would definitely be comfortable in most any hands. The width is what really makes the lack of length worth while. This is a stout little pen that has enough girth to make even the larger hands happy.

Nib Design and Performance 3 out of 5

The broad nib on this pen is a monotone 14kt gold with a good sized feed. One thing I noticed right off the bat was a huge chunk of tipping material hanging on the end. This gives you plenty of material to play with if you choose; especially if you plan to grind it down to a stub, italic, oblique or whatever as you see fit to. This nib screws out like a Pelikan, Stipula or Ancora would. So swapping nibs is a breeze especially if you want to use a specialty nib like the classic Aurora Medium Italic. The engravings on this nib are rather classy looking and definitely unique to Aurora. The nib is a pretty good size and it rivals the size of the Stipula nibs on the Etruria line. I find that the nib is rather stiff even on both the medium and broad. That is fine for me because this would be a pretty good pen to take notes with.

Now this is where the review takes a strange turn for me. As most everybody knows, I love my nibs smooth and juicy. I am not a fan of toothy nibs and in fact, I find them extremely annoying. What I didn’t know when I bought this pen is that “toothy” is a signature trait for Aurora nibs and especially with the Optima. So when I filled the pen with DC Super Show Blue and I started writing, I was horrified with the lack of smoothness on this nib. I checked and double checked the tines for alignment and they were as straight as an arrow. The writing experience was just less than par in my case and I really was in a dilemma. I didn’t want to get rid of the pen but I couldn’t go on using it with this toothy characteristic.

I found someone who was willing to swap my medium nib for his broad nib. I gladly accepted because I could at least get it grinded if the pen didn’t write the way I wanted it to. The person I traded it to; he also said that all the nibs write this way and he just loves the way it writes. I must be in the minority or something!!! Well I screwed in the new nib and the flow was substantially heavier but toothy as ever!!! I had a few choices as to what I wanted to do with it. First, I can send it to get stubbed. Second, I can go ahead and grind the nib a bit to remove the toothy feel to it.

I chose to grind it a bit my self, so I broke out my Arkansas stone and gently worked out the ridges in the nib. I also rounded off the tipping on the bottom of the nib so it would be a smoother nib rather than toothy. After I slightly reshaped the nib, I used 2000 grit paper to smooth out the rough edges and sharp areas of the nib. Then I broke out my 1.5 Micron Mylar smoothing discs and really smoothed out the rest of the nib. After that, I put my finishing touches with the ultra fine .1 micron Mylar disk and I also flossed between the tines to ensure smoothness all around.

When I washed off the nib in cool water and flushed the pen thoroughly to remove all debris, I filled her up with Private Reserve DC Super Show Blue ink and then I wrote away. This nib has taken on a whole to meaning to smooth!! The writing experience is completely phenomenal and I couldn’t be happier with this pen after its makeover. The pen writes with a solid heavy medium to standard broad flow of ink. No skipping anywhere on this pen and it definitely can keep up with quick note taking without hesitation. I know some people are cringing at the notion that I removed the signature feature of Aurora pens. All I can say is TOO BAD, ITS MY PEN!!!!

Ok so what do I really think? I am not for toothy nibs and that will probably never change. Well a little customization can really change the identity of this nib into a buttery smooth firm nib that is a pleasure to use on any occasion!!! As for the nib, I will give it a neutral rating because this is how Aurora makes their nibs. Aurora has quite a following in the fountain pen community and it would be wrong for me to say that the nib really sucks!! So after some modifications on the nib, this has turned into a surprisingly wonderful writer that tries to jump the line into my rotation. Plus I usually make nib modifications to a majority of my fountain pen nibs to suit my style of writing. Why should this nib be any different than the rest of the nibs I slightly modify?

The Filling System 5 out of 5

One of the things that really drew me towards buying this pen was that it is a piston filler pen. This pen certainly does hold a good share of ink especially for its size. There is another cool feature that is exclusive to Aurora Piston filling pens is the “HIDDEN RESIVOIR”. I found this to be totally cool and extremely useful especially when it would be inconvenient to fill your pen or swap pens. When the pen runs out of ink, turn the piston all the way until it stops: as you would to drain out the ink out of the chamber. In doing so, it releases a small amount of reserve ink to get you by. This is not a whole lot of ink but it is enough for about a half to one side of a sheet of paper. This is dependent on the width of the nib and the flow of the pen.

With this “HIDDEN RESIVOIR”, I find it a little bit more time consuming to flush and clean the fountain pen. It is by no means difficult; it just takes a few more steps. As far as I am concerned, this is one of the best features I have seen on a modern fountain pen. It would be neat to see some other pen companies adopt this feature on its piston filling pens. I am sure that it is patent design that Aurora is not willing to give up easily but who knows???

Cost 5 out of 5

MSRP for this pen is normally around $245.00 for the Acrylic resin model and around $337.00 for the Auroloide. As for mine, I bought my Optima for $125.00 through www.midwestpens.com Shipping was rather quick and a smooth transaction too. There is no way I could complain about this deal whatsoever. The price was the best I have seen around on the net. I don’t know too much about the fella who runs the site, he pretty much came out of nowhere and he primarily sells Signum pens. He also buys and sells new and used fountain pens and he is a pleasure to do business with.

Would I say new or used Optima? Definitely used for me!! I saved a ton of money on a pen I have no experience with. I guess you would say it is a diamond in the rough and it was well worth the $125.00 I spent for this pen!!!

Conclusion

Ok, in conclusion what do I think of the Aurora Optima? I think is a wonderfully constructed fountain pen that is conservative in appearance. I guess Aurora has been making the Optima for a while now and there seems to be little if any change from the general design. Aurora has a certain characteristic with the nibs that I really do not care for. This is my personal opinion and I won’t take that away from Aurora but I do not like the feel of their nibs, toothy is not my style when it comes to nibs. Thank goodness that I was able to smooth it to my own liking. Later on down the road I can always have this pen stubbed but for now I am going to keep it this way.

I have been using this pen in my meetings where I need to make quick notes. This pen can keep up with my writing without any hesitation. Most of all the ink capacity is really to my liking along with the “HIDDEN RESIVOIR”. The “HIDDEN RESIVOIR” can really save you especially when you run into the last few minutes of a meeting and then you run out of ink. You have enough ink in the Reserve to get you through the meeting or at least until a point where you can call for a recess. This is a reliable pen that writes like a dream (modified for me) and is really a classy pen. The best of all is that you get all of the nice benefits of an oversized pen in a Medium sized pen. Such as: high ink capacity, piston filler, hidden ink reservoir, large nib, balanced weight and a pen that has a rather thick width. This pen has just about all you can think of with the exception of the length of an oversized pen. There are plenty of nib sizes to choose from and there is at least one that fits each person. Oversized pens are not always practical and when you are in the market for a pen that isn’t as long as Moses’ Staff, then this is a pen to consider. I give this one 2 thumbs up!!!

Visconti Copernicus- Review

2006-02-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

The Visconti Copernicus is a pen that I really wanted for quite some time and I found that it was next to impossible to find and if you did find one, it was way too expensive. This is the first Crescent filling pen that I really fell for. Although I bought the Stipula Saturno first, I was till longing for the Visconti Copernicus fountain pen. I found a few of them on line at Penopoly and there was no way I was going to pay $400.00 to $500.00 for one. I searched the internet and FLEAbay for almost 1 ½ years for this pen with really no luck up until Christmas Eve of 2005. During that time I must have bought about 6 or 7 pens due to the fact that people were not bidding as much as they usually do. So for me, this was the perfect time to do my EBAYing.

This pen was only dipped never filled. There were no traces of ink anywhere on this pen especially when I went to flush out the pen with cool water to test the filling unit. I don’t think the original box and packing material was included with this pen when it came to me from Asheville North Carolina. To me, it is a very minor issue, as long as the pen was in perfect shape, that’s what really matters to me.

Another reason why I bought this pen is because I liked the material design of the Visconti Wall Street along with the Parker Vacumatics of the 1930’s and early 1940’s. This pen differs from the rest because of the classic Crescent filling system. Celluloid always seems to fascinate me especially with the countless number of designs that can be made using this material. The feel and look of celluloid is its own unique species and no other pen feels the same, even the modern acrylics.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

This pen is the blue and black striped celluloid style. The barrel, section and cap are brought to a “High Pro Glow” that is enough to blind you!! The cap band, clip and the crescent are a sterling silver finish. This gives a pen a wonderful classy looking contrast that is very pleasing to the eyes.

Design/Size/Weight 4.5 out of 5

The shape of this pen is a semi- cigar shape with a sleek aerodynamic design. The pen measures in at 5 ½ inches in length capped and if posted, it is a mind blowing 7 ¼ inches long. The diameter is 1 3/4th inches, the girth is very comfortable and isn’t too wide for most people. I would call this pen a large to under an OS sized pen, if that makes any sense. As far as balance goes, this pen writes just fine without the cap being posted. If you have large hands or you just like long pens, then posting the cap might be right up your alley. One design flaw that I saw that was a bit irritating is that the cap is pretty hard to post and it takes a bit of pushing and rotating to get the cap to seat properly while posting. So I normally do not post this pen because it is large enough and balanced enough without the cap. Plus I do not want to damage the cap due to putting too much pressure to keep the cap posted. The weight of this pen is not as heavy as the Stipula Saturno so it would be safe to say that this pen weighs around 1 oz to 1.1 oz.

The materials on the Crescent, cap band and clip seem to be made of sterling silver. On the rest of the pen, I believe it is Celluloid Acetate, I don’t smell any of that wonderful camphor smell. The design of the celluloid is the same as the Visconti Wall Street and Manhattan. The Copernicus has the same pattern as the Earlier Parker Vacumatics of the 1930’s and 1940’s. The Clip is spring loaded and is the same clip used on the Visconti Manhattan. It is a pinch type of clip that allows you to press the top of the clip and it will release the tension so you can easily remove the pen from your shirt without the worry of ripping it. The end of the clip has a bit of flair to it which really gives it a vintage look.

The cap band is about 1/4th wide with the words “COPERNICUS” written around the band. On the Crescent filling mechanism there are the numbers 451/999. Since this fountain pen is a limited edition of 999 fountain pens in each color, this pen is #451. I believe that the Copernicus was released in 1996. One thing that I didn’t like was the use of a plastic or celluloid safety ring for the Crescent filler. The safety ring prevents the crescent form being accidentally pressed down, causing ink to discharge out from the nib and feed. Stipula did a really nice job with its safety ring by making it out of sterling silver and also giving it sleek and clean look to it. Stipula sacrificed weight for style but I would have preferred the extra weight for the sterling silver ring. This safety ring only turns a maximum of 90 degrees while the Stipula freely turns around but with enough tension to prevent the ring from inadvertently moving to the open position. Plus with metal on plastic contact, the plastic will always lose!! So that’s why I would have liked to see a metal safety ring used instead of the plastic or celluloid one.

I read that the Sister pen, the Manhattan was created using several hundred sheets of celluloid alternating to give it the striped look. So as the Manhattan used the alternating sheets of celluloid, so does the Copernicus and the Wall Street. This really gives the pen a wonderful vintage feel to the pen and that is what really attracted me to this pen in the first place. The section if made out of acrylic or celluloid, I really cannot tell but it is a solid black color that seems to go with the rest of this pen. The thing I find really neat is that this pen is Semi-transparent. If you turn the pen just right, you can see the out line of the pens guts. Kind of a neat feature that you don’t see on pens everyday!!

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

It looks like Visconti used its older style 14kt gold monotone nibs for this pen. I guess that back in 1996, that was the standard sized nib compared to the nibs they are using today. This particular pen uses a rhodium trim throughout the crescent, cap band, clip and the nib is rhodium plated. I happen to like rhodium and sterling silver on my fountain pens more so than gold. Rhodium give a clean and sterile look to fountain pens and sometimes I feel that Rhodium is more appropriate than gold. Rhodium is less gaudy than gold and it gives the pen an overall feeling of a business orientated person.

This particular nib is 14kt gold rhodium plated medium width nib. The flow on this pen is about as perfect as you can get. I prefer wet writers but this gives me enough juice to comfortably work with. The breather hole is “heart” shaped and it provides enough air to keep the ink flowing well. I have to admit that this pen has yet to skip and it provides a lot flow to keep up with my fast writing. I believe the feed is made out of ebonite. It has a rubbery feel to it when I run my finger nail across the feed while it is saturated with ink. This has a much different feel to it than the plastic feed does.

The Filling System 4.5 out of 5

This pen uses the crescent filling system that was introduced by the Conklin Pen Company in 1901. Filling the pen is extremely easy and I find that this pen holds a boat load of ink, more so then the lever filling fountain pens that I have used. The main complaint from people is that they cannot get used to the location of the Crescent while they write. I have no problems writing with this pen and I find it rather comfortable to use.

Cost 3.5 out of 5

Big money!!! Or at least I thought. Since this pen is usually starting at the $400.00 mark and the selection is far and few between due to the fact that this is a limited release from 1996, beggars cant be choosers!!! Well after almost 2 years of searching, my search was over when I saw it for auction on FLEABAY. The pen started at $150.00 and I had the winning bid at around $220.00 plus $10.00 inflated shipping. This is still almost $180.00 cheaper than I have seen anywhere else. There is no way I would have ever bought this pen for more than $250.00. In fact that was my limit on my EBay bid so I lucked out and got it for much less than I anticipated. The price I paid was definitely a Sumgai deal but I really think the Pen gods found favor in me or they must have felt sorry for me. Both way, a good deal is a good deal and I will take it anyway I can. $220.00 was a lot cheaper than I thought and I feel good about fulfilling my quest for the Copernicus, especially in the color that I wanted!!

Conclusion

So let’s wrap this up with the conclusion!!! This is the pen that I wanted for quite sometime and I got it at a price that was much lower than I was willing to pay!!! The pen has a classic turn of the century design with the celluloid colors from the 1930’s and 1940’s. This pen has enough looks to where the modern fountain pen collector would find interest. It has the vintage feel to where vintage collectors might find a place for this pen in their collection. I am extremely happy with the performance and feel of this fountain pen. This pen is not only a looker but it is also a performer that will not disappoint. As with all crescent filling fountain pens, make sure you are comfortable using them before you shell out the big bucks. I am sure that a B&M store that carries a Conklin Mark Twain with Crescent filler would allow you to try out the pen for comfort. If it does appeal to you and the placement of the crescent doesn’t bother you, then this might be a pen for you!!

Stipula Saturno- Review

2006-02-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

I never really had given too much thought to this pen, to be quite honest. In fact, I never really cared for ebonite pens with the wood grain pattern on it. I was looking at older Conklin pens that had this very odd looking filling mechanism and I was intrigued. I never really gave it a second look before but it may have been the good coffee that I made that day but it really struck me as kind of cool. It is an interesting alternative to a lever filler or what not.

The modern pen that really sparked my interest that has a crescent filler is the Visconti Copernicus. Unfortunately they were way out of my price range but I was still on the lookout for a used one somewhere at a god deal. Well I stumbled on to a few other websites that had this pen, Stipula Saturno with a crescent filler on it and it really called to me!!! I was extremely happy with my Stipula Novecento red/black wood grain ebonite pen and the wood grain was really growing on me. Well there were only a few colors of the Saturno out there and they were the Ivy Green and the olive Green colors. There might be a few other colors out there that I am unaware of but I would be very interested in looking at.

The Pen came in a brown oval wood box with the words “Stipula” on a silver looking raised metal plaque attached to the lid. Inside the box was cream colored satin pillow like material that surrounds the pen and a clip hidden under the satin pillow to hold the pen in place. It really was not a fancy looking box but then again, you are buying the fountain pen not the box!! Since this pen came from Canada, I was expecting it to be here a few weeks but surprisingly it was at my door in about 5 to 6 days. This is super fast considering how long it takes to get mail in from Canada.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

When I ripped the shipping envelope open, I was really excited to see what the pen looked like. I am not a big fan of green or wood grained pens up until I bought my first one, which is a Novecento red and black wood grain ebonite fountain pen. Since then I really have started to like these kinds of pens, especially with the classic 1920’s wood grain ebonite styles. When I first laid eyes on this pen, it was love at first site. The green wood grain ebonite patter really went well with the overall style of this fountain pen.

The crescent filler, safety ring, clip and the 2 cap bands are done in what looks like sterling silver. This really gives the pen a classic style with a slightly modern appeal to it. The Barrel, section and cap are shined enough to give the pen a bright appearance without over doing it with the “High Pro Glow”. The wood grain is very pronounced but yet looks extremely natural. The Olive color on this pen is not outlandish at all, even though when people first think of a green pen, they think of it with fluorescent colors. This is not true at all; the color is very conservative yet subtle and easy on the eyes. The color reminds me of steamed peas on a dinner plate.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

The size of this pen is extremely close to that of the Novecento. The Saturno is part of the Novecento line and without the crescent filling system, the pen is almost identical. One of the main differences is the flat cap on the Saturno and the simple design of the clip along with the two smaller and subdue cap bands. While the Novecento has a cap band that on the cap that resembles a silver wedding ring, the Saturno has a lower profile design. The length of the pen is approximately 5 3/8th and the girth is roughly 1 3/4th inches. The length of this pen with the cap posted is around 6.4 inches in length. The weight of this pen is a bit more than the standard Novecento and weighs in at over 1.3 oz due to the extra sterling silver parts contained in the crescent filling unit.

This is a standard sized pen by all accounts and it can fit into most peoples hands without any real issues. I tend to post the cap on this pen but it really is not necessary because the pen can easily sand on its own. The pen is extremely well balanced and writes well with or without the cap posted. One thing that might annoy people is the location of the crescent filling unit. For me, this does not get in the way at all in my style of writing but for others, it will. For instance, my wife cannot write with the Saturno due to the fact that the crescent does not fit well and tends to get in the way while she writes. That can be a good thing because it is one more pen that she doesn’t write with in my fountain pen collection!!

This is a pen that should be tested out at a pen show or a B&M store near you, that’s if they carry this pen. If you are used to vintage pens and ones with a crescent filler, then I am sure you can adapt easily to this one!! This is a nice modern touch to an overall classic style fountain pen.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

Well, with this pen, I was given a few choices of nibs when I bought it. The gentleman who sold me the pen gave me the option of a Fine Medium or 1.3 Stub. I chose the broad 1.3 stub nib. He gave me a guarantee that if I didn’t like the 1.3 stub nib, he would gladly send one of the other nibs in its place. So this was an offer that I couldn’t refuse!! I used this pen with the 1.3 stub and it really is a nice combination but I decided to swap nibs with my Stipula Etruria Ocean Blue. So I put the 1.3 stub on the Etruria and I put a nice smooth medium nib on the Saturno. It worked out perfectly and that is the combination I am using right now!!

The nib is the standard 18kt gold 2 tone nib unit that screws in like the Pelikan and other nib units from Bock. And yes, this nib is made by Bock and it is wonderfully smooth too!! This has a very nice and heavy ink flow that is a trademark of Stipula’s broader nibs. The nib writes more like a broad than a medium and there are absolutely no complaints here!! Stipula did a wonderful job with its communication with the Bock Nib Factory of Germany. So if you like Stipula nibs and the buttery smooth characteristics that this nib is known for, then look no further. There is no change here when it comes to quality and it shows you the consistency of these world class nibs. The choices of nibs for the Stipula Saturno are:

18k Extrafine
18k Fine
18k Medium
18k Broad
18k Oblique
18k Broad
18k Oblique extra broad
18k Italic 0.9
18k Italic 1.1
18k Italic 1.3
18k 52 degrees

The Filling System 5 out of 5

This is probably the most unique part of this pen and it is the Crescent Filling System!!! The Crescent Filling System has its roots buried deep within the early turn of the century buy Conklin Pen Company. I found some interesting information about the origins of the Crescent Filling System on the internet at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_pen#Filling_Mechanisms

“The Conklin crescent filler, introduced c. 1901, was one of the first mass-produced self-filling pen designs. The crescent filling system employs an arch-shaped crescent attached to a rigid metal pressure bar, with the crescent portion protruding from the pen through a slot and the pressure bar inside the barrel. A second component, a C-shaped hard rubber ring, is located between the crescent and the barrel. Ordinarily, the ring blocks the crescent from pushing down. However, when it comes time to fill the pen, one simply turns the ring around the barrel until the crescent matches up to the hole in the ring, allowing one to push down the crescent and squeeze the internal pen sac.”

This is as easy as a lever filling pen and I have to say that in my opinion that the crescent fillers seems to hold a bit more ink than standard lever filling pens. I really like the safety ring feature that prevents accidental ink discharge from the pen. This can save you money when it comes to damaged or soiled shirts, clothes, carpets and yes the unsightly inky fingers syndrome or otherwise known as IFS.

As I stated earlier, I swapped out the 1.3 stub for a medium nib because the 1.3 uses a ton of ink and I have to fill the pen quite often. So I decided to swap with the medium and now the pen uses as much ink as any other pen I have in my collection. Within 4 months of purchasing this pen, I had to send it in to my repair man, Ron Meloche. All it needed was a new sac and that was about it. A very simple procedure that is very quick because there is an O-ring that holds the sac in place, so no shellac is needed to keep the rubber sac in place. Yes, with the older style filling method, you have to be conscience about the sac but repairs are very simple and cheap.

Cost 5 out of 5

Ok, here is an important factor for a lot of people when it comes to buying a new fountain pen or any fountain pen. The retail amount of this pen is roughly around 345.00 Euros or $420.00 USD form Pen Emporium, or $304.00 USD through Giardino and the cheapest I have seen this pen brand new is at Airline International for $285.00. These pens are becoming increasingly more difficult to find and if they are found they are expensive. Thank goodness for the Pentrace Green Board. The gentleman from Canada was selling this pen for $135.00 including shipping costs. I usually refresh the Green Board as I look on there especially when I stay up late on Friday and Saturday nights. As soon as he posted this pen, I bought it within 5 to 10 minutes of him posting. I was so happy to get a reply back from him saying that the pen is available if I wanted it!! That’s when he gave me the choice of nibs for this pen.

Would I pay $285.00 for this pen? Probably not!! I would pay the mid to high one hundred for this pen and luckily I didn’t have to spend that much. This was not my first choice in color but once I opened up the box, I am glad I took the chance and bought it. For the money, you get a lot of pen, maybe not in size but in use and writing pleasure, you get your moneys worth.

Conclusion

This is a classic looking pen that pays homage to the pen of the turn of the century. The materials are somewhat the same and with a tried and proven filling system, you cannot go wrong. This is a pen for people who like modern pens with the touch of class and style of vintage pens of the past. Since this pen has a unique filling system, I am sure you will have people turning heads to see what you have in your hand. The pen is built solid and it will give you many years of use. Stipula created a classic and conservative line of fountain pens in the Novecento line. Since the Saturno is part of the Novecento line, they decided to create a pen that is a tribute to the roots of the fountain pens of yester year. This may not appeal to everyone but in my opinion, it seems to bridge the gap between the vintage collectors and modern fountain pen collectors. A modern made fountain pen that stays true to its pioneering predecessors and one that pays tribute to the technology of the first few years of the 20th century.

I rate this pen extremely high on the Savage Review and give it 2 thumbs up. Although this is not a pen for everyone, those who buy one will swear by its reliability, modest looks and everyday function. I guess that was on the mind of the first fountain pen makers, make something that works, make it reliable and make it look nice. Well, they achieved all three goals and then some. Stipula gets a round of applause from me!!! Good going Stipula, Bravo!!!

Stipula Junem Jerusalem- Review

2006-01-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

I saw this pen for bid on EBAY before but I have heard absolutely nothing about it other than it is called a Stipula Jerusalem Junem. The world famous Regina Martini is the seller and if you don’t know anything about her, then check out her web page http://www.martini.business.t-online.de/ Her specialty is Pelikan pens to include rare/limited editions, new and used. She can get just about anything you are looking for in regards to Pelikan pens. She also has & sells pens made for her from several different companies such as Sailor, DaniTrio and Bexley just to name a few.

Ok, so what in the world is this pen all about? From what I gather, this pen is made by Stipula especially for Jerusalem Pens http://www.jerusalempens.com/ located in, you guessed it, Jerusalem!!! Also there is another Jerusalem Pen Store in the coastal city of Tel Aviv Israel. David Elispur is the owner of Jerusalem Pens and they just celebrated the 5th Anniversary of the opening of his store. So to mark his important day, he got with Stipula Pens and designed a fountain pen that would commemorate the 5th Anniversary. According to David, Stipula is to release 2 series of 100 fountain pens each, so this will definitely be a Limited Edition/Special Edition fountain pen. Here is the story that is on the paperwork regarding this pen.

Junem By Stipula

In celebration of Jerusalem Pens’ five year anniversary, I designed a limited edition pen series consisting of two pens, one hundred pieces each, to commemorate this event. I chose to name the series JUNEM, which, in my parents’ mother tongue means “love of my life”. This symbolizes the true love of my life- my three daughters, Shai, Lee and Gull, my reason for being. The pen was designed with great care and under the supervision of Mr. Luca Viti of Stipula Pens, and promises to give you great enjoyment and comfort in use. It has a sterling silver cap, black body and 14kt gold nib, and is available in the sizes 52-XF-F-M-B-STUB. I hope Junem will be the first of many pens yet to come to mark other great occasions or feelings.

