Our newest pen club pen -- the Leonardo 'Furore' "Mosaico Hawaii" Vancouver Pen Club Limited Edition!

Here it is--- the newest limited edition pen made for our pen club -- the Leonardo 'Furore' "Mosaico Hawaii" Vancouver Pen Club Limited Edition fountain pen!

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

This is the third fountain pen made exclusively for our pen club and, like with the first two, this project was initiated by our fellow pen club member Glenn Marcus, who worked with Salvatore Matrone of Leonardo Officina Italiana to have this very special pen made for us. Salvatore worked with our club to have our previous pen club pen (the lovely Leonardo "Momento Zero" Vancouver Pen Club Limited Edition in the "Sand" resin) made in 2019, as well as our very first pen club pen (the gorgeous Delta 'Dolcevita' Caruso Vancouver Pen Club Limited Edition produced in 2014), while he worked at Delta.

After the pen model, general colour and type of resin were finally chosen, the pens were ordered in late October, manufactured and engraved in November & early December, and then shipped from Italy on December 7th. Due to some Canada Customs red tape and delivery delays due to snowstorms in the Lower Mainland, the pens didn't arrive until shortly after Christmas... but they were well worth the wait.

My pen came well-protected in two boxes--- a black gift box with soft, cream-coloured lining and the Leonardo name & logo embossed on the inside of the lid, and a black cardboard box also with the Leonardo name & logo on it (not shown above). The boxes were in a cardboard sleeve with a floral design, which had the pen's model name and "FATTO A MANO IN ITALIA NELLE OFFICINE ITALIANE LEONARDO" ("Made by hand in Italy in Leonardo's Italian workshops") on it. Classy packaging from a classy company!

We chose the beautiful "Mosaico Hawaii" resin  for our 'Furore' model as this material had never been used in a 'Furore' before (since our pen was to be a Limited Edition, it had to have a model/resin combination that hadn't previously been used). The "Mosaico Hawaii" resin was used in a  Leonardo 'Momento Zero Grande' model, but never for a 'Furore' or any standard-sized Leonardo pen. 

The "Mosaico" resin is currently available in "Chiaroscuro", "Hawaii" and "Mango". Leonardo's official website describes the "Mosaico" resin in this way:"The material (is) spaghetti resin, Italian production new* concept the horizontal cut of the slab gives life to a real mosaic, the result is a squared side texture, while on the front (clip side) and rear side a texture is visible that I would define "ringed Arco" (*about 2 years ago we started experimenting with this new concept)."
(*for more information on this, check out my follow-up post here*)

It's a beautiful material and when it catches the light, you can see all the different blue and brown/tan tones...

(Look at that resin!!)

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to use this resin for our club's limited edition pen...

The 'Furore' was launched in 2018, making it only the second model that Leonardo Officina Italiana released (the first was the "Momento Zero', the model we chose for our previous pen club pen). It was inspired by "a magical place, where land and sea meet" that's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the tiny village of Furore, on Italy's Amalfi Coast. These beautiful pens are handmade in Naples, Italy by expert craftspeople who take great pride in their work...and it shows in the quality of the writing instruments they make.

Leonardo's website says that the Furore model has a "vintage shape" -- it instantly reminded me of the vintage Sheaffer 'Balance' (the world's first streamlined fountain pen), which came out in 1928. The cap and barrel ends of the 'Furore' are softly rounded, while the stacked appearance of the resin accentuates the pen's smooth styling.

Included with the packaging is a lovely illustrated booklet with information about the "Furore' and the inspiration behind it. The booklet doesn't mention it, but there is a lifetime warranty against any defective part, according to the official Leonardo website. As an aside, I was delighted to see that Glenn--who is an excellent photographer-- provided one of the photographs in the booklet! (you can see his name in the photo above)

When I opened its presentation box, I was surprised at how large the pen was; for some reason, I was expecting a shorter, slightly narrower pen (probably because there is a larger version of the 'Furore' called the 'Furore Grande'). The size was a very pleasant surprise, though, as the pen is comfortable to use both unposted and posted.

