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I was hoping to show you a picture of this new, very sleek looking pen, but it seems that's not an option right now. Lightly brushed, matte back body, gloss, transparent red section and ink window, designed around the Zebra G flex nib with a purpose-designed ebonite feed, but can take any screw-in #6 nib unit. Clipless. Handmade in America by me. Limited run. Please have a look at the full story at the link above.

First off, pics and more detail in my post here: https://www.neverposted.com/home/2017/4/27/fountain-pen-review-desiderata-daedalus Introduction: Hello, friends. I've got an interesting of product that has only been discussed a few times on here: the Desiderata Daedalus. As I think most of us are aware, we want flex, but there's no replacement for vintage flex, Pilot FA nib railroads, Noodler's Pens are semi-flex, etc. So what do we do? Well Mr. Pierre Miller founded the Desiderata Pen Co. with the intention of producing pen bodies for the Zebra G, every fountain pen lover's favorite dip nib. For the most part he succeeds. Appearance: Simple, utilitarian, even minimalist. I like it. There's not a whole lot going on; that is, it's more tool than art piece. But I don't think anyone would call it ugly, and I've grown quite fond of the sight of my Daedalus on my desk. Functionality (how the pen works outside of writing): The converter I got with mine was pretty much pointless. This pen guzzles ink, so I quickly decided to eyedropper it. It's a foolproof eyedropper with about an inch of tight threading. The nib isn't stainless, so it does need to be replaced, but the pen comes apart easily and the nibs last plenty long enough. A ten pack can be had for 13.50 on Jetpens and will last a year, easily. Also, the feed is cavernous, so shaking the pen will cause large droplets to go flying every time. This is probably the biggest problem, as it somewhat negates the portability of dipless dip pen. Writing: Honestly, this pen could have the build quality of a matchstick and I would still be interested if it could replicate vintage flex. The answer is that it pretty much does. You get hairlines, you get BBBB lines, and all with relatively little effort. Railroading is minimized, and with a controlled hand is a negligible problem. Honestly, if anything the pen is too wet. The lines end up looking a little blobby and the dry times are unreasonable. Now, this isn't something I've mentioned in my blog post, but I will add that I find myself reaching for the Daedalus only when I want to practice my laughable attempts at calligraphy. For casual flex writing, I think the hairlines are too thin. Conclusion: Worth it if you want to do serious calligraphy. I mean, sure you could always use a dip pen, but this is a neat product.

Hey there, I'm offering flex nib units for sale which are designed to hold the Zebra G dip nib. Over the last year or so, I've been experimenting with nib units and now nearly all of my pens will be JoWo #6 nib unit compatible. (JoWo nibs are a pen industry standard, and JoWo the company is one of the biggest names worldwide in fountain pen nibs.) Essentially, if you have a pen that holds #6 JoWo nibs (ask the manufacturer if you're not sure) that you want to try out my flex pens with buy a nib unit (the nib unit is the nib, the feed, and the black collar you see in the attached photo), unscrew yours from your pen and screw in mine. Also, all of my upcoming pens will be compatible with JoWo #6 nib units so if you have a nib you like (a specially modified nib, for example), you will be able to screw out the nib unit I provide, and screw in your own. They are for sale on the Nib Units button at this page of DesiderataPens.comThey can also be purchased on Etsy.comDisclaimer: Obviously, because I can't see where the nib unit is going, I can't guarantee that it will work as well in your pen as it will work in my pens, but purchasing a separate nib unit is an option I want you to have. Pierre