Enjoy Junem

David Elispur

His signature was handwritten on the paperwork; this gave it a personal touch to it, kind of like his blessings!! One of my questions is why Regina Martini is selling these pens rather than David Elispur? That I do not have the slightest clue but this will be something that I can email and ask Regina herself. If I do get that information, then I will revise the review to add it.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Like I said above, I really didn’t know what to expect with this pen. There really wasn’t any dimensions listed on the EBAY auction but I knew that Regina Martini is a well respected pen seller so I was pretty confident that I wouldn’t be at all disappointed. The pen arrived 1 week after payment and I was really surprised that it made it from Germany to California that quickly. I saved on shipping because I didn’t need the box but I did request the paperwork/warranty/instruction booklet. When I pulled the pen out of the box, I was really blown away with what I saw on this pen. The cap is a mixture of brushed steel and sterling silver. The top of the cap is flat with what looks to be an acrylic (jewel?) piece. The bottom of the pen has a brushed steel piece with the same material as the cap. The body of the pen looks like black acrylic polished to a very high gloss shine. This is a very sharp looking pen!!

Design/Size/Weight 4.5 out of 5

Hmm, let me see… How do I describe this pen? Ok I will go in to more detail regarding what was stated above. The length of this pen is right around 5 ½ inches capped. With the cap posted, the pen is just under 6 ½ inches in length. The girth of this pen is pretty darn close to that of a modern Sheaffer Balance II and a Pelikan M600. So this is not a small pen but then again, it isn’t huge either. This is what I would call a medium to standard size pen, especially because the pen isn’t that fat. It can rest very comfortably in most anyone’s hands to include small all the way up to big ol’ mitts!! The pen writes nicely while the cap is posted but it will write just as nice without it. I guess it all depends on your personal preference. The rear of the pen is purposely tapered so that the cap would fit snugly while the fountain pen is capped. This is something that I normally do not see all that often.

At the bottom of the pen there seems to be a metal jewel or tassie that is made out of brushed steel that says “Junem 051/100”. The barrel of the pen has the white imprint that reads “Junem” and right below that is line art of a fountain pen nib. Right below that has the words that read “By Stipula” Moving on, further up the pen, there is a silver ring that separates the section and the barrel. Thank goodness the ring is further up the section and away from the nib. Some pen companies like to leave the trim ring that close to the nib and unfortunately this really increases the chances of corrosion. So Stipula did well in that aspect of this particular fountain pen model.

The cap of this pen is made out of a combination of brushed steel and sterling silver. Surprisingly, this cap is relatively light especially due to the type of material that this cap is made out of. This pen has the Stipula trademark cap ring, the one with the straw and all that. I believe that the ring and the clip is made out of sterling silver while the rest of the cap is made out of the brushed steel. The clip on this pen has the straw pattern up 1/3rd of the way. The clip is spring loaded and it has a decent range of motion with a good amount of tension to it. Towards the top of the cap, which is a flat top cap, is the pen numbers from this special release. The numbers read the same as the bottom jewel, 051/100. The flat top is made out of the same acrylic as the barrel; this really compliments the rest of the pen.

One thing that I found to be quite interesting is that the rear of this pen has a bit of a subtle notch and then the diameter is reduced by a bit. The reason for this is so when you post the cap on to the rear of the pen, there is a perfect fit. There is very little pressure needed to post the cap on this area of the pen. Once it is there, it is really not going to come off until to add a bit of force by pulling the cap off. This is a feature that you really do not see on too many pens and if I remember correctly, Conklin did this with the modern vintage pen. Another thing that I find pretty cool with this feature is that it keeps the cap from looking like it is bulging at the end of the pen while you are writing. It gives it a more lower profile or streamlined effect.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

I was given the option of what nib width I wanted. The selection was XF-F-M-B-1.1 STUB. I decided to go with the wider stub 1.1 nib because I really enjoyed my Stipula 1.3 nib and this will be just a tad narrower. All the nibs are monotone rhodium plated 14kt gold that matches the metal on the rest of the pen. Unlike the standard screw out nib units made by The Bock Nib Factory in Germany, these are friction fit. These nibs are the same standard size as most of the nibs Stipula uses on its pens. It seems that the Monotone rhodium plated gold nibs are usually 14kt rather than 18kt on the two tone nibs. As far as I am concerned, 18kt gold nibs do not necessarily mean that the nibs have more spring or flex to them compared to the 14kt gold nibs. I used to be really bent on the higher the Karat gold nibs being better than the lower Karat gold nibs in terms of it having a softer feel, better spring, more flex and a better overall writing experience. This is really not true at all because, flex, spring, softness and smoothness are all things that are contributed by many other factors other then higher Karat gold. I found this to be the case with my Sailor 21kt gold nib versus my 14 karat gold Visconti Van Gogh Nib. I found that the Sailor was as stiff as a nail in comparison to the Van Gogh, which was extremely soft and has a wonderful spring to it. So with that said I can care less if Stipula opted with a 14kt gold nib rather than the traditional 18 kt gold nib.

I think that the rhodium plated gold nib really brings out the silver in the rest of this fountain pen. So how does this nib perform? Pretty darn good!!! Since this is a 1.1 Italic nib or Stub or whatever you want to call it, the line width is on the broad side. Definitely not as broad as the 1.3 but still wide enough to be considered a light broad or heavy medium. The nib is a bit on the stiff side in comparison to the 1.3 but it is a pleasant stiffness to it. There is plenty of feedback while writing although this nib needed a slight amount of tweaking to it. The tines were extremely tight and the nib had a few skips here and there while I was writing. Also the pen was a little bit on the dry side, this nib was nowhere near scratchy, in fact it is rather smooth. To remedy the problem, I flossed the inside of the tines with a super fine Mylar nib smoothing disc while gently pulling outwards to lessen the pinch on the tines. This really opened the flood gates and caused this pen to really run a nice moderate amount of ink. This really changed the whole overall experience while writing. The skipping ceased while the ink really went from stingy to heavy in a matter of a minute or two of effort.

Now the pen lays down a solid amount of ink and is really a joy to use. The down stroke gives you a very nice juicy line while the horizontal stroke is as thin as a razor. The overall line variation is very remarkable along with the crisp and clean curves and strokes. Surprisingly, with tall of the line variation this nib offers, Stipula didn’t sacrifice the nib’s smoothness whatsoever. This is not as wide and smooth as the 1.3 but it is still a wonderfully smooth nib with just the right amount of width for character. Even though I prefer broader nibs, the 1.1 Stub is a bit more practical for everyday use versus the 1.3. This is due to the fact that you can write a bit smaller on forms without it being unreadable but still have enough juice for signatures. As for the fit, this seems to fit 90% of everyone’s hands. The pen is comfortable while writing and I have yet had fatigue in my fingers or hand. All in all this is a pretty comfortable pen to use and rather light too. You don’t have to worry about your shirt pocket tearing or sagging due to the weight of heavier pens.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

The filing system on this pen is a typical cartridge converter. Rather standard and boring but it suits this pen which is on the standard to slender size. Surprisingly, the cartridge/converter filling system keeps this pen on the light side even though there is a lot of metal on this pen

Cost 5 out of 5

This is where I made out like a bandit!! I placed my final bid on Christmas night around 1130 pm and I snatched up this pen for $145.00. Shipping was like $8.00 or so because I didn’t want to pay $15.00+ for the box and what not. I have so many pen boxes; I don’t know what to do with them. I see no need in paying the extra money for a box that is going to be packed away in my garage. As long as I got the pen and the papers, I am very happy!! I seen this pen sell for around $200.00 on EBay from the same person so for the most part I think I got a pretty good deal. One thing that this pen didn’t come with is a converter. I was a bit surprised that it didn’t come with it but I am sure it was probably an oversight and I have plenty of spare ones in my spare parts drawer. So I pulled out a Waterman and the rest was history. There was no way I was going to make a fuss over a lousy converter, especially when I have a bunch of spares. Now if it was the Stipula convertible piston or the special Visconti Converter, then I would raise a stink.

Conclusion

This is a special limited edition fountain pen from Stipula at a really killer deal. The pen looks classy and writes extremely well. The pen is really a pleasure to use and it is practical enough for daily use. Even though this pen was made of Jerusalem Pens in Israel, the only place I have seen this pen for sale is on EBAY from Regina Martini. This is a well priced fountain pen especially because it is a numbered limited edition. Would I recommend this pen? Absolutely!!! The workmanship is excellent with a look that is like a “classic meets modern” style. I am extremely happy and satisfied with this pen and if you like standard sized fountain pens, then I am sure you will like this pen. Two Thumbs up on the “Savage Rating System”

Stipula Etruria Ocean Blue -Review

2006-01-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

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!!!

OMAS 360 Grey High Tech- Review

2006-01-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

Ok, this has got to be the strangest shape for a pen!!! I have to admit that I never really cared for the Omas Paragon and 360 pens. I thought that the shapes would make for a very uncomfortable writing experience. With the 360, there is very little room for finger placement, so you either take to it right away or you pitch it on the Pentrace Green Board!! Well, I never really cared for this pen but for some odd reason it really appealed to me when I was browsing around on EBay. This pen stood out especially when the price was right, I like the grey color with the silver finish, piston filler oh, and did I mention that the price was right? I knew if I absolutely hated this pen, I could recoup my money especially for what I paid for and the pen was BRAND NEW!!!

The Pen comes in the typical OMAS box and for those who do not know what the box looks like, Ill clue you in!! There is the black outer sleeve with grey “Greek Key” design band around the box. There is the OMAS trademark picture of the dude and chick on the face of the box. Inside the sleeve box contains the main box!! It is a Black hard case “Clam Shell” style box that is hinged. It probably can be thrown off a building and still survive. Inside the “Clam Shell” box contains the pearl, the OMAS pen!! The pen rests on the secret “trap door” tray that is removable. Under that tray is the owner’s manual/warranty card. There is no real information in this manual other than the warranty card that gives you a limited 24 month warranty. Believe it or not, there are no instructions on how to fill this pen up!! 99% of us know how to fill a pen but there is the 1% who has no idea that they purchased a piston filling pen. I guess it pays to do some research before you buy this pen!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Well, I was very surprised when I open the box to pull this gem out and hold it in my hands. This is the odd triangular shaped pen called the OMAS 360, very unique and is either loved or hated!! The pen is a wonderful “Dove Grey” color with a silver trim. The pen is a tad on the semi gloss side rather than a “high pro glow” (woof woof) I do believe that there is a time and a place for pens to be highly polished and this pen is not one of them. I think that this pen looks fantastic with a semi gloss finish because the silver “Greek Key” trim really stands out. If the pen was a high gloss shine, I think it would take away the emphasis of the highly shined Greek Key trim pattern. The OMAS 360 looks like an art masterpiece with the simple design that says so much without it having to say a word. That didn’t make a lick of sense, did it? Oh well!!!

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

It is a Triangle, it is long and it is not very heavy!!! The OMAS 360 is roughly 6 inches in length with the cap closed and the width is 1 7/8. With the cap posted on the rear of the pen, it is a tad over 7 inches in length. This is the full size 360, not the smaller 360 Mezzo fountain pen. The triangular shape is not a true triangle per se. The design is slightly bowed out a bit around the edges of the pen. This makes for easy grip and comfortable writing.

The cap on this pen is not the usual threaded screw cap. This cap is a snap cap method of securing the cap to the pen. The cap has plenty of tension and it will not come off very easy at all. I am not normally very crazy about snap cap pens but with this unique style of this pen, I really do not think there is much of a choice. I find the posting of the cap a bit difficult. You have to apply a lot of tension to post this cap to the rear of this pen. I normally post all of my caps but on this pen I do not. It feels like I might split the cap by adding too much pressure so I just hold the pen in one hand and write while I use my other hand to hold the cap. Pretty much the standard operating procedure!! The balance of the pen is quite nice with or without the cap posted. I have to admit that the pen is not heavy at all even though this pen is really huge. You would think that this pen would be weighed down due to the piston mechanism but surprisingly it is not.

The trim style on this pen is called HT or High Tech. Basically it is a rhodium trim all the way around the pen. The nib, the clip, cap bands, the rear band below the piston filling knob and the trim bands on the grip/section area where your fingers are at. They are all trimmed with rhodium. The rhodium trim and the classic “Dove Grey” color of the pen goes really well with each, it looks very classy. Speaking of the color, I like to call it “Dove Grey” because it reminds me of the old Parker 51 Vacumatic fountain pens of the 1940’s. The Grey color is very soft on my eyes and it is a very gentle and gender neutral color. This will appeal to both Men and Women alike!! I think it leans more to the men more than the women due to the size of the pen.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

This is one of my favorite parts of the review. The nib is entirely a rhodium plated monotone 18kt gold nib. This gives the pen a really modern and classy look to it. The nib design has the OMAS trademark arrow inscribed in the nib. The left side portion of the nib has the width inscribed. This nib is a medium width nib so on the side there is an “M” inscribed. This is a fairly good sized nib and it is roughly the same size as the Stipula Etruria Nib and the Pelikan M800 nib. For this being an oversize pen the nib is a bit smaller than what you would think. It is not as unsymmetrical as the nib on the Cross Apogee so it is not odd looking at all.

It seems that OMAS likes to use Ebonite feeds rather than the typical injection mold plastic feeds. Creating Ebonite feeds are more time consuming and painstaking than producing plastic feeds. Ebonite feeds cannot not be mass produced like the plastic feeds because ebonite requires a completely different technique to machine them into what we call feeds. There are more steps involved and some of them include having to make cuts, shapes and channels by hand. For many companies, making ebonite feeds are not very cost effective and they usually reserve that for limited edition pens. Plastic does the job satisfactorily but Ebonite is the superior material to use when it comes to feeds. Rather than repelling the ink as plastic does, Ebonite draws the ink naturally. In my very limited experience, pens with ebonite feeds usually have fewer problems when it comes to ink flow and skipping than the pens that have plastic feeds. Not to say that all ebonite feeds flow perfect and plastic feeds do not but I have seen them perform better in the pens that I do own.

Ok, how does it write? Absolutely fantastic!!! The nib has a nice spring to it. The nib looks like it would be very rigid but looks can fool ya!! This is a Medium width nib and it writes like a true medium!! The nib is extremely smooth and it needed no extra smoothing out for my particular style of writing. This is a very Juicy writer like all of the OMAS pens I own. I had ZERO issues with skipping or ink flow problems. This pen wrote like a champ from start to finish. The performance of this nib exceeds all of my expectations and the OMAS 360 is truly a wonderful writer that is a pleasure to use.

The Filling System 5 out of 5

Guess what?? This pen is a piston filler and it holds a ton of ink!! One issue is that the pen is rather awkward to fill because of the unusual shape of this pen. Normally I use my Visconti Ink pot to fill my pens and I feel that this is the best way to fill this pen especially with the odd shape of this pen. Using the Visconti Inkpot allows for a more advantageous hand placement on the pen so it reduces the chance of your hands slipping and throwing ink all over your white carpet. One filling of this pen can go a very long way. I have to say that the ink capacity of the OMAS 360 is superior to any of my piston filling fountain pens in my personal collection. The OMAS Company used the size of the 360 fountain pen to their advantage when engineering this piston fillers ink capacity.

Cost 5 out of 4.5

The MSRP of the OMAS 360 Fountain Pen is around $450.00 USD. As I stated earlier, I had no intentions in buying this pen at all and I thought the pen was rather ugly, well until I saw the price. It is amazing how quickly you start to like things when the price is right!!! Well, I was able to scam this pen off of EBay on Christmas Eve around 1:00am for $180.00 right to my doorstep. As far as I am concerned this is the best price I have seen on an unused and non dipped OMAS 360 fountain pen. I have seen other OMAS 360 fountain pens on EBAY for well under $200.00 and I am sure you can score one at that price!!! Would I pay $450.00? HECK NO!!! Would I pay $300.00? Are you smoking weed? If so pass me some!!! Just kidding!!! Would I pay $200.00? You are getting warmer!!! For what I paid, this is a top notch pen at a rock bottom price and yes I would of paid $200.00 for it!!! Great deal on a great pen!!

Conclusion

This pen has become a regular in my rotations and it is a fantastic writer too!! The shape of the OMAS 360 might not be the right pen for everyone due to the fact that your fingers have to be in a particular placement. As for my writing style, I write straight on at a 45 degree angle. I do not rotate the pen in either direction while I write, like most other people do. That is the reason why most of my fountain pens need a bit of nib adjustment by smoothing them out just a tad.

Anyways, this pen is one of the few pens that you can say you either love it or you absolutely hate it!!! It all depends on how you write and where you put your fingers on the pen when your write. As for me, this pen fits me like a glove and I find it very comfortable for my hand and fingers, almost ergonomic, if you know what I mean. The nibs on the OMAS pens are fantastic, I don’t know if they contracted out their nib manufacturing to BOCK Nib Works of Germany but regardless, the nibs are topnotch. The filling method is piston and it holds a crap load of ink and you can write for days using this pen on one filling. The price is right especially if you decide to do a bit of bargain hunting on EBay, I am sure you can find one at a very attractive price for a new pen or an even better price for a used one on the Pentrace Green Board.

I highly recommend this pen but under one condition, go to a “Brick and Mortar” Fountain Pen store to try one out. Hold the pen and see if the triangular shape of the 360 is to your liking and see if it conforms to your fingers and style of writing. If so, I think you have found yourself a fountain pen that will bring you years of enjoyment while you write. If the shape is to your liking but the pen is too big, you can always try the smaller brother called the Mezzo 360. Unfortunately this pen is a cartridge only but it would be an alternative to the Oversize big brother. With the odd shape of the OMAS 360, I am sure you will have lots of comments regarding the unusual shape and design of this pen, both good and bad.

OMAS Paragon Blu Venezia 2003

2006-01-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

This is the 3rd OMAS review so far and they have been unusual looking pens to say the least!!! I have to admit that I never really cared for the Omas Paragon and 360 pens. I thought that the shapes would make for a very uncomfortable writing experience. With the Paragon, it is faceted shaped like the Eversharp Doric or the columns of Rome!! Finger placement seemed rather odd and I was not too sure that I was going to like this pen. I guess that’s why this pen never appealed to me at all, I usually prefer the standard round barrels of fountain pens, I guess I am what you call a traditionalist. Well, for some odd reason this pen really appealed to me when I was browsing around on EBay right around Christmas. This pen stood out especially with the lowest price I have ever seen on a Full Sized OMAS Paragon. I like the blue color with the gold trim, piston filler oh, and did I mention that the price was right? I knew if I absolutely hated this pen, I could recoup my money especially for what I paid for and the pen was BRAND NEW!!!

The Pen comes in the typical OMAS box and for those who do not know what the box looks like, Ill clue you in!! There is the black outer sleeve with grey “Greek Key” design band around the box. There is the OMAS trademark picture of the dude and chick on the face of the box. Inside the sleeve box contains the main box!! It is a Black hard case “Clam Shell” style box that is hinged. It probably can be thrown off a building and still survive. Inside the “Clam Shell” box contains the pearl, the OMAS pen!! The pen rests on the secret “trap door” tray that is removable. Under that tray is the owner’s manual/warranty card. There is no real information in this manual other than the warranty card that gives you a limited 24 month warranty. Believe it or not, there are no instructions on how to fill this pen up!! 99% of us know how to fill a pen but there is the 1% who has no idea that they purchased a piston filling pen. I guess it pays to do some research before you buy this pen!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

I have to admit that this pen was really cool looking straight out of the box. It had a deep blue color called the 2003 Blu Venezia and it had a wonderful looking gold trim to it. The pen came in a nice high gloss shine with a faceted surface. It really is a sharp looking pen as far as I am concerned. The pen is super smooth to the touch and there are no rough spots or anything considered aesthetically unappealing.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

The design of this pen is the classic Paragon shape which is the 12 faceted barrel and cap. The OMAS Paragon is 5 ½ inches in length capped and with the cap posted, the pen is a tad shy of 7 inches in length. The diameter of this pen is 1 5/8 inches, so this is no slouch of a pen. I only wish is was a bit larger, but people in hell want ice water too!!! Surprisingly, this pen is very comfortable even though this pen is faceted. The section where you have your fingers are rounded, so that really makes things even more easier to write. So for the most part the faceted edges are nothing more than cosmetic, they do not affect the ability of the writer.
The pen has a gold trim with the “Greek Key” band design on the cap and at the section close to where your fingers are placed. The clip is also a gold trim with the little wheel thingy at the start of the clip. This makes slipping the pen on or off shirt pocket a breeze. It is very fluid and I see this a lot with Italian pens. It really gives it that feeling of “WOW, they really sat down and thought about the consumer”!! The cap is rather difficult to post; it is a tight feeling that I see loosening up over time. As far as I am concerned, it writes fine with or without it. The pen is rather light and looks can be deceiving but I really thought that this pen would be heavy like a sledge hammer!!

As for posting or not, I tend to like a pen posted because it fits better into my hand due to the added weight. The pen has wonderful balance and the weight of the cap is very surprisingly, super light to say the least. The cap secures to the pen by threads instead of a snap cap. I tend to prefer screw on caps rather than snap caps but that is a personal preference. The material of the pen is either a cotton resin or vegetable resin or made out of asparagus. I don’t think that it is all that important at all, even though I am partial to Celluloid (Nitrate or Acetate) this material seems a tad bit softer than your typical resin but much more pliable. I categorize pen material into a few classes Wood, Metal, Celluloid, Resin (acrylic, cotton, plastic) or Combo Hybrids.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

As Flavor Flav says “YEEEAAAHHH BOOOYYY. This nib is an 18 KT gold monotone medium nib. This is a screw in nib unit like a Pelikan, Stipula and Bexley to name a few. I am sure the Bock Nib Works of Germany makes these nibs for OMAS but not for certain. This nib is a medium width with about the same size as the OMAS 360 Fountain Pen. I really wish that they would have used a 2 tone nib like they used to for the older Paragons and the later limited edition OMAS pens. The 2 tone nibs are really sharp looking and I wish they would have kept it going. This gives the pen a really modern and classy look to it. The nib design has the OMAS trademark arrow inscribed in the nib. The left side portion of the nib has the width inscribed. This nib is a medium width nib so on the side there is an “M” inscribed. This is a fairly good sized nib and it fits the size and shape of this pen like a hand in glove but not O.J.’s glove though!!! It seems that OMAS likes to use Ebonite feeds rather than the typical injection mold plastic feeds. Creating Ebonite feeds are more time consuming and painstaking than producing plastic feeds. Ebonite feeds cannot not be mass produced like the plastic feeds because ebonite requires a completely different technique to machine them into what we call feeds. There are more steps involved and some of them include having to make cuts, shapes and channels by hand. For many companies, making ebonite feeds are not very cost effective and they usually reserve that for limited edition pens. Plastic does the job satisfactorily but Ebonite is the superior material to use when it comes to feeds. Rather than repelling the ink as plastic does, Ebonite draws the ink naturally. In my very limited experience, pens with ebonite feeds usually have fewer problems when it comes to ink flow and skipping than the pens that have plastic feeds. Not to say that all ebonite feeds flow perfect and plastic feeds do not but I have seen them perform better in the pens that I do own.

Will this nib stack up well with the other 2 OMAS pens that I reviewed? Pretty darn close!!! The nib was a bit toothy but it was easily remedied with a ultra fine Mylar smoothing disc. 5 minutes of work and this pen wrote like a heavyweight champ VS a glass jaw scrub!! This pen started from start to finish with a super heavy line of ink that resembled a light broad nib rather than a medium. I have absolutely zero complaints regarding the flow of this pen. Too bad a lot of my other pens don’t write this well. Nib is as smooth as butter and is consistent with my other OMAS pens in terms of flow, smoothness and overall experience. As far as I am concerned, the nibs OMAS uses on its pens are among the best in the world. The nib starts every time regardless if I leave the cap off for an extended period of time or not!!!

The Filling System 5 out of 5

Guess what?? This pen is a piston filler and it holds a ton of ink!! I have wrote numerous pages of journal entries, work orders and reports to test this pen out and the pen still kept writing. OMAS has some of the largest capacity piston filler pens on the market IMHO. The piston action is very smooth and works rather effortlessly when it comes to filling the pen with its fuel, ink!! For this pen, OMAS could of gotten away with a cartridge/converter filling mechanism but they did right by taking advantage of the barrel size and adding in a huge capacity piston filling system.

Cost 5 out of 5

The MSRP is around $425.00 or so but I wouldn’t pay MSRP on any pen, PERIOD!!! Since I was doing my Ebaying on Christmas Eve, I got some outstanding deals on pens. I picked this one up for right around $210.00 (Roughly) delivered to my doorstep!! This is a perfect deal on a brand new pen that should be going for twice what I paid for or at least $150.00 more than what I paid. It is a tremendous deal on a top notch fountain pen that has so much to offer. Is it worth the $210.00 (Roughly) I paid? You better believe it buddy!!!

Conclusion

This pen is on my current and past 2 pen rotations. This is a superb writing instrument that has little to no faults. The pen seems to have been made extremely well and really with zero blemishes. OMAS did a fantastic job on the Paragon and has been doing a wonderful job for a very long time. Unfortunately the new Arte Italiana Collection is really a regression on these Paragons. They are now using a metal section on the Paragons or at least in this new collection. I hope that they decided to keep the classic line in addition to this new line. I really think the new collection is like trying to reinvent the wheel. It is not necessary and really a waste of money and resources!!

Regardless, OMAS did wonders with this pen and its design and I am so glad I decided to try something new. I finally stepped out of the box and bought a Paragon and a 360 and I have been extremely happy with these pens. Now I know what the rave is all about!! Some like OMAS and some hate OMAS but the experience I have been having with 3 of them has been nothing short of spectacular. I would love to buy the full size OMAS Paragon in the ARCO celluloid, its all about the Benjamin’s and a stroke of good luck to find one used or new at a killer price. Until then, I will wait patiently, eventually it will pay off!! I highly recommend the OMAS full size Paragon, this pen has just about everything I want in a fountain pen and then some!!!

