A few photos from our July meeting

We had a good turnout for our July meeting, held at the Renfrew branch of the Vancouver Public Library on Thursday July 16; I counted at least 34 people in attendance, including newcomers Chris, Daphne, and Sam L! It was just a casual get-together with lots of pen, ink and statoinery chats going on, so I had a bit of time to take a few photos of the items our members brought to show others....

(photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

That's Andrii's new Enigma notebook by Taroko (with fountain-pen-friendly Tomoe River paper) and a Waterman 'Hemisphere' fountain pen he got from a pen friend.

Andrii told me that when he got it, the pen wouldn't write, so he removed the feed and discovered it was inserted incorrectly at some point; apparently, the feed is keyed (but very subtly so) and has to be put into the section at exactly the right orientation or the incorrect nib-feed alignment won't allow for the ink to flow. Well done, Andrii!

Stuart's brand-new Sheaffer '300' "Coffee Edition" in Matt Brown with Regal Brown Trims.

From Sheaffer's official website: "This beautiful pen features a rich dark coffee brown hue, accented with a refined cup and heart emblem on the cap." 😊 Stuart recently bought the pen from the Vancouver Pen Shop downtown. Sheaffer was sold to William Penn (an Indian luxury writing instruments retailer) in 2022 and it's good to see its new owners coming out with cool new stuff like this special edition fountain pen.

Jerred recently acquired a red and black marbled Filcao 'Columbia' fountain pen, shown above next to its larger counterpart, the Filcao 'Atlantica' "Lapis". The 'Columbia' model came out in 2004 and was followed by the 'Atlantica'; both pens use a button-filling mechanism. Jerred did a nice review of the 'Atlantica' on our club's website a few years back (posted here).

One of our newer members, Richard P, brought two lovely Pelikan fountain pens he recently acquired--the M200 'Orange Delight' and a M205 'Star Ruby'!

(I took this photo on the hood of my car, in the library parking lot, after the meeting lol)

I purchased the beautiful Galen Leather x NOCK Lookout pen case in Deep Cognac (part of their Legacy Collection) from Buchan's Kerrisdale Stationery earlier this month, and I love it! The leather is supple and gorgeous-looking, and the inside of the case is lined with silk.

The three fountain pens I had inside the case are (left to right) a wonderful Stipula fountain pen with a Titanium nib that I bought from Mark & Sharon (in our pen club) of PenDen.ca, a Levenger 'Plumpster' in "Tides" resin, and a Narwhal (Nahvalur) Voyage Cult Pens exclusive (made specially for the well-known UK retailer) that I got from a dear pen friend (that you so much, Bonnie! 🙌)

Our thanks to everyone who came to our July meeting at the Renfrew VPL branch this month!
Information about our August meeting is in this post: https://www.vancouverpenclub.com/2026/07/august-2026-meeting-meet-up-at.html

(~Blog post by Maja~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 418

I initially had my eye on its smaller cousin -- the "Columbia" model, introduced in 2004 -- and then its siblings (which included the "Nobile" and the 2004 Pentrace LE), but I finally decided to buy this particular model after Jerred bought one in 2020 :)

Here's my new Filcao 'Atlantica' in "Lapis" fountain pen:

(please click on images to enlarge)

I got it via eBay and paid $79.00 USD + $20 shipping from Italy for it. In the eBay description, the seller said that this was the last one in this colour that they were selling, so I jumped at the chance to buy it. This model came out in 2010 in limited numbers and Filcao (a small, family-owned Italian pen company) went out of business in 2014 after its founder passed away so, sadly, you won't see more being produced.

Jerred did a really nice review of his 'Atlantica' here, so I won't repeat what he said, but I wanted to say a few words about the pen's filling system--a button-filling system --because it's rarely used in modern fountain pens (note: as Jerred pointed out in his review, some 'Atlantica' pens came with a pneumatic filling system; I believe these came out after the button-fillers).

The button-filling mechanism is fairly simple to use -- you unscrew the blind cap at the end of the barrel, press on the metal "filler button", fully immerse the nib in bottled ink, release the pressure on the button, wait 10 seconds (with the nib still immersed in the ink), remove the pen from the ink bottle, wipe the nib off and replace the blind cap.

So how does it work? Pressing on the filler button causes a thin piece of metal inside the barrel to bend and compress a rubber ink sack that's also inside the barrel; when you release the pressure on the button, the sack reinflates and air (or ink - if the nib is immersed in ink) is sucked inside the sack. Now, to flush the pen of ink, simply put the nib end in water (or pen flush) and press on the filler button to fill and expel liquid from the ink sack. Of course, rubber ink sacs don't last forever---they will harden over time--but thankfully, they are still being produced.

