This review is best enjoyed in a relaxing environment over a glass of good alcohol or a cup of hot beverage. Use this as an excuse to treat yourself to some quiet and alone time.
Introduction
I’ve been fortunate enough to have had opportunities that made me challenge my beliefs and grow as a person. This instrument is one which made me question what the purpose of a fountain pen is. What is the promise that manufacturers are trying to deliver? And what should be? When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, he pointed out how phones are clunky and complicated. I agree. But over the years, there was a fight for thin-ness and now it’s bezels. Is this the promise? I want sophistication and time-releasing devices. Not notifications and time-consuming app designs. (https://vimeo.com/193299995) So what is the promise? Two years ago, I’d have answered with an undoubted “buttery smooth”. Now, I’m not sure. If anything, I’m sure it’s not “buttery smooth”.
The problems with Montblanc 149
I started out with the intention of investing in an instrument that would end all future desires. We at /r/fountainpens need no explanation of that statement. I looked at Montblanc 149. If the presidents and Dalai Lama use it, then it’s good enough for me. And of course the design is timeless. But two things deterred me: the nib and the writing section. I tested the nib at a local pen store and it didn’t feel smoother than the Lamy 2000 I own. I came back to the shop, a week later questioning if it was actually less smooth. Indeed the tines were misaligned (and I learnt some poor guy bought it couple days later). I notified them and a month later, they told me they had three new units. When I tested it, all of them had misaligned tines. I was done. Even if miraculously I received ones which weren’t misaligned, I couldn’t un-see the ugly section near the nib. While the writing section has a glossy finish, the nib end of the section is matte. It is unsightly and repulsive. (My apologies to the offended) The design details are invaluable to me. Because it shows that the people involved, spent a lot of time with their products or services themselves. And it also says to me, they were uncompromising about overcoming challenges involved in the manufacturing. I’m sure Montblanc has a perfectly valid reason that it had to be matte. My dad always said, “Winners have reasons. Losers have reasons. Winners have reasons enough (to win).” Haunts me to this day.
I also had the Pelikan 1000 for consideration but I hate the design. Gaudy. (Again, my apologies.)
Design of KOP
I came across Nibsmith’s video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypKfSgn0xsY) where he compared the 149 with the KOP. And kids, that’s the story of how I caught a glimpse of your mother’s ankle. No ugly matte ring at the section. Even more understated and minimalist design. Most pens resemble the design of the 149. The cigar shape. The ring. Sailor was able to do it away with this pen. Just a gold clip. Beautiful. The restraint involved in not putting a “SAILOR” ring on the clip is admirable. It’s easy to just NOT restrain. To just churn out an instrument without having restrained. When it sits on a table, it’s a simple, unadorned writing instrument. All that work that’s been put behind it and behind running such a company isn’t tried to be communicated. This was one of those cases where they let the work speak for itself. And in this highly industrialised and commercialised era where everybody wants your attention and brand recognition, I can’t help but feel in love and admiration.
Purchase experience
Pelahale did a review of the Naginata Togi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj_GNLboME) and I knew that’s what I wanted. Ideally I wanted a cross emperor but I couldn’t find one on a KOP. I contacted Sailor’s headquarters and they had no stock on any Naginata Togi. I ordered it on nibs.com (their pricing was the best and Engeika didn’t have a Naginata Togi) and it was shipped the next day. But unfortunately, the customs had it for an excruciating two months. I wanted nibs.com to try to speak with the postal services on their end to try and help me but they simply said they’d done their job of posting the package. Maybe it is unreasonable to make such a request, but maybe Amazon sellers would’ve complied? Idk. When it arrived, one of the sides of the box had come loose/broken. I glued it back and now it’s fine. I bought it for $920 IIRC and a 40% tax at customs. Steep price to pay. It had better be worth it.
I acknowledge that the first hand experience is never possible to be communicated through digital media. Or print. The weight. The girth. None of this can get through. When I purchased a Lumia 920 way back when, everybody online said it was heavy. I had an orgasm when I held it.
First impressions capped
Holding it felt as good as a pen could feel. It’s quite similar to the 149 but the balance is more centric. Due to the perhaps gold plated brass section inside and lack of piston to bring the weight back. I’ll be honest I had a mini orgasm when I unscrewed it. Fountain pen reviewers talk more about how many turns it takes to unscrew, but no. If it takes longer, you learn to love slowing down. And if it takes shorter, you learn to love the ease of accessibility. Neither are truly the issue. The resistance is where it’s at. Humans are very tactile creatures. If I said moss your fingers can remember how it feels. And if I said freshly cut grass your feet remembers how it feels. The resistance when unscrewing has to be right. I love ink bottles that sound right (squeak) when I unscrew them. It’s not enough for me if the bottle just looks nice. The iroshizuku bottles do it right. They feel weighty. They sound squeaky. They look gorgeous. The ink flows beautifully. They clean easily. The colours are subtly distinct and grow on you. The labelling and packaging is beautiful and easily communicates clearly, exactly what needs to be communicated and nothing more.
