29 Friday May 2020
In the last few years Leonardo Officina Italiana (to use their full name) have been building quite a reputation through their Momento Zero, Furore, and Momento Zero Grande models. All are of the same basic design with the differences being in the finials and size. Now in 2020 they have released a new model, the Messenger, with just 366 examples being made in each of five translucent colours.
21 Thursday May 2020
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capless, lamy, lamy dialog, lamy dialog 3, musings, pilot capless, pilot vanishing point, platinum, Platinum curidas, vanishing point
I’m guilty. I jumped on the bandwagon of fountain pen fashion. I bought a Platinum Curidas in green with a medium nib. To be honest, when the original pictures came out my interest was piqued, after all I have to others, with which I will lightly compare it, the Lamy Dialog 3 and the Pilot Capless (nee Vanishing Point).
15 Friday May 2020
When is a Dolcevita not a Dolcevita, when it’s a Frederico, or is it? Towards the end of Delta, in 2014, a range of ‘cut price’ pens was offered through a partner site, Martemodena, both direct from their website and through certain auction platforms. Visually these were very similar to the originals, so how was the price brought down? In the last eight months I’ve been fortunate to pick up the stantuffo (piston filler) version of both the Dolcevita and the Dolcevita Frederico allowing me to compare.
08 Friday May 2020
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There is something about Italian engineering that pulls on the hearts strings and overrides the head when it comes to purchasing. It was Bertone, Farina, or Gandini who came out with the quote that you can either design beautiful cars or you can design reliable cars, but you can’t design both at the same time*. At times it can seem the same in the pen world, but in many respects we are all the better for it, or at least our hearts keep telling us it is so…
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01 Friday May 2020
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As covered in my previous piece on the OMAS 360 Vintage I mentioned about the ‘New’ version of the 360. This was launched in 2007 with a more modern look, and arguably as an entry pen in to the OMAS brand. With its angled triangular finials, flattened clip, new OMAS O on the cap, it certainly looked the part, but it was also divisive amongst OMAS fans and from what I can tell the model was dropped again just four or five years later.
23 Thursday Apr 2020
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My daily carry rarely changes. Even with three to four months between postings there are normally just one or two pens swapped in or out. Things have changed however, as the pen case is left by my work bag, not by my computer, so with the present situation and full time working from home it is rarely touched. Instead the assortment of pens on my desk have become my daily writers. These are a mix of new pens, those I have queued up to review, those I’m too lazy to put away and still use, and then the one permanent resident.
20 Monday Apr 2020
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Back in 1996 OMAS launched a new, very different pen. The 360. A model it made in various forms right up to the closing of the company. Arguably the most comfortable fountain pen ever produced (unless you are left handed) and rumoured to have been designed to force people to hold fountain pens correctly. In true OMAS fashion there have been many versions and names. Here I look at my two 360 Vintages, models from towards the end despite their name.
15 Wednesday Apr 2020
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It’s been half a year since I last put any pens up for sale, and as is all too common in this hobby, I’ve bought more and so need to release some to keep the size of the collection down. Some were previously listed, most are new and are ones I just do not use (with one exception where the pen with a broad nib, which was too large for every day use, has been replaced by a similar one with a EF nib, which is now in my daily carry).
The prices are without P&P as I’m happy to sell internationally. Note for the UK I will be looking at Royal Mail Special Delivery (may just be tracked for those under £100).
10 Friday Apr 2020
Posted in Pens
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German, imporium, lamy, lamy persona, Mario Bellini, persona
While the 2000 and Safari may be considered Lamy’s seminal models, and the 27 their first big break under the Lamy brand name, the Persona was arguably their first attempt at a high end pen to rival those from Pelikan and Montblanc. Launched in 1990 and designed by Mario Bellini, who was better know for his automotive work, it went through two updates before being dropped in 2010 having sold some 10,000 units per year at its peak. To Lamy it was considered a hobby or vanity model, a lost leader to show what they could do. In 2015 it was brought back as a new, slightly different model, the Imporium.
04 Saturday Apr 2020
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A month ago who would have thought most of us would be stuck at home aside from when shopping for groceries or essential travel. For many of us the thought of being able to work from home full time would have appealed. No daily commute, getting out of bed 5-10 minutes before logging in (kids dependant), relaxed attire, …. Problem is the weekends are just a continuation, the only difference being no connecting to work. Days start to merge and you feel like you’re starting to enter The Twilight Zone …