OMAS D-DAY 50th Anniversary- Review

2006-01-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

I am a big military buff and I really dig historical things especially military memorabilia. I only started collecting fountain pens in the past 2 to 3 years now. So when this pen came out in 1994 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of D-Day at Normandy, I was just entering my final year in my enlistment in the United States Air Force. I had no clue that people were still using fountain pens, so I knew of nothing about fountain pens. Ten years later, I started to collect/use fountain pens. I read about this pen in a few online articles and I became extremely interested in this pen, I wanted to know more about it.

Well, back then, I was really not very attracted to OMAS fountain pens because of the odd shapes of the OMAS Paragon and 360 pens. I just didn’t care for the faceted shapes that OMAS used on its most popular pens. I like the OMAS Ogiva pens because they are roughly the same size as the Paragons but it is completely round rather than faceted, like the Paragons. I finally saw what the D-DAY pen looked like and I wanted one, BADLY!!! I just didn’t want to shell out a ton of money; I prefer to buy a gently used one with everything rather than a brand new one that has been untested.

Thank goodness for the Pentrace Green Board, I found a seller that wanted to dump his pen for an amount of money that was awfully cheap. There were only 5300 of these Limited Edition Fountain Pens made. The number 5300 signifies the number of ships that crossed the English Channel on the dawn of June 6th 1944. My pen is number 320, I wonder which ship was #320 to cross the English Channel. That would be an interesting thing for me to research in the near future. Everything about this pen is symbolic in some way shape or form. This really is a piece of history and it symbolizes and commemorates the courage, sacrifice and determination of the soldiers from the United States, Canada and England. The landings on Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches on the coast of Normandy France. The Landing on Normandy on D-Day is considered one of the greatest military operations of all time. What better way to honor the men who laid their lives down for the freedom of Europe than to make a symbolic fountain pen.
Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Wow, where do I start with this pen? When it came in the mail, I was so excited that I wanted to tear the Priority Mail box to get to my new pen even before I got to the house. I really was not all that sure to the exact size of this pen but when I opened the Priority Mail box, it revealed a small very heavy box that really left me scratching my head. Since this is a Limited Edition Fountain pen, I was thinking that this pen box would be huge with lots of extras. Well, I was pretty wrong, that for sure. Was I disappointed by what I saw? Nope, not at all!!!

The Pen came in a very heavy metal container with a cardboard slip cover that the metal container slides in and out of. The Slip cover has 3 major colors to it and they are OD Green, Sky Blue and Dark Blue. The color on this box has significant meaning that ties into the overall theme of this Limited Edition Fountain Pen. The Green color symbolizes the Earth, while the Light Blue is the Sky and the Dark Blue is the Ocean. The Box has the words”Pour la Liberte” which translates to “FOR FREEDOM” but I am not a French Major and I know nothing about the language, so please excuse my lack of knowledge of the French Language!!!

Now, the metal pen case inside the cardboard slip cover is made out of Aluminum and it looks like an older U.S. Army First Aid bandage case that soldiers used during WW II, Korean Conflict and possibly the Vietnam War. It is extremely heavy and it really is a wonderful looking case. There is a spot on the top right hand corner of this case where you can engrave your initials on the case itself if you choose to do so. The case is NOT hinged and it comes right off by pulling apart the aluminum halves. On the top half in the inside of the case is the small booklet that gives you the condensed history of D-DAY and it also doubles as an instruction manual/warranty card. The booklet is held in place by a spring loaded clip that ensures the booklet remains in place until you want to remove it. The inside of the bottom half is another clip that holds the pen in place securely but without scratching it.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Ok, let’s get on to the most important part of this review, the pen. The pen is rather interesting looking; it reminds me of a parker 51 design. The OMAS D-DAY pen uses the OMAS Ogiva body and it builds up from there. The pen measures in at 5 ½ inches in length capped and about 6 ¾ with the cap posted. The width is around 1 5/8 and weighs in at .8 oz, or at least that is what the standard OMAS Ogiva weighs in at. I believe that the pen weighs in a tad bit more due to the metal cap on the D-DAY rather than the resin or celluloid cap that is on the standard OMAS Ogiva. The cap is made out of Rhodiated brass that is silver in color with a matte finish to it. Typically, the OMAS cap bands are decorated with a Greek Key design and the standard OMAS Ogiva is no different. Since this pen is not the standard Ogiva, the D-DAY pen is void of the Greek Key design on the Cap band and replaced with writing instead. The writing on the cap band reads “D-DAY 1945-1995” and it is really nice looking. The Clip on the pen is a gold color just like the cap band. OMAS usually uses the wheel on the clip to make it easier to remove the pen from a shirt pocket. This pen does not have that but I can careless because I think they wanted this pen to look more American or English in style like the Parker 51 does. The pen design is very simple and to the point, it does not have all the little fancy stuff you usually get from a limited edition pen.

The Pen is a green color which is not quite OD Green but it is a medium shade of green. The width of the pen is about the same as the Paragon and IS the same as the standard Ogiva. The pen feels perfect in my hand and it is a well balanced too. With the cap posted, the pen seems to rest on the web of my hand between the index finger and the thumb. This gives it a perfect writing position for me along with an extremely comfortable writing experience. My hand does not tire at all when I write for an extended period of time. This is somewhat rare because I generally write with full size to oversized pens and the main drawback is that my hands get tired. This pen is the exception and I have noticed with my other OMAS pens, they fit just as well too. There is an extended section to grip on to, unlike other pen designs from different manufactures. As for writing with the cap completely off the pen, it is almost as comfortable and with the extended section for grip, you can choke up on the pen in either direction.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

This pen has a Broad width nib that is an 18kt gold monotone (gold) color. This pen has the typical OMAS nib design with the trademark arrow inscribed in the nib. The left side portion of the nib has the width inscribed. This nib is a broad width so on the side there is a “B” inscribed. This is a fairly good sized nib and it is roughly the same size as the Stipula Etruria Nib and the Pelikan M800 nib. Unlike the OMAS 360, the nib is very symmetrical especially to the size of the pen. Even though the OMAS D-DAY pen uses the same nib/feed unit as the OMAS 360, the D-DAY is more proportionate to the size of the nib.

The feed on this pen is made out of Ebonite, which I consider the best material to make a feed out of. This feed provides plenty of ink to the nib and this pen is a very wet writer, which I prefer because you can always scale back a bit by using a dryer ink if it is too wet for you. How does it write? Perfect!!! The nib is a buttery smooth and lays down copious amounts of ink to the paper. This nib needed ZERO adjustments and writes perfect in just about every angle humanly possible!! Unlike the other medium nibs I have on my Paragon and 360, this nib is very rigid with no flex or spring. I guess you can call this nib a wet nail. It doesn’t bother me in the least!!! I have yet had this pen skip on me and I believe due to the ebonite feed, starvation is not an issue at all. The quality on this nib and fed unit is fantastic and it exceeds all of my expectations. So far I doing well with OMAS pens, I have 3 and all 3 write perfectly!!!

The Filling System 5 out of 5

The OMAS D-DAY pen uses a piston filler that holds what seems like gallons of ink!!! The action on the piston knob is nice and smooth from the day I received it up until this review. Filling is a breeze and I have yet had this pen burp or blot inside of the cap. I use my pens and I use them to the max and 90% of the pens I use have at least some burping or blotting inside the cap but surprisingly, this pen keeps the ink where it is supposed to be when you are not writing, inside the piston chamber!!! OMAS did their job in making a nice reliable piston filling unit, Bravo OMAS, Bravo!!!

Cost 5 out of 5

The MSRP of this pen is, well, I really don’t know!!! This pen is a limited edition of 5300 pieces and this was in 1995. So that was over 10 years ago, so I have only seen 1 or 2 places have this pen in stock and the prices are outrageous. I say an OMAS D-DAY on EBay last week go for about $500.00. I don’t think they had a buyer on that auction, I know that I would have not spent $500.00 on this pen. I would have bought a few Bexley pens or an OMAS ARCO Paragon Celluloid instead.

I was lucky enough to have seen this pen on the Pentrace Green Board a couple of months ago going for $170.00 and I jumped at the chance. Yes the pen is used but I don’t care, I use my pens and so did this person. Luckily, the seller used this pen but ever so gently and there were little signs of use. So I knew he took good care of this pen and I was very happy with that. At $170.00, I consider this a total steal and I seriously doubt it that you will ever find one at this price but who knows. Regardless, I have to give this pen a full 5/5 for price due to what I paid for it!! Great bargain for me!!!

Conclusion

I love this pen!!! I love the way it writes and the way it looks. I even love the way it feels in my hands when I write with it. The pen is a good size and it has the right amount of heft to make this pen extremely balanced and comfortable. The nib writes perfect along with the ebonite feed that channels the ink from the piston chamber to the nib. Perfect flow and never a skip!! The piston filler has wonderful action to it, not too stiff but defiantly not loose either.

I have to say that I enjoy everything about this pen and I think I made a good choice in purchasing it. I love the fact that it is a commemorative pen that is a limited edition. This pen differs from pocket jewelry made by Krone because it is made for everyday use and it is constructed to handle the abuse for everyday writing. The pen is simple and not very flashy at all but each part of the pen is symbolic all they way down from the color of the barrel to the matte finish of the cap. I love what this pen symbolizes and whom it is dedicated to. As a prior military man, I use this pen with pride, knowing the sacrifices our men and women in uniform face on a daily basis with little to no recognition. I get a lot of compliments from the GI’s I work with on a daily basis. I think that OMAS did everything right when it came to the planning and creation of this limited edition fountain pen. It is one thing to own a pen like this and say “hey, look what I got, it’s a D-DAY commemorative pen” But to say “I have a D-DAY commemorative pen and it is something I can identify with. I was not born during that time but I carried on the torch that was passed on to me by my fellow brothers in arms. I continue on their dream of a free world. Every time I use this pen, it reminds me of the ultimate sacrifice that our brothers and sisters have made in the name of freedom”. I guess that is why I hold this pen so special to me and this is something that I am going to pass down to my children and explain to them what this pen represents and why it is so historically important.

Some might say that I am foolish to be using a limited edition fountain pen as a daily writer. Well each to their own, I look at it this way. A soldier in all of his glory is never free of wrinkles, starched fatigues or polished boots. A soldier in all his glory is covered in sand, blood and mud from the days fight and I feel the same about this pen. I feel that the intended purpose of this fountain pen is to be used. Fill it up with ink and write away, what good is a pen if you don’t use it, right? This is not your typical pocket jewelry with precious stones, rare metals and fancy paintings. This is a tool to be used for a specific purpose and used during the trials and tribulations of daily life. Same as with a soldier, they are not here to look good; they are here for the sole purpose of doing a job, a dirt job. Weird analogy but that’s how I see it. This pen has my Full recommendations; I don’t know if you can still buy one of these pens brand new or not but I am sure they will be quite expensive.

Stipula Ventidue 22- Review

2006-01-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

I was always curious as to what it would be like to write with a titanium nib on a fountain pen. I have heard mixed reviews on this pen and I was really unsure if I really wanted to shell out the money to get this pen or not. It really is a nice looking fountain pen with several colors to choose from. So I decided to go against my sound judgment and step out of the box and give this pen a try. I was always intrigued with nib flexibility and I wanted to test drive a flexible nib. So I decided to try this pen out because using an alternative material nib would really be quite interesting.

Appearance/ Finish 4 out of 5

The Stipula 22 came in a rather large box with a bottle of ink. Deep inside the box, I found the pen and an instruction/warranty booklet. There really was not much to look at because the piston filler is universal, at least for the most part. The pen is a nice looking baby blue and white color that is vertically striated. The piston chamber is transparent with what looks like a tinted car window. The pen has a semi to full gloss shine to it with a silver cap band finish to it.

Design/Size/Weight 4 out of 5

This is not a very large pen at all unless the cap is posted. The length of the pen is around 5 inches in length with the pen capped and roughly 6 inches in length with the cap posted. The pen is a bit heavy for its size but it is defiantly not comfortable at all. I find that it fits in my hand quite nice and conforms to my fingers. I find that it is a necessity for me to write with this pen with the cap posted. It is just too short for me to write any other way and the pen seems to be more balanced while the cap is posted. I thought that this pen was going to be much longer than it really was. The width to this pen is perfect, it is not a skinny pen whatsoever. There is a slight taper downwards to where the piston knob is located.

The pen its self is rather interesting when it comes to the design. Above the clip are the numbers 22 in a silver polish finish. 22 represent the metal Titanium in the Periodic Table of Elements. Since they are using a titanium nib for this pen, the whole theme is 22, the metal called Titanium. The clip is not a spring loaded clip and it has a lot of tension to it. I would say that this is a perfect sized pen to put in your agenda. Even though the pen is small in length, once you post the cap, this small pen turns into a nice standard sized pen.

Nib Design and Performance 0 out of 5

Ok, let’s get down to business!!! The nib on this pen is made out of Titanium with an interesting design. Titanium has a unique looking grey color that has a matte finish to it, this one is no different. The nib is also engraved with the words “Stipula” in its trademark handwriting script. Below that are the words “Titanio” in Italian which translates to Titanium and right below that is the one letter for nib width. Mine is a medium so the letter is “M”. Above all of it is gold lettering for the number “22” and the trademark broken straw. Using the gold on top of the titanium makes a very nice looking nib.

I found that the nib and feed are too small for the design of this pen even before using it for the first time. I was quite disappointed needless to say but if it writes well, then my disappointment will turn to happiness. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was going to have problems with the ink flow. Not only because this was the largest complaint but by the lack of size of the feed. So I filled the pen up with some Aurora Black ink and went for broke. This is where the rubber meets the road and that’s when I hit the gas and peeled out.

The pen wrote very nice at first. The nib had a very odd feel to it and yes it is flexible. I am not sure if it is to the extent of a vintage flexi nib but this was the most amount of flex I have ever had on a pen up to that point. Nice line variation and the springy/slinky effect really make this nib stand out from the rest of the nibs on my pens. I would apply some pressure and then release while the nib sprung back to its original state. I was really going to like this pen or at least that is what I thought until the pen started to skip all over the place. What in the world is going on here?? I was having the dreaded problem with ink starvation. I would stop for about 25 seconds and then I picked up the pen and tried again. The pen would start up as quick as it stopped. A few lines of writing and again the ink starvation thing started up again. I decided to flush out the ink, and rinse out the pen using a bit of soapy water and then I filled her up again with some Parker Quink Blue/Black.

Same thing happened again and again with the ink starvation. I was very frustrated after that. I knew I was having some issues some serious issues with the feed not providing the nib with enough ink to write. So I tried using the pen for another day to see if the problem subsides but to no avail, the problem gets worse. So I packed up the box and sent it off to Luxury Brands after talking to Michael Masuyama. He told me that when he receives the pen, he will put them in a cue until there are enough pens to send back to Stipula. This is when Luxury Brands was distributing Stipula Pens in North America. 4 months went by before I heard anything. I contacted Michael Masuyama and he was surprised that I have not received my pen back from Stipula. So he told me to hang tight and he will email me back shortly.

I was thinking, “Here we go again, typical lip service”! Well, no more than 20 minutes later, I received an email at work from Julia at Stipula. She told me that I should be receiving my pen in 2 week or so. 2 weeks later, still no pen, so I contacted Julia and let he know that my pen has not arrived yet. She told me that my pen is the next one to be repaired. 3 weeks later, the pen was at my doorstep, I have to admit that I was pretty excited. So I ran to my computer room and opened up the package. They gave me a few Stylus magazines and some advertising postcards for some of their new pens. As I opened up the pen box, there was a sheet of test paper that they used for my pen. I guess they dipped it and then used a machine to do some test writing. Everything looked fine, so I decided to fill the pen up with some Private Reserve Tanzanite ink. This is the laxative of inks and it can get a poor flowing pen flowing correctly.

Unfortunately, this still didn’t help, I was having the same problem again and I was getting very upset!!! It seemed like they didn’t do a thing to this pen and they just sent it back. I knew that was not true because they gave me a new pen because the serial number was different. There was no way I am going to send this pen back again and wait another 4 or 5 months. It was Time to take matters into my own hands!! I know the problem was the feed not providing enough ink to the nib. There is an article floating out there regarding the problems with his Stipula 22 and the way he got around it to have a wonderful working pen. http://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/narayana/Hobbies/Fountain_Pens/fixes/
What I thought was a feed issue was not really the feed causing the problems. The problem was the ink transport. Ill let you read the article but to paraphrase what I did into a few sentences is rather hard but here it goes.

I removed the nib/feed unit because they unscrew out. I removed the section and drilled through the diaphragm and bored it out to allow more ink through the transport to the feed. I sealed the section back together again and then I tried to find a suitable feed from my scrap pen parts in my closet. Believe it or not, Skillcraft, the people who make pens for the federal government, recently made fountain pens for the government. The pens are actually pretty good in comparison to other school pens. Since I practically never use it, I looked at the feed and I was wondering if it would fit in the sleeve along with the nib. Sure enough it did!! The best thing about it is that the feed was hard rubber. Now talk about luck!!! The gods must have blessed me that day!! I fit the nib along with the new feed into the sleeve and then screwed it back into the pen, and that was it!! Pretty simple right??

Well I filled the pen up with some Private Reserve DC Super Show Blue and I crossed my fingers. I picked the pen up and started to write with it and the difference was night and day!!! The flow was incredibly heavy and the ink kept flowing no matter how much I was writing. Problem Solved!!! Thank God!!! Now when I make my ratings, they are done with the pen straight out of the box. The only modifications I make is simple adjustments to my nibs due to the strange way I write with my pens. So I have to smooth out parts of the nib that most people never use for the pen to write the way I like it. What I did here is Omega Super Fountain Pen Surgery, so the ratings will reflect the issues I had prior to the Surgery.

The Filling System 5 out of 5

The Stipula 22 is a piston filler that holds a boat load of ink, in fact the ink capacity of this pen is almost 2 times that of the Pelikan M1000 if not more. This is one of the largest piston chambers that I have seen. The OMAS 360 holds close to be not as much ink as the Stipula 22. 60% of the pen is ink supply which makes this an ink pot that also writes. The most problematic thing is not the piston filler itself but the ink transport. I have to say that the ink transport is part of the filling system for arguments sake, so the rating will reflect that accordingly. Too bad because the piston holds a butt load of ink!!!

Cost 0 out of 5

I have seen this pen go for around $90.00 USD due to clearance. I paid $120.00 for mine before the price really started to drop. Even $90.00 is still too much for a pen like this with so many problems. In fact I think they should have recalled all of these pens especially with the same common problem. I have seen more people unsatisfied with this pen then people that are happy. I am sure it is more in the range of 50/50 to be fair. Regardless, I think that 30.00 would be a fair price, especially when you take into account all your blood, sweat, tears, cursing, increase of blood pressure and wishing ill will on the manufacturer. If you take that into account, the pen should be free with an additional $50.00 in cash for your trouble.

Conclusion

Ok some of you are going to agree with what I say and others will not, I DON’T CARE!!! I write these reviews to help people and to give them a honest opinion and evaluation on fountain pens that I own so they can be steered into the right direction. Ok lets get down to brass tacks, what are my feelings and general opinion of the Stipula Ventidue (22) Fountain Pen? LEMON!!!! If this was the car industry, there would have been a massive recall to fix all of the problems. California has what they call the Lemon Law, too bad it doesn’t apply to shoddy pens that we pay a fortune for. Now the pen works nice for me but only after extensive pen surgery. This pen should have never left the factory as far as I am concerned!!

Unfortunately this left a nasty taste in my mouth for Stipula Pens. The last straw was 3 Stipula/Levenger Verona pens in 3 different colors and 3 different nib widths and every one had the same problem, ink starvation. The pen would go dry and it would take an act of God for it to start working again. I was batting 0-4 on Stipula pens, so that’s why I didn’t buy another one until almost a year later!!! As for this pen, I would absolutely avoid it like a flaming case of herpes!!! You might throw the dice and get a good one but then again you might get a loser lemon like mine. I would spend your money on a much better pen like a Sailor 1911M for the same price. What a shame because this pen could have been a wonderful writer straight out of the box. Would of, could of, should of, who cares!!! I give this one 2 thumbs down and a raspberry to top it off!!

Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point- Review

2006-01-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

The very first time I saw this pen, I thought it was the ugliest and most tacky thing I have ever seen with my 2 eyes!! The first time I went into a fountain pen store in San Francisco 2 years ago, I was walking around with my Wife and my Dad. My Dad has always a nice pen collection. He loves his Montblanc Meisterstuck 149 along with his Sheaffer Targa’s and he wanted me to at least try out fountain pens. Well we walked around in this little shop at a mall off of Market Street. My Dad was showing me all of these nice pens and I came across a case filled with Namiki Maki-e Fountain Pens. I was completely mesmerized, and the gentleman working behind the counter came around and wanted to know if I would like to see one of the pens. Not knowing the value nor cost of pens, I asked him how much this particular one is. He told me 950, I said 950? Is that all? It sure is a pretty pen for $9.50. The man chuckled because I knew absolutely nothing about pens but he said “yes, $9.50 plus 2 zeros”!! WHAT??????? Are you serious??? The man laughed and he said he gets that all of the time, he told me that each one of these pens are hand made and hand painted so that’s why they are a bit more than the rest.

He showed me another case with the Vanishing Point and he said, this might be a bit up your alley especially with the price and it is a fountain pen that does not look like one. This sparked my Dads attention and he came over by the case to see what the gentleman was talking about. The man clicked the pen and like magic, the nib appeared!!! Another click and the nib was gone!! Kind of cool but too bad the pen looks so ugly!!! My Dad agreed with me but I was appreciative that the man took the time to show me around the store and let me hold the pens and write with them even though I was not going to buy a high dollar pen and so did the men. He was rather happy that he sparked up interest in fountain pens and he gave me a deal on a cheaper Northpointe Fountain Pen with a Steel nib. He told me that this will get me started, and if I didn’t like it then I only wasted $25.00 on this pen rather than wasting $950.00 or $95.00. Since then I have enjoyed fountain pens. So what does this have to do with Namiki/Pilot Vanishing Point Pens? I don’t know??? I thought it would be a good intro!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

My First Vanishing Point was a Blue Carbonesque I picked up on Bittners yearly blowout. Why did I buy it? Because of peoples reviews and people rated this pen very high. So I decided to buy one and I really loved it!! It has a super smooth medium nib that writes like a charm. I had this pen for about 6 months until my wife did the 2 handed discount from my pen case on my computer desk. She will not put that pen down for anything; she uses it for work, school and for writing letters.

So under the condition that I can buy one for myself, she can have the Blue Carbonesque. She happily agreed. Well it took me several months to find the one that I wanted. I really wanted the Limited Edition Mandarin Yellow Vanishing Point but there are 2 problems. They are Limited and they are expensive if you are able to find them. So I knew someone on EBay who lives in Japan that sold them for a good price and it was not exactly the Mandarin Yellow but it is the Mustard Yellow. The Mustard Yellow is not sold in the United States but it is readily available in Japan. The Mustard Yellow is b bit darker than and not as vibrant as the Mandarin but I found it to be easier on the eyes.

Ok so what is this pen all about? I am sure 100% of all of you have already seen a Vanishing Point so I am not going to bore you with useless details that you already know. I will only go over the unique features and things that you might not know about.This pen is a nice Mustard Yellow color with shiny silver (chrome) highlights. The pen itself is a medium gloss finish that seems rather thick and bulletproof. It looks very well made and would stand in the wear and tear of daily life.

Design/Size/Weight 4 out of 5

The design is quite unique and I don’t think there is another pen like this on the market anywhere!!! The Vanishing Point weighs in a 1 OZ, it is not a typical lightweight and it is due to all of the metal on this pen. The Pen measures in at 5 3/8 inches in length with a width of 1 ½ inches. Since the clip is where you usually put your fingers at, this might be an issue with some people. So make sure you go to a Brick and Mortar store and check it out for yourself so you won’t waste money on a pen you can’t use. Never sacrifice comfort for style!!!

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

This is an itty bitty tiny nib!!! It is a 14kt gold nib that comes in a unit that easily installs into the pen after you unscrew the section. The nib is not a nail but it is not a noodle either. It has a nice amount of spring to it which I happen to like. I bought an additional nib unit for Oscar Braun Pens in a Broad. The Medium was too fine for me and as usual the nibs are about one size finer than western nib widths. The Broad nib width throws down a super smooth and wet line effortlessly across the paper. I find this a very comfortable writing pen that really competes with the big boys in terms of flawless writing, even ink flow, super smooth nibs, extremely affordable nib unit replacements and overall price for the pen. I find that this pen is perfect for work especially when I am out in the field and taking my nicer pens would be impractical. The pen is extremely rugged and reliable and it can take some punishment without busting apart. God forbid if you were to drop the pen and mash up your nib. Doing that might set you back a whole $19.00 (price increase from $14.00). So trying out different nibs or even customizing them can be done using spare nib units. They are easy to swap out; in fact it is as easy to swap out a nib unit as it is to fill the pen up

The Filling System 3 out of 5

Usually the filling system is a proprietary cartridge/converter system. On my pen, instead of the piston converter, mine has the squeeze converter with the pressure bar. These seem to be very popular over in Japan but not as popular in the USA. I don’t know why because the squeeze converter carries more ink than the standard piston converter. Either way, you can swap one for the other if you don’t like it. The Piston converter really does not hold that much ink and that is the biggest complaint that I hear about the Vanishing Point besides the clip in the way of the fingers. There are ways of getting around this bottleneck but you are more prone to getting ink all over your hands and your nice white carpet. Some use a dull point syringe or other use cartridges to get more ink into the feed. It all depends on the person but I think that the squeeze converter is much better but I am unsure if they are only available in Asia. The filling systems on Vanishing Points pretty much suck either way; at least it is better than a cartridge only pen.

