Goodbyes: Sailor Susutake and a yellow Montegrappa Miya

Lately my approach on the Fountain Pen Accumulating Quest has changed. I was making a mental list of the pens I had actually used within the last 12 months and the result made me a little sad. I do keep two journals - a regular one and a "five year diary" which I will write about shortly -, have penpals, make notes etc. but still there doesn't seem to be enough room in my day for putting that many pens to good use.

Besides: You need some of this time to have all these exciting experiences you'll later write about!

So my iron grip on some of my pens has loosened, I was willing to let some of them go and even my attitude towards new pen cravings has been affected. There's this Nakaya in unpolished shu I've liked on and off for a long time. I might be able to get one in November, but then - does it make sense as I don't seem to have sufficient time for the humble Nakaya selection I already possess?

Whatever I will decide, I'd like to show you two of the pens that have gone to new homes this year as they are - nevertheless and undoubtedly - beautiful!



Isn't this just an amazing shade of yellow? Yellow is rarely seen in pens and mostly for good reason as staining and transparency of the material have to be dealt with. Also the color has to be carefully nuanced as not to appear signal or neon yellow.

Montegrappa have solved all of these problems masterfully in their yellow Miya line. The color is warm and deep, coming alive with numerous shimmering streaks within the celluloid. Despite the light color the pen retains its beautifully solid appearance. Its nice weight adds to that as well.

If you'd like to read more about them, you might want to check out my post about the Montegrappa Alfa Romeo (based on the Miya shape and size).

So why let this one go? To my shame: Only to swap it for a Miya Argento in the same color as I like the yellow and turquoise Miya version even better with full sterling silver caps. Once I had managed to lay hands on an Argento in yellow for a really attractive price I decided I didn't need two of these yellow beauties.
(Let's call it "refining" the collection since it didn't really downsize it...)

The other pen I sold was a collectible I'd acquired pretty soon after my interest in fountain pens was first sparked: a Sailor Susutake Bamboo. I was fascinated with the smoked bamboo and its history, also the pen was fitted with an equally impressive nib: a Cross Emperor.

I still think this pen is an amazing work of art but you'd be hard pressed to find a pen less suitable for comfortable writing! 

See this step from the section to the barrel?

The smoked bamboo is silky smooth and the Cross Emperor nib would have been truly interesting but as the pen was, all in all, so uncomfortable to hold I never explored it to its full extent.





It wasn't all that easy to let this one go since it is a true work of art but I'm still glad it has found a more appreciative owner now. It has gone to a new home in Finland.

Will I let some more of my pens go to new homes in order to keep only the ones that are true jewels to  me - or will I continue being my old squirrel self and just hoard happily ever after? Who knows!

Have any of you restructured your pen inventories in the past? What were your reasons? How do you feel about it now?

Have a great week full of beautiful and exciting things to write about!

Olive Wood! Graf von Faber-Castell Elemento

I've loved the Elemento since it came out 2 years ago. Lately those have been offered with discounts at some places so I decided time was finally ripe to get one!

Graf von Faber-Castell Elemento

The Elemento introduced their "Intuition: Wood" model which is now also available in Grenadilla, Ebony and Permambucco. The Elemento is a unique edition made of olive wood. You can see the fine grain and every pore of the wood.
The wood also has a special property which is called "Stirnholz" in German and I couldn't really find a translation for - one site offered "end grained wood" but I'm not sure if it's an accurate translation. Imagine cutting a tree into discs instead of logs. It's the same wood but the discs will look different and will also be harder. That's the way the wood was cut for the Elemento pens.

The barrel is heavily lacquered so discoloration and staining can be avoided. You can probaly write with this one as long as you want, the grip section won't become darker or dirty. On the other hand, due to the treatment it doesn't feel as much like wood. I guess you can't have everything!
Their Grenadilla and Permambucco pens are not as heavily treated so you might want to look at them if you're after a wooden pen with a wooden grip section.

The pen is filled with cartridge or converter. By operating the knob at the back end the nib unit will be released from the barrel, not unlike the system Waterman used in their Serenité pens. If you use the converter, it is recommended to wipe the nib unit clean before inserting it back into the pen.

Did you notice that the grip section is slightly tapered? It feels extremely comfortable. Also my fingers don't seem to slide towards the edge as they tend to with some pens but stay just where they belong.

The Elemento is a medium sized (ca. 13 cm capped, 12,5 cm uncapped) and lightweight pen with 41g capped but only 21g uncapped. (Their Intuition Wood pens are noticeably heavier) The cap can be posted which feels quite comfortable - even to me who hardly ever posts the cap.

Especially next to their Pens of the Year the Elemento looks tiny but it has a nice girth and doesn't feel too short by any means.

 Graf von Faber-Castell Elemento: round tipped B nib 

The nib is two-tone and larger than the ones on their regular Intuition models. In the thread about the red Conway Stewart Churchill I commented on its nib not having a breather hole and suspected that might be the only one of my nibs with that feature. Here I am telling bullshit! These don't have one either but it took me a long time to notice it. It's a smooth and reliable nib like all Faber-Castell's I've ever tried.

Even the cap has a beautiful inlay of olive wood. The stripes of wood running down the barrel are chosen to be similar in color and grain, giving the whole pen a harmonious appearance.

On Graf von Faber-Castell's ads the wood looks very yellowish but mine has more of a red undertone. I guess each one is a little different.

How do you like this one?