There are plenty of reviews about the Desiderata out there, but most of them are from the POV of a copperplate calligrapher, which is this pen's intended use. There are few reviews that focus on drawing, which is a shame, because I think this is a nice, and also an overlooked art tool. In case you haven't heard, these are made by hand by a fine fellow named Pierre Miller in Chicago, and they take disposable Zebra G manga dip nibs. I won't re-iterate the information already available on Pierre's site, but instead I'll dive right into the stuff about drawing, that isn't widely available. Below is a sketch test with Platinum Carbon Black in an eyedropper-filled Desiderata shorty, with some white grease pencil for the highlights, and red marker in the eyes. The sketch is on gray cardstock. Initial results are very favorable. I have read one comment online claiming that, in sac-filler configuration, the pen does not flow enough to keep up with the demands of drawing. My pen does not accept a sac, so I cannot confirm or deny that claim, but an eyedropper-filler provides plenty of fluid pressure, and easily provides enough flow to keep up even with my frenetic drawing pace. The pen did not railroad at all, nor did it exhibit the belching and vomiting mishaps that eyedropper pens are known for. Maybe that's just because, if you draw quickly like I do, the heavy demand tends to stay ahead of the belching. But one way or the other, I did not have the problem. That being said, I'm not ready to junk my dip pens just yet: the Desiderata only accepts the Zebra G, and will not feed inks meant for dip pens such as Speedball Super Black. There are other nibs that I need to use sometimes for different effects, and sometimes I need to use inks that won't work in the Desiderata, and let's not forget I still need a brush for big black areas. But the Desiderata is nevertheless poised to become the workhorse of my comics inking. In comics, speed is everything, because you have to draw so much to finish a book. If you don't have to keep stopping to dip, you can go so much faster. You can also get into a mental flow that is harder to get into when you have to keep dipping, which is why Sergio Aragones has drawn all his strips with a fountain pen for the past 50 or so years. The other tools are useful, but they will be held in reserve to do the things the Desiderata can't do. The Desiderata is also going to cause all my other fountain pens to get demoted from cafe-sketchers to mere writers. For sketching on location, where carrying an inkwell is inconvenient or impossible, the Desiderata is the best pen I've ever used. The biggest technical hassle you are going to run into is nib cleanliness. If you're used to dip pens, you're no doubt familiar with the machine oil with which new nibs are coated, to protect them from rust. You also know that this stuff has to be cleaned off. Well, a nib that's clean enough to dip into a pot of bone glue and lampblack, is not clean enough to use in a fountain pen. I myself learned that I didn't even know what clean was. If there is any trace of this protectant on the nib, the ink will find any other way to flow rather than traversing a hydrophobic surface, if it flows at all. Pierre has videos posted about how to clean a new nib, and how to start the flow for the first time. Watch them. Then watch them again. The devil is in the details, as our pal Old Scratch so kindly points out in the sketch below. Oh, one more thing; make sure you carry a full Desiderata with the tip up. The feed channel is necessarily very large, to accommodate the flow demands of a flexible nib. Also, the sac filler pens can be converted to eyedropper by removing the sac. That's all in the instructions. So that's the review. Happy sketching!

Hello Everyone, I don't announce this kind of thing very much, but I wanted to share it with you kind people because this is one of my favorite places to go on the internet, and the FPN community is what makes it so for me. I am coming out with my latest production pens since the Icarus. I am very pleased with how they both are coming out. Those of you who know me personally know that I am not very easily pleased. It's been a long time since I used a pen that felt as comfortable as these. 1: As some of you know, I love wood. I think it's beautiful, has an unsurpassed feel, and makes an excellent construction material for many things, but it poses unique challenges when used for a fountain pen. I've been struggling with that problem for years, but now, I've finally gotten good enough that I can work with tolerances tight enough to make the dream a reality. For years I've wanted an all-wooden pen, and now I have one. Wooden cap, wooden barrel, wooden grip. Hands down, this is the most comfortable pen I've ever made. Wood can stain, and that's been accounted for in the design. When you get your hands on this, I think the pen will disappear into the experience of writing with it. I want to use it all the time, but for the work I do, I often need a clip for my pens. This pen will come with the option to install a functional, designed steel clip. My first release of this pen is just about 8 units, but I'll be making more in the future. They all fill with a simple, reliable aerometric sac. The beauty of an aerometric sac is how easy it is to fill and clean, but the ink capacity (around 2.5ml) isn't as voluminous as you might get with an eyedropper filled pen, so to prevent you from getting caught with an empty pen, some of these will have an ink window. Three, to be exact. 