Cost 5 out of 5

Since I wanted this color I had to buy this pen from someone in Japan, I paid a bit more than if I were to buy it in the States. Total I paid just around $100.00 with EMS shipping from Japan to my doorstep. If you don’t care for the Mustard Yellow color then you can get them for as low as $69.99 at some places and the average is around $89.99 at most discount pen sellers. For the money, this pen cannot be beat, PERIOD!!!!

Conclusion

This has got to be the BEST fountain pen on the market if you are comparing a pen with a gold nib, sturdy body, reliability and yes very easy on the pocketbook!!! The only major complaints are the placement of the clip and the filing system. This has got to be one of the most reliable pens on the market, bar none!!! I have no regrets about this pen and only one complaint, the filling system. That is minor issue and the rest of the pen is absolutely fabulous. I don’t think this pen will win any awards for the most attractive pen but it will certainly win for the most practical, reliable and functional fountain pen on the market. This is an absolute winner in my book!!! Pilot/Namiki has really changed the direction of pen manufacturing industry in the past 35 years, keep up the great work!!!

DaniTrio Densho Raw Ebonite- Review

2005-10-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I never really knew anything about DaniTrio pens until my Dad showed me some of his DaniTrio pens when he came to visit me 2 years ago after a pen show that I was unable to attend. So I went to the DaniTrio site a few weeks later to see what the big stink was on these pens. Man O man!!! I was really surprised by some of the designs and shapes this company has created. I thought that the pens that DaniTrio made were some of the cheaper or should I say affordable pens such as the Brillante and the Tempo. I was dead wrong, that’s for sure!! The Maki-e and Urushi pens were some of the best designs that I have ever seen. The art IMHO is superb and I think the DaniTrio Maki-e and Urushi pens are better looking than most of the pens from (NOT ALL PENS) Pilot/Namiki, Platinum, Nakaya and Sailor have out on the market.

I followed a link to http://www.internetpens.net/ from the Fountain Pen Network and I was really surprised to see other DaniTrio pens I previously have never seen before. Some of the shapes and sizes were truly mind bending. Especially because most of the Japanese pens that I have seen are usually medium to small in length and pretty skinny in width. Yes, I have seen some of the larger Sailor and Namiki Maki-e pens that are available but they were way out of my price range. Also, I am very nervous about chipping or ruining the lacquer and intricate designs on these pens. I don’t trash my pens but they are subject to everyday wear and tear even though I take extra care and precautions.

I was on the Pentrace Green board and I saw our very own Winedoc (Kevin Cheng owner of http://www.internetpens.net/) post a new trial pen for sale. Here is the post minus the pictures:

Trial Product!!!

Posted by winedoc on September 18, 2005, 12:34 pm

Good ideas often came about from my conversation/emails from fellow Pentracers. One of the pentracer (can't remember who now), told me wouldn't it be great to have a simple black ebonite pen with no urushi or maki-e on it. That's it, no decoration, just your bare essential ebonite pen, light, strudy, with a flexy nib and the best part... an ED to hold lots of ink. Nothing fancy, just a writer's pen! I thought this is a great idea, and took it back to Danitrio... and oowwaallla!! here you have it!!

I have two of these as trial product. The whole pen is made of ebonite, it comes with flexy M and flexy F (first come first serve), and it's ED with safety shut off. The ebonite has a "matted finish", feels smooth in your hand.
Please note, the ebonite is in its very natural "rough" finish, so no extra steps are done to "polish" the pen. These are as simple as it gets, and are "AS IS". The pens have some vintage flare to them. The pen is adorn with a very simple gold color clip. The pen can be yours for $155 delivered with box and paper, eye dropper, within US. For international, please add $10 for global priority. Paypal and check are all fine. Thanks for looking. And thank you for continue to give me your great ideas....

And as for blue/purple Tamenuri... they are working on it ;-)

I was sold on this pen because this pen can be posted and you do not have to worry about ruining the Urushi or Maki-e. The other good thing is that this pen can take a good amount of abuse without having to worry about the pen being destroyed. Too bad I was late in trying to order this pen off of the Green Board. I swear that these 2 pens were sold out in 5 minutes!!! Winedoc will have to confirm that!!! ;-) Well anyways, I emailed him regarding these pens and he told me that he was taking names of people who were interested in buying this pen. So I told him I really wanted one of these pens, he was nice enough to take my name and put me on the order list. He said that the pens should be here by early to mid October, so I marked my Calendar!!

Well, I was notified on either the 13^th or 14^th of October via email that my pen was there and ready to ship. He told me that he was only able to get 10 out of the 30 pens that he ordered. So thank goodness I was one of the 10 people that that were able to get one of these bad boys. By the 17^th, my pen arrived along with my new yellow Pilot Vanishing Point. Boy oh boy, was I really excited to open the box and see what I ordered. Oh, the thoughts that raced through my head!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

The pen came in a slip cover box which contained a nice plain wooden box. Inside the box, of course was the pen which was laying down on a groove in the foam. On the other side was the eyedropper, which is used to fill the pen. I really like the wooden box and I tend to use it rather than using my larger pen chest to house my DaniTrio Densho pen. The pen itself has a matte black finish to it, so if you are expecting a high gloss shiny pen then you just better pass on this one!!! Now not to say that it cannot be polished, it will take a bit of elbow grease if that is what you wish!! Since the pen is a matte finish, you do not have to worry too much about a scratch here or there. The texture of this pen will hide most everyday “wear and tear”. You can really tell that this is an ebonite pen due to the smell the pen gives off a rubbery sulfur smell. I do not find the smell to be overly offensive but I do think the smell has an antique hint to it.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Alrighty then, here are some of the other cosmetic details that you might want to know about. The pen is exactly the same size and design as the DaniTrio Densho minus the Urushi and Maki-e. The Densho is the Smaller brother to the Mikado. Eventhough the Densho is smaller than the Mikado, this is not a small pen at all!! The length of the pen is roughly about 6 inches in length with the pen capped. While capped this pen is larger than the Pelikan M1000, Mont Blanc 149 and the Bexley Prometheus by anywhere from ½ to 1/8^th of an inch depending on the pen that is being compared against. This pen is close to 7 inches in length while the cap is posted. Out of all of my larger pens, only the Bexley Prometheus is larger than this Densho and it is by about a ¼ of an inch. Yes you can post the cap on this flavor of pen because this is plain raw ebonite. As for the diameter and weight, all I can say is that it is pretty light due to the fact that this is an eyedropper and there are very little components inside the barrel. This pen is much lighter than the rest of my larger pens in my collection.

The design of the pen is a cigar shape with rounded edges. The pen also has a rounded cap top and butt end of the barrel on the “Tail”. This pen has a very simple design and that is what makes this pen so attractive. The clip is spring loaded and is silver in color with the word “DANITRIO” that is etched in the face of the clip. I tend to think that the clip design from the side looks like a woman’s high heel shoes. In all, this pen design is simple but very practical. Personally, I would have liked to have had this pen minus the clip because I rarely ever use a clip!!! Well, as Mommy Savage would say “beggars can’t be choosers”.

Every part of the design is used in some way, shape or form. So there are no silly gimmicks or funky designs that will exclude one sex from another, I call it a unisex pen due to its simplicity. This pen can fit any person, man or woman but with only one prerequisite and that is if you are comfortable and can easily write with a larger pen such as a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149. The diameter of the Densho is almost identical to that of the Mont Blanc 149 at about 2 inches .

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

I was given a choice of nib width and firmness. I happen to choose the flexi-medium nib for this pen. I was a bit concerned on how the width would turn out. As with most Asian pens that I own, I was not sure if the nib was going to be 1 size narrow than what is posted. For example a Sailor medium is closer to an American/European fine. I asked Kevin for his advice on this matter before he placed the order. He basically said that the medium nibs on the DaniTrio are about the same width as American/European standards. In fact I believe that Bock Nib Factory of Germany makes the nibs for DaniTrio.

The design of the nib is really cool. It looks like it is a sun with flames around it and below that it reads “DANITRIO” and below that it says “18KT 750 M”. The nib is 2 tone but 70% of the nib is gold color with the other 30% being platinum plated on the gold. The feed is made out of ebonite which is definitely a plus for me!! The pens that have ink feed problems in my collection are feeds made out of plastic and injection molded. I have yet had a major problem with feeds made out of ebonite.

This is where we separate the men from the boys. The pen performed flawlessly in the “Savage Pen Testing System”. Since I did order a flexi medium nib, I was really unsure how this pen would write. I am sure that the DaniTrio Flexi Medium nibs do not compare to the flexible nibs of yesteryear (20’s 30’s and 40’s). My handwriting really stinks so I wouldn’t know how to correctly write with a flexible nib. No problem!!! This nib is very springy and it has more spring than my Stipula 22 with a titanium nib. The pen lays down a thick, juicy trail of ink, YUMMY!!! I had zero feed issues and the pen had zero issues with someone with a heavy hand, like me!!! I have said in past reviews that some of the nibs on the pens I own are buttery smooth. Well this pen is buttery smooth and very springy, this really took me by surprise.
If you do not like the Medium Flexi nibs, there are a vast number of nibs to choose from:
Flexi Nibs: EF, F, M, B, or Stiffer Nibs: F, M, B, BB, Stub

The Filling System 5 out of 5

Can you say “EYEDROPPER” filling system?? This puppy has it!!! This is my first REAL eyedropper filling pen in my collection. I had to ask Kevin on how to fill this bad Johnny up. The instruction on the webpage is nice but not completely thorough on the nomenclature of the pen and how each “thingy bob” works. So I will enclose the filling procedures from Kevin and the diagram and instructions from the DaniTrio website.

To fill this pen, you will need to unscrew the section first, so you can get to the inside of the pen. Since this pen arrived with an eyedropper, this made filling the pen much easier and cleaner. I decided to fill this pen up with my favorite blue ink, Private Reserve DC Super Show Blue. This pen holds a TON of ink and it still wants more!!! Once that is completed, screw the section back on to the barrel. Here is the diagram straight from http://www.danitrio.com/

(1) Unscrew the front section.

(2) Fill with ink up to the lower edge of the stopper.

(3) Screw the front section back tightly.

(4) Loosen by unscrewing the tail 1 mm- 2 mm (1/32"-2/32") wide to allow ink to enter the front section for writing.

Caution:

If the tail is opened too wide, it may cause ink to overflow over the nib.

(5) After use, hold the pen upward and screw back the tail tight. The ink stopper will block the ink flow. And the pen should be closed with the cap tightly.

Caution:

1. You may leave the pen with the nib horizontally and the tail open when you don't write, but the pen should not be left with the nib downward and the tail open while stop writing
2. The tail and the cap should be kept tight at all times when you have the pen in the pocket or left on the desk.

Now here are the dummy proof instructions (especially for me!!)

To start the writing process:

Turn this puppy around, like you are about to write. Then you want to unscrew the rear part of the pen which is also called the “Tail”, it kind of looks like a Sheaffer Touchdown filler. To start writing, all you do is unscrew the “Tail” a few turns then the “ink valve stopper” is now open so the ink can flow to the nib. I found this to be one of the greatest inventions because you can pretty much control your ink flow of the pen. If the flow is too little then you can open up the ink valve stopper by turning the tail counterclockwise to increase the flow. If the flow is too much, then just reverse the process.

To end your Writing session:

When you are done with your journal session, turn the tail clockwise until it will not turn no more. This closes the ink valve stopper which keeps the ink inside the ink chamber sealed.

The “ink valve stopper” is a wonderful safety feature that will keep the ink from inside the pen from flowing all over the place when you are traveling or whatever. I found that there is little evaporation with this pen when the ink valve stopper is closed. Only the ink in the feed will evaporate, so if you have not used the pen in a while, open the ink valve stopper a bit more than you usually would, so the feed can “soak up” the ink and get the pen flowing, then if you need to adjust the flow then you do the above procedures.

I have to admit that the “ink valve stopper” is one of the most unique additions to the old eyedropper filling system. I would say that the only major drawback on this filling system is that you cannot see how much ink you have left in the ink chamber. Also you cannot fill this pen using a Visconti Ink Pot but when you fill this pen up, it will take a very long time for the ink to be used up. I have had this pen for almost 2 weeks and I just refilled it. That was several pages of journal work along with work forms and memos.

Cost 5 out of 5

This right here is the best part!!! You don’t have to pay $650.00 for a Densho, mine was $150.00. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, only $150.00!!! I love the Densho and the Mikado Tamenuri. I love the color on that pen but the price is a bit too steep for my budget and I am too worried that I would drop it and crack the Urushi finish or scratch it up. I use my pens at work, home and on the run so I would say that it would be incompatible with my lifestyle. I like black pens and the Ebonite matte finish is really a classy looking pen. For the money, you get all of the features as the higher-end Densho minus the Urushi and Maki-e.

Conclusion

I have to rate this pen as a MUST HAVE!!!!! I rated a lot of pens so far but this is in my top 5 favorite pens in my collection. This pen has it all or at least 99% IMHO. Here are the highlight features of this pen:

Smooth Springy nib
Ebonite Feed
Overall Lightweight
Oversize pen
Spring loaded clip
Huge ink capacity
Ink Valve Stopper
Wear and tear resistant
Easy care
Adjustable flow control via Ink Valve Stopper

What more can I say? This pen has it all and it is a perfect match for me. Here is the drawback; this pen has no official name other than the Densho Raw Ebonite Pen and that this is not a regular production pen. Kevin relayed to DaniTrio that people like the Mikado, Densho, Takumi shapes and sizes but would like the pen minus the Urushi and or Maki-e. So DaniTrio decided to try this out on a trial basis. The demand is overwhelming and Kevin has not been able to meet the demand of our fellow pen fanatics. Will there be enough pens for the demand? Will DaniTrio stop selling these pens?

Who knows but from what Kevin said “DaniTrio, at least I know, is not afraid of taking chances”. As far as I am concerned, these are reassuring words.

I just recently spoke with Bernard Lyn ofDani Int'l Corp. I asked him if this was going to be a one time deal with raw ebonite pens from DaniTrio. This is what he said:

"Raw ebonite finish is not a limited edition and we make as many as the market wants, even though we actually lose money to make this pen. The reason is that the "Raw Finish" is actually hard to work than real fine polished finish, because we have to spend several hours per pen to make the raw finish surface very evenly "raw" without a hair line scratch on it."

Those are very reassuring words!!!

And for those who like the Eyedropper filling system and want even a larger pen, the Mikado will be available in Raw Ebonite around 15 November 2005.

For those who like the size and shape of the Densho model but do not like the eyedropper filling system there is a pen just for you. It is the Takumi raw Ebonite Pen. This pen features a cartridge converter system rather than the eyedropper filling system if that is what you prefer!! The price for the Takumi is around the same prise as the Densho.

To wrap it up I have 5 words for this pen:

Simplicity, Practicality Functional, Classy and Fun

Don’t let this one get away from you, it really is worth it. The workmanship is superb and the construction is very sturdy and stable. Consider this; this is pretty much the same pen as the Mikado, Densho, Takumi minus the clothes (Maki-e & Urushi). A naked pen? Yup but that’s fine with me!! Am I a nudist? Yes, I am a nudist, a pen nudist. I know what you all were thinking, shame on you!!!! I know you don’t want to see a naked Savage, that’s for sure!!!

Disclaimer

I have ZERO affiliation to the below companies, stores or people. I am just a happy customer that enjoys his pen along with the fantastic customer service, open communication and prompt delivery!!! Thanks a bunch Kevin (Winedoc) @ http://www.internetpens.net/ !!

Links and Resources

Pen bought from Kevin Cheng at http://www.internetpens.net/
Internetpens.net is an authorized dealer for
DaniTrio pens, Conway Stewart and Loiminchay pens

To contact Kevin Cheng: internetpens@gmail.com

Thanks to DaniTrio for use of diagram and information regarding Mikado, Densho and Takumi Pens. http://www.danitrio.com/

Parker Duofold Centennial

2005-10-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I have a nice collection of Vintage Parker pens and a few vintage and older Parker Duofold pens. My Parker Duofold Senior (flat top) in Jade Green is the first REAL CLASSIC Duofold that I have owned and this was a pen that I was really longing for. Since I had it for almost a full year, I have been very happy with it especially knowing and wondering how many owners hands this pen has been through. I have been eyeing the modern Duofold pens and especially the larger Duofold Centennial. This pen really appealed to me because I do like pens with more heft to them and this pen seems to of have it.

I never seen the Centennial in person but I have seen it on the net for quite sometime now. The major drawback was the price of this pen!! The Duofold International was more in my budget but it is much smaller than I would like so I opted out of the pen. Most of you know that I normally do not buy a lot of brand new pens. I usually like buying used pens off of Zoss and Pentrace Green Board and occasionally from E-Bay. Even used, the Centennial goes for around and over $200.00

I took the opportunity and good fortune of buying this pen off of the Pentrace Green Board from our very own Tytyvyllus(Kurt H.) Knowing that there was no box or papers (I really do not care unless the pen is brand spanking new) this pen was one hell of a steal along with being the cheapest Centennial I have ever seen before. Shipping was super fast and I believe it was a week or so before Hurricane Katrina. The pen arrived in flawless condition and I was really itching to fill her up

Appearance/ Finish 4.5 out of 5

The Parker Duofold Centennial is in a modern black color with gold trim. The cap and barrel looks like it is made out of a high quality resin that seems to shine like the sun. No buffing is needed on this pen, that’s for sure. The cap has a gold arrow clip, 2 gold cap bands. On the cap tassie there is what looks like a coin made out of brass with the words “Duofold” in the older 1920’s style on a scroll. This gives it the marriage between the old vintage Duofold and the Modern ones.

The cap tends to slightly taper upwards from the clip band to the tassie. So this does not look like your classic Duofold flat top. This pen is aerodynamic looking with a nice modern flair to it. The section separates from the barrel by unscrewing with metal on non-metal threads. The section is about 50% plastic and 50% brass and seems extremely solid. Looking at the pen, towards the rear right below the faux blind cap, there is one thin gold band and the end of the faux blind cap is flat.

Design/Size/Weight 4.5 out of 5

I sort of jumped the gun and already gave you the details on the designs so I will go right to the size and weight. This pen is roughly under 5 ½ inches closed and about 6 ¾ in length with the cap posted. This is a pretty good sized pen with a comfortable heft to it. This pen weighs more than I thought it would and looks are deceiving when it comes to this pen. I believe the brass section provides a good amount of the weight of this pen.
If you find this pen to be too big for you, you can always opt for the International Duofold. The International barrel and cap is 1/8 smaller in diameter and the nib is also 1/8 smaller and also a bit cheaper too!!

As for the balance, with or without the cap, the pen feels nice and cozy with no obstruction that I can report. Due to my grip, the barrel threads do not interfere because I really choke up on the pen when I write. This is a nice comfortable pen with the weight in the right spot, at least for me that it!!!

Nib Design and Performance 4 out of 5

The nib design I believe is the most recent for the Duofold series to include the slightly smaller International and the big brother, the Centennial. The nib is made out of an 18KT gold nib that is two tone in color. There is the traditional arrow on the nib and also the words “Duofold” in the classic text on the scroll, kind of like the cap tassie. The nib looks very classy and has a bit of vintage feel to it. Under the arrow fletching is the trademark works “PARKER’ and under that is the usual data “18k 750” This is a really nice looking nib and I have to say that I was quite impressed.

Ok, let’s see how the nib and pen performed. I did buy this pen with a fine nib and I normally buy pens in the Medium and Broad widths. So this might take a tad bit of getting used to. This nib seems very stiff with little to no spring to it. I found that the nib is a tad bit scratchy for my tastes and the ink flow was extremely stingy but there was ZERO skipping. This pen was on the light to medium end of a Fine nib. So to remedy the situation, I made a few small modifications of this nib. I increase the ink flow and slightly opened the tines because they were pinched very tightly. So I was able to floss inside the tines using a Mylar 1.5 micron smoothing disc and then finishing it off with the .1 micron disc to polish the insides the tipping material. After about 30 minutes of work, this pen wrote on the light to medium side of a medium nib. The ink flow was extremely generous without being too much or too little. This nib is now perfect for my writing style and uses. Even though this is still a stiff nib IMHO smoothing the nib out and increasing the flow of in really made a big difference. This pen went from a good writing pen to a fantastic writing instrument.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

Wow, when will they listen to the consumer and construct more integrated filling systems? Oh well, you guessed it, Cartridge/Converter filling system. Parker pens (modern) use a propriety cartridge and converter. Both the cartridge and converter seats firmly with the brass section around it. No real issues with the actual filling process, everything went as expected.

Cost 5 out of 5

Besides performance, this is the next important thing I look for in a fountain pen. Since I did buy this pen used, the price of around $150.00 is a pretty darn good deal and I have yet seen one this sweet since I bought the pen. Now retail, this pen goes for around $288.00 brand new from Swisher pens. IMHO I think that is too steep of a price for this pen. If you want this pen then I would suggest to wait for a used on to go for sale on the Green Board, Ebay or whatever. If I were to rate this pen as if it was new, I would be honest and give it 3 out of 5 on the Savage scale. As for what I paid for, I give this one all fives (5) Great deal and worth the duckets!!

Conclusion

I have to admit that this pen is a pleasure to use and the balance and weight is very good. Parker paid attention to detail when it came to the nib and the cap tassie. The weight and material the pen is made out of, it really conforms to the hand. As I said earlier, this is the marriage of the old vintage with the contemporary modern. Should you buy it? That is up to you!! I happen to like it but I will not give it a “must buy” rating but I will give it high enough marks. So you should at least look into it.

Visconti Van Gogh- Review

2005-10-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I have wanted a Visconti Van Gogh for quite some time. I saw my Dad’s White Van Gogh when he came to visit me about 6 months ago. I thought the color was just fantastic and the feel of the pen was just as good. I decided to buy a Van Gogh a few months ago and I was expecting the pen to have the ‘TRI Cam Locking System” rather than the typical threaded barrel and cap. When the pen arrived, I was quite disappointed when I opened the box. The pen did not have the Cam Locking System that I really wanted, the clip was turned around 180 degrees and scratched up and there was no ink well included. The website stated that the pen includes Visconti’s revolutionary locking system and an inkwell in a presentation box.

I contacted the online store that I bought it from and they were more than willing to either refund my money, give me a store credit OR a good deal on another pen of my choice. I took them up on the offer of a pen that I wanted at a MAJOR discount. I was told that Visconti quit producing the Van Gogh pens with the Cam locking system due to the fact that there were a lot of complaints and problems. So they opted for the typical thread locking system that has been used for the longest time. I was happy to have the problem rectified but there was still something missing. I had a feeling of being incomplete and a piece of my heart missing. I really wanted a Visconti Van Gogh with the older locking system.

The Visconti that I sent back was a wonderful and masculine “Musk Green” color. It looked very earthy and unusual, considering the color of pens that I usually buy. There has been several Visconti Van Gogh fountain pens sold on the Pentrace “Green Board” but only very few in the color I was looking for and most importantly the nib width. I am a Medium Nib kind of guy and low and behold a Van Gogh for sale with a medium nib but not a Musk Green; this was what they call a Sandal Brown/Red color. I never seen it in person until the day that it arrived. If looks could kill, I would be dead on the floor but looks has nothing to do with the writing performance of a pen. So lets see how this pen matches up through the rigorous tests that The Noble Savage throws at it!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Ok, this is pen came quick and was at my doorstep around 3 days after ordering. The color on this pen is truly stunning. It is rather hard to describe in words, that’s why I always include pictures with my reviews!!! The pen has a turd brown and tan color with swirls with the barrel being semi-translucent. The pen was buffed to a mirror polish that is reflective. This makes the pen a bit on the slippery side so you have to be very careful handling this pen. Since I have butter fingers, everything seems to slip out of my hands and this pen is no different. So I made sure that I use this pen while I sit down and then put it away in my pen case when not in use. This reduces the chance of having fountain pen causalities and ruining my day!! The section is metal and it is a high polished metal. The same goes for the clip and the engraved cap band. Overall, this is a very stunning sight to see, when it comes to this pen. Fantastic job Visconti, Bravo, Bravo!!!

Design/Size/Weight 4 out of 5

Guess what? There are no threads on this pen, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! This is what I wanted on this pen and I waited very patiently for it!! The Tri Cam Locks are a rather interesting way to secure the cap to the pen when not in use. Rather than using threads, which has been traditionally used in fountain pens, Visconti decided to go out on a limb and try something new. Rather than having threads on the section or barrel to screw the cap on to the pen, there are 3 raised notches on the barrel and 3 cut out notches on the inside of the cap. To apply and lock the cap on to the pen, you have to turn the cap or barrel less than ¼ of a turn in fact, much less. The cap is nice and snug and it takes greater force to open it up with the cams versus the traditional threads.

