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The magnificent seven: week four

My “magnificent seven” project is having good results. This week I wrote three of last week’s pens dry, even though I had another new pen day (the replacement Graf Guilloche after my bad experience… I filled it with Montblanc Spider Web Grey).

I wrote dry the Desiderata Soubriquet, Montegrappa Extra, and Graf Classic. I decided to dump the Dr Gachet’s black cartridge, which was drying a muddy green, and instead inked it with Akkerman SBRE Brown — I like the ink but it’s not really a fit for the pen’s colour scheme.

Anyway, this week is ALL CHANGE. Here’s the entirely new lineup.

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Aurora Optima, Montblanc Encre du Desert

I sent back the Aurora Talentum Black Ops to the lovely Iguanasell, who are ordering me in a version with a different nib. So I’ve decided to get my Aurora fix this week from the Optima, with its fine flex nib. I can see why people get obsessed with Aurora… they have such a distinctive character.

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Montblanc 149, Montblanc Greek Blue

Welcome back to the big beauty. Like the Optima, the Montblanc has a degree of pencil-like tooth, but it’s a very different feel in the hand. This has been sat in the drawer for a couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to giving it a try again.

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Diplomat Aero, Franklin-Christoph Spanish Blue

The Diplomat was one of the pens I had to fix, but now it’s a nice wet writer, and I’m interested to see if I can make the ergonomics work, or if this is going to go on the ‘for sale’ list…

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Sheaffer Legacy, Montblanc Psychedelic Purple

The Sheaffer is turning into one of my most faithful pens. It never fails to write, and it’s so comfortable in the hand.

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Lamy 2000, Herbin Rouge Grenat

To me, the 2000 is much like the Sheaffer: it’s a pen that just gets out of the way. It’s been sat for weeks and started up with no hesitation.

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Pineider La Grande Bellezza, Aurora Black

I gave the Pineider a little bit of a kicking in my review, but I’m quite fond of it. This week I spent a while trying to narrow down the stub, and I may have made a bit of difference — but I really need a grinding wheel! I inked up with Aurora Black, which unfortunately looks a bit washed out when spread out over such a wide line. Maybe I need to increase the flow.

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Esterbrook Estie, Bungubox 4B

I recognised the Estie in my end of year awards, and I’m glad I did. It really is one of my most pleasant surprises this year, a definite smile-raiser. I’m curious to see if the new Phaeton model has the same more-than-the-some-of-its-parts quality.

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Now here’s the killer… approximately 5,000 miles away my new Nakaya, Karas Ink and Karas Starliner XL are sitting in the hands of my brother. So, indirect new pen day?!

4 Comments

  1. Martin Cumming

    Your new Nakaya! Can’t wait to hear about this. Nice one.

    • Anthony

      I’m really excited to see if they live up to the legend!

  2. rupertarzeian

    Great to see you at the pen club and to try out your current week’s line-up (except that I didn’t get to the Sheaffer Legacy).Also I am glad that the duff nib on your Graf Guilloche has been replaced for you and you can start to enjoy it. I passed on that Black Friday deal, as I’ve had a lot of treats lately😁. I was pleased that you liked my Duofold; it goes to show the limitations we have of being able to study only one example of a pen when doing a review. Have fun chosing next week’s carry!

    • Anthony

      Yes, your Duofold was a delight — you should be very pleased with yourself! And the Cross, too… You’ve started to erode my prejudices against that brand 😄

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