FOUNTAIN PEN DAY 2020 GIVEAWAY!

Even in a weird year like 2020, there are still certainties in life: one, of course, being that first Friday of November, it's Fountain Pen Day! Of course, you should always take good care of your fountain pens, but today is the day to do something extra: buy them flowers, or a box of chocolates... Ok, maybe that's a bit weird, just enjoy some peaceful writing today, or clean that one pen you've had inked in your pen case or desk drawer for far too long (we're all guilty of doing this, aren't we?), that's an option too!

But let's start the FPD celebrations with a giveaway, shall we! With the help of Esterbrook and Fountain Pen Day, I've got a fantastic Esterbrook-themed swag bag to give to one lucky winner! The contents are pretty insane: one of Esterbrook's new JR fountain pens, an Esterbrook NOOK single pen case to keep it nice and cozy, a custom vintage Esterbrook-themed stamp (never thought I'd say this about a stamp, but it's super cool!), and of course a bunch of Fountain Pen Day stickers, pins and bookmarks, so you can show off your nerdiness in style! 

Participating is simple. All you have to do for a chance to win, is enter in the Rafflecopter widget below and complete one or more tasks, easy peasy! The more tasks you complete, the more chances to win! This giveaway will run for five days, starting today.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RULES: Open worldwide! Giveaway ends 11/7/2020. The winner will be chosen via random.org, and announced in a separate post. The winner will be contacted directly via email, if he/she fails to reply within one week, a new winner will be picked. Only entries with valid email address are eligible to win. Invalid entries are denied.

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REVIEW: MAIORA IMPRONTE FOUNTAIN PEN

One week, and three reviews of Italian pens (Earlier this week we looked at the Leonardo Cuspide and Tibaldi Perfecta), you could say that's a trend! Yes, I do have a thing for Italian pens, and in particular I have (or rather, had) a thing for Delta pens... 

It just so happens that two of the three pens I reviewed this week have a common history related to Delta! The Italian company that gave us the Dolcevita (one of my all-time favorite pens!) was run by two proprietors: Ciro Matrone (whose children Mariafrancesca and Salvatore now run Leonardo), and Nino Marino from the brand we're looking at today - Maiora. They both went their separate ways after the demise of Delta. But double the number of brands, double the number of fun products, innit? So you don't hear me complain! 

So today we'll be looking at the first fountain pen design from Nino's new brand: the Maiora Impronte. In a way, the Maiora Impronte follows a similar design cue to the Leonardo Momento Zero. You'll probably see this comparison being made quite often, and not completely without reason. Both pens unmistakable take on distinct characteristics from Delta. The Italian style is easily recognizable in both pens, so to speak! But they do separate quite themselves quite clearly I think, especially in terms of finishes and when looking at the smaller details. 

In contrast with Leonardo's more classic looks (traditional rolling wheel clips, recognizable decorative bands, and other small details), I find Maiora follows a more minimal and modern approach, without completely discarding the typical classic 'Italian design' look and feel. It's still a pen with character, not just sleek, clean lines.

The Impronte is a cigar-shaped, flattop pen with pronounced pointed finials. The Impronte has a pronounced angular, fairly sleek design. There are a couple thin decorative bands scattered across the pen, but it never comes across as too ornamental or cluttered. The cap is stubby and tapers down very straight towards the cap finial. In contrast, the barrel is elongated and has a slightly more rounded taper to it, stretching out into a long and narrow blind cap at the back. You'll definitely notice that the Impronte's cap is short in proportion to the rest of the pen, which adds some visual appeal to the overall shape.

Maiora's logo incorporates V-shapes, arranged in a star-like pattern, with a nib subtly hidden inside the logo. The V-shape returns in the clip design, which is probably my favorite element on the entire pen because it's so meticulously crafted. The solid, cast clip, with its pointed shape, has a stepped design. The top face of the clip is polished, which contrasts nicely with the matte sides. 

In terms of functionality, this is certainly not the easiest clip to use, but I don't typically clip my fountain pens to things, so that's not really a dealbreaker for me personally. In this case, I'll gladly take looks over functionality. Maiora (and daughter-company Nettuno) seem to use casting techniques quite often for the trims on their pens (Delta did, too!). I appreciate them going the extra mile to incorporate traditional techniques like this in a modern-day pen! 

What really sets the Impronte apart for me, is the unique choice and combination of materials. Also, it's orange. I like orange pens - for whatever reason - so they had me hooked right away! The 'original' colorway (it doesn't actually have a name!) that I was sent here, combines three different resins and finishes: matte black, glossy black, and an orange-gold-black 'spaghetti resin'. 