According to the eBay seller, every Filcao pen is handmade made from a solid barrel of celluloid. The material is really nice and in bright sunshine, the yellow flecks actually sparkle.

The material was described in a review by Pentrace's Len Provisor as a "high luster celluloid (acetate) in an exclusive FILCAO dark Lapis Blue pattern with golden speckle embedments". It reminds me of the material used in some of my beloved Signum 'Orione' fountain pens (which are also made in Italy).

My pen came with a Medium stainless steel Schmidt nib which writes smoothly. I really like the way Schmidt steel nibs write--the Benu pen company uses them in their pens and all of my Benu pens are very smooth writers. The Filcao is a very comfortable, "chunkier" pen to hold and use and I'm really got it, after waiting so many years!

Note: There was a fancier version of the 'Atlantica' called the 'Atlantica Oro' that came with a 18K gold Schmidt nib, a gold plated clip and a solid 8K (.333) gold cap band with a Greek Key design on it. The regular 'Atlantica' model--the one reviewed here-- has rhodium-plated trim and a sterling silver cap band with "FILCAO - ITALIA" and a flattened circle with "925" (signifying Sterling Silver) engraved on it.

This is another item I got very recently--a Sheaffer full-grain leather double pen case (pouch). I paid $38.39 CAD for it via Amazon.ca, but the prices there change all the time; right now, the double-pen case is $40 with free shipping and the single-pen case is $60 +$15 for domestic shipping. Weird.

I first saw Sheaffer's leather pen cases at Perks pen store many years ago, but I didn't buy one because I was more focused on acquiring the new Sheaffer pen models that came out around the same time. When I saw the pen case on Amazon recently, I finally decided to buy it because I'm a huge Sheaffer fan and I liked the Sheaffer logo rivet on the pen case flap. The logo is a reference to Sheaffer's famous "white dot" (signifying a lifetime guarantee) that Sheaffer put on some of their pens, starting in 1924. All modern Sheaffers have a white dot on them, but it's just a design feature and doesn't signify a lifetime guarantee.

It's advertised as a double pen pouch and it can hold my Lamy 'Safari' and Pilot 'Metropolitan' fountain pens (above), but keep in mind that the case has no divider. I tried putting two large pens inside, but they wouldn't fit, so I'd say this pen case was more of a "1.5 pen case" rather than a double-pen case (unless you put two skinny pens inside).

I love the pen case's lining with the Sheaffer name and logo on it-- very cool...

A word about that Sheaffer logo flap rivet: As much as I like this decorative rivet, it can make tucking the flap under the loop a bit challenging if the pens inside the case fit snugly. If you have two skinny pens inside or just one large pen inside, it's not a problem. The only issue I have with the latter scenario (and it's just an aesthetic one) is that when you have just one large pen inside it, the pen case loses its shape (ie. part of the case looks like it collapsed). I mentioned in an earlier review how I don't like "floppy" leather pen cases, so it kind of bugs me, but this kind of thing might not matter to you at all. I just mentioned it because I like to be thorough ;)

(This photo makes the Filcao pen look tiny next to the Sheaffer pen case, but in reality, they are almost the same length -- the Filcao is about 14 cm capped and the pen case is about 15.5 cm long closed)

My thanks to Jerred for the inspiration to (finally) buy this lovely pen, and a bigger "thank you" to him for all the pen reviews and beautiful photos he sent in for our virtual "show & tell!

(photos and review by Maja)

We're having an in-person meeting tomorrow (Thursday August 18th) so my own virtual "show & tell" reviews are going to slow down considerably since my fellow VPCers will be able to see my new acquisitions in person. This is my 118th review and my camera (and brain lol) needs a rest.

Many thanks to everyone in our pen club who sent in reviews and photos for our virtual "show & tell" in the last two years--please feel free to keep sending in your reviews and I'll post them here--and thank you to everyone who left nice comments about them.

Cheers,
~Maja

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 256

From one Italian-made pen to another! Today we're featuring a new acquisition belonging to Jerred:

(all photos courtesy of Jerred ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Jerred: "This interesting pen is a Filcao 'Desiree'. Filcao was an Italian pen brand that specialized in unique cellulose acetate paired with relatively standard pen designs. Unfortunately the company went out of business as the owner died in 2015, and none of his children wished to maintain the brand."

