Franklin-Christoph Model 20 "Marietta" in Vintage Green: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Franklin-Christoph Model 20 "Marietta" is a simple, minimalistic pen. Originally offered in black, the pen also comes in a beautiful olive- green color, and I'm told other colors will be offered soon. The design, with clean lines and a few flourishes, is reminiscent of vintage pens.

The Marietta is the perfect size for me. It's a slender pen compared to many of the other Franklin-Christoph models. It can be comfortably used posted or unposted. The pen is 5.0 inches (127mm) from nib tip to barrel end and 5.45 inches capped (138.43mm). The barrel diameter is .51 inches (12.95mm), and the grip is .41 inches (10.41mm) at its smallest. The pen weighs 22.7 grams with the converter (no ink).

One of the best design features is that the grip has absolutely no threads to worry your fingers. The cap slips on and off rather than screwing, so the grip is completely smooth. And, the cap makes a satisfying "click" sound when you slip it off the pen.

Matching grooves adorn the top of the cap and the bottom of the barrel adding interest to the otherwise straight lines.

The clip is small (about half the size of the cap) and sports the diamond motif.

An "F" is engraved in the finial.

The company's name and model number are lightly engraved around the cap. I appreciate the subtle branding of Franklin-Christoph pens.

I chose an 18K gold Masuyama medium cursive italic for my Marietta.

Even though I love the steel nib on my Model 65, I wanted a gold nib for the Marietta. I thought the gold diamond etched on the nib would complement the green color of the pen, and it does.

Like most of the other Franklin-Christoph pens, the Marietta can be used with a cartridge, a converter (included), or as an eyedropper. For now, I'm using the converter though I may turn my Marietta into an eyedropper eventually.

The pen wrote perfectly the first time I inked it. For my written review, I used Sailor Jentle Epinard, an ink that matches the pen almost exactly. I've had no problems with hard starts or skipping. It's a firm nib, but it writes a gorgeous line with just enough variation to give my handwriting character.

I don't have anything negative to say about this pen. It's beautiful, light, comfortable to write with, and has a great nib. The color is unique and sophisticated. I love the ease of the slip on cap and the simple, elegant design. I am so glad Franklin-Christoph made the pen in a color other than black, and I'm looking forward to the other colors they will offer in the future.

The Marietta starts at $165 (steel nib) and comes with a leather case. With a Franklin-Christoph 1.9 steel music nib, the pen costs $175. The pen costs $255 with any 18K Franklin-Christoph nib. And for nibs specially ground by Mike Masuyama, you'll pay $180 for steel and $270 for 18K gold.

Pros

• Elegant, simple, classic design
• Easy on and off slip cap
• Comfortable length, width, and weight
• Beautiful, sophisticated color with gradations from light to dark green
• Customizable with numerous nib choices
• Comes with a leather zipper case

Cons

• People who like heavy pens may find the Marietta too light
• Similarly, those who prefer pens with a wider girth may not like the Marietta's slender profile

Note: I purchased this pen for my own use and was not compensated by Franklin-Christoph for this review.

Pilot Metropolitan White Tiger Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Pilot Metropolitan is one of those pens that caused quite a stir when they first hit the U.S. market. Why? Well, for me it was the price, the quality, and the feel of the pen that made it seem like such an excellent value. It's a fantastic everyday pen, a vey good choice for a first fountain pen, and a pretty good choice for a gift pen. I guess I've overlooked it in my reviews because it's just so ubiquitous and standard nowadays. But, I recently ordered a new one due to my recent predicament of only having one fountain to use. The Metropolitan seemed like the only right choice when I was trying to pick an affordable pen to use as an everyday writer for the next few weeks.

I went over to JetPens and picked out the white Metro with a fine nib, and also got a pack of Pilot Blue-black cartridges for good measure because their blue-black is one of the best. In a couple days, I was back to using a regular size pen as my everyday writer. The Liliput is a great pen, but a little too small for my taste when it comes to longer writing sessions.

Now, I purchased my first Metropolitan back in 2013 and used it heavily for several months. This review is for a new pen, but one that I've used a lot in other forms.

First off, there's the exterior of the pen, which is very simple and balanced. The original pens only came in three colors (black, silver, and gold) with three pattern options for the band (dot, zig-zag, and plain). Later on, Pilot released other designs that featured fake animal skin textures and more colors. I went with the white body and tiger print band. Personally, I love this design, but I know it's probably polarizing.

