Fountain Pen Day competition.....

Well, lucky me! Yesterday was International Fountain Pen Day. I never even knew there was such a thing until I started collecting fountain pens this year. There was a poetry competition being run on the FPD website, and my poem was chosen as one of the winners! Happy days! The results, and poems, can be seen at http://eclectidbits.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/and-winner-is.html

Happy Fountain Pen day!

Happy Fountain Pen Day to all my fellow FP addicts!

Just a quick post to let you know that the Fountain Pen Day website have loads of giveaways and offers running. Visit their page at http://www.fountainpenday.org/sponsors/ and scroll to the bottom to join in the fun. Good luck and keep writing!

Fountain Pen Day 2014

Just a reminder that this Friday, 7th November is Fountain Pen Day. Celebrated worldwide on the first Friday in November, it's a chance to celebrate everything to do with fountain pens. Share your passion with friends and family. Maybe even try and get them interested in the joys of writing and drawing with a fountain pen. Whatever you do, mark the date on your calendar and make Fountain Pen Day something to write home about!

More info can be found at www.fountainpenday.org

Montegrappa Fortuna Black

I'd like to start by saying that I am a pen enthusiast that collects pens for personal enjoyment. I am not a pen expert! The views and impressions expressed in this blog are my own and they are based purely on this basis. I am constantly learning about pen use, care and collectibility from various sources on the net, (Thanks FPN and SBRE Brown!), and from a couple of books that I own. Although I have been lucky and have found a couple of valuable pens on eBay, I buy them because I like them not as an investment.

I purchased this pen in the duty free shop at Malta International Airport in September. I love Italian pens, and am especially drawn to the Montegrappa brand. I originally wanted the Fortuna Skulls model, but it wasn't in stock so I settled for this one.
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Appearance & Design (10) - This is a beautiful classic black fountain pen with Ruthenium accents. For those that don't know (I didn't!), ruthenium is a chemical element belonging to the platinum group. It is a precious metal and is silver in appearance.

The pen tapers from a narrow end to a wide cap. It is quite heavy, weighing around 30g. The cap has a wide ruthenium band which is engraved with the Montegrappa name, a sturdy ruthenium clip with the usual Montegrappa wheel and a ruthenium end button embossed with a laurel wreath and the number 1912, which is the year the company was founded. The cap is a screw type and fits securely to the body. The cap weighs about 14g, which is about half the weight of the pen. I don't post the cap as I don't want to risk marking the deep gloss of the pen body.

Unscrewing the cap exposes the beautifully engraved steel nib.

I personally feel that the pen looks elegant and expensive and it would not look out of place in a board room.

Construction & Quality (10) - The build quality is of an extremely high standard. Everything fits together perfectly and looks incredible.

Weight & Dimensions (10) - I like big, heavy pens as I have big hands, and this one doesn't disappoint. It's comfortable to write with uncapped and fits well in my hand. I've already mentioned the weight 😊

Nib & Performance (8) - The steel nib looks stunning with the scrollwork engaging. It lays down a nice fine line with no skipping or blobbing. The nib on my pen is a fine. It's really smooth, with a hint of feedback. It's currently inked with Diamine Blue/Black and performs perfectly. The nib is stiff and does not flex, but this suits me.

Filling System & Maintenance (10) - The pen is supplied with 2 Montegrappa ink cartridges and a converter. I tend not to use carts except in a couple of pens that I have that do not take converters. The supplied converter is a standard size that holds a nice amount of ink. The converter fills in the usual way of dipping the nib into the ink bottle and screwing the converter to draw ink up into the pen. Cleaning and maintenance is as straightforward as the other pens in my collection. I have not attempted to remove the nib as I have had no reason to do so.

Cost & Value (10) -  The pen retails for around £170, but I got it for £150 at the duty free shop. It's equally as nice as pens costing 4 times as much, and for me it was worth every penny. If you want an expensive pen that doesn't break the bank this could be a good place to start.

Conclusion (Final score: 58/60) - This is one of my favourite pens in my collection, and the marks I have given are based on comparisons with others that I own. I am extremely happy with it and cannot recommend it highly enough. I am not connected to Montegrappa in any way, and have not received any reward or inducement for giving this review and score.