Diplomat Excellence Marakesh Raute

[ballboy]

Made by Helit in Germany (part of the French stationery group Maped), this top of the range pen is one example in a range of colours and finishes by Diplomat.

 

 

The construction is nearly all metal and is similar in weight, feel and quality to a Cross Apogee I had. The nib is large and looks rather similar in size, shape and feed to the Yard-)-Led Astoria Grand I also once had. Whereas the Astoria's rhodium nib disappointed and eventually exasperated me in its poor performance, this steel Excellence nib does quite the opposite.

 

Filled with Sheaffer Skrip Brown, the nib has persistently, if a little dryly at times, laid down ink in a medium line with no feathering. Only the shiniest french paper (Rhodia, Clairefontaine), attempt to compromise its wet line quality. Standard cartridge/converter system makes for cost effective convenience and versatility.

 

 

 

It has now surpassed my Montblancs in regular use, leading me to question the whole scale of desirability in larger, more expensive luxury brands. It now resides snuggly with my Caran d'Ache Leman in a two pen case, which it is only second to for sheer weight of construction, build quality and nib writing satisfaction.

 

first viewing, especially online, Diplomats might look staid and uninviting. In the hand they are paragons of solid sensible writing, if a little un-involving; by that, I mean the nib, though utterly reliable, is stiff while the section is hard and cold in a tactile sense. By comparison, my Leman, though also with metal construction in parts has a 'softer' feeling to the section, maybe because it's all-plastic instead of coated metal. This makes the Excellence a solid firm writer for those who wish to forcefully grab their pen and ply ink to paper in a no nonsense manner while enjoying a touch of aesthetic pleasure. The cap posts securely with an inner plastic sheath to protect the barrel, and I enjoy writing with the pen posted and un-posted. The cap and barrel are nicely etched with a grid over the the sumptuous brown laquer.

 

With this diplomatic mission off to a good start, I see more ambassadors from its country visiting my pen HQ

 

[Horseknitter]

Nice review and even nicer pen!

 

I've flirted with Diplomats on and off. But this just may put me over the edge. I'm going now to check them out.

Thanks!!

[penultress]

Nice looking pen and I love the ink.

[iamchum]

I enjoyed this review I too own a diplomat excellence.

 

I get the feeling this is a panzer tank of a pen, exactly what I was after when I got mine. No nonsense, just chewed up pages with ink.

 

The only fault I have with it is, I have the broad nib, which I assumed with give me an absolutely buttery feel to writing with it, and while it's not bad, it's been less so than I have liked (at least, in comparison to a Lamy broad nib i used earlier). Maybe just needs to get worked in a little more, although i thought i tended to work my pens pretty hard.

 

Either way, I always feel like im holding a cannon with all my fingers... in a fist shape... when im writing with it... in a good way (PS i dont actually write with my hand balled up into a fist)

[ballboy]

Welcome to the pen family . You have a great pen to start quality pen collecting!

 

I have a few Lamys: Safari, Al-Star and Logo. Great companions to the bigger, heavier pens.

[da vinci]

Great review thanks

[iamchum]

Welcome to the pen family . You have a great pen to start quality pen collecting!

 

I have a few Lamys: Safari, Al-Star and Logo. Great companions to the bigger, heavier pens.

 

I tried using the Safari, but, honestly, im a bit of a maniac when I write, so when I was using that light barrel, I basically wrote out of control, couldnt write a straight line if i tried (ok... i could... but that requires me to slow down).

The heft allows me to control my writing (i write with cap off) and one thing i really liked about the pen was its balance. it acts almost like a fulcrum, which prevents me from going all loopy on my script, and it gives me right dominant weighting so i tend to write in a straight line.

When I'm working i tend to write 15-30 pages a day of notes... so, i write like a speedfreak. these things matter to me

[aawhite]

I have a Diplomat Esteem that I bought in Munich; all because it was very much on sale. To my pleasant surprise, the pen writes beautifully. The nib size, the balance, the right amount of nib feedback . . . all these are just perfect for me.