I had the pleasure of handling a fountain with one of the most monstrous nibs ever made! The man who owns this pen, and runs Pear Tree Pen Co., loaned it to Ryan, who runs Brassing Adds Character, and allowed me to photograph and write with it. The presentation and packaging that comes with this pen is to be expected when you pay four figures for a fountain pen. I have no idea what it says on the top of box, but it sure looks cool!
The interior is lined in a beautiful blue-ish/purple velvet material that hides a tension clip which holds the pen in an almost sensual, yet protective manner. Inside the box is a soft cloth to wipe down the pen, I guess. There is also a single pen wrap included but I don’t know why. It’s almost a sick joke to include this wrap for the intent of carrying around such an expensive pen. If I even thought of transporting this pen I wouldn’t do it in anything less than a mobile Fortress of Solitude.
The body of the pen is made from a beautiful celluloid that has green and blue pearlescent flakes. When I first saw it, it kind of reminded me of Sheaffer’s Ebonized Pearl in their Balance pens. The barrel has been ribbed which is going to be a love it or hate it affair. I don’t like the look of it and I didn’t think I’d like it while writing with it but when this pen is in your hand you don’t even notice the ribbing. All you can focus on is the writing. I would still probably prefer a smooth barrel though. Notice the bar on top of the nib thats acts as a kind of over-feed. When you really get to writing you’ll be glad it’s there.
The photo above shows the nib and feed fully loaded with ink. See how extra ink is held between the nib and the over-feed? That keeps the ink flowing nice and juicy even as you race across the paper. The cross-slit nib is a beautiful piece of work! These pictures do not do it justice, not even close! (Does that say more about my photography or the nib?) The pen feels very good in the hand. In my normal writing position, which is slightly upright, only the first set of tines were making contact with the paper. In this position it writes like a round bold nib. To get the full effect of the nib you need to lay the pen down quite a bit, at least compared to what I’m used it. This is actually very easy and comfortable due the length of the barrel. You can clearly see the difference between writing with the entire nib in contact with paper compared to just the first set of tines as shown in the fifth written line. My signature is good example of what happens when you write too quickly and adjust the writing angle mid-stroke.
Writing with this pen was a great experience and I would like to thank both James and Ryan for letting me handle it.
Nice work, Dan! I’d probably hire an armed guard to tote this thing around for me, too!
Looks great!