2. The first run you'll have available are made from highly patterned fancypantz german ebonite. The material has a black base color and has green, red or blue ripples in it. The big problem with this material (besides it being very expensive) is that it's so dark that it really doesn't photograph well, and even in person, it's hard to get a clear fix on what's going on with the color pattern. Well, I've solved that problem through faceting. The way the light glints off the sides attracts the eye in a way that's hard to describe. The pen has 12 gently tapered, faceted, painstakingly-finished-by-hand sides on the cap and on the barrel. Ink windows are optional, as are clips with this model. So, I've been talking about how these pens feel while writing. What nibs can you use? Jowo F (more of a "Western fine"/medium; .4-.5mm)Pilot XF (a true extra fine .2mm)Zebra G flex nib units (with my usual, handmade, purpose-designed ebonite feeds)Nemosine .6mm italicAll these pens come with interchangeable nib units, so you can switch nibs within one and the same pen. Just unscrew (or, if you want, just use a simple hex/Allen wrench you probably have at home). These will come out this week. I think "Black Friday" is stupid, but if you want to be the first to know when these pens will be available for sale, please consider signing up for my mailing at the top of this FAQ page here. Price? I can't speak to that right now, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on that subject. Please email me at DesiderataPens <<<AT>>> JEE-MALE <<<DOT>>> com., or leave a comment.

Having committed myself to this project in June, I have tested circa 100 different fountain pens inks, and it’s six months down the line that the investigation is now really starting to pay off. Please click the link to view all images related to this post: https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/and-the-real-magic-begins/ All fountain ink brands contain chemicals within their fluids to: increase paper penetration, minimise spreading and increase drying time. Other than that, each individual product can vary considerably and as shown in previous blogs, the the variations between products are wide ranging. Diamine produce an in-depth range of fountain pen inks made from dyes that when subjected to my water and bleach tests react in a visual way that is both dramatic and intriguing. Very often, the different dyes that make up the ink colour range reveal themselves in the gorgeous water wash blends and the bleach reacts with them in intensity from white or yellow gold to a stunning neon. Noodlers, on the other hand’ are known for creating ‘bulletproof inks’ to minimise fading and to prevent document tampering and forgery. These inks are agent (including bleach) resistant and often demonstrate a degree of resistance to water, which is equally exciting as the inks break down leaving a sediment effect, rather like a watercolour paint, often on top of a feint translucent base colour. What I have done here is lay down a background of Diamine Sunset onto a heavy Bockingford watercolour paper, which washes out a gorgeous range of dark and mid tone reddy browns with pinky reds and yellows. Then, using a Daedalus pen with a Zebra G flex nib I have rendered the illustration and type with the agent resistant Noodlers Lexington Gray. Once dried thoroughly I applied mid strength bleach washes over the illustration which only reacted with the background underneath. The final effect is visually pleasing in many ways as not only has the outcome been achieved using only two inks, adhering to my ethos of ‘less is more’, BUT because of the limited colour palette, the complex final image looks fresh and not overworked. The mottled gold areas where the bleach hasn’t obliterated the background colour add those magical serendipity effects unique to fountain pen inks. The subject matter may not be to everyone’s taste, but the technique is what counts, as I believe it to be unique to fountain pen inks. It’s simple, time efficient and visually dramatic! I am becoming increasingly convinced that fountain pen ink art could and maybe should become a proper genre of its’ own?

