Desiderata Daedalus - A Review

January 15, 2016

Horses for courses. I haven't found the surface to be especially slippery. Perhaps I am part gecko? (That's the lizard , not the obnoxious Wall Street character - though it could be argued that Gordon Gecko was a bit of a lizard, name notwithstanding! )

Agree on the sharpness to the cap opening. It didn't bother me too much, which is why I failed to mention it in the review. Your solution to micromesh it sounds a good one (I have no idea what micromesh is but it sounds like an abrasive of some sort).

Maybe Pierre should consider a shallow chamfer to the cap opening on future models?

December 2, 2016

I have hundreds of nibs from collecting them for my dip pens. I have just ordered the Desiderata Daedelus and can't wait to get it. This mash up is the best of both worlds for me. I use pens to WRITE as pens were intended, not to be stuffed in fancy boxes to stare at. I don't care about virgin plastic, colors or acknowledging dead poets with a pen. The pen is but a holder to a nib, the hand, a feed and storage for ink. What ever happened to nib quality? I will be darned if I would pay $10,000 for a piece of plastic. The Daedalus will provide me a dip free alternative to quality nib writing, easy to disassemble and clean and the writing will never be easier and convenient to perform for ($70) the price. I do have many flexible nib fountain pens of yesteryear but the simplicity of this pen excites me. I'll just throw all that pretty plastic in the trash.

December 3, 2016

Here are my two cents:

I bought a box of 10 Zebra G nibs, and was able to fit them onto my Jinhao x450 and x750 without any issues at all... I wanted to try it out before I shelled out $70 for a pen.

Honestly, I'm extremely underwhelmed. The nibs that I got are all unusable on regular fountain pen papers (tomoe river, Rhodia, etc). It cuts into the paper, no matter how I hold the pen, and this causes insane bleed through and feathering. Maybe on heavier, art oriented papers it's a different story, but for flex writing on more popular papers, it's a waste of time.

Don't go trying to tell me it's because I'm using a Jinhao and not a Daedalus. It's the same nib. The Desiderata is just a more expensive "nib holder", which is fine, but you better make sure you know what you're getting before you plunk down that much money for it.

Buy a jinhao and some nibs on Amazon, first.

December 3, 2016

Actually, I am still going to try. It may well be the jinhao because the nib is very thin and flexible, and the force it is subject when inserted in a not-perfectly-fitting holder may misalign the tines, causing it to be scratchier than it would have otherwise been.

I know because I had a similar experience while trying the same maneuver with a Noodler's Ahab.

Of course that kind of dip nib will always be scratchy as compared to a fountain pen, since there is no tipping and the tip is incredibly thin. But if it drags and catches onto the paper a lot that's probably due to misalignment of the tines, which may be caused by being inserted in a not-perfectly-shaped holder.

December 3, 2016

I've tried using full flex dip nibs in other fountain pens than Desideratas. The usual problem (aside from the fit) is that the feed doesn't provide enough ink to keep the flex nib wet and smooth and to prevent railroading. Desiderata feeds have wide ink channels for this reason.

December 3, 2016

Ah, Daedalus. Yes, I am glad Pierre is dishing these out, and I am glad they are popular and he's selling all of his stock. But since shipping from outside EU takes eons to complete (customs officers are... Inefficient) I won't buy one unless it pops up this side of the ocean.

December 3, 2016

Here are my two cents:

I bought a box of 10 Zebra G nibs, and was able to fit them onto my Jinhao x450 and x750 without any issues at all... I wanted to try it out before I shelled out $70 for a pen.

Honestly, I'm extremely underwhelmed. The nibs that I got are all unusable on regular fountain pen papers (tomoe river, Rhodia, etc). It cuts into the paper, no matter how I hold the pen, and this causes insane bleed through and feathering. Maybe on heavier, art oriented papers it's a different story, but for flex writing on more popular papers, it's a waste of time.

Don't go trying to tell me it's because I'm using a Jinhao and not a Daedalus. It's the same nib. The Desiderata is just a more expensive "nib holder", which is fine, but you better make sure you know what you're getting before you plunk down that much money for it.

Buy a jinhao and some nibs on Amazon, first.

It is nearly, but not always, a user error that leads to the zebra G nib digging into the paper. Among dip nibs it is one of the smoothest and by no means the sharpest. For example, I have used sharper dip nibs on Tomoe River paper with none of the digging in or feathering. Then again I am training myself to be a calligrapher, so my hand is very light now. Misalignment of nib to paper when trying to create swells, too much pressure on the nib tip on the upstroke, will cause problems.

