|||
After sending about a dozen pens out the door in January, I’ve got another group lined up to have their fates decided. These aren’t as easy to say goodbye to as the others were and the jury isn’t back on all of them yet.
Pointing towards a ticket out of town?
Let’s talk through them a bit and see what shakes out.
First group is a Platinum 3776, Montegrappa Venetia, Leonardo Momento Zero, and Sheaffer Targa.
3776 is a solid worker and has a juicy coarse nib. I chose that with the idea that I could get it ground to almost any shape on the market. The thing is that, in the meantime, I had some other pens ground for specialty points I quite like and I don’t know if I want to send the 3776 out for a triple macchiato reverse architect fude just to cross that off the list. I also don’t know if the pen’s worth keeping in stock form because I’ve got Pilots and Sailors I like more.
The Venetia and Momento Zero are very pretty, very nice to write with, and shouldn’t that be enough? The Venetia does tend to dry out more than other pens between uses, which is a minor annoyance. The MZ was made before Leonardo switched to Jowo nibs so it runs a Bock #6. The nibs I have for it are excellent, but it’s a bit harder to indulge nib swapping in non-Jowo housing. Beyond all of that, though, my Scribo is more of a head turner and a far more dynamic writer than either the Venetia or MZ.
The Targa is a great pen and shares many qualities with the beloved Parker 45 but, as Sheaffers go, I’d rather write with a Balance or No Nonsense.
On to the rest with a Lamy 2000, Parker VP, Parker Super 21, and Graf von Faber Castell Guilloche.
Note the pleasing shade of brown on the Guilloche. They call it Cognac.
The 2000 leaves me on the fence. It’s a stone classic. I got one with a Pendleton Brown italic nib to avoid any potential “sweet spot” problems, so it writes as good as it looks. And yet something feels different than it used to for me with the pen. Can’t put a firm finger on it but I’m not as compelled anymore. Still, isn’t it worth hanging on to a pen this good even if you’re lukewarm? Or am I just trying to avoid the regret of not having it by quietly maintaining another regret of not using it?
The Parker VP is an intersection of different features that make it exciting and tricky to use at the same time. The nib units are interchangeable and came in a wide variety of sizes. I lucked into finding one with a broad stub. The VP’s filling mechanism is unique to the model so you can’t use cartridges or other Parker converters. It has a thin plastic breather tube and splined neck that must be handled gently. The VP was only made for a few years so spare nibs and fillers aren’t easily had. But isn’t that all part of the fun with something vintage? Isn’t that what makes it interesting? Yes…but I prefer the nib on my Vacumatic, which is also a better-looking pen. And if I’m going to use an aerometric filler, I’d rather it wasn’t one to handle with kid gloves. In hindsight, getting the VP was mostly a means to level up my Parker collection. Now that I’ve had it a while and it mostly sits around, what’s it doing here?
Speaking of Aerometrics you don’t have to baby, the Super 21 was me trying to get Parker 51 adjacent without going all in on the real thing. The 21 is a nice pen, though the nib is rather tight and dry for my taste. I played with the idea of studying how to take apart the hood, feed, collector, and nib to see if I could adjust it for more flow. I’m generally handy with pen maintenance, but the 51 family of pens aren’t for casually popping apart by amateurs. So, while failure is a component of learning a skill, I didn’t wany my education to come at the expense of potentially ruining the 21. Either way, I haven’t used it much or tinkered with it and I prefer a 45 or 17 for writing.
Last is the GvFC Guilloche. A beautiful pen with its own style that stands out in the pen drawer. The nib is excellent, a pleasure to use. What’s the problem? A Waldmann Carbon F is the problem. It has every bit of quality and panache as the Guilloche with the bonus of shiny black carbon fiber, which I find highly attractive. Like how I think of the Italian pens above, I see room for either the Guilloche or the Carbon F to live in my collection, but there’s too much overlap to keep both. Truly an it’s not you, it’s me situation.
Okay, where do we land on the Clash meter for these pens?
3776 — Go
Venetia — Go
Momento Zero — Go
Targa — Go
2000 — Stay, for now
VP — Go
21 — Go
Guilloche — Go
That’s seven out of eight needing to pack their bags and catch a bus. Would you make different choices?