I just wanted to share a little experimentation thingy I worked on the last few days. A month or two back I got my Desiderata pen. Really great thing, except for everyday use, tossing it in the bag would lead to leakage quite rapidly when it ended up nib down. Writing when inkflow was there was ok, sometimes running dry depending on the ink (Rohrer & Klinger Salix worked pretty bad for me, Sailor Sei-Boku pretty good). But storing it nib up for some time did allow the ink to flow back out of the feed which then dried down pretty rapidly thus having a hard start or a leak every time. Well... introducing my 3D printer 2 Weeks ago I started with FreeCAD and a few days ago with OpenSCAD, especially OpenSCAD made it very easy to come up with a new feed design especially for flex pens. My current iteration: It has a lot of fins underneath the nib, storing a ton of ink underneath the nib. All of the ink in the fins is exempt from gravitation due to capillary action, this does NOT hard start ever again. But this wasn't the only design goal of this. Another thing noticeable is there is a slit along most of the way of the ink channel, within the nib there is an ink reservoir. This nib stores a whopping 0.2-0.3ml of ink, within the feed body, underneath the nib and in the channel throughout the nib. The channel in the middle does empty back into the pen mostly when turning it upside down, but everything is back in a few seconds, you cant even flex-write the ink from the fins out fast enough to get a dry writing this way. What this does is basically give the ink a 0.3x20mm width of space to enter the gap between the nib and feed: And it does allow air to travel back through another channel as the ink travels down in parallel. Pretty much like modern feeds do it with the venting hole, I just placed it within the feed instead of the bottom as a design with the venting hole on the bottom would probably mean a lot of leaks with this width of ink channel. Btw: it doesn't leak nib down. But it still looses ink when shaken, I'm still working on that as I do like to drop my pen wrap into my bag and my bag does get the occassinal shaking too when i put it on my back or on the floor. Current iteration printed in reality:

So... This is an other flex suggestion thread. Christmas shopping edition. I really need help choosing a fountain pen with a flexible nib (Yes, vintage pens are great but considering that near me there is no one to repair the pen if a problem occurs and the fact that parts are not very easily found, I do not want to go Vintage. Besides, taking a fountain pen out of the box with its warranty is ecstasy.) I have successfully "narrowed" my choices down to these. Of course, I am looking for suggestions on the topic. My budget would be about 200$. Pilot 912 FA nibDesiderata Flex Pen with a Zebra G nib and a Nemosine nib (extra, about 10 dollars)But, here is what I have been thinking. The Desiderata pen offers dramatic line variation and the feed is made around the nib, ensuring that the feed will keep up with the nib even when flexed which is the purpose of the nib. Contrasting to that, the Pilot 912 nib from what I gathered is the same on all Pilot 912 nib choices. For example, the 912 with a Posting nib has the same feed as a Pilot 912 with a FA nib. Consequently, the FA nib requires more ample flow. I have seen that this can be achieved by removing the breather tube that is inside the feed. However, I have heard that this modification can make the pen write excessively wet, not write at all if at the process of taking out the breather tube something goes wrong (No replacements parts found so far in order to feel free to experiment on that) or allow the ink to flow out of the pen. I would love to be corrected, but I would also like to learn some facts about the feed. How can the breather tube be safely removed?How can the breather tube be safely inserted again?How does the pen write after the tube is removed?I have heard that cutting a part off of the breather tube is a possibility, but considering that this procedure is irreversible and that such small part can ruin one of the most flexible modern nibs as characterized by some, I would not be eager to attempt such modification. Same applied to deepening the channel of the feed (the feed is plastic and I have not found any seller that offers replacements). Considering the above, I believe I have found the pros and cons of each pen. Pilot 912: Extremely flexible fountain pen, tipped modern nib that does not need to be replaced. Comes new, straight out of the box.Can be used as a daily writer as the nib is characterized "smooth on paper".The feed can be modified for additional ink flowVery weak ink flow when flexing, even a little bit, not helping the nib achieve its full potentialNo spare partsDoes not come tested(!)Modifications can end up in tears.(!)Desiderata Flex Pen Probably the most flexible pen out-of-the-box.Feed is designed around the nib and its capabilitiesAdditional Nemosine nib choicesCan be fitted with a home made plastic nib to satisfy my greed for flexCan come tested (?)Can be fitted with a Brause Rose or other nibs (?)The nib requires care in order to prevent corrosionThe nib needs to be replaced after a particular amount of use(!) Not a daily writer as I would need to swap nibs whenever I want to write or flex as the Zebra G nib lacks tipping (!).I am aware that both pens serve a different purpose, but they are the only modern flex choices. Or are they not? I am open to suggestions .