Dip nibs are fun but they do require a different approach to the way most people normally use a pen - and that's simply because a lot of us - me included - have let our handwriting slip into poor habits over the years.

And as Feanaaro say, uneven tips can add to the problem.

December 10, 2016

I have a very similar one that cost me less than $100 from Desiderata about a year ago. I used it for about a month writing a few random sentences and words, cleaned it and stored it. A few weeks ago I took it out and tried it and it didn't write so I cleaned it again, removed the nib ten I looked at the feed. It was corroded! In short it never wrote again, but I wrote to the designer asking for a solution, a feed I could buy (I don't know what kind of feed he uses) ... The answer was vague with no solution. I used Chesterfield ink only on that pen. That's my experience with these pens, never tried any again.https://www.flickr.com/gp/anangheli/4yx7Xk

With this customer service I would not try again.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/anangheli/D6yKa0

The photos belong to the feed of the Delrin

Edited December 11, 2016 by Lamyrada

December 11, 2016

Agree with EOC that Zebra G Nibs, used correctly, will not dig into paper. I own the Daedalus and have also mounted Zebra Gs to Jinhao X750s without a problem. It takes practice to learn how to use the nib properly. The problem is more often with the user and not the nib.

As for corosion, it is well known that dip pen nibs corode and must be changed frequently. Goes with the territory. I have personally never heard of an ebonite feed coroding. Would love to see a picture of that.

As for the feeds, Pierre carves his feeds out of ebonite and I assume he has tailored them to the dynamics of the Zebra G Nib.

December 11, 2016

I picked up one at the Colorado Pen Show this year.

Yes, Delrin is "slippery". It is also very tough. However, I do not have a problem holding it - no more so that other plastics and less so than polished metal sections. Desiderata makes some beautiful wooden pens for those wanting a different esthetic.

My attraction was a holder than incorporated an ink reservoir. The thing that keeps me from using a calligraphy nib is that I have to keep dipping it in the ink. I am not a calligrapher. I do not draw my words on paper. But with this pen I can write an entire page or so without refilling at speed. Of course, not as fast as with a traditional tipped nib, but much faster than with a pen that needs to be dipped every word or so.

This model allows me to experiment with a converter or use it as a eyedropper.

My Daedalus has been sitting in my pen block since October. I think it has Waterman Mysterious Blue (a benign, low maintenance ink). I grabbed it and wrote out a little page in my Rhodia notebook. A couple of gentle taps were needed to get the ink flowing, but that was it. See attachment for sample.

Happy Sunday to all -

Greg

Edited December 11, 2016 by liverman

May 9, 2017

I picked this pen up on the love it has received in this thread. I really like the fine line I can get with just a gentle touch, and just a small amount of feedback despite lacking tipping. I wish I could say that I love this pen because of all that, but unfortunately, the fact that the feed leaks like mad means I have to watch closely and blot the blob of ink every line before it drips onto the paper and makes a mess. I can't imagine an artist focused on the work at hand having to do this regularly, so either something is wrong with my pen or I'm not cut out for eyedroppers, or both. I did reseat the nib and feed, several times; no dice. So I've cleaned the pen out and am letting it dry before reassembly, then it will just get put away somewhere. A pity, because it wasn't inexpensive.

May 9, 2017

I just want to dispel a myth that keeps cropping up.

My attraction was a holder than incorporated an ink reservoir. The thing that keeps me from using a calligraphy nib is that I have to keep dipping it in the ink. I am not a calligrapher. I do not draw my words on paper. But with this pen I can write an entire page or so without refilling at speed.

Using a dip pen for everyday writing I can write anywhere from a third to a half a page of A4 between dips. This is of course dependent on the type of script you are writing. For monoline this is perfectly possible. For something resembling Spencerian this is also possible.

For Copperplate, not so much. However, as I understand it, proper Copperplate is a drawn script. Any of the highly ornamental scripts are going to require more regular dipping. Then again I know of nobody who 'writes' in an ornamental script.

For me the Daedalus represented convenience, nothing more. Essentially the ability to take a dip pen anywhere without having to carry a bottle of ink. In the end I found that I simply don't do calligraphic script on the go. So I sold it.