Black swirls and subtle translucency on once side of the barrel...

... but rotating the pen reveals bright yellow-orange streaks with strong chatoyance!

The orange spaghetti resin is a combination of different acrylics, mated together as little strips. It's a combination of black swirled acrylic with gold flecks scattered in it, and different shades of orange resin with varying degrees of translucency and chatoyance to them. There's a lot of variety in the material depending on how you rotate it, giving a nice interplay of light and dark. While the combination of finishes may sound like a cacophony, I think it's really well-executed and the colors work together quite harmoniously.  Especially the combination of the spaghetti resin with matte black parts is quite striking.

It's probably worth noting that, if you prefer silver trims on your pens, you're out of luck with the Maiora Impronte in this orange colorway. There are other versions though, like the blue Capri, that come with silver-colored trims. The Impronte 'orange' is only available with gold-plated hardware, which does match the orange and black color scheme quite well. 

My only gripe with the matte cap is that the finish is slightly inconsistent across the length of the cap (for the life of me, I couldn't capture it in the photos, but it's visible irl). It's probably a small production error on this particular pen (people I talked to didn't have this on their Maiora's), but worth noting nonetheless. Otherwise, I have absolutely no complaints about construction and fit and finish of the Impronte. 

L to R: Pelikan M800, Edison Collier, Leonardo Momento Zero Grande, Leonardo Moment Zero, Maiora Impronte, Lamy 2000, Lamy Safari.

The interesting thing about the sizing of the two versions of the Impronte is that the 'Standard' and 'Oversized' versions are seemingly very similar, at least on paper. (It remains to be seen how the small increase in size changes the way the oversized Impronte feels in use!) But in any case, the regular model is already quite a serious, large pen. It measures 14.7 cm closed, and 13.3 cm uncapped. The regular Impronte has a diameter of about 16 mm, and the section, while relatively short, is nice and wide (about 12 mm at the widest point) with a strong concave profile that really locks your grip securely in place. 

The way the section takes your grip forward makes it so you're not really holding the pen right on the threads or slight step towards the barrel. Not that either of those things came across as particularly bothersome to me (the threads are fairly shallow and unobtrusive, and the step is rounded off and not too drastic), but you can notice them a little bit. 

With a weight of 27 grams in total, the Impronte is not too heavy at all. Most of the weight sits fairly close towards the grip because of the strongly tapered barrel, so the balance is right, even with the cap posted. 

Another common trait between Delta, Leonardo, and Maiora is their use of 'captured converter'-type filling systems. Some people don't like that - I actually don't mind. It gives you the ability to swap between converter and cartridges as you please, but it still retains a bit of the style and 'user experience' of using a piston-filled pen. Maiora implements it properly, with a screw-in converter that has a metal twist knob on the back with 'Maiora' laser-engraved on it, and plated to match the rest of the gold-colored trim. 

The JoWo-made nib on the Maiora Impronte is an excellent choice in terms of writing experience, but if I may pick some nits, I'd like them to do away with the classic scrollwork imprint, and just keep the modern Maiora branding to better fit the rest of the pen.

The JoWo B nib performed excellent out of the box, and exactly as you'd expect from a quality steel nib. It's stiff as a nail - as Jowo's tend to be -, but the broad tipping is perfectly smooth and it lays down a generous, wet line of ink. Jowo nibs are consistently decent writers, so I can't really complain there. The Impronte has a tendency to dry out juuust a little bit over the course of several days. Interestingly this issue never persists for long no matter how long the pen hasn't been used. Flow immediately picks up right after that first hesitating line, so it's not that bad.

While I can't say that I like that Delta stopped a few years ago, I'm pleased to see both ex-business partners still continuing in their trade and keeping the Delta DNA alive in their own respective ways. That being said, while Leonardo and Maiora's common history is nice and reflects in an aesthetic that will most likely speak to Delta fans, I also stand behind letting each brand's products speak for themselves. In that view, I think Maiora's modern and slightly experimental design language of the Impronte is an excellent starting point for them to establish a new and fresh brand identity. I'm curious to see where they take it from here!

In terms of pricing, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Maiora offers the Impronte both the regular and oversized versions of the Impronte for the exact same price. While I'll still have to compare this regular version to its' oversized sibling in the future, I do like that you can choose purely based on the aesthetic or comfort difference between the two, instead of having to also factor in cost. I think their price of 180€ (175$ without VAT from site sponsor Appelboom) is correct, and competitive in today's market. It lines up perfectly with Leonardo's current pricing of the Momento Zero and Furore, and many other Italian pens with similar specs.

