Thank you to Fontoplumo for lending me this pen for a review! I borrowed this pen when I had visited Fontoplumo in Delft. The store and location are beautiful! How could you not love a store full of pens and inks?
ABOUT
Body material: Resin
Trim: Stainless Steel
Nib material: Steel
Filling System: Standard international cartridge/converter
Cap: Screw on
Posts: Yes, friction
Length (capped): 125.6 mm/4.94"
Length (uncapped): 134.2 mm/5.32"
Length (posted): 155.0 mm/6.10"
Diameter (barrel): 9.8 - 13.5 mm/0.38 - 0.53"
Diameter (section): 10.0 mm/0.39"
Weight (all): 32 g
Weight (cap): 12 g
Weight (body): 20 g
Price: € 225,00 within EU / € 185,95 outside EU
Where to buy:
Fontoplumo
PACKAGING
This is the third Montegrappa I have used and the packaging continues to be one of my favorites for pens in this price range. The box qualifies as a luxury gift box to me. It is protected by a navy blue, textured paper sleeve. The box is a matte navy blue with a geometric pattern printed on it, and "Montegrappa Italia" printed across the front. The lid lifts off and the base has one flap that opens forward - this makes removing the clamshell box inside easy. The outer box is classy and the clamshell is quite sexy! It's also navy blue with the same geometric pattern on it, but it's a raised textured material with a Montegrappa Italia plaque on top. The inside of the box is a felted, fuzzy grey with the pen held in place on a removable bed. There are two Montegrappa-branded ink cartridges and a converter inside the box. The Montegrappa notebook below the pen has usage and maintenance information, as well as your international guarantee certificate. I don't care for packaging in general but this one is quite pretty.
APPEARANCE
I like the shape of the Montegrappa Fortuna series of pens - it's a classy, curvy pen with a wide cap and a barrel that tapers towards its flat, rounded off end. The finial has a flat steel emblem with the 1912 logo engraved in it, which I think is pretty cool. The steel silver clip is attached internally through a snug, clean cut out in the cap. The clip is plain and simple, angled into a rounded crest down the middle and finished off with a rolling ball at the end.
The center band is wide and is located at the end of the cap. It is polished steel and looks great against the flecked blue resin. It is engraved with Montegrappa and filled with black (enamel?). The section is smooth and round with no change in shape and ends in a smooth edge. The wide steel threads are at the back of the section.
The cap, barrel, and section are a gorgeous multifaceted resin with various levels of transparency. The colors range from white to blue, and it's shimmery and pearlescent. Downright gorgeous! I love the Marrakech finish and the polished steel trim is a great compliment. The size, shape, and finish of this pen all appeal to me, although it's hard to pick a favorite of the three colors - Roma, Barcelona, and this one.
NIB & PERFORMANCE
This is a beautiful nib. It is a size that suits the pen well and the polished steel is bright, matching the trim. The nib has a single slit, a round breather hole, and is engraved with the same geometric design found on the packaging, "Montegrappa" and F for the nib size.
The Montegrappa Mule I previously used was dry and scratchy out of the box. It was an easy fix to do at home but as a result, I was expecting this nib to be the same. I was totally wrong! It's a great writer and the nib is very pleasant. It is smooth, wet but not gushing, and well-tuned. The nib did not skip or hard start, and during normal writing with no pressure, the nib feels firm and writes reliably. With a little bit of pressure, there is some line variation possible and it feels bouncy and springy. It works well for long and fast writing sessions, easily sailed through the free weight test and works well for reverse writing if that's your thing. Ideal as a daily writer. It's the right mix of performance and feel. I really enjoyed it and I'm pleased that the performance was superior to the last Montegrappa steel nib I used. This one is much better out of the box.
The cartridge/converter system is easy to clean, use, and maintain. No issues there.
IN HAND
The clip is very stiff and I could barely lift it. Obviously, it's meant to be used with the rolling ball and not lifted. It can be used to slide the pen on to pages, pockets, and pouches, and it remains snug and tight. It was just a bit too tight to use easily, though.
I found the section comfortable enough and it works well for smaller hands. I did not find it slippery during use. The section threads are large and sharp, and the ridge to the barrel is quite sharp as well. These are not really an issue for smaller hands but if you have large hands, the threads and ridge could be bothersome.
Unposted, the pen is comfortable in width and length, and I don't find it too heavy. The cap can be posted snugly by friction but it felt too long and top heavy. I prefer the pen unposted.
PROS & CONS
OVERALL
This is a beautiful pen! I love the three colors available but the flecked, shimmery blue material won out for me. I love the shape and design, the simplicity, and the ease of use. I love piston-fillers but sometimes a simple converter is easier to deal with. The nib was very pleasant and I enjoyed the writing experience. The cons are outweighed by the pros for me. The price is a bit steep. I have done worse, but it's on the high side for a steel nib and cartridge/converter. I'm not usually crazy about Montegrappa pens but this one really caught my eye. It has been sent back to Fontoplumo since, but I still like it and am considering getting one for myself.
I received this item on loan so I could review it here for you. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. No affiliate links.
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