I wanted to be able to practise Copperplate without having a bottle of ink and dip pen out, mostly due to having young children who are fascinated by the ink and pen, and always manage to find them if they're not locked away! *The ink and pens, not the children! I bought a Desiderata Daedalus so I would have an easier, less risky way of practising. Apologies for the poor quality photos, handwriting, and verbosity in this review. Desiderata Daedalus AU$66.06Postage AU$19.82Took just under two weeks to arrive.16 g half full ink, including lid.Lid 2 g. *ETA - I'm very pleased with this pen, and it satisfies my requirements. I'm worried this review sounds hyper-critical. The pen arrived in a mailing box, wrapped in a couple of layers of paper. I would have liked a page of instructions, "Quick Start Guide", web links, or similar. A sheet of bubble wrap would seem less haphazard packaging than a sheet of newsprint paper. For the price (I say this from a buyer's perspective, with no knowledge of manufacturing time or cost), it would be nice to have a cloth bag or box or something as well, or even for the pen to be wrapped in a nice piece of cloth for transit. This pen is a plain matt black cylinder. There is visible evidence of machining although it's perfectly smooth to touch and has a nice satin matt feel to it. The lid screws on (I think too many turns). There is some evidence of swarf on thread. The lid has a little metal bump on it to stop it rolling - I'd prefer if it didn't as I like really plain, unadorned things. The lid posts, but this makes the pen a bit heavy for me. The feed has a slightly rustic appearance (but this does not matter). The feed has a channel down its length finishing a mm or two from the front which is about 1.5 mm wide. The feed is rounded off and so the last cm or so of the nib is not covered by the feed. I found it almost impossible to remove the nib and feed, and not being able to find any pliers, resorted to using my teeth. When I wanted to re-insert the nib and feed, I found it almost impossible to push it in far enough again, and ended up holding it with a big wad of toilet paper and shoving and turning a bit, with a lot more brute force than I would have liked. The section also screwed in too tightly (probably due to my efforts to get the nib and feed back into place) and I once again had to resort to using my teeth to get it undone when I needed to refill it. I don't own a vice, or any large pliers (and can't find my small craft ones at the moment), so unfortunately couldn't think of any option other than teeth I now understand why some pens have an unattractive metal ring between the pen body and the section, and I'm thinking of adding something like that to the Daedalus so I don't end up with it stuck again. The pen comes with a Zebra G nib. I find the Zebra G requires a bit too much pressure to spread the tynes and get a nice thick downstroke, and so I get a sore hand after a few lines. I like that the Zebra G doesn't catch on the paper very much and doesn't rust as quickly as some other nibs. Also, it's a very nice looking nib. Filling is done by squeezing the ink sac. I find rolling the sac down into a spiral works well. The pen stopped writing with approx 1 cm of ink in the sac which was stuck up in the top of the sac and didn't want to shake down. I am a little bit worried that the ink sac could come lose as it is just slipped onto the section and not secured. Mine did slide up a mm or two when I was fiddling with it. I have tested this pen with Higgins Eternal and Winsor & Newton Blue Black (blue lid bottle). Ink flow seems to be almost perfect out of the box. Only takes a couple of words to get wet enough to do downstrokes. Possibly just a little bit too wet at times - although I'm aware there is a fine balance between too wet and railroading. Some ink seeps near where nib and feed enter the pen body, initially this was not enough to drip or make a mess, but after disassembling and reassembing the pen it is seeping quite a lot more and I keep getting it all over my fingers. I'm hoping that it will get clogged up a bit with dried ink and stop making a mess. I have successfully carried it in my bag (pointing upwards) and there were just a few droplets of ink on the nib when I next went to use it. I'm finding that I need to dip then nib and feed in water to get it started each time I get it out to write with. I wipe the excess ink off with toilet paper before storing the pen. Pros:Non-dip,real flex pen!Works reliablyPortableWasn't messy until I pulled the feed outPractical, no frills design (my preference) Cons:Moderate ink volume (I think flex nibs use more ink than normal fountain pen nibs)Very difficult to remove feed and nibSection screws on too tightly and gets stuckPossibly restricted to G nib (though I will try it with some others soon)Messy ink seeping out where the feed insertsExpensive (for an investment in an item of unknown quality and functionality)Expensive postageNot an item of great beauty.