The pen posts deeply and securely with a posted length (nib tip to barrel end) of 168 mm, by my measurements. If you decide to use the pen unposted, there are two shiny gold trim rings (by the section threads and the barrel's blind cap) for you to stare at, in addition to the mesmerizing resin :)

Dimensions (from the manufacturer's website):
Length closed: 146mm
Cap length: 66mm
Body length: 131mm (nib included)
Weight: 27g
Diameter cap: 15,5mm
Diameter grip section: 10,6mm

The pen fills via cartridge or the supplied screw-in converter. The converter can be accessed via a turning knob hidden under the blind cap, or by unscrewing the section (Note: the converter is screwed into the nib-section unit, so don't try pulling it out). I didn't photograph it, but the converter that came with the pen has a polished metal turning knob with the Leonardo name and logo on the clear barrel of the converter. The colour of the turning knob matches the pen's trim, which is another nice touch.

We chose gold trim for this latest pen club pen; I think the warmth of the gold trim balances the cooler colours of the resin. Another consideration was that we thought it'd be nice to have a different trim colour than the silver trim used on our previous pen club pen.

The cap is a screw-on type and it unscrews in about one and a quarter turns, which is handy if you're in a hurry to cap or uncap your pen. The pen's wheeled clip is flexible and attaches easily to a pocket, notebook, or pen case. The newer 'Furore' models (like this one) have a narrower clip than the original models.

Each pen made for us has "Vancouver Pen Club" engraved on it in elegant cursive lettering... and yes, it's in the same font as our Leonardo "Momento Zero" pen (but larger).

The 'Furore' usually comes with two narrow metal cap bands, but in order to accommodate the special engraving on our club's pens, a wide middle cap band was added.
 

The pens are individually numbered on the back of the cap, just above the cap bands. Thirty pens in total were made and mine is number 07/30 (the same number as my two previous Vancouver Pen Club limited edition pens :)

The nib material options were steel or 14K gold (I chose a steel nib) and the nib width options were a-plenty for this limited run -- our members had the choice of: Extra-Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Stub 1.1, Elastic (aka Flex) Extra-Fine and Elastic Fine. Further options (which cost more) included the choice of an Architect nib or a Cursive Smooth Italic nib in either Medium or Broad. All of the nibs are #6 size JoWo nibs. 

The nib on our pen club pen has an older-style engraving --the Leonardo Officina Italia winged logo and, below that, the words "Leonardo" and "Italy". The pens with steel nibs come with ABS feeds (made in Germany), while the gold nibs came with ebonite feeds made in-house by Leonardo.

I chose the Cursive Soft Italic nib in the Medium width, and it writes beautifully. I am very impressed with both of the nibs on my two Leonardo pen club pens---the Bock Stub 1.1 steel nib I chose for our previous pen club pen, and this one by JoWo.

(Last, but certainly not least...)
Three things I love about the pen's section:

• its "milk bottle" shape. Our previous pen club pen--a Leonardo "Momento Zero"--has the same shape, but the sections on the redesigned "Momento Zero Grande" (aka "Momento Zero Grande 2.0") fountain pens have a different shape (standard "Momento Zero" pens still have that milk-bottle shape... whew!)
• it matches the material used for the rest of the pen (this is extremely important to me lol)
• it doesn't have a metal trim ring at the nib end of it (because trim rings there can corrode over time from being dipped in ink)

"Grazie mille!" (a thousand thanks) to Salvatore and his sister Maria Francesco at Leonardo Officina Italiana for their work and support in getting our pens made, and to the craftspeople at Leonardo for producing these wonderful writing instruments for our club members! And of course, huge thanks to our fellow club member Glenn, who was in charge of this project from start to finish, and who successfully steered it through some choppy Canada Customs and DHL waters to get the pens to us :)

(~Blog post by Maja~)

Sunday, January 15, 2023

January meeting report (w/lots of photos)!

