First impressions: Pilot Elabo Resin SEF & J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor

I am lucky enough to have the loan of a friend's Pilot Elabo (Falcon) with soft extra-fine nib. I have wanted to try this pen for many, many months and it was in fact my first pen crush. Despite these lustings I have not yet purchased one due to vapour-locking at the decision between the resin and metal versions. Reading reviews, many commented that the metal was heavier, and I did want this pen for long writing sessions. On the upside however the metal version looks as lot classier to my mind, and can accommodate the longer Con-70 converter. 

Now that I have this pen in my hand I am struck at how small the resin body actually is, and how light! It is smaller than the Pilot 912, which itself is I would say medium size, certainly not large. The metal version is definitely the better body option for me; that nib, however, shines no matter the housing.

This pen has the soft extra-fine nib, combining the needlepoint tip of a Japanese extra-fine with the capacity to blow out to a broad line given some peer pressure. It is lovely, exceedingly fine yet smooth to write with, though I was surprised - nay, shocked - at just how little flex is to be found in that 'soft' nib. Yes, it flexes, but nothing like I'd imagined. To be fair however I have had the FA nib before this one, and my Conid titanium flexes in the slightest breeze, but this just isn't as soft as I'd expected. Which really makes it kind of perfect for my intended use! An extra-fine nib for long sessions that has a soft feel, plus the versatility of some flex for headings and random fun.

 

My first fill in this pen was a sample of J. Herbin's incredible Emerald of Chivor, a rich green-blue ink with fine gold shimmer that is a member of the 1670 Collection. I made the fill not expecting to see much light at all from such a fine nib, but was astounded to note the gold shining through even on the normal, unflexed writing - in fact, due to the relative dryness of these words compared to those laid down in flood of flex, the shimmer is even more pronounced!

The ink is smooth to write with even through such a fine nib - some props of course to the 'softness' of this nib, mind - and this is one ink trial that has absolutely convinced me to purchase the ink. I have loved the look of it since its release, but being an EF writer simply didn't expect the glow to show! I am blown away and am using it this week to write in my Midori 5-Year Journal; I use a different pen & ink combination across entire weeks to create some visible structure to the year and reduce visual messiness of a different nib & ink every day.

Egads! The paper is Rhodia lined, those are 7mm lines, and my unflexed writing is t i n y.. yet, still, SHIMMER! 

So these are my first impressions so far of both the Elabo Resin SEF and of J. Herbin's Emerald of Chivor. I'll do some Proper reviews on both later this week I think, but having just completed one of my Visconti Skeletor I'll wait until the weekend. It is exhausting to be so thorough when one would rather simply prattle on a bit! There is a lot more to talk about regarding this nib, the treatments that one can do to enhance it, and alternative flexy nib options, but I'll save those for my pen review.

Photo credits: Millyjane via Bookbinders Online

The journal shown in these shots is the Midori 5-Year Journal, available here from the wonderful folk at Bookbinders Online. There is a 3-Year version available, at the same dimensions, basically for those who wish to write a little more about each day. Being someone pessimistic about the daily excitement value of my life, plus totally won-over by the swoon-worthy brilliance of that red cover, I sprang for the 5-Year model and find that with my miniscule writing it suits me fine.

The journal is $65.00, which on a cost-per-use basis over five years (shut up yes okay I do justify everything this way, *ahem* LV workbag!) works out to just 3.365¢ per day to create memories for a lifetime. Add another $10 to your Bookbinders order, and shipping is free! I absolutely love this store by the way, but since I think that Proper reviews on the myriad fountain pen and stationery stores out there should also be a thing, I shall honour them with my first store review. 

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First impressions: Skeletor is here!

My very first Visconti has arrived today! 

Unfortunately my decent camera is at work, whereas due to a current dermatological autoimmune disaster I am not, so for now poorly-lit iPotato shots must suffice. I've never actually done a proper pen review before, so please dismiss all expectations of scientific process & structured evaluation; this post is largely formed of first impressions and a bunch of dodgy photos.

Box & papers: Original. Model no.: 290. Serial no.: 40/888. Fashion model: Fluffy.

The pen came in its original box and leatherette case, crocodile-embossed and lined in velvet. It was still even in the plastic sleeve! A top layer inside the box pinched the pen in place, and beneath that was the original card and information sheet on the Skeleton range.

Important tips are important.