Sounds good, right? Well, kind of sort of a problem. The cap does not always lock down the first time you try to tighten it up. The twisting action takes much more force than you would ever consider on a traditional threaded pen. Don’t be afraid because if it is not tight enough then the cap will come off and leave a mark on your shirt pocket called a stain!!! What I generally do is tighten it up very snug and t then slightly tug on the barrel and cap in opposite directions using minimum force. Too much force will cause stripping or breaking the locking system. But if the cap stays on then you have properly secured the cap to the barrel. I can see where people get bent out of shape when the pen cap pops open. As long as you get this technique down, this cap will not open up unless you drop it from the roof on to the concrete. This cap is locked on!!!

The length of this pen capped is roughly 5 ¾ inches in length. With the cap posted, the length is around 6 ¾ inches in length. Sorry, us Yanks really didn’t catch on to the metric system and what little we did, we do not use all that often!! Regardless, this is a nice sized pen and not necessarily an oversized pen, this is a very comfortable length for me.

They used an interesting new concept for the clip on the cap of the pen. It seems to be adjustable by a flathead screw on the backside of the cap. You are able to increase or decrease the tension to the clip by screwing or unscrewing the flathead screw on the cap. I found this to be very useful especially if you use a thick pocket, you clip the pen without having to worry about bending the clip or tearing your shirt or coat pocket. I found this to be a wonderful design and I know Visconti is using this kind of clip on some of their other fountain pen models.

Something I was glad to see is a solid medal section and metal threads inside the barrel. There has been a fair amount of issues with stripped threads on fountain pens. This seems to solve the issue of stripped threads. With the metal on metal fit, this provides a firm and snug feel and it is very solid.

Now here is the not so nice thing about the metal section. The section is slippery and my fingers tend to slip down the section. This is especially the case when the cap is posted. Is this a major flaw? Yes and no!! Now let me explain, if you have all the excess weight from the cap being posted then it becomes a problem. If you choose to write without the cap posted, then this flaw is less apparent and I am sure you won’t have any major issues. I usually write with my fingers low on the section but with this pen, I have to adjust my grip by going further up the section. No big deal, it just takes a little getting used to.

Ok, let’s get to the section about weight. This pen is heavy!! Nuff said!! Just kidding, this pen is very heavy with the cap posted. I would say it is weighs more than a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 but not as much as the Pelikan M1000. There is a good amount of metal on this pen and that accounts for the majority of the weight on this pen. Believe it or not, this is one of the few pens I do not post while I write. For me, I find that posting the pen really counters the even balance, thus I have a difficult time writing. You have to consider all of the parts of the pen that are metal and then you will understand why this pen is so heavy. There is the clip system on the cap, solid cap band, solid metal section and metal threads inside the barrel. Now I am sure you understand why I call this a very heavy pen.

Nib Design and Performance 4.5 out of 5

This is where the rubber meets the road, or something like that!! The nib is a two toned 14 Karat gold nib that is close to 1 inch in length. If you were to remove the nib from the section, I am sure it would be substantially longer in length. There are typical Visconti engravings and designs on the nib itself. With the words “Visconti” and under that “14 K 585” and right under that is the nib width and this one is a medium thus having the letter “M”. This is a very nice smooth nib that seems to glide effortlessly across the page that you are writing. One thing I had to report is that the nib is a medium/stiff with minimal amount of spring to it. Regardless, the nib needed no smoothing unlike most of my other pens in my collection. This nib was created with perfection in mind and with that said, they did a wonderful job with it.

The nib lays down a nice medium to heavy line of ink and that is just the perfect amount I need for what I use this pen for. There has been ZERO episodes of skipping and what not. As a rule of thumb, before I do a pen review, I need to at least go through 3 to 4 ink filling before I can get a really good feel of how the pen performs. This gives me a chance to try a couple of different inks to see the difference in flow. I guess it is like meeting someone for the first time, it takes a few time to get to know that person, well the same goes for fountain pens.

Now when it comes to the actual act of writing, I noticed a couple of things that needed to be reported. First of all, the weight of the pen while I am writing. Like I said before, I cannot post the cap on the pen while I write due to the excessive weight. For example, if I were to write with the cap posted, the pen becomes top heavy and it seems that I have to fight gravity. After a while it becomes a bit annoying and also causes my hand to become tired. To remedy that, I just write without the cap posted. This makes using the pen less strenuous and also a nice balanced feel to it. Plus the pen is long enough to write with without the cap being posted.

This pen is a very nice writer and it seems to have been made rock solid with all of the metal. The nib is the brains in this pen and as far as I am concerned it comes in as a genius!!

The Filling System 4.5 out of 5

Booooo!!! This is a cartridge converter system BUT I can understand the reason why they went with it. This pen is heavy to begin with; I cannot imagine a piston system with brass components in this pen. It would be so heavy you would need a weightlifters belt to lift it up and you would need to strap it on to your hand!! Yes, I think cartridge converter filling systems suck BUT there is a time and place for it and I think this is the time and place.

Cost 5 out of 5

The price for the regular size Visconti Van Gogh (this one) are usually around $160.00 or so. Well I bought this one used but I do not think that this pen has seen much writing time. It was completely clean and I couldn’t see a trace of any ink. This one set me back $90.00 on the PenTrace “Green board” and I think that was a steal. I have paid more money for pens that were very disappointing when it comes to the performance. This one was a real pleasure to use and I finally bought the version that I really wanted

Conclusion

This is my first Visconti, well second if you include the one I sent back the same day. Anyways, this pen met my expectations and it surpassed them in a few details. There were a couple of minor things that I found to be a bit disappointing but as I said, they were minor. This is an all around solid pen that really is a pleasure to use and also a pleasure to look at. Should I recommend it?? You betcha!!! If the price is right and there is a color that really tickles you then crack open that wallet of yours and thrown down the greenbacks. I don’t think you will be disappointed with your decision!!

Stipula Duetto- Review

2005-10-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

This is another Pen Trace Green Board purchase from Mr. Mike Baca I saw 2 Stipula Duetto fountain pens for sale, one in the Cognac color and one in the Pacific Blue. The blue was a really gorgeous color but I am not really into specialized nibs with the exception of music nibs. The Duetto in the Cognac color was with an 18kt gold medium nib. That really appealed to me due to the fact that my last Stipula Novecento had the same kind of nib in the same width, a medium.

I received the pen within 3 days and I was beyond excited to try this pen out. This is a pretty unique looking pen that was brand new and never inked at a steal of a price!! All the goodies were there and the converter and one cartridge was still sealed up in a small baggie by Stipula. Ok, lets get this going!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Appearance? It’s a pen, what else do you want? Just kidding!!! This is a pen in a color that they called Cognac. This pen is striated and the colors range from a light tan, pinkish brown, mother of pearl, silver, walnut and dark brown. The section is semi translucent while other parts of the pen are not. Stipula uses a material called Cellocride and this is what gives this pen a celluloid look while having all of the striations. This pen has a very high gloss appearance and that seems to really bring out some of the silver and pearl highlights.

As far as the metal pieces go, these pieces are made from cast Phosphorous Bronze using a process called PVD. PVD is a process in which silver or gold is bonded to the clips or rings on a molecular level. I’m pretty smart right?? I bet you ask “how in the world does he know all this stuff”? Well, because I read it off the Stipula site, duhhhh!!! Do you think I actually would know this kind of stuff, especially off the top of my head?? I may be a dummy but my Momma didn’t raise no fool!!!! So lets get to the bottom of this pen!!!!

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Alrighty, dimensions, you want dimensions? I got em!! Capped. This pen is roughly 5 ½ inches in length. With the cap posted this pen comes in at around 6 ½ inches in length. Weight? Hell, I don’t know but it is pretty light, that’s for sure. This pen is a bit of an unusual design, the threads are at the base of the section right below the nib. These are a set of small metal threads that screw deep within the cap for a sure lock tight fit. One good thing about the threads being located there is that your fingers wont become threaded like on other pens with the typical threading location. The metal threads screw into non-metal threads in the cap. But what little I can see, the threads are pretty deep, so you shouldn’t have to worry about stripping them unless you are a Cro-Magnon and you have to rip everything open.

The clip on this pen uses a spring loaded mechanism that is tight but with a nice feature. It seems like it is not only spring loaded but also hinged. There is a place on the top of the clip that allows you to press on the clip, thus raising the opposite end of the clip so you can slip this pen in your shirt pocket. Since this clip is spring loaded and hinged, it can open wider than most other clips. This allows you to clip the pen on to thicker materials and not worry about bending or breaking the clip.

There is a Faux Blind Cap at the end of the barrel. I never handled this pen before, so I had no clue where to fill this pen. Hey, give a brother a brake!!!! Well, instead of the section unscrewing from the barrel to fill or change a cartridge/converter. The barrel unscrews at the mid way point. This makes the section ½ of the barrel or it makes the barrel only ½ as long or it is equal in both the sections of the barrel that makes it 50/50 or, WHO THE HELL CARES!!!!!

So getting back to the subject, this pen shape kind of reminds me of the Stipula 22 (Ventidue). Both ends of this pen are semi rounded off so it is definitely not a flat top. This pen does have some interesting features that really are surprisingly appealing and convenient

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

I am going to use part of my Stipula Novecento review of the nib on this review of the Stipula Duetto. If you already read the review on the Novecento and don’t like to read stuff that you have already read before then either scroll down or suck it up and read on!!! Just kidding, all hugs and kisses!!!

The nib on this particular pen is an 18kt gold two tone with a medium width to it. If you have never seen this nib then look below, It has engravings on both the left and right side of the nib that resembles straw. Here is the story on the word and meaning of Stipula, this might give you a better insight of the definition. I stolen this text from www.madeinfirenze.it

STIPULA - the meaning of the name
The name “Stipula” boasts very ancient origins. In the Latin language it literally meant “straw” or “small piece of straw”. But the actual meaning of the word is connected to the widespread use, among the ancient Romans, of stipulating an agreement by splitting a small piece of straw. For us, this name indicts a deep commitment for quality and accuracy, a special agreement made with those who hunt for excellence and indisputable quality in writing instruments.

Now that you are all enlightened and stuff the rest of the nib has the word “Stipula” in cursive. Below the Stipula text there is what looks like a diamond with “750” in gold. Below that is “18K” and last but not least is “M” for the nib being a medium. Some of the other Duetto pens are either being sold with either 18kt, 14kt or even titanium nibs at a much more of a discounted price.

Like the last Stipula nib that I reviewed, this one had the same scratchy feel to it. Nothing serious, what people call a tad toothy is what I would call too scratchy and needs some fixie fixie!!! I used my Mylar 1.5 micron and .1 micron smoothing discs to remove the tiny burrs and then I used the .1 micron disc to polish in between the tines and tipping material. This really solved the problem and now the nib practically floats across the paper with a heavy medium line. This is so reminiscent of the nib on the Novecento. This nib has a bit of spring to it and there is room for a bit of line variation while writing. This nib performs superbly and without flaw. The ink flow is solid and I filled this pen 4 times before writing this review to make sure the flow was good. It certainly was because it wrote the same from start to finish.

The Filling System 4.5 out of 5

This pen is a cartridge converter but I will not bust Stipula’s chops on a C/C filling system. As I said earlier, the pen unscrews at the center and it reveals the converter ½ in and ½ out of the barrel. This makes filling the pen extremely easy and you will not have to worry about getting your fingers and hands covered in fountain pen ink. This pen works exceptionally well in the tall 3oz Noodlers bottles. I know with some of my other pens in my collections, I never want to drop the whole section in the ink and fill it up. This was you have 100% control in filling the pen while your fingers are further away from the lip of the ink bottle.

They really did an excellent job in this design. Yes, I would love an integrated filling system but this is pretty ingenious and I am glad they did this on the Duetto.

Cost 5 out of 5

I got a kick ass deal on this pen, roughly $115.00 with shipping included. As far as I am concerned, this is a steal and also keep in mind that this pen was never dipped. Filled or used. This pen is, or well, was brand spanking new until I filled it up for the first time. I have seen other online stores sell the Stipula Duetto pens with different nibs and prices. For example Swisher Pens sells the Duetto for $165.00 but with a Titanium nib. www.theinkflow.com sells the Duetto for $199.00 with the 18kt gold nib and so does www.pencity.com but for $198.00
There seems to be an abundance of these pens on the PenTrace Green Board and they usually go for $100.00 all the way up to about $130.00 Regardless, I think this is well worth it for a really neat looking pen that performs like a champ

Conclusion

This pen really is a wonderful writer and also quite a looker too. The price is right and I think you will be very happy with this pen. The pen is well constructed, the nib is really on top and so are the little details that make this pen extremely convenient. As far as I am concerned, this is really the definition of a modern pen style but don’t let that prevent you from taking this pen for a test ride. I am sure you will like what you see and feel. I give this pen a full recommendation with 2 thumbs up!!!

Stipula Novecento- Review

2005-10-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I will be very honest; I was not expecting much from this pen. I was burned on the Stipula 22 and a few Stipula/Levenger Verona fountain pens. They were plagued with extremely poor ink flow, problems with the ol nib skipping and using feeds that were either too small for the nibs or just straight up flawed!!!

I saw this pen on the http://www.pens-more.com/ website under the Stipula section and for some odd reason I was attracted to it. It had the red/black wood grain style and at the time I had no clue what the pen was made out of. I had a few Stipula postcards and there was one on there that looked identical to the one that was for sale. I asked Travis (the owner) about the pen but he told me that he really didn’t know too much about it but he did like it. He said that the pen has not moved so he was reducing the price by a few dollars. There was no box or papers, which accounts for the low price. He said the pen was only dipped to inspect the nib but it was never filled.

I was pretty excited to see how this pen looks and writes, the pictures on the website really didn’t do the pen justice.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Alrighty then, let’s get down to business!!! When the pen arrived, I knew it was definitely ebonite with the silver cap band and clip, the one that I was looking at on the Stipula Postcard. The silver was a bit tarnished and the ebonite looked a bit dull from what the picture looked like. I looked the underside of the nib and you could tell where the nib was dipped. There was some dried ink and some crud between the feed and the nib.

What to do what to do??? First thing I did was polish the nib with a tad bit of alcohol on a cotton swab to get rid of the dried up ink. I was very careful not to put alcohol on the feed or on the rest of the pen. Surprisingly there was a good amount of gunk within the engravings on the nib and the nib practically glowed after just a tad bit of wiping. The next thing I did was run water through the piston filler to clean that out. To my surprise, there were no signs of ink in the piston chamber so Travis was right; this pen was never filled, only dipped.

The next thing on the agenda was to polish up the clip and cap band. I used some Simichrome polish and carefully applied it to the clip and bands, I made sure none of the polish made it on the ebonite; I didn’t want to see what would happen!!! J I used a nice soft cloth to rub out the tarnish that was on the silver parts. Within a minute or so of doing this, the dull silver started to really shine. After I finished that, I used a pipe polishing cloth that I had on hand because I do occasionally smoke my pipes and I have developed a very nice collection over the years. Look at me, it sounds like I am 70 years old, I’m only 33, anyways lets get back to the story. Wimg, our lovely MAD DUTCHMAN gave me advice, since this is my first ebonite pen I was a bit unsure how to care for this material. I gently wiped the pen down for a few minutes, making sure I got every nook and cranny on this pen. Once I was done, I used a soft clean cloth and gently rubbed and massaged the pen down until it started to really shine and come alive. Before polishing, the pen had a bit of a cloudy appearance, now it is cleared up, shiny and now you could see the detail.

This is now a pen that has been brought to its former glory. This pen is a red and black wood grain design with the pen being made out of ebonite. It really looks like a classic pen from the 20’s and 30’s. The cap band and clip are of a wonderful silver material that shined up with ease and. This is really a gorgeous looking pen.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Well the Novecento is shaped similarly to the Bexley 10th Anniversary fountain pen. The cap tassie is not a typical flat top, it gradually had a minor round shape to it. The dimensions of the pen capped are approximately 5 3/8 inches by 1 ¾ inches and with the pen posted, it is roughly a bit more than 6 ½ inches long.

The weight of this pen is about 1.3 OZ making this an average weight pen. I have no issues posting the cap on this pen. The pen is extremely well balanced and I wrote extensively with this pen and have yet had tired cramping fingers and hands. Without the cap posted, the pen seems to have good balance and it conforms to the web of the hand between the thumb and index finger.

Surprisingly I observed little to no slip of fingers while gripping the pen when you are writing. The threads are not metal on either the section or on the inside of the cap. The pen tightens and loosens without any issues. I see that one needs to be cautious in screwing and unscrewing the cap. Over time I see the threads stripping due to the fact that the threads on the section are on the shallow side. As long as you exercise care while using you pen. I really do not see this as a problem. Most of you all exercise care with your fountain pens due to the cost of these writing instruments. So this probably wont be a problem BUT it should be something you should monitor.

The clip uses a spring loaded mechanism, so there are no worries about damaging the clip if you are using heavier clothing. There is a good amount of range with this clip, allowing the ability to clip this pen to just about anything. The tension is firm but not tight which makes this a user friendly clip and I see this giving you many years of writing enjoyment.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

The nib on this particular pen is an 18kt gold two tone with a medium width to it. If you have never seen this nib then look below, It has engravings on both the left and right side of the nib that resembles straw. Here is the story on the word and meaning of Stipula, this might give you a better insight of the definition. I stolen this text from www.madeinfirenze.it

STIPULA - the meaning of the name
The name “Stipula” boasts very ancient origins. In the Latin language it literally meant “straw” or “small piece of straw”. But the actual meaning of the word is connected to the widespread use, among the ancient Romans, of stipulating an agreement by splitting a small piece of straw. For us, this name indicts a deep commitment for quality and accuracy, a special agreement made with those who hunt for excellence and indisputable quality in writing instruments.

Now that you are all enlightened and stuff the rest of the nib has the word “Stipula” in cursive. Below the Stipula text there is what looks like a diamond with “750” in gold. Below that is “18K” and last but not least is “M” for the nib being a medium.

The nib was a tad bit on the scratchy side, so I had to realign the tines and then I polished the nib to include flossing the tines with a Mylar smoothing disc that is 1.5 microns to get the rough edges down and then finishing it off with the .1 micron disc to polish the insides of the tines along with the tipping material on the nib.

After about 30 minutes of meticulous work, this pen was writing as smooth as ice that has been rode over by a Zamboni. I was very surprised with how well this nib wrote, well, actually glided across my paper. I experienced ZERO ink feed issues with this pen. Considering I have had nothing but problems with the past Stipulas I owned, this one wrote flawless and was a pleasure to use.

Yes, I ate crow!!! I vowed never to buy another Stipula as long as I lived. Well, that lasted all of about 7 months. I bet Wimg is licking his chops and laughing as a Mad Dutchman would!!!

This nib wrote with a nice juicy medium line. This is what kind of nibs I like, nice wet writers that flow like a river. As I said, I am very impressed with this nib; this is something that I was not expecting at all. I was looking at some of the other Novecento models and they have 14kt gold nibs rather than the 18kt this ones has. Maybe there is a reason because this is the ebonite version as there are acrylic resin models that have the 14kt nibs. I am not an authority on Stipula pens, which is Wimg’s thing, not mine.

The Filling System 5 out of 5

OHHHYEAHHH, this baby is a piston filler!!! This pen has my full blessing!! The piston chamber holds a good amount of ink and it seems to hold it with perfect pressure. The placement of the piston knob is at a typical location, at the rear end of the barrel. There is a thin silver ring right before the piston knob. They did a very good job with placing the piston knob flush with the ring and barrel because you really cannot tell that it is a knob. Bravo Stipula, Bravo!!!

Cost 5 out of 5

This is the best part of the review because of the price that I paid for it. This pen was priced at around the $80.00 mark. I couldn’t pass this pen up at all. This was the only reason why I bought this pen in the first place was because the price. The pen needed about less than an hour of some TLC and then I was rewarded with a pen that exceeded any expectation that I have ever had. Brand new Novecento Ebonite with the box, papers and what not is around $280.00 if you can find it. I was looking at the http://www.giardino.it/ website and they stated that these are no longer in production. I guess I lucked out!!!

Conclusion

I guess an old dog can learn new tricks and same goes for an old Savage. I was blown away with such a killer pen for such a rock bottom price; I am still in awe to this day. Would I spend $280.00 on this pen, honestly, NO WAY! But used for half the price or more?? Most certainly, without a shadow of a doubt I would. This really brought me back into taking a second look at Stipula pens. I pretty much wrote them off for good until I saw this pen for sale on www.pens-more.com at a massive discount. Since then, I bought another Stipula pen off of the Pentrace Green Board. I will do a thorough review on that pen in an upcoming pen review on both my site and FPN. So in conclusion, this is a fantastic pen and if you are willing to spend the cash, I am sure you will be very happy with it. Just imagine how much happier you would be by getting this pen for around $80.00!!!

Bexley 10th Anniversary- Review

2005-09-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

Hey, I got a good deal on this one!! As you all know, I am a sucker for Bexley pens and I am in the constant pursuit of finding pens and adding them to my collection. I did a wild card search on EBay and I saw that this one was up for the auction. The price was low and the auction closed in 2 days. I put the maximum price I would want to pay for this pen and I won it with money to spare. How about that??

There are 4 pens in the 10th Anniversary collection and they are listed below

Lemon, Lime, Chocolate and Orange are the colors. The first two, lemon and lime are made out of acrylic while the chocolate and orange are made out of ebonite. I happened to get the pen in Lemon color. I have no yellow pens and I think this would have been a great addition to my collection. The Bexley 10th Anniversary pens are Limited Edition release and only 250 pens in each color were produced. I happened to get #057/250, yippie!!! It took only 3 days to get to my doorstep from New York via FedEx. Boy, I was so stoked when I opened the package. The pen came in a nice sized brown leather pen case and inside was the papers to send in for the warranty, instructions for use and care.
One thing about this pen, it is one of a kind. There are no 2 pens alike and that is what makes it very appealing

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

They call this color “Lemon” and there is a reason for it, ITS YELLOW, SILLY!!!
Along with this pen being yellow there are blue swirls all around it. Richard Binder says it looks like silly string, I have to concur!!

The pen is semi translucent and there is the pen number at the top of the pen cap, above the clip. It took me about a week to notice it, this comes from a guy who looses his car keys all of the time. It drives the wife up the wall, but I guess that is what you call a brain fart!!!

The plated clip, cap band and rear band are done to a high gloss shine and it looks flawless!! Around the cap band is the raised lettering that has 4 X, this symbolizes the 10 years of Bexley being in business making quality pens.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

This pen is a comfortable size and weight. Wile the pen is capped, it is roughly 5 ½ inches in length and with the cap posted the pen tops out at almost 6 ½ in length. This is not your mommy’s pen, that’s for sure. It’s not too big and I find this to be a nice comfortable size for taking notes and doing marathon type writing.

Bexley likes to do either the total flat top on the cap or slightly raised point. Either way, they look like a classic pen design. One thing that I like about Bexley pens is that the top of the cap can be unscrewed so you can do some spring cleaning on your pen. I don’t know if they do this on purpose or not, but I do like it.

I also noticed that there is a blind cap and you can actually fill the pen without having to unscrew the section from the barrel to fill it up. I CAUTION YOU that there is a silver ring that is between the blind cap and the barrel. It will come loose and you might loose the ring. If that happens, you will be up poop creek without a paddle!!! I don’t think it was meant to be filled that way but I always try to explore the pen when I first get it. It is a way to acquaint myself with the personality of the pen

On the Barrel of the pen there is the engraving that reads “Bexley Pen 10th Anniversary 1993-2003

The weight and balance of this pen is typical Bexley. It feels natural with the cap posted or not. It seems to fit perfectly in my hands as I write and that is what I like about Bexley pens. They seem to make pens that suit my needs. The shapes and designs seems to always conform to my hand and to my writing style

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

Ok, here we go!!! The Bexley 10th Anniversary sports an 18 kt gold nib made by the Bock Nib Company of Germany. I have always like Bexley nibs (Bock) they are smooth and a bit on the stiff side. They are not nails but then again they are not wet noodles.

One thing that I noticed when I was cleaning the pen after its use is that the nib unit screws out just like the Bexley Sheherazade pens. Believe it or not, they fit!!! This makes it easy to swap out nibs with a different width. The nibs come in fine, medium, broad and Stub. This particular pen came with a fine nib. I am not really a big fan of fine nibs but that was the only choice when I won this pen off of EBay.

I filled this pen with some Private Reserve DC Super show Blue 2003 to see how smooth this pen would write. Man, I was surprised because I was expecting a scratchy nib but this one was very smooth and it almost wrote like a light medium. I compared both my medium and my fine Bexley nibs and there were very little difference in line width or variation.

As usual Bexley is on top for the quality of the pen and the selection of nibs from Bock. Bravo Bexley Bravo!!!

The Filling System 4 out of 5

A cartridge/converter system, what a shame!!! Regardless of the converter, the flow of ink is remarkable whether I go from a fine, medium or a broad. There are no issues with ink feed or skipping. This is a solid writer and that’s all I can ask for in a pen.

Cost 3 out of 5

Ok, the MSRP of this pen is around 310.00 or so but I have seen it for around $230.00 at some of the other larger pen stores on the internet. As far as I am concerned, this is a little too much to pay for this pen. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid pen with all the bells and whistles but I do not see why this is even selling past the $200.00 mark. The Sheherazade is a piston filler and is approximately the same size but at a price that is under $200.00. Regardless, this is a Limited Edition pen with 250 pens in each color and I really liked the color. So I shelled out about 160.00 with shipping on my winning bid. What I bought the pen for is what the pen should be selling for to be quite honest. I got a very good deal IMHO. IF you want to pay full price for the pen, then go ahead. I would rather wait until you can get a better deal on a used model or on an EBay auction.