We had excellent attendance at our January meeting, held on the 12th at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public library -- 25 members (including five brand-new members  - Anna, Gaelen,  Marissa, Nurzhan and Renz) showed up, making it one of our top 3 best-attended meetings! 

Our topic was newest acquisitions, but it was also the night that members who pre-ordered the pens made for our club (Leonardo "Furore" limited edition fountain pens in the stunning "Mosaico Hawaii" stacked resin) picked them up. There was a lot of excitement when fellow VPCer Glenn showed up with the long-awaited pens (which I will review here tomorrow). Big thanks to Glenn for his efforts to get this beautiful limited edition Vancover Pen Club pen made, and to Salvatore Matrone of Leonardo Officina Italiana for allowing us to use this beautiful resin for our pen!

Now, onto the meeting photos.....

(~all photos by Maja, except where noted - please click on images to enlarge~)

(~photo courtesy of Sherman~)

Above: (L-R): Phil, Gaelen, April, Glenn, Nurzhan and Liz (who has her brand-new Leonardo 'Furore' Vancouver Pen Club pen in front of her)

(~photo courtesy of Sherman~)

Above: (L-R) Stuart, Chris (who joined a while ago but attended his first in-person meeting in January), me --Maja-- welcoming everyone to the meeting (lol), Renz and Anna. 

Anna's lovely snow-white marbled PenBBS '489', which uses a touchdown-filling mechanism

Chuck brought along several pens he'd acquired since we last saw him, including these two eye-catching dragon-themed fountain pens by Jinhao.

It was great to see another member we hadn't seen in ages, too - longtime VPCer Bruce, who showed me a wonderful faceted OMAS 'Dama' fountain pen he acquired. I wish I'd photographed it, but I did get to try it out (and yes, it's a really nice writer!).

Phil's handsome Parker '61' set (in original box) with the coveted "rainbow" caps.....

April brought along several Hongdian fountain pens, including the hard-to-find 'Mount Everest (pen furthest from camera) which has a 14K gold nib, a Hongdian 'Blue Wave' (second from the front) and a Hongdian 1845 all-metal fountain pen. The ivory-coloured fountain pen is a Jinhao '80'.

Jerred's Delta Markiaro 'Posillipo' fountain pen and a brushed stainless steel Parker 'Jotter' fountain pen that was part of a set (gift-boxed, with matching ballpoint) that Jerred bought at Staples.

Sophia attended her first regular meeting (her first was our November get-together hosted by the Vancouver Pen Shop) and brought along this gorgeous blue Caran d'Ache "LeMan' "Grand Bleu" rollerball which features a guilloché design, lacquered finish and rhodium-plated accents. I always tell prospective members that our club isn't just about fountain pens, so it was great to see this rollerball at the meeting because online photos don't do it justice.

Sherman's Montblanc knockoff ballpoint--yes, it's a knockoff, but it's adorable! You can see just how small it is in Sherman's pen group photo near the end of this blog post.

Yen brought along a lot of fountain pen eye candy for us to see, including a Leonardo 'Supernova' in "Starlight Blue", a Gioia 'Partenope Avorio", and a Laban '325' Sakura. Yen's husband Alvin brought some pen eye candy of his own (not pictured) --- a Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) 'Nautilus' Mariana Trench fountain pen and a Nahvalur 'Original' made exclusively for UK pen deaier Cult Pens!

Amy's cute pen case and her cute Hongdian N7 'Moon Rabbit' piston-filling fountain pen

This colourful  Conklin 'All American' Rainbow Limited Edition fountain pen belongs to Kelley. It's made of solid brass, so it has some heft to it, but it felt comfortable in my hand when I held it.