NOTE: This product was provided by Maiora, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

REVIEW: TIBALDI PERFECTA FOUNTAIN PEN

A new brand today... Or well, not really. Tibaldi is of course no new name to the market, with a long history in pen making (well over a century, in fact!). The brand went under in the sixties, then dabbled around until 2001 (with the most notable pen in that second period without a doubt being the illustrious Tibaldi Impero!), and ultimately was picked up by Montegrappa somewhere in 2004. Montegrappa initially used the Tibaldi name for extremely high-end limited editions, and maybe most notably for collaborations with Bentley and Bugatti... not that those were really all that memorable considering the price, in my opinion. But now, out of nowhere, Montegrappa has seemingly rebranded the Tibaldi name and given it a proper focus on modern and trendy luxury pens, watches and accessories at a more reasonable mid-tiered price point. All of a sudden, Tibaldi became interesting again!

I've got two Tibaldi pen reviews in the pipeline for you (of three - soon four - models in total right now), and right off the bat, I can tell you that these are pretty nice pens! We'll start with perhaps the pen that intrigued me most: the Tibaldi Perfecta! As soon as I saw this pen on Stilografica's website, I knew I had to give it a go, so thanks to the kind folks at Stilografica for making that possible!

If anything, I think the current Tibaldi incarnation has a very clear path ahead of them, of what they want to do and how they want to do it. Their stylistic, fresh-but-also-classic design approach shines through even in the packaging. It's just cardboard, really, so it's nothing overly fancy. And yet it's still solid, hefty and flawlessly finished with a fun geometric print on the sides and a bright orange paper outer sleeve. It's probably silly to be impressed by a cardboard box, but in this case I am.

Anyway, on to the pen! The Tibaldi Perfecta is a slightly smaller pen, taking strong design cues from the hugely popular safety pens of the early 1900s, a design style that's also the basis for the very popular - and now sadly long sold-out - Montblanc Heritage 1912. In contrast to the MB 1912 though, the Perfecta only inspired its superficial design from the safety pen. Underneath the surface, it's a modern cartridge converter-filled pen, and lacks the retractable nib mechanism that the 1912 is known for (even though it appears as if the Perfecta's barrel ends in an actual turning knob - but it does not!). The Perfecta comes in two colorways: this sleek all-black version, and an even more vintage-inspired version with a contrasting beige/black flecked acrylic for the cap!

Even though you don't actually get a safety pen out of the Tibaldi Perfecta, I still very much appreciate its' design! It certainly does feel vintage-inspired, and yet it also takes a rather minimal approach in the smaller details on the pen:

The subtle branding around the cap lip,...

The square guilloché bands around the cap finial, section and two more at the back of the barrel (which, as I said, creates sort of a visual divide between the barrel and piston knob even though it's all a single piece), and the sleek, modern-looking clip.

I don't like my clips this bendy

I've said it multiple times before, but for those that don't know: I'm a stickler for clip design! And this one, unfortunately, isn't working for me. The design in itself is quite ok. It's very bulky but as I said it's another modern detail that clashes nicely with the overall vintage inspiration of the Perfecta. The problem is the material it's made out of: rubber! I think it's a thin bent piece of steel (which you can see where it's attached to the cap), cast into a piece of rubber. It sort of sags a little, and bends when you pull it up to attach to something - it doesn't feel reassuringly strong to me. 

Most importantly though, the rubber is a dust magnet and it just distracts from the otherwise very well-executed design. Ok That's all. Clip rant over.

L to R: Platinum #3776, Leonardo Momento Zero, Montegrappa Zero, Tibaldi perfecta, Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000

The Perfecta is what I'd describe as a medium-sized pen, coming in at 13.7 cm/ 5.39" capped, and 12.4 cm/ 4.88" uncapped. Even though that's technically a little below what I'd consider a comfortable size for my hand, I'm willing to be somewhat lenient here because the slightly tapered up barrel shape (the widest point is actually at the decorative bands at the back!) and balance make for an overall pleasant fit in the hand, still. The total weight of 25 grams is enough to make it feel like a sturdy pen, but remains unobtrusive in the hand. You do get a nice, comfortable section with a pleasant diameter (12mm/ 0.47") and threads at the front. But to make optimal use of the size of the Perfecta, I did find my grip to rest on the threads at the front of the section, and even a bit on the step right in front of it.

The threads are flattened off enough so to not be an issue for my grip, but the step is of course noticeable. Interestingly, Tibaldi seems to have removed the step in a recently updated version, where the part in between the nib and threads is now slightly longer and has a gentle taper to ease the transition (Anthony from UK Fountain Pens reviewed the updated version HERE). That should be a positive improvement in terms of comfort.

