Regal Elisabeth - Beast

November 11, 2015

I was interested in Regal Elizabeth for quite some time – the pen’s drawn my attention when I first read about it three years ago. During fountain pen aficionados meetings in Warsaw I had a chance to play with it and I enjoyed the experience. I like heavy pens and faceted barrels. I like the way metal feels in hand. I was sure one day I’d buy it.

I’ve almost done it on few occasions however always just before I pulled the trigger other expenses brought my plans to naught. And so it went for almost three years. Some time ago however I’ve found this pen on polish fountain pen board site. It was well priced so I bought it. After few days I received heavy envelope with the pen inside. I took out them out of the envelope. I unpacked it. Took the pen in my hands for closer inspection. Finally! Finally? Hmmm. Really?

http://imageshack.com/a/img907/179/x1dtrS.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img907/7434/irszoN.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/7846/hWF8K5.jpg

The spell was broken.

It’s still made of metal. Still it’s heavy and faceted. Nothing has changed. Except for my taste. What can I say - Regal Elisabeth has ceased to please me. I guess with time I developed taste for simpler designs (on the other hand I really like Italian pens, go figure). There’s just too much happening on the decorated barrel.

Regal Curio

Regal Curio was originally created by Andy Chen in 1979. While studying design and business management in London, Andy became inspired by the building architecture of the city. Passionate about writing and reading, he became inspired to develop his own writing instruments. Regal Curio was born.

The company offers a wide variety of pens. Most of their designs are rather generic though.

Regal Elisabeth - impressions

http://imageshack.com/a/img901/4994/069TZh.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img912/1221/NwkrOG.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/9932/1BEQZ1.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img909/9576/H3tUuR.jpg

Regal Elisabeth is big pen. It’s heavy and well made. At first glance it looks like much more exclusive pen. In long run the impression persists. It’s not perfect but, really, there’s no flaws or defects. The nib clip doesn’t scratch the paper, the clip doesn’t fall off when you try to pull it.

Octahedral faceted barrels made of chrome-plated brass. Facets are decorated. I would prefer them to be plain.

I like screw-caps, so for this one Regal gest a plus. The cap can be placed on both ends of the barrel but I can't imagine writing with this pen capped unless you want to build nice arm musculature. It's just too heavy.

Nib

http://imageshack.com/a/img912/4997/hP5K4R.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img633/2826/h3ezZx.jpg

According to information found on the Internet it seems that Regal uses “german” nibs. I couldn’t find the information which nibs they use - Bock, Jowo or maybe Iridium Point Germany nibs with Germany only in their name? I don’t know, but it’s not that important for me. What matters is the fact that the nib is doing great on virtually any paper – expensive and cheap one. It’s really, really smooth. It’s one of best steel nibs I’ve ever used. Additionally it’s rather large and looks nice.

Filling System

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/4945/KBr9pg.jpg

Converter / cartridges. Regal converter is green and well made. On the other hand it’s just converter. Nothing fancy. Nothing exciting.

Some data

Length closed 142 mm

The length open 125 mm

Weight: 56 g

Summary

Regal Elizabeth is solid pen that writes very well. Due to significant weight and unusual design it won’t appeal to everyone. At the moment I find it too ornamental. I used to like it a lot, but at the moment my feelings toward it are mixed. I enjoy writing with it but just for short periods of time. Most days I find the pen too decorative.

MSRP (140 - 150 $) seems rather high. I've bought this pen for about 35-40 % of this value.