Introduction This is a review of the Desiderata Mercury flex pen. After seeing a couple of photos on FPN about a year ago, I knew I’d be getting one someday. When I saw that only one or two pieces were available on the website and no new products were in the works, I decided now was the time. After just a few days with the pen, I am really happy with it. Hopefully you’ll find this useful if you’ve considered one of these great pens. http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6507.jpg Desiderata Mercury pen, Purple Heart and Cherry woods First Impressions I’m sorry to start off on a low note, but here we are. Customer service and product presentation are definitely the low point in what is ultimately a great buy. Pierre ships once per week on Fridays, which I understood when I made my order. Pierre emailed me a week later stating he was unable to ship my pen until the next Tuesday as he was preparing for a pen show. When Wednesday rolled around, I emailed Pierre for an update. He responded that he was too busy to ship it and would send it as soon as he could. It suffices to say I was not impressed. In the end, it took two delays and 16 days to receive my order, though it was sent Priority 2-Day Mail. When the package arrived I (mostly) forgot about all that, so you’ll forgive the lack of a proper unboxing photo. Product presentation is a divisive subject. Some people like lots of heavy packaging, wrapped in tape and plastic. Personally I don’t see the need for a pricey box I’m going to stick in a closet or throw away. Still, while not necessarily indicative of high quality, great packaging suggests such. My pen arrived unceremoniously wrapped in brown kraft paper. I’m glad Pierre didn’t go overboard with the packaging, but some people might prefer some kind of presentation. Design and Construction What Pierre has done here is to construct a feed/section assembly that makes it possible to use (disposable) calligraphic dip nibs in a fountain pen body. His design works very well, and in normal (slow) flexed writing, performance is very good. Occasional railroading will occur when writing too fast or at the wrong angle. This is not a fault of the pen, however. Calligraphy is meant to be written slowly. http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6512.jpg Desiderata Mercury pen, parts exposed The Desiderata Mercury fills with a simple but effective sac. To fill, one must remove the body from the section, exposing the sac. Depressing the sac to create a vacuum, submerging in ink, then releasing will give a 3/4 fill. Pierre provides instructions via a YouTube link on how to get a complete fill, if that is important to you. The pen holds about 3.0ml of ink. Overall, I find that the relatively crude filling system does not detract from the experience of using the pen. While I would balk at any other pen filling in this way, in a calligraphy-cum-fountain-pen, I find it more than appropriate and actually prefer it over a converter setup. Although Pierre does pens of other materials, the Mercury turned from wood. Mine is Purple Heart and Cherry wood with (I believe) an ebonite feed and section. The quality of the wood is very nice. While the color combination of Purple Heart and Cherry would not be my first pick (it was the only option when I purchased mine), woodwork is well done and the pen is beautiful in its simplicity. If scrutinized, I can see the lathing marks, but for me, this says handmade and not low quality. The wood is well-sealed against staining and the hand-cut feed on my pen looks the part and keeps up with the high flow requirement of the Zebra G nib. The nib/feed fits precisely into the section with high tolerance. As another reviewer pointed out, the major failing of the Mercury is in the finishing. When unscrewing the pen for the first time, the threads between the cap and the body showed fine curls of ebonite left over from the cutting of the threads. This causes resistance when replacing the cap. The same is true of the threads between the section and the body. These could have been easily removed and this finishing would improve the apparent value of the pen. Nibs The Mercury is designed around the Zebra G comic nib, which is a good, solid nib that is well-suited for calligraphy and drawing. The standard nib is chrome-coated and a titanium-coated nib is available. If you are unfamiliar with calligraphy dip nibs, I suggest you buy a few G nibs and a