Its section, clip *and* nib have the same finish as the rest of the pen (yay, Conklin!!). The pen's Rainbow PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) finish is very durable and scratch-resistant, according to the manufacturer.

Stuart acquired several new pens in the last few weeks, many of them from the Vancouver Pen Shop! The handsome Faber-Castell Ondoro "Smoked Oak" and Kaweco 'Sport' in "Mellow Blue" in the photo above were among his recent Van Pen purchases.

More of Stuart's new acquisitions! The two Platinum 'Preppy WA' fountain pens at the top of the photo are limited editions (the blue one is the Seigaiha LE and the yellow one is the Urokomon LE) purchased from the Vancouver Pen Shop.

The Sheaffers below them are both vintage pens---a beautiful carmine-striped Sheaffer 'Balance' (which sports an unusual W.A.S.P -style clip, often seen on Canadian-made Balances) and a Sheaffer 'Snorkel' Sovereign in Buckskin Tan colour that Stuart purchased from fellow pen club member Jerred that night. Stuart also brought along a "space age" vintage Parker desk set that we'll be featuring here later this week.

Chris was sitting next to me but I only remembered to snap a quick group shot of all the great pens he brought to the meeting.  I distinctly remember one fountain pen that he praised very much--the multicoloured "Pocket Six" fountain pen in anodized aluminum made by Schon DSGN (the pen closest to the camera). I think I need to add one to my own collection...

I snapped the photo above when I got home, because I forgot to do it during the meeting. That's my new(ish) Pelikan Pura on the far left, a handmade fountain pen by RJ Custom Pens (in Australia) in the middle and my Hongdian N8 'Maple Leaf" fountain pen on the far right. 

The pens are in a Galen Leather 6-pen zippered case in "Crazy Horse Brown" leather that I bought from the Vancouver Pen Shop the day before they closed their store's old location (they're now at 555 Howe Street in downtown Vancouver)

(photo courtesy of Sherman)

Sherman had the same idea as I did---to photograph the stuff he brought to the meeting at home! I'm glad he did, because there were a lot of élysée fountain pens amongst them, and it's a brand you don't see in person very often nowadays. The two elegant pens in the photo above are an élysée Classique (70 Line) Laque Cobra fountain pen with a 14K-585 Gold Flat Nib (Rare) and an élysée Classique (70 Line) Laque Cobra ballpoint pen (with a Parker refill in it--Sherman's comment about the refill brand not matching the pen's brand was "sorry, wohahaha…").

(photo courtesy of Sherman)

Above: Sherman's group photo of the other pens he brought to our meeting, along with his captions below (many thanks to Sherman for all the photos he provided for this blog post!)

(From left to right)

1) Leonardo Furore Blue Mosaico Vancouver Pen Club L.E. #26/30 Steel Broad Nib

2) Leonardo Momento Zero Pen Chalet L.E. Blue Hawaii Fountain Pen Steel EF Nib (Not for presentation, just to compare the newly acquired Mosaico)

3) élysée Design (80 Line) Rolled Gold Fountain Pen Gold Plated EF Flat Nib

4) Ferris Wheel Press Sandcastle Clay Brush Fountain Pen Steel M Nib

5) Pelikan Souverän® K400 Black-Green Ballpoint Pen (Sheaffer K Refill Black)

6) Pelikan Souverän® M400 Black-Green Fountain Pen 18K-750 Gold 2-Tone M Nib (rare nowadays)

7) élysée Jewelry (90 Line) Laque Intarsia Antique Greek Black Ballpoint Pen (Set)

8) élysée Jewelry (90 Line) Laque Intarsia Antique Greek Black Fountain Pen Gold Plated Flat F Nib (Set)

9) élysée En Vogue (30 Line) Laque Lapis Fountain Pen Gold Plated M Nib

10) Toy « Montblanc » like Ballpoint Pen which was gifted by a friend in late 90’s

11) Monteverde Ballpoint Refill for Sheaffer K series - Poorly made:

i) Longer than Sheaffer,

ii) Very sharp tip,

iii) Not just scratchy, but can cut through paper!

