~ At the risk of sounding like a broken record, a small reminder that our April meeting is tonight at the VPL's Kitsilano branch 馃榿~ All details here ! ~
I didn't know anything about this brand before, but when I did some research for this review, I found out that the N贸ta line of stationery and desk accessories was first introduced by Indigo in August 2021. On the Indigo website, the products are described as "Responsibly designed stationery and desk essentials to write your story in style."
In addition to notebooks, pencil cases and hundreds of other items, the N贸ta line includes a fountain pen model that is exclusive to Indigo (link). I'd seen the pens on their website before, but they were always full retail price ($24.99-29.99 CAD), so I didn't buy one. Late last month--when I was ordering a book from Indigo--I checked and saw that some of the N贸ta fountain pens were on sale for 50% off, so I added one of the glossy red ones (on sale for $14.99 CAD) to my cart, placed my order (w/free shipping ;)... and this is what arrived...
(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)
The set included: one N贸ta fountain pen, three black ink cartridges and one "Fluid Ink Refill - Black Ink" --ie. a bottle of black fountain pen ink (Note: the cartridges and supplied converter are not standard international ones).
The torpedo-shaped fountain pen is made of glossy red lacquered metal with gold-coloured trim and weighs 25 grams. I can't find any manufacturer's name anywhere on the pen. It's 13.7cm long capped, 11.5cm uncapped (nib tip to barrel end) and 14.7cm posted. The grip section is slightly flared with a maximum diameter of about 9.5mm (these are all my own measurements). The pen has a really nice soft-but-secure capping action, posts securely and feels well-balanced in the hand when used posted (as I prefer to use this pen).
The gatefold window has a magnetic closure and a somewhat amusing message printed on the back - "Ink left in the tip can dry out. Please rehydrate in a small amount of water or ink bottle for next use".
The instruction manual that came with the pen is definitely geared towards the new fountain pen user, and the pen's converter is referred to as an "ink absorber" in the pamphlet.
This fountain pen model is available in three colours---burgundy, blue (a bluish-grey) and
green (which looks like teal to me), but the green set doesn't have a bottle of ink--just cartridges ---so it's priced a bit lower. The red one that I
bought is a true red, though, and its packaging
nicely matches the pen colour.
A bit of drama ---the first time I uncapped the pen, I didn't see the nib and thought they'd sent me a rollerball by mistake!
Then I took a better look at the writing end...
...and saw that it was, in fact, a fountain pen. Whew!
Its rather odd-looking hooded nib reminds me of a Crocodile '216' hooded nib and the hooded nibs on some Picasso fountain pens. Both of these pen companies are/were in China, so I wasn't surprised to see that my N贸ta fountain pen was made there, too.
There's no nib width marked on it that I can see, but it writes like a Western Fine/Extra Fine. I have to be honest---it's not a particularly smooth writer. I'll check the tine alignment and if it's alright, I might try smoothing the nib a bit with some very fine Micromesh (there isn't a lot of tipping material on the nib).
The pen feels quite well made, though, and the nib looks pretty cool, so I'm not disappointed in my purchase; I'm just glad I didn't spend more
than $15 CAD on the set. Your mileage may vary, as they say.
(~Blog post by Maja~)
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