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The magnificent seven: week one

Today I laid my collection out, all together. It didn’t fit in my pen drawer. I had to leave three pens out of shot.

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Left to right: Montblanc 1912, Montblanc 149, Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl, Pelikan M400 white tortoiseshell, Visconti Wall Street LE, Visconti Homo Sapiens London Fog, Visconti Homo Sapiens, Visconti Van Gogh Room in Arles, Graf von Faber-Castell Intuition Platino Ebony, Graf von Faber-Castell Classic, Desiderata Soubriquet Cocobolo, Montegrappa Extra 1930 Colori del Mar ‘The Sea’, Lamy 2000, Lamy Dialog 3, Esterbrook Estie Cobalt Blue, Leonardo Momento Zero horn, Sheaffer Legacy Heritage palladium, Sheaffer Legacy Heritage gold, Pilot 823 smoke, Platinum 3776 Bourgogne, Kaweco Art Sport Alabaster, Pineider La Grande Bellezza, Diplomat Aero blue, Pilot Capless Fermo, Parker Duofold International, Kaweco Dia 2.

 

More than half of those pictured pens are inked. I thought it would be fun to spend some time on a rainy Saturday picking out seven pens for the seven days ahead (in much the same way as I obsess about which pens to take on a trip). So until next Saturday, here’s my list:

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1. Leonardo Momento Zero Horn F

This joyous bouncy fine is inked with the oil-slick Kobe #51. It’s a good pairing and practical, too.

2. Montegrappa Extra 1930 Colori del Mar ‘The Sea’ F

The big bright turquoise pen is loaded with a new-to-me Birmingham ink, Polar Bear. It’s a curious dark turquoise (which I didn’t think could exist) and I’m interested to see whether I like it.

3. Visconti Van Gogh Room in Arles F

I spent half an hour with a razor blade, brass sheet and nail buffing stick yesterday. It’s not paraphernalia for a new drug habit; it’s my nib tuning kit. The Van Gogh was writing dry and inconsistently. Now it writes OK. I thought it was time to give the beautiful Montblanc Swan Illusion another outing.

4. Pelikan M400 white tortoiseshell B

The M400 is my smallest pen, but it’s too pretty to leave in the drawer. I used to use R&K Alt Goldgrun all the time, but not so much recently. It coordinates nicely with the stripes of the pen.

5. Pilot 823 M

I’m giving the 823 another go. I should love it, but I haven’t clicked with it yet. Maybe I just need to spend a little more time with it, or try a different ink. So here’s Monteverde Fireopal to inject a little heat into the rather cold palette of inks so far. I enjoyed it when I first reviewed it, but have barely used it since.

6. Montblanc 1912 M

Can’t forget about the 1912. I’ve only ever inked it with three inks, and now alternate between Red Fox and Poussiere de Lune. Here it is with the Herbin.

7. Visconti London Fog M

I exclusively use the Fog with Edelstein Topaz, probably my favourite bright blue and a good match for the nib and colours of the Visconti

6 Comments

  1. londonfountainpens

    I truly top drawer collection. More than a few pens I like to own.

    • Anthony

      The feeling is mutual!

  2. Karen

    A beautiful collection and lovely pen holder/drawer (?). Would you mind listing your pens in order? I’m fairly new to the fountain pen world and can only identify a few.
    I’m finding fountain pens similar to jewelry, each pen has it’s own beauty. TIA.

    • Anthony

      Tell you what Karen, I’ll update the post with a left-to-right listing and links through to reviews where I’ve written them. Welcome to the pen world and feel free to ask any questions, I’m happy to help!

      • Karen

        Thank you. 😊

  3. anthonygrootelaar

    beautiful…thank you …always in awe of the power of this instrument when it is properly appreciated ..

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