This pen happened to be in the house for a little while, so I gave it a whirl and thought you might enjoy a review! No affiliation with the company, nor was I requested to do a review.
ABOUT
Body Material: Wood
Trim: Silver
Length (capped): 143.8 mm/5.66''
Length (uncapped nib-end): 136.6 mm/5.38''
Length (posted): 184.0 mm/7.24''
Barrel Diameter: 15.6 - 15.8 mm/0.61'' - 0.62''
Section Diameter: 13.7 - 14.7 mm/0.54'' - 0.58''
Nib material: 14kt Gold
Weight (all): 60 g
Weight (cap): 16 g
Weight (body): 44 g
Fill type: Piston-filler
Price:
$895.00USD SALE $550.00USD
Where to buy:
Chatterley Luxuries
PACKAGING
On loan, no packaging to report, sorry!
APPEARANCE
Wow. What a lovely, unique pen. I think wood pens are interesting and this one is very beautiful in general, but it's also a whopper. It's an oversize pen with a thick, round body, slightly rounded off blunt ends, and despite being large, it isn't very long. This one is beefy. The finial has the Delta nib logo in a small metal emblem, set in the wood. The clip is attached externally by a thin band. It's a simple, relatively thin clip, ending in Delta's rolling ball. The center band is made up of two bands - one more elaborate than the other, and is sterling silver hallmarked. The cap's wood is engraved with Delta Italy and 07/25 (that's a limited edition, folks!). So far, I'm a fan.
The barrel has a fairly large blind cap that can be removed to expose the piston-turning knob. The section is huge - thick, beefy, and not long. It barely tapers, and flares into a ridge before the nib. The wood of the cap and barrel is from a school vessel for the training of the Italian Navy Academy. It makes me think of bamboo, being a light brown and based on the striated look to it, but it has a green grain running through it. I think it's interesting and pretty.
Overall, this isn't a pen that will appeal to everyone, I suspect. For me, I think the wood is attractive and it looks cool with the silver trim. There's no doubt it's a Delta, because it looks like the Dolce Vita Oversize model, in wood. How special!
NIB & PERFORMANCE
Since you can choose from fine, medium, broad, and a stub nib, I think all your bases are covered. I've personally used several medium nibs, and a broad, and I thoroughly enjoy them all. The 14kt medium nib is a huge #8, complete with an ebonite feed. The nib has a single slit, a small, heart-shaped breather hole, and is engraved with the Delta logo, Delta 14k-585, the nib size, and some flourishes. I love how the feed is flat, sitting so close to the nib. Ebonite feeds are awesome.
This nib was really pleasant - wet, smooth, and it did not hard start or skip. Ink flow was generous, and during long writing sessions, the nib ran dry. The pen was flushed thoroughly, re inked, and re-tested. It did run dry a little after writing quite a bit, but it picked up quickly. It was such a wet writer that I wonder if it just drained itself. Anyway, after flushing, it lasted much longer, and I wonder who is going to write five pages of text with such a giant pen anyway.
The nib is a little springy, so if you like line variation, you can squeeze some out, but the feed didn't keep up for long.
IN HAND
The clip is snug, usable, and has the rolling ball at the end to further maximize its ease of use.
The section is huge and thick. The ridge at the end helped to keep my grip in place. The threads at the back were a little noticeable, but not sharp. The section is sterling silver, for the reason that if it were wood and it was inked up, the wood would get stained, as it is a piston-filler. 2
Surprisingly, I did not find the section particularly slippery, even during longer writing sessions. The ridge is well-placed. It's a tough section to hold for a long time though, because it's girthy.
Unposted, the pen is very thick, heavy, and not particularly long. It is comfortable balanced. The cap posted by friction, sitting on the blind cap. This made the pen far too long and heavy for me to use.
What you could only know by touching the pen is this: this is a wonderfully aromatic pen. I absolutely
love the smell of this pen and the smell it leaves on my hands and how it smells in my pen case... mmm! I sniffed it while writing, while holding it, and while it was sitting in my pen case. It reminds me of sandalwood.
PROS & CONS
OVERALL
This is a very interesting pen - huge, expensive (at its full price, relatively expensive on sale), and beautiful. I think the nib is very pleasant - wet and smooth, and the nib can hold up for several pages. I absolutely love the smell and I could be tempted by a pen in this material in a smaller size (Stantuffo size?) It's kind of a cold-looking pen, with the cool colors of the wood and the silver trim. Bummer that it doesn't have an ink window though.
This pen was on loan. It has been sent back to its owner!
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