 

"I am unsure of the name of the finish on this pen, but it's a cream-coloured 'lacy' pattern inset in semi-transparent clear celluloid, with some gold highlights. It is a unique finish that I don't think I've seen anywhere else. The finish is paired with gold-plated appointments, and I think the color choice quite pleasant."

"The pen is a cartridge-converter filler, and I believe the pen could probably be used as an eyedropper-filler as well. One possibly unfortunate design choice is that the pen has a 'false' blind cap, allowing it to be filled in a method similar to a piston filler. However, given that the pen is semi-transparent there's really no way to try and pretend that it's a true piston-filling body." 

"One interesting note on this pen is the nib. It's a relatively basic steel nib but was made by Reform in Germany, instead of Bock or Jowo. The nib was quite a pleasant writer when I received the pen, and it has a touch of spring that makes it rather nice to write with."

For some background information on Filcao writing instruments, check out this old Pentrace article by Giovanni Abrate, who was the American distributor for Filcao before the company closed its doors (Pentrace also has an in-depth review of the 'Desiree' model by Len Provisor here).

Jerred--our thanks for the great photos and write-up about this unique-looking fountain pen!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 40

Today's virtual "show & tell" features another Italian fountain pen recently acquired by Jerred - his new Filcao 'Atlantica'!

(photo courtesy of Jerred ~ please click on image to enlarge)

Jerred:"This is my third Filcao, the Filcao Atlantica. This particular version of the Atlantica is based on an earlier Filcao design, the Columbia. The Columbia was designed by Richard Binder in concert with Filcao, and it was a deliberate homage to the classic 1920s Parker Duofold. The features of the Columbia that are taken from the Duofold include the general shape, a custom-developed dark blue and yellow celluloid, as well as a button-filling mechanism."

"The Atlantica version is slightly larger than the Columbia, but otherwise uses the same design, material, and button-filling mechanism. The two models can be distinguished by the branding: The Columbia has a blind engraving on the barrel, while the Atlantica has a sterling silver inscribed cap band instead, visible in the picture here. There are also other models of the Atlantica that use Chilton-type pneumatic fillers. The nib is a Schmidt-branded, stainless steel nib. It works, though it's pretty boring."

Love that speckled resin material! (there's a nice article on the story behind the design of the 'Atlantica's' cousin, the Filcao 'Columbia' here) Thanks for sharing your new purchase with us, Jerred :)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 29

Returning to modern pens now, with another interesting Italian fountain pen recently acquired by Jerred:

(all photos courtesy of Jerred ~ please click on images to enlarge)

From Jerred:"This is my second Filcao, a "Leader". The Leader model was commonly available in a variety of different celluloid finishes, and the majority were button-fillers with either gold-plated or two-tone steel nibs."

"My version has a fluted, solid sterling silver body, textured cap, and chrome-plated, Bock produced stainless steel nib. It's also a captive converter with a false blind cap instead of the button-filler of the other variants. According to Giovanni Abrate, a former Filcao distributor, the captive converter makes my variant quite late in production. A lovely, classy pen."

(Note: Jerred's first Filcao fountain pen---to which he alluded in the first paragraph---was his Filcao 'Roxi' featured in this April "show & tell" post).

Many thanks to Jerred for contributing to our pen club's virtual "show & tell" (he recently acquired another interesting Italian-made fountain pen that we'll be featuring a bit later this month).

A big 'thank you' to everyone in our pen club who contributed to our online "show & tell". Please keep those photos & mini-reviews coming!!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 4

It's nice to see so many acquisitions of lesser-known fountain pens in our virtual "show & tell"! Here's another one, courtesy of Jerred - a glossy, red-marbled Filcao 'Roxi' fountain pen:

(all photos by Jerred ~ click on images to enlarge)

From Jerred: "This is my first Filcao pen. Filcao was an Italian brand founded in 1963, owned by Franco Grisolia. Unfortunately, Mr. Grisolia passed away in 2012, and none of his family members wished to take over the business, so it has closed. One of the unique things about Filcao was that they would use materials originally produced for eyeglass/sunglass frames, with various types of acetates and acrylic resins in their pens."

More from Jerred: "This particular pen is called the Roxi. At the time it was released, this was one of Filcao's top end pieces, and the Roxi model featured 14k gold nibs and piston-fill mechanisms. I'm unsure if this particular example is an acetate or acrylic, but the colour is called Cardinal Red. The nib was reasonably smooth and the piston fill mechanism works well, but there's no ink view window. Regardless, a very lovely pen."

Thank you very much for sharing your new find with us, Jerred, and for all your great VPC meeting theme/topic suggestions over the years!