The cartridge/converter filling Perfecta is refilled by unscrewing the small front section right in front of the threads. With fairly little information to go by, I must admit it took me a hot minute of trying to figure out where exactly it opens up. The c/c filling system is ok, but nothing to write home about. The section has some metal parts, so you cannot eyedropper it - should you be wondering if that's the way to get at least a bit of the vintage safety filler vibe!

The nib is supposedly supplied by Bock, something I can agree with after writing with the Perfecta for a while. It's a rather simple-looking nib with a cool laser-engraving of Tibaldi's eagle-like (?) logo (Sorry, I don't know my birds! But I do know that I like the modern Tibaldi logo) that works well. The steel nib is stiff, but it's a smooth and hassle-free writer that isn't plagued by hard-starting issues or skipping, so I can't really complain. Perhaps the biggest feature of the Perfecta (and any Tibaldi pen, for that matter) can be found underneath the nib, though!

... Yes that's right, an ebonite feed! Can we just all agree that these should become the standard on pens, even in this mid-tier price range? Very rarely do I come across a pen with ebonite feed that actually worsens the performance. Perhaps they are sometimes a bit too gushy, but that can simply be fixed by 'setting' the feed with mild heat or warm water. In general, though, ebonite feeds play nicer with inks than plastic feeds do (they have better 'wettability', to throw a technical term at it). Tibaldi takes a moderate approach to their ebonite feed setup: it's balanced, not gushy but not dry either. Above all, ink flow is consistent and keeps up flawlessly. It's nice to see Tibaldi bring ebonite feeds to their entire catalog. I do wonder why they do it though, and their mother company - Montegrappa - does not?

I must say, the Tibaldi Perfecta took me by surprise for a second, and I was intrigued right from the get-go. I'm intrigued by this old-but-new brand, and I'm liking the style they convey with everything from the packaging to their marketing material. (Obviously, Montegrappa knows how to run a pen brand!) I really quite like the Tibaldi Perfecta. The vintage-inspired design is nice, its a very decent writer overall, and it's offered at a fair price point. While 195€ (about 190$ without VAT from our site sponsor Casa Della Stilografica - Get 10% off with discount code 'Firenze'!) is not cheap by any means, we've talked before about how 200-300$ seems to be the new mid-tiered price bracket that a lot of brands are moving into. With that in mind, I certainly think the Perfecta has everything it takes to play along with similarly priced competition from other Italian brands like Leonardo, Maiora, or even some of Montegrappa's own pens.

This product was provided on loan by Casa Della Stilografica, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

REVIEW: ESTERBROOK JR FOUNTAIN PEN

Esterbrook finally came forward with what I thought would be the ideal pen for a revival of such an iconic, 'Americana' brand - a modern re-interpretation of the vintage Esterbrook J, called the Esterbrook JR (or 'J Reborn' in full). I think it's the product many of us were waiting for. I mean, why else would you take up the Esterbrook name, if not for establishing a tangible connection to what the brand used to represent almost eighty years ago?

But now that the JR is out, and I have one in-hand (Thanks to Esterbrook for providing this pen for review!), I'm not so sure anymore. There certainly seems to be a strong pro and contra camp formed around the new model, which I guess is to be expected when reviving such a vintage classic? It's a bit of a minefield. The die-hard fans will never be happy about a reimagined version, the uninitiated might not even recognize it as the pen it's supposed to represent.

The JR definitely being a reimagined design, instead of accurate reproduction, I can certainly see how the new design doesn't fully capture the style of the J, but I do feel like some of its essence is there. I'd show the old and new side by side, but unfortunately, I no longer have a vintage J to compare to the JR. I'm sure you've either seen one before or own one... If not, my very old review of the Esterbrook J might help you get a better idea.

I immediately liked the JR, for a couple reasons. It has a distinct vintage-y look, it's smaller than typical modern pens - harkening back to the days when pens used to be a good bit smaller as standard -, it has the characteristic ribbed texture clip, with ridges running along the length of the straight clip - maybe the one element that carries over almost directly from the vintage J. 

Nice pearlescence on the Denim Blue acrylic

The three colors available on release - 'Denim Blue', 'Tuxedo Black', and 'Carmine Red' - are all marbled, pearlescent materials that are also supposed to evoke the look of the original materials. They are nice - I even like this Denim Blue, even though I'm not typically a fan of blue pens - and match the vintage vibe excellently, although they're not quite as enticing and unique as the original.

infinity?

