Menlo - from Brian Gray's Edison Pen Company

[kiavonne]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Pens/Edison%20Pen%20Co/Menlo03.jpg

 

 

DISCLAIMER: As usual, my photos are less than stellar quality. This is a beautiful pen, and I'm sorry my photos just can't show it any justice. A note on the Edison Pen Company etching, the flash of the camera really highlighted it. I was wondering if I could get it to show at all, it is actually very, very subtle and one could easily miss it at first glance.

 

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Pens/Edison%20Pen%20Co/Menlo02.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Pens/Edison%20Pen%20Co/Menlo01.jpg

 

The typed nitty gritty:

 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: WOW

 

FILLING SYSTEM: Cartridge/Converter

 

NIB: Fine, 18k Edison Pen Company nib. Tuned by Brian to be 7 of 10 on the wetness scale and to write "smooth as butter."

 

COST: Very reasonable for a truly custom-made pen, with attention direct from the artist himself. It went to my wants and desires, and the available upgrades made it really a pen to be enjoyed. The base model of this pen is a modest $165.

 

CONCLUSIONS: I've been looking at this pen for almost a year. I finally got it, and with all the extras. I'm very, very pleased. Brian was great to work with, and he went out of the way to make sure I got what I wanted, even when I had him polishing up other materials for me to look at. This pen is me, through and through. The colors are my favorite combination, and the pen feels good in my hand. Brian's pens are beautiful, they write well, and his service is prompt and impeccable.

Edited February 5, 2012 by watch_art

[wvbeetlebug]

Excellent! Thanks for the review!

[hari317]

Nice review! It was a pleasure to read it in your nice handwriting

[ethernautrix]

Fantastic!

 

I almost ordered a red-and-black ebonite Pearl, but I'm getting an orange-and-black ebonite Pearl instead (woot!), with the Edison nib. I like the nib's consistency, as you show in your review. Fabulous! Can't wait!

 

I mean, I CAN wait; I already told Brian that I was NOT impatient.

 

But I'm even more excited after seeing your review. Thanks, Kiavonne!

[Sharkle]

 

Edison pens are gorgeous, both subtle and distinctive. I've been eyeing one of these for awhile, and I'll just have to take the plunge sooner or later. I will have a hard time choosing just one, and right now I definitely lean toward the Pearl, probably in your Menlo's color, but I'd love to see it in orange as well. Great review and thank you for taking the time.

 

[Lloyd]

Can you comment on this nib's softness/flexibility?

[kiavonne]

Can you comment on this nib's softness/flexibility?

 

 

Softness and flexibility.

 

Well, this is hard for me to describe more than most other features. I haven't had an awful lot to compare as far as "flex" is concerned. I have only been writing exclusively with fountain pens for just under a year.

 

What I will say is this: I probably have a heavier hand than most, and I still battle the death grip on occasion. This pen wasn't hard for me to relax the grip on. It felt naturally right to write with less a grip on this pen, and I wasn't fearing for the nib's life, so to speak. It may be due to a combination of the girth of the pen and the nib (both the largest I have). The nib doesn't feel stiff or hard like the nibs found in most of what I would call "standard issue." It is certainly a far cry above any steel nib. The 18k of the vanishing point is very stiff in comparison, but it's hardly a good comparison for the size and function. The Edison nib doesn't need any pressure whatsoever to put down such a nice, consistent line. It seems to have a little bit of "spring" to it. It doesn't have any scratch or feedback from the paper, and I can call it very smooth and how I wish most of my pens would write. I find it to be a really nice nib, and I think I may like it better than the Bexley nibs and definitely better than the Pelikan nibs. It may help, too, that Brian made sure it flowed just right before even sending it out the door. I was at first concerned when I read his note that it was about a 7 of 10 on the wetness scale, as some of my other nibs adjusted by others in that range flow way too freely and leave me with a broad line by my definition. This nib, though, puts down the line as close as I most wanted to see in a fine nib - not too heavy, but I can still see my ink on the page. Western fine. Not a Japanese fine. I might think about an adjustment down just one notch on the wetness scale for my upcoming Pearl (to accomodate my love of bulletproof Noodler's inks), but really, this nib is pretty nice.

 

Hope I haven't muddled that for you too much. :embarrassed_smile:

 

 

 

 

[I am not a number]

Fantastic review, I have a pen by Brian that I recently brought back into rotation and that has pretty well gained "most favoured" status all over again.

 

I am now convinced that I need that Red/Black ink at some stage as well...