12) Esterbrook Estie Honeycomb Oversize GT F Nib

13) Esterbrook J Blue Pearl & Chrome 1555 Nib


I meant to take a photo of the wonderful pens brand-new VPCer Renz --who was sitting right next to me!--- brought, but in all the excitement, I forgot (sorry, Renz ---I do remember a couple of good-looking vintage Parker '51' sets you showed us--Update! Renz later sent me his own photos of the sets ---see the very end of this blog post!). Renz, however, has an active Instagram account and a YouTube channel -- both under the profile name pen.traveller -- where he posts pen-related photos & videos, so check them out if you like beautiful calligraphy and amazing journal entries that look like works of art!  Brand-new VPC members Gaelen and Nurzhan also both brought some cool pens for us to see, but I didn't get around to snapping photos of them --my apologies, guys. I know Gaelen brought a stylish Lamy 'Studio" fountain pen in Imperial Blue, and Nurzhan brought another Lamy (the '2000') and a very nice vintage Parker Vacumatic in the Debutante size. Thanks to the three of you plus brand-new members Anna and Marissa for joining our club and coming to our meeting last Thursday! 😊

Many thanks to everyone who showed up for our January meeting, whether you had anything for the topic/theme or not; our meetings are about seeing and learning about pens and inks and stationery ... and having fun!

Hope you can make it to our February meeting --- details will be posted on this blog in late Jan/early Febeuary. Please check the top of our homepage for future meeting info (which will be in big red letters :)

(~Blog post by Maja~)


Update! 

Renz was kind enough to send me his own photos of the two vintage Parker '51' sets I mentioned above!

I asked Renz about their filling systems and he said: "They are both aero metric yes and the green and gold is a fine nib and the black is an extra fine nib!"

Thanks, Renz!
~Maja

Friday, January 13, 2023

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 451

Many thanks to everyone who came to our pen club meeting last night! I plan to post a report (with photos from the meeting) this weekend, but in the meantime, here's another fun review by Andy...

Andy writes:

""Hello pen friends! Happy 2023!

It’s been quite some time and I apologize for the lack of presence.

If there’s no schedule conflicts, I’m hoping to show up at the club meetings at least a handful of times this year...fingers crossed.

As we continue with the new year, the Lunar new years is a constant follow.

Why not hit it off with Shanghai’s prolific writing instrument.........PENBBS

What model do you say!?!?!?!?!?!?

“only the Shadow knows!”

I don’t think Alec Baldwin even knows what PENBBS is.

He looks like a Mont Blanc kind of guy.

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

Model 499 “Shadow”

This is Penbbs’s first all brass model.

The barrel and cap are completely made of brass and powder-coated with a very black color.

The texture on the finish is very apparent...a very mild coarseness but comfortable.

The stamping and finish on the cap band is nicely done.

I especially like the near seamless fit when the cap is mated to the barrel.

Because of the cap band being tapered just the right amount, I can’t feel an edge when I run my fingers in both directions.

Another first for Penbbs...the brass section is guilloched in a twist pattern.

The twist is subtle but I can feel it, and along with the lines this aids to a better grip.

The barrel finial is basic but nicely rounded and polished.

Another first is the laser etched logo on the cap finial...a “P” surrounded by eight petals and eight hearts.

They also borrowed the same closing mechanism like the Diplomat Aero pens. That very satisfying slow suction closure.

Although it posts somewhat deep, it’s far too long and top heavy.

This pen is plenty long unposted.

As with brass pens, there is some weight but this being 28g unposted and the balance is near the center...it’s just right.


Well...I wish everyone good health and a prosperous 2023.

Thank you

Andy "

Our thanks to Andy for another great review (and for including lots of nice photos, too!)

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)