First impressions uncapped and writing
The nib is beautifully adorned. When the pen is capped it is restrained; when uncapped, the luxurious engravings show through on just the nib. As a design concept of a pen, I love this. Having learnt over many articles, posts, videos about Sailor making the smoothest nibs in the world and having used a Lamy 2000 for months now, my fingers were ready. And it was anti-climactic. The 2000 is smoother. Were the tines misaligned? (nope) I should write a page or two to really get a feel for it. No matter what I did, I couldn’t refute to myself that the 2000 was smoother. What now?…
Extended writing impressions
About 8 or 10 months later, with extended writing everyday, I began to realise that the nib on the 2000 was kinda resisting some strokes. As I wrote more, I felt it all the more. The 2000’s nib felt weird at some strokes. It felt like creepy-crawlies under my skin. Like nails on a chalkboard. (Oh yeah son imagine that nail on that chalkboard. Being dragged down. The high shrill. The person dragging it just looking you in the eye like wtf. Like your nails were forced onto the chalkboard now. The tingly fuck of a sensation that shouldn’t exist in the world. And then putting it back up on the board to do it again.) Yes the nib was smoother than the KOP, but it wasn’t right. And that’s when I realised the difference between feedback and resistance. Feedback doesn’t mean stroke resistance. The sailor’s nib is indeed smoother. No matter how I move the pen, at what angle, the nib is smooth. There’s not a hint of resistance. But it also feels like writing with a pencil. I still don’t understand how the nibmeisters did it. I think the nib has several ground surface making it more like an octagon rather than a circle. The KOP nibs are soft unlike sailor's 1911 nibs which gives a spring and more expressivity. I ended up grinding the nib on the 2000 myself with a whetstone to an architect-NT kinda nib. Gets thicker architect at lower angles and thinner almost fine point at higher angles. (Disclaimer: OP takes no responsibility if you mess up your nibs trying to grind them. You are liable to void your warranty by messing with the nib and may cause irreparable damage in the process. Also, that’s another obsession you can’t afford.)
I’ve come to prefer this feedback now. To me, the ideal feedback when writing is that of a wax crayon or a soft pencil. Sailor’s is like a hard pencil. With buttery smooth nibs, the pen feels like it slides off the paper without my intending to and my handwriting loses some of the consistency. I think within the community, people are generally mistaken about how fountain pens used to write back in the day. It was scratchy but it also didn’t allow many stroke angles to be made. You could try making a stroke but the pen would just move in a certain preferred angle. Take the italic stubs. They prefer to move at a certain angle which imbues your writing with consistency, not take away from it.
The speciality of the nib
Of course the other quality of this particular nib is the angle creates different line widths. It’s no debate how sailor showed the world what could be done with just the tip (puns are always intended). But the more I write with it, the more I feel that’s not what it was actually about. Don’t get me wrong, that IS what it’s about. But it’s also not. The point (heh) of the NT is that you can write with any angle without trying to make it work. And without any effort/pressure. Writing with the 2000 for a day or two and then switching back to the KOP makes me realise just how much pressure I use with the 2000. The first few sentences after making the switch, the tines of the NT always spread apart due to excess pressure. And when I switch back to the 2000 after a day or two of the KOP, the pen always slides off the page uncontrollably so I need to use more pressure to make it stick. The NT nib is about being able to write on paper without realising if you’re touching the paper or not. And I tested this. I tried making with as little pressure as possible and at some point I couldn’t figure out if the pen was touching the paper or not. Only after moving it and seeing if the ink is on the page, would I know. IMO, this is the main point of the NT. To be able to write at any angle without pressure to allow a very fluid free flowing Japanese penmanship, like that of a brush. (Similar to https://youtu.be/8QQhO1UPqpw?t=184. And it’s what I gather from this video by Sailor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdTWEtBzt5M. If someone could translate I would greatly appreciate it.)
The writing is mmm juicy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw2t3tRUA84).. It’s wet and lays down lots of ink. I can get 4 sheets (8 pages) of writing with a single fill (minus 7 drops which is dropped back into the bottle. Else the first few sentences will be way to juicy. Mmm juicy.) Thankfully, I enjoy the inconvenience of the cartridge over the convenience of the piston (Similar to the inconvenience of fountain pens over disposable ball points). I love refilling the pen more often (heck I would love just dipping even more). The KOP was never meant for extended writing. It was made with the intention of being an instrument people would use for writing letters. I tried converting it as an eyedropper for a day but it writes too wet. I realise after the experiment that the pen was tuned for a CC. The nib and feed can be pulled out allowing for a deep cleaning of ink stains.
Conclusion
So, back to the question. What is the promise? When I look at Japanese calligraphy videos (shodo), I’m most struck by the observation that the brush allows for the writer to express many emotions and characteristics of writing. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1N2vvltDpo) Especially those with the humungous brushes. I love that there are dry strokes and wet strokes, which is rarely talked about as a preferred quality with fountain pens. Over here, we just talk about wet/very wet/gushing. With shodo (and brushes), when written fast, it shows. When slow, it shows. When angry, the medium allows to show it. When being delicate, it shows. If pressure was used, it shows. If a light touch is used, it shows. To me, a fountain pen is a promise to be an instrument which allows all that and allows to write with infinitesimally low pressure. I think the NT is a work of art as much as it is a writing instrument. It allows all that to be communicated on paper, apart from the words being said.
TLDR
I talk about my fountain pen fetishes. (WTF That’s not a tldr)
PS. I realise there's no pictures of the pen or writing. There's plenty of that online. I'll make a writing video and post it some time later. I'm just not sure if I'll actually come around to do it so I'm posting this before I change my mind and delete it entirely.
Submitted July 24, 2019 at 09:22PM by TeaAndPen https://ift.tt/2GsFDr8
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