But then there are also a lot of design elements that take away from the Vintage J. For example, I'd wish the center band also came with the recognizable ridged pattern to match with the vintage design, but instead it's a rather plain-looking band with the Esterbrook logo laser-engraved on the front. The cap and barrel both have a metal coin finial, with the cap finial engraved with the "infinity" Esterbrook logo. I don't know why they call it that though, it doesn't look quite like ∞ to me? The finials are flat, instead of the ridged, slightly domed finials on the double-jewel Esterbrook J. 

But then above everything else, I'm most confused about the very straight and skinny barrel shape. It seems like a very odd decision if you want to remake the J - which had a much more gently tapered profile. It takes the overall design in a completely different direction, and I don't know if I like the abrupt transition from the wider cap to the skinny barrel. It's a bit clunky. The decorative ring on the barrel is also placed oddly high up, which makes the proportions of the JR feel even weirder. 

L to R: Kaweco Sport, Pelikan M205, Aurora Optima, Sailor Pro Gear, Esterbrook JR, Esterbrook Estie, Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000

The JR is described as a pocket pen, but I think that's a bit of a stretch. At just 12.6 cm/ 5" capped, and 11.8 cm/ 4.6" uncapped, it surely is a small pen, but it's no Kaweco Sport or Schon P6 either. In the size comparison, you can see that I found quite a few pens that closely match the dimensions of the JR: the Pelikan M200, Aurora Optima, and Sailor Pro Gear, all pens that sort of float in that limbo between pocket- and full-sized. The JR is a relatively slender pen, and the relatively wide cap accentuates the slim barrel even more. The section, with roughly a 10 mm (0.39") diameter, is narrow but not uncomfortably so.

For smaller hands, the JR might be comfortable to use without posting. But for me, it's one of the very few pens that I actually prefer to use posted (it posts very securely, btw). With the cap on the back, you get a very comfortable 15.2 cm/ 6" long pen, and the overall weight is low enough (18g total) so that even posting doesn't throw off the balance. 

In terms of comfort, the benefit of the massive step from the cap towards the barrel becomes obvious. Underneath the cap, you get absolutely zero transition from section to barrel. The threads aren't really noticeable either. The section shape of the JR is a peculiar ('peculiar' seems to be a keyword for the JR's design!) combination of a straight untapered part right in front of the threads and a very short pinched section closer towards the nib. The concave part is so short that only my index and middle finger actually grip there, while my thumb naturally rests a bit higher up. It's a comfortable pen to write with, but again the proportions are a bit odd. 

The writing end is a #5 JoWo nib. It's also engraved with the X-shaped Esterbrook logo, a.k.a "infinity"  (Yeah, the scientist in me has to put that under heavy air-quotes because it just doesn't feel right) logo. Anyway, you're looking at a stock, steel nib and I feel like I've already repeated myself a million times, talking about these. In any case, it's a decent, reliable performer (better than I expected maybe, I'm certainly a bit biased towards #6 size nibs performing slightly better, but maybe I was wrong?) and it's notably resistant to drying out, despite not having the spring-loaded inner cap like the Estie. It starts right up, even after sitting unused on my desk for a week or so, which is commendable. The medium nib is smooth but with just the right amount of feedback while you write. Ink flow is rather heavy. 

Even though the JR is really quite an excellent little writer as it stands, I think the Esterbrook MV adaptor (rumored to come soon) will help set this pen apart. Being able to fit vintage Esterbrook nibs in the JR definitely will add some character to the writing experience and bring it one step closer to the original. The gold trim of this 'Denim Blue' colorway might clash with the steel-colored vintage nibs, though?

It may seem that I'm giving the Esterbrook JR a hard time, and perhaps that's true. It's a good-looking, classic-styled design. Build quality and writing comfort are excellent. It's a good, hassle-free writer, with potential for offering a bit more character once the MV adaptor comes in. Those are all positive things when you look at the JR in its' own respect. But when you call your pen the Esterbrook 'J Reborn', comparisons with the original are inevitable, and that's maybe where it misses the ball for a lot of Esterbrook J fans. 

The JR has an MSRP of 180$. Retail prices seem to be pretty steady at 140$ in the US, but here in Europe, we're stuck at 175€ (essentially full MSRP!) from retailers like Appelboom or La Couronne Du Comte. The MV adaptor will most likely cost an additional 40$ extra. Frankly, I think the European price is too expensive. I feel like it would represent a better value around the 120€ mark, which would be more in line with the US pricing. Despite the JR being an overall good pen, at its' full MSRP, there's too much competition (even from Esterbrook's own Estie, which would be my choice at just 20€ more!) for it to really stand out from the pack.

NOTE: This product was provided by Esterbrook (Kenro), so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.