(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
[Santini Italia] is an Italian brand that I was unaware of until recently. Headquartered in Lombardy, Santini makes acrylic and ebonite fountain pens, and all the parts for the pens are made in house, including their 18k nibs and ebonite feeders.
Late in 2020, I read a post or saw an Instagram photo of a Santini pen. Curious, I looked at the website and read about their nibs. I was especially intrigued by the fact that they make their nibs themselves and they offer flexy versions in nib sizes beyond the usual fine, medium, and broad. You can get flexy stubs, cursive italics, and even a "superflexy" nib. Nibs come in 18k yellow gold, solid rose gold, rhodium-plated gold, and even solid white gold upon request. Currently Santini offers nibs in sizes 5 and 6, but a number 8 is on the way.
Being one of the most indecisive people on planet earth, I struggled to choose a pen. Did I want acrylic or ebonite? Which color(s)? The only thing I was certain about was that I wanted a flexy stub nib. I finally decided on an ebonite pen called the Libra Caribbean, but to my dismay, it was sold out. For weeks, I visited the website daily to check for upcoming ebonite editions, but I didn't see any colors I liked as much as the Caribbean. Finally, I purchased one of the acrylic pens. But the next morning, a new color was announced: the Libra Voyager. I contacted customer support, which consists of one woman named Katrina who apparently never sleeps (I contacted her multiple times to ask questions and she was on the chat within a minute, no matter what time it was in Italy). She promptly switched my order to the Voyager and a couple of weeks later, the pen was at my house.
Hoo boy! When I opened the box, I was treated to some beautiful packaging: a black engraved box with bright turquoise ribbon.