Ok, the bottom line is I got a good deal so I will say I got a 4.5 on that. But having to buy it new and paying $230.00, I would have to rate that as a 3

Conclusion

Ok, what this pen boils down to was that I was at the right place at the right time. I actually had no intentions in buying this pen due to the cost but since the opportunity was there, I decided to go for it. I am 100% happy with this pen and it extends my Bexley Collection to 5 pens. These pens are well made and uses high quality materials and it is one of the last American pen companies. I like the fact that repairs are quickly resolved and the pen is returned within 1 week. I had this problem with my Prometheus but Howard Levy personally worked on my pen and made sure that it was working like it should before he sent it back to me.
The quality of this pen is no different. If you have some cash that is burning a hole in your pocket and you have done some bargain shopping, and then go for it. This is a wonderful pen and I am 100% sure you will not be disappointed!!! The colors are one of a kind and I am sure you will get plenty of compliments and this pen is really a joy to use.

Ancora Perla SE for Levenger- Review

2005-09-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

To be quite honest, I really didn’t know what to expect when I bought this pen. I have wanted an Ancora pen for quite some time and the one from Levenger was at a darn good price. I received an email from Levenger (I am on the mailing list) and they listed some pen prices as much as 50% off the normal price. Surprisingly the pen that I wanted dropped dramatically in price and I was left with no choice but to buy it. I tried to convince the wife about that and for some reason she just didn’t understand nor did she want to understand!!! Oh well, I was glad to get that off my back, I know you penaholics understand what I am talking about!!! The pen confessions of a mad man I guess!!!

It took about 4 days for it to make it to my front door. I have to say that I counted every day since I ordered it!!! When it got to my door, I ripped the box open and I threw the packaging material all over the front room. Kind of like a child opening presents on Christmas!!! The pen came in a nice faux red leather box that actually looks very nice. When I opened the box, I saw the light emanating from contents and I must of heard the voice of God in a deep voice say”My son, here is the blessed holy pen I have give you. Use it wisely and you will be able to conquer nations with a scribble of the nib”. If you believe that, then I have a bridge I would like to sell you!!! Anyways, everything looked in order and I was extremely excited to fill it up with ink and take it for a test run. Lets see how this pen performed!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Ok, at first I was a tad bit undecided on what color and nib size I wanted. Out of the Blue and Orange I chose the Orange color with a Broad nib. I have plenty of blue and black pens and it is time for a bit of a change. The material of this pen is acrylic and the finish is just mind blowing!! I was expecting the color to be a vivid orange but it was more of a dark reddish orange color. There is a marble swirl along with some striations; this is a very 3 dimensional looking material and finish on this pen. I have to say that I was very pleased with appearance; I just hope that the pen writes as good as it looks.

This version of the Ancora Perla for Levenger is a bit different than the standard Perla. The Perla for Levenger version lacks the two large decorated silver bands one of them on the rear of the pen and the other one is where the section connects to the barrel. There is also another difference where the threads are located. On the Standard version, the threads are located near front of the section near the nib. The Special Edition for Levenger, the threads are located further up the section next to the barrel. The main design is the same but with some minor cosmetic differences.

This is the standard Ancora Perla

This is the Ancora Perla for Levenger

Design/Size/Weight 4.5 out of 5

The threads are not the typical resin threads on the barrel. They used silver plated (that’s what it looks like) threads to secure the cap with the rest of the pen. As far as I am concerned, this makes for a tight fit with the possibility of stripping the threads at a minimum. I also noticed something else that was a bit strange, it only takes a ½ turn for the cap to be removed from the pen. Other manufactures usually use a full turn to a turn and a half to remove the cap. I have a Parker Duofold Centennial that is 2 complete turns for the cap to be released. Now is it bad that this pen takes a ½ turn to release? No, not at all, it just takes some getting used to

The Cap band is a nice silver plated material that has an interesting engraved design. The clip is extremely difficult to lift and there are no springs at all. I never use a clip so that is not an issue. For others, this might be an issue due to the fact that it takes a good amount of force to push the clip to make the material of your shirt pocket slide through to secure it. On the other hand, once it is on there, the chances of the pen falling out of your pocket are very slim.

Ok, let me see, the pen is not very heavy at all and the design seems to be pretty solid. This pen does not feel like a tank due to the lack of the 2 metal bands on this version of this pen. With the cap posted or not, this pen does feel good. The dimensions are 5 1/4 X 2 1.1 OZ and that’s without the cap posted. With the cap posted the length is roughly 6 ¼ inches in length. This is about a standard size pen, even though I am used to oversized pens, writing with a slightly smaller pen is quite enjoyable and a good change of pace.

We already went over the color of the pen but I have to say that the color is just beautiful and I think a lot of time was used to come out with design the resin. The swirls and striations really make this pen stand out. As far as I am concerned, this pen is very well designed and I think this pen will stand the test of time with normal use.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

This pen has a nib that is a tad bit less than an inch in length. It is an 18kt gold nib with rhodium plating. The thing that really made me scratch my head was how long the point is on the nib. You can see this in the picture below. Of course there are the typical engravings and designs on the nib. On this one, there is the trademark Anchor and the inscription of 1919 right above the Anchor. Why Anchor for an Ancora pen? Anchor, Ancora? Come one, you get it, don’t you??? It is the same! Ancora means Anchor in Italian.

Ok, here is what it boils down to, how does this pen perform? I bought the pen with a broad nib because I like the nice thick lines and the broad nibs that I have bought in the past have been extremely smooth. I filled this pen up with some Noodlers Air Corp Blue Black ink because I know it has great lubricating properties. The pen fills via cartridge or converter and both are supplied by Ancora.

I put the pen to the test and I have to say I was very shocked by how smooth and springy the nib is!! I don’t know too much about flex but this nib is as flexible as the Stipula 22 with the titanium nib. There is very nice line variation and the nib feels extremely natural when you write. The nib glides effortlessly across the page of paper. There is a good amount of space from the tip of the feed to the tip of the nib. I think this is what explains the springy and flexible characteristics of this nib. This is one of the better nibs I have wrote with and there was ZERO skipping and no feed issues as of yet.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

Unfortunately, this pen uses a Cartridge Converter filling system. As we all know, I do not care too much for this type of filling system. The main reason why I don’t care for this filling system is that this pen drinks up ink like it was a Wino who came across a case of Thunderbird. I believe if they would have used an intergraded filling system such as a button or piston filler, this would have solved the problem. Then again, I bought the pen with a broad nib. Broad nibs tend to lay down a good amount of ink and that is what causes the pen to drain so quickly. On a personal level, I have a Visconti Ink Pot and I carry it around with me in my pen case. So as long as I know I have a good supply of ink, there is no need to fret.

Cost 5 out of 5

This is the place where most people go to when it comes to a review. “How much is it” and “is it worth the price” are the questions I normally ask. Well Levenger lists this pen for roughly $198.00USD but because they are having what they call the “Pentathalon”, the pen is now $99.95 USD. That is almost 50% off of the listed price. The regular line Ancora Perla goes for about $199.00USD and it would be silly for me to get the Levenger version for the same price and without the little extras that the regular line Perla has. For almost $100.00 off the listed price, I think it is a good price but if you want the 2 extra bands, then you will have to shell out an extra $100.00 for the Regular Perla. I do not think it is worth it at all. As far as I am concerned, for the price, this pen is a steal.

Conclusion

This is my first Ancora and I have to say that I am extremely pleased. Not only am I pleased by the performance but also the workmanship and thought that went into the design. I believe this pen is an “attention getter” but at the same time it has class and it will make people want to use it and try to swipe it away from you. I had to hide it from the wife; I don’t want it to end up missing like my Namiki Vanishing Point. This pen is a real pleasure to use and the price is right. I have to give this pen my full recommendation and for the price, this is your chance to own a writing instrument from one of Italy’s oldest and reputable pen companies.

Pelikan M1000- Review

2005-08-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

What can I say about this pen other than it is HUGE!! I have wanted this pen for quite sometime and the problem was the price. I have seen the price of this pen all the way up to the $400.00 mark. There was no way I was going to buy this pen as far as I was concerned. I searched everywhere to find this pen at an affordable price. I must have searched for about 2 weeks straight over my Christmas vacation. New Years Eve I ran across www.pengallery.com on the internet. They had the Pelikan M1000 in stock and there was a text box next to the picture. It stated “Contact Us for a Special Price”. So I contacted them and they replied to my email 10 minutes later. Well, they are located halfway around the world in Malaysia. I was a bit skeptical about buying pens from the Far East but I heard some really good reviews and feedback on their EBay store.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

I stayed home from work the day the DHL man was supposed to deliver the package. I was in the front room drinking coffee and watching “The Wiggles” with my daughter, 2 years old at that time. I saw this yellow jet come flying down the road. He raced up my driveway and I thought he was going to plow right through my garage. I just about wet my pants in anticipation. He got out of his van and sprinted to my door and gave me the package as I finished signing the paperwork. He then sprinted back out to his van and then laid rubber in my driveway and road. Thank God I was not going anywhere. I would hate to be on the road with this guy racing next to me!!!!!!! I opened the package and there it was, my Pelikan M1000. I brought out my Pelikan M600 to compare size. I opened the box and I couldn’t believe the size of this pen. It had a high gloss shine to it and it practically glowed!!! I was in total awe in the presence of this titan of a pen!!

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Wow, what can I say?? This is the largest pen in my inventory and it is the largest pen I have ever held at that time. The design is the typical Pelikan design of the M series. I consider it a very stealthy look and the design is simple but yet very complex. The Pelikan M1000 is the Flagship for the Pelikan M series and I consider this to be the pinnacle of German fountain Pen Engineering. The gold bands around the lip of the cap are made very solid and so is the Pelikan clip. Comparing this giant with the M600, M400 and M200’s, everything looked so small and delicate. The length of this pen is well over 5 ¾ (inches) capped. Posted, this pen is close to 7 inches and it is a mammoth of a fountain pen.
The weight of the M1000 is slightly less than the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck, if you can believe that. To some, this pen might weigh as much as a M1A2 Abrams Tank and it takes some getting used to especially if you post your cap. I find that this pen is made for both small and large hands. If you have smaller hands, you might not want to post this pen. Likewise, if you have large hands then it would seem reasonable to post your cap. Either way this pen is quite balanced and a lot of thought was put into the design. I believe that a lot of the weight of this pen is from the brass parts that are used in the piston filler. I will get into this in the next section.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

This pen sports a nib that is over 1 inch long and is made out of 18 kt gold that is two tone. The design is the common Bock nib design and has the Little Mommy Pelikan in a gold color etched in the middle of the nib. The Pelikan M1000 nib is approximately the same size as the Mont Blanc 149 nib. This is your typical Pelikan screw in Nib/feed unit. This makes swapping nibs a total breeze especially if you want to switch to a broader or finer nib.

One good thing about Pelikan is that they make nibs in various sizes. There is a nib size that will satisfy anyone’s tastes.
Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Double Broad, Triple Broad, Oblique Medium, Oblique Broad, Oblique Double Broad and Oblique Triple Broad.

I bought the medium width nib and I was very surprised by the performance. I find it to be very springy and soft and I would not consider it to be flexible as would some of the vintage pens would be. I filled this pen with my favorite ink, Private Reserve 2004 DC Super Show Blue. The pen put down a very nice line of ink, especially when I applied a bit more pressure. With a regular writing pressure, this pen wrote h a nice wet medium line. The way the nib laid down the PR SS Blue was phenomenal. This nib ranked up there with some of the finest nibs made today. Might I add that this is one hell of a smooth writer. It happened to glide across the paper as Michael Jackson would Moonwalk across the stage, minus the cosmetic surgery and the young boys!! The way this pen wrote was so much better than I anticipated and it made writing with this pen so much sweeter!!

The Filling System 5 out of 5

This pen has the filling system that I desire most, the Piston Filler!! The M800 and the M1000 use brass parts for its piston and that is what makes for some weight in this pen. The knob on the rear turned effortlessly to move the piston mechanism up or down, depending on if you are turning clock wise or counter-clockwise. The piston provided an adequate amount of resistance so that the knob wouldn’t be inadvertently turned while in your shirt pocket, thus preventing accidental release of ink into the cap and shirt!!
The Piston chamber holds a good amount of ink but I feel that it is a bit less than the Mont Blanc 149 but I will not complain. Filling is very easy and so is cleaning the pen. I noticed that there is a lot of pressure in the chamber because when you empty the ink out, it doesn’t dribble out, it squirts out. I think this is why the pen writes so well because the chamber has enough pressure that the ink flows quite well and I have yet had a feed issue. I can leave the pen for a week, pick it up and write without hesitation.

Cost 5 out of 5

Ok, I would have given this pen a low score due to the MSRP and the costs at some of the popular fountain pen stores. Well, I found the M1000 at Pen Gallery www.pengallery.com which is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I spoke (by email) with Lai and he is really a fantastic guy and might I add, extremely honest. I was able to get this pen for $250.00 USD plus $15.00 USD for shipping via DHL. Yes, the shipping is a bit high BUT even with the cost of shipping included, there is no way you could touch the price, ANYWHERE except for buying it used and then still it may be more!!!
Since Pelikan raised the price of pens by 15% (if I remember correctly). The last time I checked Pen Gallery, it was at $325.00 USD. The price did jump up a bit but I also suggest checking out their EBay Store. I am sure it is listed as Pen Gallery in EBay. They sell a lot of pens with the “buy it now” option and you might even get a better deal there then on the main site. Do yourself a favor and shop around, you will thank yourself for doing that and I am sure you will save a nice chunk of change. Check with Pen Gallery and the Pen Gallery EBay store first, so far they have had the best price on the Pelikan M1000. Normally I would say $250.00 to $325.00 for a fountain pen might seem a bit excessive. You have to consider the price other stores are charging everywhere else and you also have to take into account that are also paying for Pelikan's "Flagship" model of the M-Series.

Conclusion

The Pelikan M1000 is the pen I have been waiting so patiently for. I have see so many pictures and heard so many things about it. With a bit of bargain hunting and some luck, I was able to get a great deal on this remarkable pen. The Pelikan M1000 is cheaper than the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 but it is as every bit of pen as the Mont Blanc 149. It is personal preference as to which pen you would want to buy. The Mont Blanc has curves but are the curves and the snowcap worth that much more than the M1000? That is a decision that you are going to have to make. I have to really confess that the Pelikan M1000 is one of the finest Oversized fountain pens on the market today, PERIOD!!!!! There were no corners cut here and the workmanship is simply perfect! Why is the Pelikan M1000 the flagship of the M series? That is an easy question to answer; it is a pen that has built its reputation on quality, performance and perfection. That is why this pen is a modern day legend.

Bexley/Swisher Limited Edition Snowfall- Review

2005-07-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

This Pen is a limited release fountain pen made for Swisher Pens Store by the Bexley Pen Company. There are only 50 pens made in this collection and mine being #30/50. I had to send my first pen back to Swisher Pen Store due to a crack in the section piece that caused ink to leak all over the place. That particular pen was #44/50. I have to admit that this pen was a bit smaller capped than I thought. But once the cap is posted it is really a good sized pen. I am partial to Bexley pens due to the fact that they are smooth sturdy pens and everything on the pen is made in America with the exception of the nib, which is made in Germany by the famous Bock Nib Company.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Well I am a sucker for Bexley pens and I really love how they put such a nice finish to their pens. I own several Bexley pens and it seems that they pay very close attention to detail. The color or design is a “Cracked Ice” style that is partially translucent in parts of the barrel and cap. The “Cracked Ice” design consists of a white, grey, black and clear material throughout the barrel and cap. Etched on the barrel is the wording “Bexley Special Edition” and underneath that is another line that says “XX/50” mine being 40/50. The lettering is well imprinted but very hard to see and you have to look closely and carefully to be able to read it.

The cap is a flat top with a black crown that is bordered with a palladium band that encircles the top portion of the cap under the crown, There is also another band, which is thicker that is located close to the lip of the cap. On the other end of the barrel is the “blind cap” that is removable by unscrewing the cap and revealing the button for the button filling system that is used in this pen.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

This pen looks very close to the Bexley Classique Collection. One of the notable differences is the removable “blind cap” at the end of the barrel on the Bexley Snowfall. The blind cap on the Classique looks identical in shape but is not removable. The Classique has a small silver ring attached to the end of the barrel right behind where the blind cap is located and permanently attached to. Also another difference is the slight variation of the “cracked ice” pattern on the Bexley Snowfall compared to the pattern on the Bexley Classique Collection. Other than that, they look very close in appearance and can be confused for the same pen.

What I found deceiving is the size of the pen when it is capped. It is identical in length to the Bexley Sheherazade when capped but posted, the Bexley has the Pelikan M1000 beat in length by just a hair. The width is substantially less than the M1000 and the Bexley is also much lighter. You would really think this pen would weigh a lot due to its length but to my surprise, this pen is actually very light. I find that if the pen is not posted, it is way too light to write with. The cap seems to weigh almost as much as the rest of the pen does. In my opinion, posting the pen really balances the pen out and makes for a very comfortable writing experience.

Nib Design and Performance 4 out of 5

One of the major things that have me sold on a Bexley fountain pen is the nibs. Bexley uses nibs made by Peter Bock and in fact, Bock makes several of the “big name brands” nibs for them. I find that Bock nibs to be one of the best nibs manufactured. Quality control seems to take precedence over quantity. So I think it is a good move for the Bexley Pen Company to contract out the nib manufacturing to one of the premiere nib makers in the world.
The nib that came with the pen is one of my favorites, huge and wonderful looking 18kt gold, two toned medium nib. I have to admit that the nib designs for Bexley and Pelikan rates at the top of my list for beautiful designs.

The nib was a tad on the scratchy side but after a 30 second modification, I was now in business!! Buttery smooth writing that seemed to glide effortlessly across the paper. I usually use Aurora Black ink to test out my new pen to see how well they write. So far, this one writes perfect!!! This nib is pretty stiff with little to no flex but for me, I can careless because my handwriting really stinks anyways.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

Ok, there is no need to complain about a cartridge converter filling system in this pen, right? Well, wrong!!! This is NOT an integrated button filler!!! This uses a hybrid button filler converter system instead of the real deal. They advertised it as being a button filling pen and technically, they are correct. Calling a typical cartridge/converter a piston filler is technically correct BUT as a fountain pen collector and user, I find this to be erroneous and misleading but not maliciously deceptive. So this pen uses a converter system that Namiki uses on some of their pens. It is a bit of a different looking converter and instead of having a knob that twists; this one uses a button instead. One thing that I do like is that the amount of ink exceeds that of a standard converter. I find this very nice too!! I believe that the Bexley Celebration uses the same Filling system at the Snowfall

Now here is something I do not like!! The barrel and section is permanently sealed off. It is threaded but it seems that it is shellacked so that you are unable to unscrew it off without damaging the barrel and or the gripping section. Why did they do this??? I have not understood this at all, maybe to prevent you from doing your own repairs and you having to send off your pen to be repaired by Bexley. Who knows?!?!? I just don’t like the fact that they did this in the first place, it also makes it more difficult and timely to clean your pens. From what I heard, They sealed off the sections to the Bexley Celebration too but due to complaints, they are now shipping the pens that are not sealed.

Cost 4 out of 5

Compared to the Bexley Classique, this pen is roughly $50.00 less and the Snowfall has a better filling system than the standard twist converter system that is in the Classique. If you want a Bexley, this is a well priced pen for those who want a limited edition pen with a top notch 18kt gold nib. In fact this is cheaper than just about all of the pens in the Bexley line.

Conclusion

This pen has some small bad points but in my book it is nothing to really complain about. Some people think that I may be nitpicking,Well thats too bad!! This is my review and that’s that :-P
The good definitely outweighs the bad on this pen, that’s for sure. This is a SOLID writing instrument that looks and writes better than other pens that are 2 or 3 times its price!! If you want a Bexley but don’t want to pay $200.00 for it, then this is your pen, but you better hurry because there are only 50 of them made and they are at Swisher Pens Clearance Section.

Bexley Prometheus- Review

2005-07-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I was really not too sure about this pen when I first saw it on the internet and in my pen catalogues such as Fountain Pen Hospital, Joon and Art Brown. I heard it was a big pen especially when I saw the dimensions of this colossal pen. I also heard that the 18kt gold nib is 20% larger than on the regular line of Bexley pens. The nibs on the Bexley pens are not dinky by any means. They are fairly large nibs that are produced by the Bock nib Factory in Germany.

Note:
When I received the pen, I had to send it off to the Bexley Factory because of a problem with the nib and the cap. The problems I had with the nib was that it was not properly smoothed at the factory, thus the nib was so scratchy, it was impossible to use. Also the cap would not stay on the back of the pen when posted. All problems were rectified by Howard Levy within the week.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

The Prometheus came in the normal packaging that Bexley sends their pens out in. A blue cardboard box with the small American flag on the side of the package along with that, the name of the pen, color and nib style is also on the same sticker. When you open the cardboard box, there is a blue wooden box that looks like a coffin. The box has a hinged flap that opens. Inside the coffin, the Prometheus lies ready to be taken out of its box and be filled with ink. This particular Prometheus is brown in color and the barrel of the pen looks like brown and beige cracked ice. It’s a rather nice looking pen that came with a high gloss shine, they way I like it!!

Design/Size/Weight 4 out of 5

They said this is a large pen, well it sure is!! Capped, the pen is about a ½ inch shorter than the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and ¼ shorter than the Pelikan M1000. When the cap is posted on the Prometheus, it towers over both the Meisterstuck 149 and the Pelikan M1000 by ½ of an inch. As for the weight, the Prometheus and the Mont Blanc 149 are about the same weight. The Pelikan M1000 is more of a hefty pen but only by a small margin. The diameter of the Prometheus is very similar to that of the Mont Blanc 149 but I believe the Prometheus is a tad bit larger and there is no taper to the pen.

Ok, now I got that out of the way, now it is time to get cracking on the practical attributes of this pen. The design is an interesting flat top cap that is a plastic of some kind. I was not particularly keen on the design of the cap. The cap looks almost identical to one of a Crayon marker cap. The plastic is not hard as you would think a pen cap would be. And in my opinion, it looks a bit cheap. It gives quite a bit do to the fact that it has to stretch over the piston knob when it is posted and that is what makes it functional. I do not see this cap cracking or splitting at the lip due to the material the cap is made of. There is nothing special about the clip that is on the cap. It is, or looks like a gold plated clip and top ring. The cap is threaded and when capping the pen, the fit is nice and snug. I believe that it is due to the material that the cap is made of. I do not see this cap being accidentally unscrewed, so that is really a good thing.

One might think that the large size of this pen, writing would be uncomfortable. Well, they thought wrong!!! I have small hands but I like large pens. This pen fits better in my hand than does the Mont Blanc 149 or the Pelikan M1000. The weight seems like it was distributed equally throughout the pen. So the balance of this pen is just about right. I prefer to post the cap on this pen while I write. The weight of the cap seems to gently push the barrel against the web of my index finger and thumb. I write better when there is just enough pressure on this area of my hand. Now writing without the cap posted is just as nice. The pen seems to be perfectly balanced in the hand and fingers.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

The nib is a two tone 18kt medium nib. This nib is quite a bit larger than the other nibs in the Bexley pen line. According to Howard Levy of Bexley Pens, he stated that the nib on the Prometheus is 20% larger than the other Bexley nibs. I really didn’t think too much of it until I removed the cap from the pen. Bingo!!! This is a really wide nib in comparison to the Pelikan M1000 and M800. It is not as long as the M1000 or the Mont Blanc 149 but it is definitely wider. This is a special nib made by the Bock Nib Factory of Germany. As usual, Peter Bock has done it again when it comes to his nibs. I am sure most of you know that Bock makes nibs for many of the famous pen companies such as Pelikan, Omas, Bexley and Laban to name a few.

The one thing that I really liked was that Bexley decided to used an Ebonite feed rather than a plastic one!! This really paid off when it comes to the performance of the pen. With a pen and a nib of this size, you really want a feed that’s going to keep the ink flowing to the nib while writing. That’s where the ebonite feed really comes into play!! This is one wet writer!! Even though the nib is a medium, it writes like a juicy fine to a light medium. This is a buttery smooth writer as one would expect from a Bexley pen. No problems with the flow, that’s for sure, I have yet had this pen skip on me. One problem I ran into is that the ink in the nib tends to sometime dribble out while the pen is capped and transported. So when removing the cap from the pen, you have to be careful and also wipe down the nib and section. AS long as I don’t use this pen as I would with a pair of Maracas, It is usually ok.

The Filling System 5 out of 5

Oh yeah!!! This is a piston filler and this pen holds a ton of ink. You know you have a pen that holds a lot of ink when you fill the pen, you can see the ink level in your ink bottle drop down substantially. The piston system holds ink at an unusually high pressure for a piston filling pen. This keeps a steady amount of ink flowing throughout the pen.The Piston knob is quite large and an interesting thing that I found out might save someone’s carpet or clothes. Since the cap is supposed to fit snug on the piston knob while posted, you can fill the pen without having to take the cap off of the rear of the pen. On the other hand you need to beware!! If you are removing the cap from the posted position, make sure you wiggle the cap and gently twist the cap off clockwise. If you decide to twist counterclockwise, you will get a high pressure stream of ink all over the place.

Cost 2 out of 5

Holy Crap!!! This is an expensive pen, the MSRP is $575.00 on this one. I would never pay MSRP on anything unless my life depended on it. Luckily I bought this pen through Swisher Pens and it was under the clearance section. This pen was dipped a few times but never filled. The price was reduced from $431.00 to $345.00. I had to return a few defective pens back to Swisher and they gave me store credit and a big discount deal for my troubles. So in all I had paid $240.00 for the Pen, now that’s a steal! I don’t think I could have gotten a better deal than that. Thank you Swisher Pens!! They are great people to do business with and if something goes wrong, they will bend over backwards to make sure you are taken care of.