The pen has a fantastic weight since the insides of the barrel are supposedly brass. The outside is metal, probably aluminum, and I'm a huge sucker for metal bodied pens in general. In my opinion, Pilot hit a home run with this particular line of fountain pen. It's also very comfortable for me when I write — I've never had any complaints or aches when using the pen.

Apart from that, it's all about the nib. And, like I have come to expect from Pilot, it's smooth and error-free from the beginning.

My first Metropolitan has a medium nib because that's all Pilot offered in the first round. Later, they also introduced the fine nib, which is what I got this time. I've gotten to the point where I love both sizes and I pick them based on my mood. This one is no exception. Thin, crisp lines come out of this nib at a steady rate. The blue-black excels with this size nib, as you get a healthy dose of blue with just enough business feel.

For under $20, I don't think you can do better than the Metropolitan. It's a crowd-pleaser. It's about 4-times more than a Preppy, but it's leaps and bounds ahead of the Preppy in feel and performance. You can toss the Metro in the bag and not worry about it, while the Preppy will soon crack or break with minor wear.

It's also neutral compared to the Safari since it doesn't have a unique grip. And, now that they offer more color and band options, you can get one that offers a little more personality as well.

If you haven't tried out a Metro yet, you owe it to yourself to try out the fountain pen that offers the most value! It's an excellent beginner fountain pen, but it also hangs with the more expensive pens as well. It's a win-win.

Staedtler Intium Lignum Fountain Pen Review

Staedtler makes fountain pens?

That was my first reaction when Staedtler PR reached out to me asking if I wanted to take a look at their new fountain pen lineup. Ok great, this will be a school pen along the lines of the Pelikan Twist, right? A good pen, no doubt, but aimed at the beginner/student market.

Oh how all of my assumptions were wrong.

Staedtler has introduced The Intium Collection, a premiun linuep of pens which contains two fountain pen models: The Resina, with it’s sharp, irridescent resin barrel, and the one they sent me, the Lignum, a wood barrel fountain pen.

When unboxing it for the first time I was immediately impressed. The plum wood is a warm caramel color and is set off nicely by a brushed steel cap and section. The feel of the pen is rock solid as well. You pick it up and you call tell it is a well-constructed writing instrument. Every bit of it is tight and on point.

The clip design on the Staedtler Lignum is a knockout. It’s wide and long, running nearly the full length of the cap, but is set at a low profile to give it a clean, sleek look. It is tight, but not overly so, giving it the perfect pocket tension when attaching and removing. Very well implemented.

Inking it up, I was a little nervous putting the nib to the page, not knowing if the steel nib would live up to the standard the rest of the pen had already set. Once again, my worries were quickly brushed aside with the first stroke. This is one of the cleanest, sharpest writing steel extra fine nibs I have ever used. I was so impressed, I emailed my contact at Staedtler to find out more. I asked point blank who made the nib:

“Our nibs, along with all other components/articles within our Premium Collection with the exception of the inks, are manufactured in Germany. As the nibs are manufactured specially for the STAEDTLER Premium Collection, this is proprietary information.”

I figured that was as good as I was going to get. ;) It’s a splendid nib though, and it better be due to the cost of the pen.

Price is one of my main concerns with the Lignum. MSRP is $279, street price is closer to $225. For a steel nib pen at that price it better be good, and this one is. Still, perceived value will be at the forefront of most buying decisions, and many will balk when they can get a gold nib pen for half the cost in some instances. In situations like this, I always like to refer people to Brian Gray’s excellent article “In Praise Of Steel Nibs.”

My other concern is minor, and more of a question in my head than anything. The plum wood barrel is unfinished. Meaning, there is no coating, lacquer, etc. on top of the wood to seal it. It’s essentially raw, smooth wood. It feels great, but I wonder if natural oils in the hand will stain it, or, more concerning, stray fountain pen ink. To be determined.

The Staedtler Intium Lignum impressed me. I know this because as I was using it I kept stopping writing to look at the pen quizzically, as if to say "is this really happening?" I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it never did. It was an enjoyable experience, and I think Staedtler has something nice on their hands here.

My thanks to Staedtler for sending me this pen at no charge for the purposes of review.

Familiar looking ink bottle...