suitable straight holder and see if this is something you are interested in before you purchase a Desiderata pen. The experience is very different from using a standard, modern fountain pen nib or even a vintage super flex nib. Fountain pen nibs, even those capable of a great deal of flex, are much, much smoother than writing with a true calligraphy nib. The Zebra G, like all other nibs of this type, will seem very scratchy to the uninitiated. Some tinkering with the nib/feed assembly and insertion depth may be required before you get the perfect flow for flexed writing. The pen is compatible with a number of other nibs, including the Goulet, Pilot and Nemosine nibs. I purchased a Nemosine Broad nib with my pen and it wrote a very wet line when tested with a notably dry ink, Rohrer und Klingner’s Scabiosa. http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6514%20copy.jpg Desiderata Mercury pen with titanium Zebra G (left) and Nemosine broad (right) nibs Cost and Availability I purchased my pen at www.desideratapens.com. Pierre is a one-man show and his website is the only place you can get his pens. My pen cost $100 and was a “second.” The regular price for these pens is $120. That is, when you can get one. Like any hand-made item, manufacturing is slow and these sell out fast. Ask Pierre when he’ll be making new pens and he’ll happily point you to his extensive FAQ, which basically states, “who knows.” At the time of this writing, there are no pens available. However, you can sign up for the mailing list if you want to be apprised of new stock availability in the future. http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6519.jpg Copperplate sample with Rohrer and Klingner Scabiosa ink Conclusion Aside from initial hiccups with the ordering process, I’m very impressed. The pen does exactly what it is supposed to do, which is provide a dip-free calligraphy experience. This will not be a pen for everybody, or even for most people. It is finicky, requiring a precise positioning of nib/feed for proper flow, and I’m not sure I’d trust it in my pocket. But for carrying in a bag to the coffee shop for a little copperplate practice, I could not be happier. http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6520-1.jpg Get Well Card, drawn with Desiderata Mercury pen, Parker Quink Black and Iroshizuku Chiku-rin inks on Original Crown Mill Pure Cotton paper

Hi all, Wanted to write a review about a flex pen that I purchased. The pen is the Desiderata Sleek. There have been reviews about other models of the Desiderata but not one of this model. I just wanted to first talk a little bit about the service offered by Pierre. This was a prototype he launched in November ’14 and I ordered one. The website said that deliveries would commence in 2nd week of December and I got a tracking number by the 11th of December confirming this. However I could not track the shipment and the status never went beyond “shipping label printed”. I did not get a response immediately from Pierre. After a few days (end December) i received a refund of my shipping costs. (Shipping to India from the US is expensive) I had no communication on wether my order was cancelled or shipped. About 10 days later I get a parcel with a long hand written note of explanation. There was some logistic problem by USPS and Pierre was extremely apologetic about it. He explained the problem to me and not only did he ship the pen “FREE OF COST” to me (saved me $40) but also sent me 6 extra Zebra nibs complimentary. There was absolutely no need for him to refund the shipping costs to me, as the delay was not his fault. I found this very very professional of him. On to the pen now. http://i.imgur.com/sHDgJ89.jpg The rest of the review will be typed. :-) Takes a long time to write it all out. Design. The cap (on both sides) has a stopper not a clip and is great as the pen does not roll off the table even when uncapped at one end. The size of the pen: Capped at both ends - 155mm (6”) Uncapped at one end - 140mm (5.5”) Barell Dia - 12mm Section Dia (at the thinnest) - 8 mm Packaging The pen came packed very securely in a lot of bubble wrap with a hand written letter from Pierre. Also came with extra nibs for me and a printed 5 page document going over all parts of the pen, usage, maintenance and troubleshooting. It’s a very detailed document that can be downloaded from his site too. Performance. Pierre does mention on his site and