Conclusion

This is a pen that grew on me, at first I really didn’t care for the size or shape of the pen, I found it rather squatty. After a while of seeing it on the internet, I started to take an interest in this pen. The more I liked larger pens, the more this pen appealed to me. Since I bought it about a month ago, I really dig just about everything about this pen. It is a very large pen and it looks like it would weigh as much as a Mack Truck. Well, that’s not the case; this pen is not as heavy as one would think it would be. It fits well in the hand and writes like a dream. Writing with this pen really solidifies why I love Bexley pens. This is a very well made pen that is solid, well made and extremely sturdy. This is a working mans Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149. This pen has very little plating and that is a good thing especially if this is going to be an everyday writer. There are not many parts on this pen that would brass over time. This pen can take a bit of abuse, not a whole lot but compared to a 149 and a M1000, this one will take some punishment. I don’t think there will be many people abusing a pen that has a MSRP of $575.00This pen is a wonderful work of art along with it being totally functional. If you are looking for a large pen in the spirit of a 149, M1000, Sailor King of Pen or a Large Conway Stewart, then this pen might be worth looking into. This pen is also an alternative to the typical super premium looking pen such as a 149, M1000 Sailor KOP. It is a good step out of the norm IMO. Is this pen worth $575.00? NO WAY, NOT A CHANCE!!! If the pen is priced at 50% off the MSRP then I would say, BUY IT!! If the pen was priced at $250.00 - $300.00 then I would consider that to be a fair price, in my opinion.

Sailor/Swisher Limited Edition Magellan Lapis Lazuli- Review

2005-07-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I have never owned a Sailor Fountain pen and this was a good opportunity to buy one. This is another limited edition fountain pen made by Sailor for Swisher Pens. This is a Magellan with a different color and a different name. Unfortunately, Sailor discontinued the production of the Magellan series and my search for a used one came up empty handed. So while browsing Swisher Pens, I found this pen in the “Clearance Section” and “whalah” here it is!!!! When the pen arrived at my house, I opened the box and I found out that he pen is a bit skinner that I am used to but all of the Japanese pens that I own are roughly this size. I was given the choice as to what nib I wanted, I chose the “Music Nib”. Since this nib is 21kt Gold versus the standard 14kt gold, I paid an extra $25.00 for it. I have been intrigued by the Platinum Maestro Music Pen with the double slit music nib that my Dad brought over for me to check out. I love how smooth and thick of a line this nib produces but also by changing the angle of the pen, you can produce a razor sharp line. So since I had the choice of nibs, I bought the Sailor with the music nib. I know you cannot go wrong with Sailor and even though this nib only has a standard single slit versus the Platinum double slit, I am sure this will be comparable.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

I am partial to Blue and Black colored pens and since this pen is a marbled blue design, this was a deciding factor. The Lapis Lazuli is a gemstone that is considered one of the most expensive blue gemstones in the world. This pen has some of the same color characteristics as the gemstone, a gorgeous mottled dark and light blue pattern. The pen has a high gloss shine, like you would expect from a brand new pen from the factory.

On the barrel, as you would expect, there is the limited edition number imprint. Mine is “127/150” and there is nothing fancy about this imprint, it is sort of lost in the mottled blue color design on this pen
The Bexley Submariner looks like a bigger brother to this Sailor pen. It is strikingly similar especially with the shape and the clip. Along the high shine gold cap band, it reads “Sailor Japan Founded 1911” Since I do not own any other Sailor pens, I guess this is a standard band. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

As I said, this is a Magellan with a different color and name and there are very few if any design differences. The weight of this pen has a nice medium feel to it. It is very well balanced and writes as well posted or not. I am more comfortable with the cap posted; it provides a nice counter balance to the pen in my hand. The cap its self is much heavier than the rest of the pen due to the amount of metal that is in the cap band. I do not see much of a chance of a cracked lip on the cap. It looks like Sailor looked ahead to develop counter measures for the “day to day” wear and tear.

The length of the Sailor capped is very close to the size of the Pilot/Namiki Vanishing point. The diameter is slightly smaller on the Sailor. This pen really fits well in my hands and also very comfortable. There are no complaints with the design, size or weight. Sailor did their homework, too bad that they have stopped production on this wonderful pen

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

Here is where things really start to get interesting, due to the fact that this is an unusual nib. I have only written with a music nib once and that is with the Platinum Maestro Music pen. I wondered if there would be a difference in performance from the double slit of the Platinum versus the single slit of the Sailor. I wish I would have scanned in the results so I could show you. In my test, I found both nibs to perform neck and neck. They both had a nice juicy broad line on the down stroke, while both had a razor sharp fine line on the side stroke.

The Platinum has a 14kt gold nib while the Sailor sports a 21kt gold nib. One would expect the 21kt gold nib to be a noodle. Well, it is not!! The 21kt feels a little bit more spongy but not by much. Both pens perform flawlessly in every test I tried. You can have the shabbiest handwriting in the world, like me. When you start using this nib, the chicken scratch starts to look like nice handwriting. This pen has enabled me to write more legible and crisper. Since this nib is so different, it has its place in my collection. I cannot use this kind of nib on a daily basis because I find it somewhat limiting. I almost consider this nib a novelty; it does have its place. It performs flawless in writing letter where isn’t a time limit. I find it a very artistic nib and so does my wife. She won’t give it up, so I have to sneak and snatch it from her.

The Filling System 3.5 out of 5

This pen has a typical cartridge/converter filling system. Unfortunately, Sailor pens use a proprietary cartridge and converter. These cartridges and converters are not readily available at Staples, Office Depot and Wal-Mart. You generally have to resort to a specialty store to purchase these items. At least, the Sailor cartridges and converters are more readily available than Platinum converters and cartridges.
As I stated with the Platinum Purple Passion review, I really wish that they would have used a more universal cartridge/converter system. But then again, this is how manufactures milk the consumers and make money. Thank goodness I use the converter, it really alleviates these problems!!

Cost 3.5 out of 5

This pen is a bit on the costly side, especially when you can buy one of the new Sailor 1911M pens for $25.00 to $30.00 less than the Lapis Lazuli. This might be one of your last chance to own a brand new limited edition Magellan fountain pen. Also you can chose the 14kt gold nib and save about $25.00 or you can spend the extra $25.00 for the 21kt gold nib and try the Music nib, Zoom nib or the standard sized nibs.

Conclusion

In all, this pen is made very well and the only major complaint I had is the proprietary filling system. The pen writes nice, looks nice and hell, it is nice!! This is a limited edition pen out of 150. So if limited editions are up your alley or you want a special edition Magellan fountain pen, then this might be for you. As I said, I do not use this pen everyday due to the fact that this pen is not good at taking quick notes or writing checks for bills, in my opinion. This pen does have its place in my collection, especially for formal letter writing or artistic stuff and I even use it to write in my journal. But remember, this review was for the Sailor Lapis Lazuli WITH THE MUSIC NIB!!! If you have a use for it or you want to improve your handwriting, then this is it. www.swisherpens.com

DELTA Parthenope- Review

2005-07-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I ordered this pen off of the Pentrace Green Board about 1 month ago. To be quite honest, I really didn’t know what to expect. The seller is a very reputable person and a very informative one to say the least. The only description was the 18kt gold nib in a medium size, tortoise shell color and in excellent shape. I had to go to some of the big sites to see what the pen looked like before I decided to spend my loot!! From what I saw, I was very excited and I jumped at the chance to buy my very first Delta Fountain Pen, hell the price was right too!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

The Parthenope arrived at my house within 3 days of ordering it from a seller off of the Green Board. It was in tip top shape with the box in perfect condition along with the papers and extra cartridges. To put my mind at ease, the seller wrote me a note using the pen, to ensure that he was selling a pen with no problems. That I do appreciate!! When I took the pen out of the box to look at it under the light, I have to admit that it seemed to have not been used very much at all. The same day that I received my Delta Parthenope is the same day that I received my Bexley Prometheus. Both of the barrel colors are somewhat similar. One thing that really separated the pens was that the Delta worked flawlessly, while the Bexley needed to be sent to the factory for repair the very next day. I was really looking forward to the Bexley Prometheus more than the Delta but since the Bexley was inoperative, the Parthenope eased the pain!! That made my blood pressure drop down to a semi normal level and now I have a new pen to take to the office and show off. The Parthenope has a barrel that is more of a darker brown, golden and silver pearl color to it. This is really a tortoise shell color that reminiscent of an older Pelikan tortoise shell minus the striation pattern. Considering that this pen is used, the pen was in excellent shape, with a high gloss shine to it and some of the small white lettering on the top of the cap has turned a bit off white. That was the only flaw that I saw on the pen itself. “Hey Mom, I scored a winner”!!! My Mom said “Not so fast my Son, you need to read the rest of the review, you big dummy”!!!

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

At first, I thought that the pens length is a bit too short for me but I compared it to my Blue and Black Striped Pelikan M600 and the length was identical. The width is a very comfortable size, close to the width of a Pelikan M1000 but a tad bit wider. This is a perfect pen to put in your shirt pocket; it collapses down well for travel and expands to a comfortable length for writing. One thing that I thought was really cool; it is that the end of the barrel is threaded so that the cap screws on to the end of the barrel. It really reminds me of the Dani Trio “Tempo and the Brillante” fountain pens. I really wish more pen companies would thread the ends of their barrels do that the caps can be completely secured without fear of it falling off. The first time I posted the cap, the size of the pen is identical to the posted size of a Pelikan M600. Another cool option was the wheel at the end of the clip, this makes for smooth clipping of a pen to a shirt pocket. At the very top of the cap there is the Delta emblem in a gold color. Writing with the pen posted feels very natural in my hand, I even tried writing without the cap posted, to me it feels way too light. Someone with smaller hands or someone who likes smaller and lighter pens would probably enjoy it not posted. On the back of the cap, there is the imprint in white that reads “DELTA Parthenope”, I guess it is there incase you forgot the make and model of the pen or you forget to spell Parthenope!!! This is a nice looking pen and I am glad I bought this pen in this particular color. The Black cap and brown tortoise shell color really makes it a very classy looking pen.

Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

This pen sports a single solid gold tone “DELTA Millennium 18 KT Gold Nib”. I am really not sure why Delta calls this a “Millennium Nib” but regardless, it is a classy looking nib that is fully functional. I bought this one with a medium width due to the fact that I like a nib line that gives me a line with plenty of width to work with without going overboard with a broad. This is a really good sized nib that is close in size to the Filcao Atlantica Oro 18 KT gold nib made by the Schmidt Nib Factory of Germany. The Delta is slightly larger but not by much, the size of this nib on the lack of size of this pen really makes the nib look giant!! Ok, here is what you all have been waiting for, you ask, “How does this darn pen write”? I have one word for you and it is “Fantastic”!!! This nib is not flexible but it feels like a springboard and it writes like a hot knife in butter. This is one smooth writing pen and it also lays down one heck of a juicy line. I was very shocked because I was expecting a light medium line, to my surprise this pen lays down one heck of a line the borders on the heavy side of medium. I cannot ask for more than that from a fountain pen, this has exceeded all of my expectations. The ink I used to test this pen is Aurora Black and the reason why I like to use this ink for testing is because of its superior flow and lubrication properties. Private Reserve DC Super Show Blue, Private Reserve Plum and Sherwood Green are other inks I use to test new pens.

The Filling System 4.5 out of 5

Well, this pen would be so much better with a piston or button filler. Well regardless of my very slight disappointment, this pen flows like a champ and I believe this take the standard short cartridges, for those of you who do not like bottle filling. I am not going to harp on this pen using a cartridge/converter filing system but there is one interesting point that was made clear, not once but twice. There is a sticker inside the box that says not to pull the converter out. It is threaded, so twist the converter out to remove it. The gentleman who sold me the pen, he also wrote a note to let me know the same.

Cost 4.5 out of 5

Depending on where you buy this pen, you can get a really good deal on a top notch pen for a lot less than you would think. http://www.pens.it/ has some pretty good prices on the Parthenope. Hell, if you can get one used that would be your best bet!! I have seen them for around $140.00 brand new and I have seen them used for under $130.00. Regardless, it is a good deal for a pen who’s nib is worth that much.

Conclusion

I have to say that this pen is one hell of a smooth writing instrument and I was glad that I spent the money on it. This is a wonderful medium sized pen that has a nib that writes better than most other pens in its price range. There are 4 different colors to choose from such as “Coral Red, Tortoise Brown (this one), Golden Blue and Quartz White. There is a color for everyone’s taste and each one is just as nice as the other. There is a lifetime warranty on Delta pens to include this one. If you can get this pen new for under $150.00 then I would say that is a darn good deal. If you can buy it used, then GET IT!! This is a solid pen with so many good points that the issue with a cartridge/converter filling system seems so trivial. I highly recommend this pen if you are in the market for a medium sized pen. This one is on my weekly rotation since I bought it, I LOVE IT!!.

Platinum- Purple Passion

2005-06-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I have wanted to buy one of these pens for quite sometime now. I really do not know why I like this color because it is definitely not a traditional color and by some accounts, it is a rather obnoxious sight. Regardless, it is an attention getter, both negative and positive especially with this color. It seems like something Prince or the artist formerly known as Prince would use to sign a recording contract. The color is straight out of the 80’s. This is the first Platinum pen I have ever bought, I always have been curious about them.

Appearance/ Finish 4 out of 5

It is purple, that’s for sure!! It is the same body as the Platinum “Very Presidential” series of fountain pens. It has a nice high gloss shine to it and all parts on the pen seem to be very smooth with the exception of the threads on the barrel. There is a seam on there from the production of this pen and this is something that should have been smoothed out before shipping. The clip looks to be firmly anchored to the cap and I do not foresee any issues with this clip breaking or bending with normal wear and tear. Other than that, this pen seems very well made and up to the standards of Platinum Pens of Japan. I had a few looks from some pen snobs and the looks were of disgust and shock. They wonder how anyone could buy such a hideous looking pen. Sorry, I like it and I am a non-conformist!!!

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

The pen is in the same shape as the Very Presidential pen and it has an extremely comfortable feel to it. In my hands, the pen is very balanced with or without the cap posted. I find a similarity of this pen with the modern Sheaffer Balance and Balance II pens. I wouldn’t say this pen is extremely light but in no way is it a heavy pen. It is comfortable just as the Sheaffer Balance is. While the pen is in its normal resting state, the pen is roughly a tad bit larger than 5 ½ inches in length. The Purple Passion posted measures in at roughly 6 1/3 inches. So this pen is not a tiny one by any means. This is a good standard sized pen for an average hand.

Nib Design and Performance 3.5 out of 5

This pen sports a good sized two tone 18kt gold President nib in a Japanese medium, in addition to the size, the Platinum President nib is a very gorgeous looking nib. If any of you know anything about Japanese nibs, they are roughly around one size finer than by western standards. This Japanese medium nib boarders on the medium side of fine when it comes to the thickness of a line. I was expecting a smooth as glass writing experience, boy, was I disappointed!!! I used the thickest most lubricated black ink I have in my arsenal to test this pen out, Aurora Black. As I started to write, all I can feel is the paper being torn on the down stroke. This pen was completely unusable and it wasn’t just a simple toothy nib, this had major bite!! I brought out my fine grit paper to smooth this nib out. It took me roughly 30 minutes to adjust and smooth out this nib. After all of my curse words, blood, sweat and tears have been used up, this pen was now transformed. It is a new writing experience after smoothing out the nib. It wrote how I originally envisioned it, smooth as glass. The ink flow is completely phenomenal and even as a fine nib in western standards; this pen lays down copious amounts of ink. It took some time but once it was there, this is a fantastic writing pen.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

The Platinum purple Passion uses a cartridge/converter filling system. This seems to be the norm when it comes to filling systems on modern pens. One thing that I did not like was that the filling system, whether it is a cartridge or the converter, uses a proprietary style. This is unique only to Platinum pens. So if you need to buy ink cartridges or a new converter, you will have to find a source that sells them. I only know of a couple of places

http://www.platinumpenstore.com

http://www.inkpalette.com

http://www.apenloversparadise.com

I really wish they would have gone universal on both the Converter and the Cartridges because it is very difficult to find refills and only select places sell them. So you better stock up!!!

Cost 4 out of 5

The deciding factor for buying this pen was the 50% off of the retail price (Brand New). I am lucky that I did find it at this price because there would be no way I would have paid for it at the going rate. I guess the main factor for the high price of the pen is that it is discontinued and they did not make as many of them in this color compared to the standard "Very Presidential" model. I checked a while ago and the Purple Passion is going for the high 100’s low 200’s. As I said earlier, this is the same pen as the "Very Presidential" with the exception of the color. If you decided that you want a black or a burgandy colored pen instead of the wild looking purple color, then you would be saving around $40.00 to $80.00 for the standard "Very Presidential". It is all depending on where you decided to buy the pen.

Conclusion

After a few minor modifications to this pen, I had it up and running and writing like a dream. I bought this pen used from Parkville Pen (Dennis Bowden) and I got a super deal on it. Dennis is a super guy and he goes out of his way to make sure you are taken care of. From what I gather, the pen was on consignment and from the looks of it, it doesn’t even look like it has seen ink or if it did, not much. I assume it was an owner who didn’t want to or know how to make minor nib modifications.If you do not like the color but you like the style, size and 18kt gold nib, then I would suggest the Platinum President. The only difference is the color, which you can buy them in either black or burgundy. It is much cheaper than the Purple Passion due to the fact that the Purple Passion was a limited run. There is another pen that is the little brother to the Purple Passion and the President. It is the Very Presidential and it is a lighter version of the pen and instead of the 18kt gold nib, this one has the 14kt gold.This pen is definitely an eye catcher and I only found to kinds of people. The ones who are rebels at heart and love the eccentric purple color. The other ones who think this is the ugliest pen and it should belong in the book of the most hideous looking pens ever made. IF you ask anyone that knows me, they will tell you I am a true rebel. I buy pens for me and no one else. I am not your typical snob pen collector. I love this pen, purple or not!!! I guess this pen shows my true personality, I don’t fit in to the norm and I will always stand out. You either Love me or hate me, there is no in between, I am who I am and nothing will change me. Bravo Platinum Bravo!!!!

Laban Mento- Review

2005-06-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I saw this pen on the internet; I wondered how big this pen really is?? I stumbled on to different websites and each of them gave a different measurements. The only way I would say I am a pen snob is that I almost NEVER buy pens that have steel nibs. I like gold, I like the Bling Bling, If you know what I mean!!! I found a few people that could order me this pen with a gold nib, and that’s what I did!! When this pen arrived, Whooaaa, what a goliath of a pen!! Everything about it looked very impressive. I don’t want to give this review away in the first section; you will need to read it for yourself!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Good Lord, this pen is HUGE!!! I bought this p[en with what they call the Pumpkinseed Finish/color. It is kind of a tortoise shell color with a bit of a confetti look to it. Color wise, there were lots of orange, black and brown to it. This pen was buffed to a mirror polish; this is something I wish most pen makers would do, depending on the pen. In all, the pen its self is very beautiful and unique. No two pens are the same!!
The box was a standard pen box with papers that are really reminiscent of Mont Blanc papers. Included were a few ink cartridges (short type) and one converter. The pen was covered in a cellophane bag that was loosely fit over the pen to prevent damage during shipping. So far, things have been done right!! I have no complaints!!

Design/Size/Weight 4.5 out of 5

This is the LARGEST pen I have ever seen and used!! I compared this pen with my Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and my Pelikan M1000. Believe it or not, the Laban Mento is longer than both the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and the Pelikan M1000. The diameter is also larger on the Mento than on the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 but only by a very small margin. The pen is slightly tapered at the ends.

If you were to compare the weight of the Laban Mento to that of the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and the Pelikan M1000, the Laban Mento is a bit lighter. I account that for the use of a cartridge/converter filling system opposed to the heavier piston filler with metal components. I will get into this a bit later.
The Laban seems pretty well balanced and writing with or without the cap posted doesn’t change the way the pen writes or feels since this pen is very light for its size. So it was designed for both the person who has a huge gorilla hands and someone who’s hands a bit on the smaller size.

One design feature that I was irked with is that the pen dries out very quickly. There is no inner plastic sleeve inside the cap to assist in the slowdown of ink evaporation. If the pen is stored nib up, I find that this only exaggerates the problem with evaporation. So to curb this problem, I find that if I store the pen flat whenever possible and not leave unused for any length of time. This seems to help, who knows, maybe Laban will listen a do something about it. If you do run into this predicament then do the usual, twist of the converter to inject the ink to the proper location, Bingo!! Problem solved!!

Nib Design and Performance 4.75 out of 5

Since this pen comes stock with a steel nib, I cannot rate the performance on it. I bought mine with the optional 18kt Gold nib and that’s what my review will be based on. As a buyer, you can buy one of 3 nibs. You can buy the stock steel nib OR you can have a dealer order it for you with a 14KT or 18KT gold nib. The gold plated steel nibs are available in the standard sizes of Fine, Medium or Broad. The 14KT gold nibs are only available in the Medium size while the 18KT are available in the Medium and Broad. Ok, now that you wrote all that down and memorized it, here is the important stuff. The Laban nibs are made in the Factory of Peter Bock, for those of you who do not know, they are the ones who make nibs for Pelikan, Omas, Bexley and up to 30 different brands of fountain pens. (Thanks www.nibs.com)

So now knowing who makes the nibs, I am sure you will like the way the pen writes. I don’t know about you but I know that this is one of the smoothest nibs that I have used. It performed flawlessly right out of the package. The nib flow is a bit on the drier side but definitely NOT DRY!!! There were no modifications needed for this nib and the flex was pleasant. Do not confuse Flex with flexible because this nib is NOT Flexible but then again, it is not a gold nail either. It is a very pleasant writing experience but one think I did note was that the nib seems very small in comparison to the size of the pen. The performance does not suffer though but it does look a little funny to have a goliath of a pen and a small nib. If they were to put a nib on the Laban the size of a Pelikan M1000 nib or a M800 nib, then I feel it would closely match the body of the pen. But this is only my opinion and regardless, we were talking about the performance and the performance superb.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

Ok, ok!!! Anyone who has read any of my reviews knows that I am very harsh on filling systems that are not integrated. I wont get into the reasons because you can find them in my other pen reviews and I don’t like to write about the same thing over and over again. I can agree that I am glad they decided to go with a cheaper filling system because that is one thing less they have to pass on to the consumer. It is a standard cartridge/converter system that seems to work well. There are no problems with ink flow and complications with filling the pen.

Cost 5 out of 5

This is my favorite part of the review!!! This pen is cheap cheap cheap!!! Depending on what kind of nib you want is what you will pay. Pens with a Gold Plated Steel nib will run you around 59.00 to 69.00. Pen with 14KT Gold nibs run roughly $119.00 while the pens with 18KT Gold Nibs run around $124.00. This is all depending on where you buy them from. I bought mine from Wood N’ Dreams http://www.wndpens.com/ and Ray, who owns they company will be willing to assist you in any way that he can to order the pen that you want. Good guy and good prices. I don’t think you can touch this pen from any other larger pen company for under $200.00. And some how Laban does it and maybe they get away with it because they are an up and coming Pen Company started in Taiwan. I am sure that production in Taiwan is much cheaper than in Japan, USA or Europe.

Conclusion

This Pen is the best bang for the buck and I say that without hesitation. Not only can you buy a pen based on your choice of nibs but later on if you decided that you want to replace your gold plated nib with a gold nib, it is easy and won’t break the bank!! This is a great writer and the largest pen I have ever seen. If you want a budget Over Sized pen then this is your pen. The pen is well made and well priced and that is something that is not normally said about the same pen or in the same sentence. You will not be disappointed in your purchase of a wonderful writer like this. Nuff said!!!

Sheaffer Walt Disney LE Balance- Review

2005-03-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

This pen came in a nice hard case from Jim Gaston http://www.jimgaston.com/ in Arkansas. I have never ordered from him before but I have to say that it was a pleasure to do business with him. When I opened the box, the pen was a classic Sheaffer Balance with the Walt Disney signature on one side and Walt Disney Printed on the other, both with thick white lettering. This pen also came with a certificate of Authenticity and is individually numbered out of 1000 pens. This Limited Edition fountain pen was released in 1998 by Sheaffer and Disney World. This pen came with two 14kt single tone nibs. You have the option of what combination you wanted. But of course since this is a limited edition pen, the combinations are limited. This is the story of the Walt Disney LE Balance pen, taken from Jim Gaston’s Website and on the Certificate:

"When Walt Disney's office was inventoried by DaveSmith of the Walt Disney© Archives in 1970, amongthe items found in his desk was an obviously well-usedSheaffer Balance pen from the late 1930's...one of the elite pens of that era.The Walt Disney© Merchandise Art & Collectibles Team,in conjunction with the Walt Disney© Archives andthe Sheaffer Pen Company, is proud to issuethis commemorative version of the same pen."

