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Christmas came early: Scribo, Aurora, Fox Sport and more

With every pen sold, it seems another pen shows up at the door. I could say it’s a kind of cosmic equilibrium, but the reality is I just have no self-control.

So while I’ve said goodbye to several pens recently (just yesterday I posted off my lovely Pilot Fermo), the collection is barely any smaller.

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The Conid Minimalistica Monarch that I reviewed just a few days ago is now loaded with Herbin Vert de Gris, and back on its stock fine nib. I’m still persevering through the o-rings.

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And it’s not the only orange pen I’ve welcomed: I couldn’t resist the Kaweco Fox Sport.

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The Fox is a lovely chalky, almost terracotta orange (that’s really difficult to photograph, incidentally), but WOW, I’d forgotten how sharp and plasticky the basic Sport is.

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The hand-turned and highly polished Art Sport has spoiled me, and I actually quite dislike holding this new one. The nibs are very different, too — while my previous experience with Kaweco Bs is that they run very wide, the B on the Fox is what I’d call a medium.

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Write Here finally tempted me with an offer on their Scribo, and I ordered one of the original grey-with-lime-accents, in a medium 18k nib. I’m glad I did.

This is a big, solid pen, with a long section and huge thick walls.

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The material has incredible shimmer and a degree of translucency.

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And the nib is everything I’d hoped from the “made by ex-Omas people” mystique. It is soft, very wet indeed, and has a pleasant level of feedback.

The red and green colours of the Scribo 2 don’t appeal to me, nor does the bulbous Feel, and I wouldn’t have done justice to the 14k extra flex nib — so for once I’m very confident that I made the right choice.

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Last but not least, the wonderful folks at Iguanasell shipped me my replacement Aurora Talentum Black Ops. The first one I received was a stub, and it was like writing with a rusty staple — simply awful. This is a 14k B, and at last it’s just what I expected from Aurora.

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Medium flow, lots of pencil-like feedback, and personality. There’s a big blob of tipping, which is confusing my fingers a little, but I’m enjoying it.

I persisted with the Talentum because it’s an amazingly comfortable design. Often overlooked in comparison to the Optima and 88 I’ve noticed, but I’m glad I took a second glance. And the all-black finish is incredibly sexy.

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I’m not done for the year quite yet — Izods is sending me an EF Montblanc Rouge et Noir — but I’m certainly happy with the presents I’ve gifted myself so far!

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2 Comments

  1. jmccarty3

    I saw that you had snagged that Rouge et Noir on Instagram. Looks like a beautiful pen.

    Being a fan of the Netherlands, I’m something of an orange pen and ink collector. What do you think of the KWZ Monarch ink? I’m trying to justify the big orange bulkfiller, but just committed to the new Pelikan LE, so the Conid will have to be put off yet again.

    Always enjoy your posts!

    • Anthony

      The Monarch ink seems pretty good so far — I’ve not used it much yet, but I have a soft spot for KWZ and for dark oranges!

      Hope you enjoy the new Pelikan– it’s a beauty.

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