The pen itself is wonderful to hold. The matte titanium filigree is smooth to hold, despite the edges; every one of those cutouts are perfect, and when screwed back on, the cap meets seamlessly with the rest of the filigree pattern. The lid takes no more than a full turn to seal. The filigree sits over a clear resin body that is a touch cloudy to my eye, not so clear as that on my clear 823 (when new, at least!), but then I've seen many other resin demonstrators with the same look.

It has a really nice weight - I am used to the Pilot 823, Conid Regular Bulkfiller, Vanishing Point, larger pens for a lass I suppose - and this felt just perfect to me. Chatterley Luxuries have one for sale here and post that the empty pen weighs 44g, making it the heaviest pen I've owned or even tried, but it has a great balance and does not feel unusually weighty to me. By contrast the Pilot 823 and Conid Regular Bulkfiller pens weigh 29g and 27g empty respectively, and they are similarly sized.

I tried gently posting the cap but it doesn't seem like it really wants to sit there, and since I rarely post lids I don't want it to, either. I keep all of my pens in their own leather cases, and so the lids stay in there whilst the pen is in use.

Perfect propping, prop.

Playing with it in the car on the way home, I tried the plunger and found it very stiff. I guess it's just sat in there for all that time not being used, so just gently worked the plunger a few times and it had loosened up a wee bit by the time we got home.

Despite its stiffness and disuse the first fill went very well! I had to pause midway to add an extra thumb's worth of pressure to get it right down - the vacuum generated behind the piston was very strong and it was still stiff in general I suppose - but once the stroke completed it immediately inhaled a gigantic chunk of ink that filled the main chamber to 2/3 full. Turning the pen over the anterior chamber drained back about an extra centimetre downwards to completely fill the main chamber.

Visconti's differential piston system seemed to perform better that that of my Pilot 823s as the single stroke filled the entire main barrel; Skeletor's anterior chamber seems gigantic too, given the surprising amount of extra ink that drained downwards into the main barrel. By contrast I would need to work the plunger twice to get a complete fill of the 823 as it will only half-fill the main barrel with one stroke. I did add a wee second fill on the Visconti today just to be sure I filled both chambers, mostly for visual purposes and partly for playing, but this is not necessary for normal use and of course means one could not drain the anterior chamber for flying.

The closest I have to a rich blood red in enough volume to fill a vacuum filler - it looks amazing in the barrel!

Well what a beauty to write with! The nib is smooth as silk and glides like butter. Buttery, inky silk. Unsurprised about the touch of baby's bum, frankly I'd expected it, but it's really not too bad and only skipped on the first letter three or four times. It's not like the start of every single sentence. The nib really doesn't flex much at all; pressing harder barely spreads the tines, and whilst the line is wider it's mostly just wetter. This is fine by me, it's big enough as it is and feels like it would be beautifully predictable and reliable for everyday writing.

The flow is very consistent, and upon lifting the nib I don't see pooling in the last letter as I do with the Conid titanium. It does seem wet to me but then the medium is far wider than my usual extra-fines, so given its consistency across all words I assume that this is probably smack-bang perfect! I always use extra-fine nibs, most commonly Japanese at that, so this rich nib is a very alien experience to me.. despite it being too wide for work I'm simply going to use this pen as much as possible anyway to gain more experience with different nibs, change up my handwriting a bit (i.e. write larger, haha!), and have some fun actually spotting sheen on the page for a change.

Today's ink was Yama-budo, which I don't think should stain (non-permanent and was fine in my clear 823 anyway), and I have Noodler's General of the Armies en-route for this pen on a friend's recommendation - that lurid colour will just look like toxic sludge peeping through the barrel.

Nib is not actually a Dreamtouch. (Just dreamy). Wups. 

Very first Visconti verdict: Amazeballs. I am really looking forward to playing around with this pen, giving it some love and some use, and coming to grips with that fatass babybutt; the finish and quality is just brilliant and the stealth filigree (how is that even a thing?!) styling of the Skeleton Titanium suits me perfectly. The only slight - slight - disappointment I have is that it is in fact serial number 40, not 42 - i.e. the answer to the universe and everything - as noted in the sale post. I'll live, but it is a funny coincidence that I am sat here watching Monty Python's Meaning of Life on the telly as I type this post!

Pilot Elabo Resin; Pilot VP; Conid Regular Bulkfiller; Visconti Ti Skeleton; Lamy Studio; Pilot 823; Pilot 912; Kaweco Raw Al-Sport

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