in the document that though he tests all pens, there may be some minor tweaking required to get it to work smoothly for your particular style of writing. Being a pointed nib, each person has different writing pressures and grips. I did not do any tweaking and just filled ink into both sections. One side wrote perfectly out of the box. just had to rub the top of the nib with a saliva coated tissue and it was smooth writing. The other side need a little adjustment. All it needed was to adjust how much of the eyelet is covered by the feed. This is a very easy thing to do and the other side also started working perfectly after that. Full flexing and continuous writing gave no railroads or skipping. But you have to write a little slower with this than a normal FP, because the tines spread a LOT and give a swell of up to 1.8 to 2mm width. Now for some pen pictures The full capped pen http://i.imgur.com/BLcLKbh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/76V5x9o.jpg http://i.imgur.com/G3Og1PH.jpg http://i.imgur.com/sDQAEAw.jpg Conclusion: I am not affiliated to Pierre in anyway nor his company. This pen is a wonder to write with. It is portable and you can fit out a normal nib on one end and a G nib on the other, giving you great flexibility in writing styles. It is well worth the money and for people looking for an affordable flex option, this is highly recommended. His other models are single sided and hold a lot more ink of course. The one thing is that this pen will only take the Zebra G nib. I tried using other G’s like the Nikko and Tachikawa and they don’t fit perfectly and don’t give a smooth writing. I don’t think any other pointed nibs would fit this. Though Pierre is working on sections for different types of nibs. I don’t really mind this as I have other pens that take a wide variety of nibs for me. my Indian flex pen. Overall, this is a great pen and wishing Pierre all the best for his endeavours in newer models and great sales. -Prasad

For a long time I've wanted a full-flex vintage pen. I have an Eversharp Skyline with a medium flex nib (gifted by a FPN member) which I love, but would like to go one step further. I've looked at the fleabay prices for Waterman 52's and other vintage full flexes and they are just too expensive. However, I can afford one of the plastic bodied Desiderata pens. Does anyone have experience with both types: vintage and Desidarata? How do they compare? I realise that the latter is basically a dip nib with an ink supply and I have very little experience with dip nibs. But the price is so tempting. Thanks :bunny01:

I just bought the last available Desiderata Mercury flex pen. It's purple heart and cherry wood, not my ideal combination, but I didn't want to miss out on owning of these beauties. I also threw in a tin-coated zebra G and Nemosine B nibs. There is very little on FPN about these pens. What should I know? BTW, I've been using a dip pen for the past month or so, just long enough to know it's something I want to pursue. My other pens are a Lamy 2000 EF/F, a Conklin Crescent-Filler 25 and a soon-to-arrive (hopefully) Sheaffer Balance .40 stub.

A review Is soon to come from me for this beautiful Desiderata Mercury Pen that just arrived. In my opinion first impressions are always most important. So here is my first impression on the pen. The pen arrived and it was boxed in the lovely post office small flat rate box. Nothing special, just something to get it to me safely in. Inside was some wadded up brown paper. One of those wads of paper was rolled up in a tube like shape. "That has to be the pen." I thought to myself. Next I noticed a very long user manual. I dislike user manuals. In general they seldom come in handy. This one however is super helpful and covers just about anything. The most notable thing in the manual for me was on the first page. Under Purpose the final bullet point states. "That works. Every time." I chuckled to myself when I read this and said. "Ha! We shall see about that!" After inking the pen which was very simple I blotted the nib, section and put the pen back together. I began writing. Oh dear was I surprised. It wrote perfectly. Free of any flaw. "This can not be." I muttered to myself. "No way!" I experienced absolutely no railroading. Nothing short of a beautiful and pleasant experience of flexy fun. Flexy perfection! In a couple weeks I will give a review of the pen, and take some photographs to go with it.