My Pen is # 799/1000

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

There really isn’t much to say about the appearance and finish of this pen, If you like Sheaffer Balance pens then will not be disappointed with this pen. There is no difference between this pen and the regular Balance line other than the lettering on the barrel. The lettering on this pen is done with a thick white material. I do not see this lettering come off any time soon unless you like to play floor hockey with it. The pen came in a nice shiny black color (the only color in this line) and the finish is what you would imagine a perfect Sheaffer Balance to be. The Box that the pen comes in is a red hard case with the lettering “Sheaffer The Walt Disney Collection”. Inside the box is, of course the pen and another nib, along with The Limited Edition Certificate and the pen number out of 1000 pens made. The instruction manual and a personal note from Jim Gaston

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

Well, I have to say that the Sheaffer Balance and Balance II are some of the most comfortable pens around. The weight is perfect when the cap is posted, I do not find this pen to be heavy. I consider this pen to be of average weight and size. The design is typical Sheaffer Balance, a classic look and feel, nothing more, nothing less. I find all Balance and Balance II pens to be one of the most basic but perfect designs. Why change a pen that has sold well throughout the years and one that is well loved by many pen enthusiasts? I am glad that they didn’t!!

Nib Design and Performance 4.5 out of 5

Again, what else can I say about this pen? This pen came with two 14kt gold single tone nibs. When you order this pen, you are asked what nib combinations you want. The only ones that were available were the Medium/ Broad and the Medium/ Stub combinations. I am a huge fan of medium nibs and nibs that put down a nice thick line of ink. It has to be a nib that writes thick and flows well without becoming too thick and illegible for smaller writing. Well this nib is just that, smooth, very smooth!!! I had zero issues with skipping and this pen has a comfortable medium flow of ink. Typical Sheaffer nib quality, some of the best nibs around!!! I tried the broad nib just for the heck of it. Good Lord!!! The broad nib was like writing with a Sharpie pen. There is no way I will be using this nib, or at least not anytime soon. I do have to say that the broad nib was as smooth as glass and I am sure one of these days I will learn to use it.

The Filling System 4 out of 5

I would have given this pen 5 out of 5 for the filling system but I hate cartridge converters!! I would have loved to have seen a lever filling system to make this pen really authentic and have it be a true tribute to this classic pen. But anyways, this is your typical Sheaffer cartridge converter, I do like the fact that the ink transport tube sticks up. This allows for cleaning and easy nib changing. You just have to be careful while you are cleaning so you won’t bend the tube. Other than that, the converter that came with it had smooth action, no sticking points while filling or flushing ink.

Cost 2.5 out of 5

I have to rate this pretty low. Not that I think this is a crappy pen, hell, that’s not even the case. Unless you are a Walt Disney fan like I am, I wouldn’t shell out the money for this pen, especially when you can get yourself a Sheaffer Balance for anywhere around $30.00 on up. For me, I am a Disney fan and I love this limited edition pen. This is something I can pass on to my daughters when they get much MUCH older!!! For the ordinary person, I wouldn’t expect them to shell out this kind of money (150.00) for this pen but on the plus side this does come with 2 nibs. I am sure this would not be a selling point or a deciding factor for buying this pen. But if you like Disney and are a collector and you like Sheaffer Balance pens then this one might be for you. These pens are going quick, so now is the time to consider if you want one or not.

Conclusion

This is a solid pen that writes like a dream. This pen performs like any other modern Balance, this will not disappoint you. For this being a limited edition pen, the price is relatively low at www.jimgaston.com for those on a budget or are budget minded and are not a Disney collector, you might want to pass on this one and just get a regular modern black Sheaffer Balance. The pens are the same, they write the same, they look the same but they sure as hell don’t cost the same. I am happy with mine and I wouldn’t trade it for the world!!!

Duke Gold Medal- Review

2005-03-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Ill have to give you a little background on my experiences with Duke and Hero pens. A buddy of mine that both my wife and I work with, his name is Dan. Now Dan prides himself in finding deals on pens that are under the $50.00 and he is the one who introduced me to the Hero 329 and Duke Pens last year. He picked up a Duke pen that he bought a while ago at the Fountain Pen Shop in Monrovia California. It was a really neat looking pen that was actually meant for art and the nib can be used on both sides. He is a bit of an artist himself, so that’s why it appealed to him. At the time, I never heard of a Duke Pen but I was quite familiar with the Hero Pens because I own 2 Hero pens a 329 and a 330 that he recommended to me and I have to say that for a $10.00 pen, it writes more like a $30.00 or $40.00 pen. The look, of course it is a rip-off of a Parker 51 and the craftsmanship is less than be desired but they are pretty sturdy pens. So Chinese pens, in my book are in no way worth more than $10.00 or $20.00. Well, I have seen pictures of Duke Pens besides the one that Dan showed me on Norm Haase website www.hisnibs.com and they were very different from the Hero Pens that I remember.

Well, I went to the 2005 Los Angeles Pen Show with my Wife and 2 girls and I met up with my friend Dan there. I was browsing around and he came to me a said that Duke Pens had a representative there and they had some really nice looking pens there. I hate to say this but with all of the other pens there, looking at Duke Pens was the last thing on my mind. After I saw just about everything that I could possibly see there, I took my friends advice and visited the Duke Pens representatives table. She seemed rather bored due to lack of business at least that was my perception. People go to the pen show to find deals on the big name brands like Parker, Pelikan, Sheaffer, Mont Blanc, Visconti and Waterman to name a few but in my opinion not to buy Chinese made pens like Hero, Duke and Uranus pens.

I had no idea about what I was looking at or what I was looking for when it comes to these pens. I had already bought the pens that I wanted, so when I was at the table looking around, I had no desire to buy anymore pens. The lady was a young Asian woman in her early to mid 20’s she was very hospitable. As I was looking at a few of the pens, she told me that if I wanted to, I could dip any of the pens if I so desired. That is what I did, I tried all of the pens at the table, there were about 10 pens there to choose from but there are many, many more in the Duke line of pens. I have to say that I was quite impressed with the quality, appearance and performance of the 14kt gold German made nibs.

I am very prejudice when it comes to steel and gold plated steel nibs. I am a sucker for gold nibs and I find that they seem to be smoother than steel and GP steel nibs. But my only experience with steel nibs have been with cheap and poorly made ones. It is probably not the wisest way of choosing pens and knowing now, that is not necessarily true of Steel nibs because I have a few and they are better writers than some gold nibs that I have. But I was still not sold on Chinese steel or gold nibs until I found out that all of the nibs in the Duke line of pens are made in Germany. In fact, Duke/Uranus Pens are a joint Chinese and German venture called German Duke Lux Pen GmbH (Europe) Shanghai G Crown Fountain Pen Co Ltd (China). I believe that the goal was to change the minds of the western world regarding Chinese pens. When people think of pens made in China, I am sure they think of the Hero 329 & 330 Parker knockoffs and nibs, materials and workmanship of being the poorest quality around. Well this company wanted to create a line of pens made in China that were able to be considered a super premium writing instrument. They have used some of the best materials around to make pens that were to be given as gifts to foreign dignitaries, heads of state and important state events. So I don’t think China would be giving out Hero 329 and 330’s to heads of state, can you imagine that?? These pens are not cheap but they are affordable for most budgets, depending on the model they range from $12.00 all the way up to $500.00 +

First Impressions

I have to admit that I am not really a fan of skinny pens but this is really a nice looking pen. I had the opportunity of being able to dip and write with this pen before I considered buying it at the Pen Show. Like I said before, I had no desire to buy another pen that day but I decided to at least give it a try. This was the last table that I visited, in fact I was going to leave for the day but my friend told me to at least check out the pens at this table. So I did and I was very impressed with the pens as this table. This specific pen called the “Duke Gold Medal” really caught my eye. But at $70.00, I think this is rather steep for a pen that I have hardly heard anything about. I couldn’t believe the case and box this pen comes in! I have pens that are 3 times the price of the Duke Gold Medal but they only come in a cheap looking case and box. They seem to really want to impress the buyer with not only the pen but what the pen comes in. Faux Alligator skin case and a gold shiny box that the case fits into is really mind blowing. This case and box are cheap in comparison to the more expensive pens. They come in boxes and cases made out of carved and lacquered wood. The pen and the boxes are equally impressive but what are we actually paying for, the box or the pen?

Appearance/Finish: 3.5 out of 5

At first glance, this pen has a bluish black marble barrel with a gold cap and band with black writing that says “DUKE Gold Medal”. The Clip seems to be a bit interesting with a silver crown (Duke Trademark) at the top of the clip. The top of the cap is flat with a gold medal embossed. Inside the medal it has a black wreath with a “D” in the middle. All around the gold colored cap, there are engraved designs, lines, textures and writings. Now getting back to the Barrel, it is quite shiny with a bluish/black grey/swirl marble appearance to it. The material that is used to create the barrel is an Italian Resin and it seems relatively scratch resistant and pretty durable for everyday use. So in all, the pen is tad on the gaudy side but is relatively tame compared to some of the other designs I saw that day. This is not my first choice in style for this pen but it is definitely a conversation piece.

Design/Size/Weight: 3.5 out of 5

Believe it or not, this is one heavy pen for its size; in fact, it is heavier than a Mont Blanc 149 and a Pelikan M1000. You would not think this pen would way more than a Pelikan M150 but this pen is an armor plated tank. I guess that’s why they call this “The Gold Medal” The pen posted seems to be a bit top heavy but due to the thin nature of this pen, it rests comfortably in the pocket of the web between the index finger and the thumb. The cap seems to weigh much more than the barrel and I would say it accounts for 80% of the pens weight due to the amount of metal that is used to create the cap. If posting the pen becomes too heavy then writing without the cap works just fine. Capping the pen is done with an acceptable amount of pressure followed by a simple click. I really wish they would have opted out of the “Click” method of closure and instead used a threaded barrel. The pen posts the cap by using a friction fit and with the same acceptable amount of pressure the cap is posted. I have yet had a problem with the cap falling off of the back of the barrel when posted, the fit seems relatively snug. Most metal caps seem prone to damage by the infamous “cap dings”. I do not see a problem with this cap, that’s for sure. It is very rugged, thick and heavy and it seems to be made for the trials of daily use and to the extreme but this pen might be a bit too heavy for some but then again, just right for others.

The pen is the exact same length and girth of a vintage Parker 51capped but when posted the Gold Medal is slightly longer. This pen does not taper like the Parker 51 and design style reminds me of a Waterman Liaison or the Harmonie. Just as the cap is made for extreme daily use, so is the barrel of the pen. As this pen is heavy, it seems very durable and yet maintains a look of elegance to it, maybe a bit too elegant for my taste. In fact I find this pen to boarder a bit on the gaudy side but it incorporates many different designs, styles and textures all within a small area. Looking at it, it seems to take on a theme of an “East meets West”, which I find rather intriguing. Every time I use this pen, I find something new within the design, kind of like the “Where’s Waldo” of pens. In my opinion, this pen is made very well and upon a quick glance I am sure that 98% of the people would have no clue this is a Chinese pen. I know I didn’t, it looked like a Waterman to me.

Nib Design/Performance: 4.5 out of 5

Ok, now this is where this average looking pen transforms into an above average writing instrument. I apologize for the size of this image, but I feel that I have to show you one of the most important parts of a fountain pen. Upon closer look, this pen has a 14kt gold duo tone nib. As far as I know, there is only one size of nib and it is a medium. Now don’t be fooled into thinking that this medium nib is really a fine nib due to the fact that, most nibs from Asia are usually one size finer than marked. Not with this one!! Remember that this nib is made in Germany not in Asia. One funny thing about the nib is that I notice and what was confirmed on Norman Haase website is that the nib reads “14K 580”. 14K nibs should read “585” and I believe 18K should read “750”. I really do not know why it is misprinted and I couldn’t find a reason on Norman Haase’s website. He usually has more information on his website than most do when it comes to Duke Pens. Regardless of the world stopping controversy over the “580” markings, this is one unique looking nib. For some reason, the engraved lines on the nib remind me of an abalone shell. It’s very unusual and likewise very beautiful.

Nib Design/Performance: 4.5 out of 5

Ok, now this is where this average looking pen transforms into an above average writing instrument. I apologize for the size of this image, but I feel that I have to show you one of the most important parts of a fountain pen. Upon closer look, this pen has a 14kt gold duo tone nib. As far as I know, there is only one size of nib and it is a medium. Now don’t be fooled into thinking that this medium nib is really a fine nib due to the fact that, most nibs from Asia are usually one size finer than marked. Not with this one!! Remember that this nib is made in Germany not in Asia. One funny thing about the nib is that I notice and what was confirmed on Norman Haase website is that the nib reads “14K 580”. 14K nibs should read “585” and I believe 18K should read “750”. I really do not know why it is misprinted and I couldn’t find a reason on Norman Haase’s website. He usually has more information on his website than most do when it comes to Duke Pens. Regardless of the world stopping controversy over the “580” markings, this is one unique looking nib. For some reason, the engraved lines on the nib remind me of an abalone shell. It’s very unusual and likewise very beautiful.

As I stated, this nib is a true medium and it puts down a nice even flowing line of ink. I was very shocked about the smoothness of this nib. I had very low expectations for the pen before I inked it at the show, so that’s why I found this pen so surprisingly delightful. The nib is a pretty rigid one, that’s for sure, but a flexible nib is not a deciding factor for me when I am looking for pens. All I care about is a nib that is smooth, flows and writes well. And with that, this nib fulfilled all of my requirements for a nib and then some.

The Filling System: 3 out of 5

Ok, anyone who knows me knows that I despise cheap filling systems on pens such as the cartridge converter. This pen is no different. I expected a cartridge converter and that’s what’s in it!! If I wanted a better filling system, then I know I would have to pay a price more than what I paid for this pen. Plus, Duke does not put out a piston or button filler anyways. But in their defense, the Cartridge converter is an international size and it accepts the most common of all ink cartridges if one chooses to go that route.

Cost: 4.5 out of 5

Well, the MSRP is $125.00 on the Duke Gold Medal, at the show I bought this pen for $70.00 at the Pen Show. As far as I am concerned, the nib is worth $70.00 by itself. Finding a new pen with a gold nib under 80.00 is a steal in my book and so is this pen. The price is right if you have the money to spend on a unique and fantastic writer.

Conclusion

I have to say that this is one heck of a writer at a decent price. If it was a steel nib or a gold plated steel nib, I would say pass on this pen. This is a 14kt gold nib that alone is worth the price of the pen. I really think that the Chinese pen manufacturers are under pressure to put out a fountain pen that is credible to the eyes of the world. Unfortunately, China seems to be only known for Hero pens and pens that are Parker knockoffs. I also think that Duke Pens, being a joint venture with the Germans is shedding the old reputation of manufacturing pens with inferior nibs and materials. Most pen snobs put their noses in the air when they see the typical Chinese pen. Well, I think that the Duke Pen Company is going to be getting more attention in the near future. If these pens are good enough to be given to foreign heads of state and gifts to VIP’s then I think this company is getting it right. I have to say that I was very shocked by the quality and durability of this pen. This pen combines sophistication and practicality into a standard sized writing instrument with a nib that writes just as well as a fountain pen twice the price. Thumbs up on this pen!!!

Bexley Sheherazade- Review

2005-03-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

First Impressions

Well, my Bexley arrived yesterday. I was very surprised on how it looked. When I open the USPS box and removed the pen out of the bubble wrap. My heart sunk. It looked like the pen was cracked and gouges in the barrel and cap. I thought to myself that, it was 95.00 for a reason, you big dummy!!! Well, I turned on the light to examine the extent of the damage and to my surprise, there was no damage. What I thought was gouges and cracks were actually sliver chips with some shiny glitter imbedded deep in the pen.

Appearance/Finish: 4.5 out of 5

When the pen is posted, it is the same size as a Pelikan M800, but when capped, it is the length of a Pelikan M600. The pen has a tapered design. It is thinner at the end, where the piston knob is located. I find this area of the pen similar to the Sheaffer Legacy in girth. The barrel widens to the size of a Pelikan M1000, then tapers down to a M600 or M800 size where you place your fingers at to write. It is a very comfortable pen to write with, likewise it is a very impressive work of art. No two pens are alike and each one has its own unique personality, which makes this pen very appealing to me.

The Sheherazade looks similar to a Pelikan Chicago in color with the grey/black and smoke/white swirls. There seems to be more transparency in the barrel of the Sheherazade. What really makes the Sheherazade stand out from the Pelikan Chicago besides the shape are the chips of shiny silver. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of this, nor did I find any pictures with it in there. This is something that you have to see in person to really appreciate.

There are 3 colors to choose from: Translucent Blue, Tortoise and Grey (this pen) There is a color for everyone to enjoy. I saw the Translucent Blue in person at the LA Pen Show and I have to say it is one really cool looking pen. The Tortoise is another unique looking color for the Sheherazade. It looks more like a classic color compared to the other two. And of course there is the Grey. In the picture it looks rather plain and mediocre compared to the other two but when you see it in person, there is a sense of magic to it.

Design/Size/Weight: 4.5 out of 5

It is a very smooth design that is not aero dynamically designed but it is designed for looks and for function, even more so than a Pelikan, and I really love Pelikans. Surprisingly the pen is very light, especially for its size. I don’t have a scale but I know that it is much lighter than a M1000 and M800 and I believe it is almost the weight of a M600. The pen seems very balanced with the cap posted and while writing. So there are no tired hands or fingers with this pen. The pen feels really nice in the hand while you are writing. Even if you choke up all the way to the nib while you write or if you like to write with your fingers further up on the barrel.

This is a very impressive pen that screams in the spirit of a Pelikan but with a body style of an Aurora, Waterman or a Krone. The pen feels really nice on the hand while you are writing. Even if you choke up all the way to the nib while you write or if you like to write with your fingers further up on the barrel.

Nib Design/Performance: 5 out of 5

You have to see it to appreciate it!! Well, you wonder how does it write?? Like a Pelikan M1000 with a medium to broad wet noodle nib. It is duo tone color 18kt Broad nib and the nib is fairly large, around the same size as the Pelikan M800. It is springy, flexible, buttery smooth garden hose wet writer. The widths of the lines are nice and thick which is in the Ball Park of a medium to a light broad. I heard a lot about the quality of Bexley nibs and they were some of the smoothest around, I have to tend to believe them, especially with this pen.

The Filling System: 5 out of 5

The filling unit in the Sheherazade is a piston filler, like the Pelikan. The interesting thing about this piston knob is that you cannot tell if the piston is up or down, you really have to look in the chamber to see were it is as. For example, on a Pelikan, when you empty the pen, the knob on the piston filler is slightly raised and there is a slight gap between the knob and the barrel. The Gap on the Sheherazade is absent, the piston knob is flush with the barrel on both the filling and the expelling actions. The action on the filler is so smooth when you fill or empty the pen. The piston knob moves effortlessly and the barrel holds a generous amount of ink. I believe that the Sheherazade is on the only Bexley pen that uses a piston filler. I really think they made a good decision in making the Sheherazade with a filling system that incorporates a piston. I am a sucker for piston fillers and there are so many advantages to them. For example, the amount of ink that can be stored is so much more compared to other filling systems and the convenience of not having to unscrew the barrel to reach the cartridge converter to fill the pen is a big Plus. Pictures do not do this pen any justice. You have to see it in person to experience the beauty of this pen and I am not kidding either!!! Oh by the way, did I mention that this pen is a piston filler? :-)

Cost: 3.5 out of 5

This is one area that really tends to turn me off due to the fact that I am a budget minded pen collector/user. Now, for me, I bought this pen at a fraction of what the MSRP is ($300.00) and what some of the other internet stores sell them for, the cheapest I saw was around $190.00-$200.00. I really wanted this pen but not at this price, it is way too steep, even for me. So I have been looking for a used model for the past 6 months on Pentrace, EBay, FPN, Los Angeles Pen Show, and just about everywhere on the net. I pretty much gave up my search last month after the LA Pen show. Well, luckily for me, I decided to browse the Pentrace Green page to see what people had to offer. Well, at the bottom of the list, a gentleman had one for sale in the color grey. Since I am a collector/user, I didn’t care that the pen had no papers or box. 90% of the time, the boxes sits in my closet collecting dust and taking up space. Only special edition pens are the ones I desire with a box, but that is not a deciding factor in buying a pen. I rather buy gently used pens with no box at good prices than pay an arm and a leg for a pen with box papers and a price tag.

Conclusion

Everyone is different when it comes to pen and pen collecting so I respect the fact that people collect pens for investments and do not ink them. But that is not me!!! So don’t get the wrong impression!!! But that makes my search for pens easier and cheaper. I like to give used pens with small and minor defects a loving home. To me, the defects (minor, of course) are a pens personality and make them unique, kind of like people. But regardless, I picked up the pen for $95.00, 1/3rd of what the MSRP is and ½ of what it is going for on the internet, for me that’s a steal!!! If you can afford this pen, then it really is a fantastic and impressive looking/performing pen, as all Bexley Pens are. I don’t think you will be disappointed with it, I know I wasn’t. The nib is top notch, the design is excellent, weight and performance is impressive. This is pretty much what you want and expect in a pen. If you can find a used one at a sub $150.00 price tag, then by all mean consider it. If you can find one at a sub $100.00, then you would be foolish not to get it!!! J/K
So do I recommend it or do I say pass on it??? I definitely recommend this pen, hands down especially If you like Pelikan pens and/or a Bexley Pen fan. If you have the cash to buy it brand new, then do it. If you are a budget minded user/collector, then I would consider getting a used one or at least try to look for a good deal on a new one.

Parker 51 Special Edition- Review

2005-03-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

Introduction

I never really cared for the Parker 51 when I first started collecting fountian pens. I though that the hooded nibs looked rather lame and it just didnt do anything for me. Well, after about 3 months of collecting fountian pens, I started to do research on the Parker 51 and the more pictures of this pen that I saw, the more I started to like it. It kind of grows on ya, kind of like a hairy mole on your face. I have really started to admire the jewels that they put on the top of the cap along with the blue diamond on the clip. The thing that really intrigued me was the Vacumatic filling system. I have never seen anything quite like this before. My Dad was telling me about his Parker 51 and how much he liked it. So I decided that I was going to get one and it had to be with the Vacumatic filling system. Sure enough, I won an auction on Ebay for a Parker 51 in Jet Black with the blue diamond, vacumatic filler and dated in 1946.

One thing I did not like was the fine nib. My Dad loves fine nibs and his 51 has a medium nib. So we decided to trade 51's. I have many black pens and I needed a change in color. So the pen I traded for was a Dove Grey 51, blue diamond vacumatic dated 1947 with a medium nib. We were both very happy with the trade. So that is how my love for the Parker 51 started!!!

When I saw the New Parker 51 Special edition in Black, I fell in love with the pen. I really loved the gold accents on the Empire cap. I only wish they had the gold accents on the Vista Blue because I would have bought it in a heartbeat. I heard about the problems with the defective barrels. So I was careful about buying the new Parker 51 to ensure that the pen is the one that did not have the defective barrel. I found the best price from a very reputable dealer (penseller.com) I told the owner about my concerns with the defective barrel. Weaver McCracken from Penseller.com assured me that Parker corrected the issue on the next release and he only has the corrected 51's in stock. I was able to get the pen for around 230.00 USD through http://www.penseller.com

I knew I was not buying a vintage parker 51 but I fell in love with the black 51 with the empire cap with the gold accents. One thing that I did notice was that the pen seemed a bit on the light side when it came to weight. I think that was due to the filling system (converter) modern vs older Vacumatic. I bought the pen in a medium nib, expecting that the nibs would run a bit finer than stated. Well, I filled the 51 using Aurora Black ink. OMG, the pen was sooooo smooth when it came to writing!! It felt like I was writing with a stick of warm butter!!! The medium nib is in fact a TRUE medium nib.

I was a bit skeptical when I bought the pen, I didnt think it would perform as well as the True vintage 51. Boy was I wrong!!! This is a very nice pen that writes like a dream. I have been very happy with this pen and I think I made a wise choice with buying it!!

The only complaints that I have with the Parker 51 SE ia the weight, it seems a bit too light. The filling system is on the weak side, especially if it is a "51 Special Edition". This would be asking too much, but I would have loved to have seen this pen have a Vacumatic or a Button Filling system. The other complaint is the way the cap fits on to the pen. It seems that there is no liner inside the cap so when you put the cap on tho the pen it seems that the snug fig might be a little too snug and it might tear up the barrel after repeated use. Surprisingly it doesnt.

With the complaints VS the wonderful points, I would say that the good really outweighs the bad by a large margin. I have been very happy with the way the pen performs and also with the way it looks. I think Parker did a great job on this pen, I just wish they would have added all of the wonderful things that made the Vintage Parker 51 a legend that we all know and love. There is no way I would pay the MSRP of 350.00 But I did get a great deal for 230.00 and there are other places you can get them for even cheaper than that but buyer beware. I would shy away from Ebay because that is where I think most of the defective 51 SE are laid to rest. But this is a wonderful pen, a real looker and one hell of a writer. I keep this pen on my rotation because it is such a great writer!

I would rate this pen (4) **** out of *****(5) stars.

My Maiden Post

2005-02-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, I wanted to explain why I am creating a blog site. How does this site differ from other Blog site? Well, when you create a website, you need direction. When I say direction, I mean what is the purpose of the website and what do I want to show. My first website was pretty much a visual resume from the years 1999-2001. A lot of things have changed since then. My photography has taken a whole new direction especially with my line of work. So with my first website, I found it extremely difficult to keep it current and post on a regular basis due to the fact that I am consumed if Fatherhood and my marriage to my wife. So finding time to update my site using Macromedia Dreamweaver and Flash is next to none. So I decided to take a new direction with the medium called Blogging. I hope this will enable me to post pictures, reviews and news in a timely manner opposed to the conventional method of webpage building and design. Well I think I took enough of your time!! Please enjoy and comments and feedback are very much appreciated!!!

Aaron