Delta Magnifica Amalfi

[FPscribe]

This is my first review, so if you can think of any part of the pen I did not cover then please ask questions below.



This is the beautiful Magnifica Amalfi from Delta.



The pen has a 14k extra-fine nib and comes with a gorgeous olive wood barrel with prominent grain. The rest of the pen is constructed from a variety of resins: two shades of blue, white, and red. 18k plating trims the pen.

The filling mechanism is a captured converter - one which is highly efficient and takes ink all the way up to the seal.



Fond, as Delta are, of basing their pens on locations and features of landscapes, this pen is made in honour of the coastal city of Amalfi: the olive wood barrel representing land; the resins representing the sparkling sea, sky, and mountains near the city.



This is a numbered edition pen.



The nib itself is a true EF.

I mention this because the last time I used a Delta EF it was a steel nib and wrote as a medium. I purchased this pen expecteing a very 'liberal' EF nib and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it wrote as finely as my Faber-Castell EF (more on that in the writing sample).

Initial inspection under a loupe showed the tines to be strongly misaligned, however I also noticed the feed was fractionally misaligned as well. After giving the feed a slight nudge it audibly 'clicked' into its correct setting and this had the effect of aligning the tines as close to perfect as-makes-no-difference.

After looking at all angles through my loupe the tipping material makes a smooth sphere at the contact point, no tinkering needed. Although not visible in the photograph there is a healthy slit of light between the tines.

The resins are simply beautiful. Let me get the obligatory "no camera can capture the beauty of... " sentiment out of the way, and tell you that I firmly believed the blue sections of the pen to be celluloid.

I found it difficult to believe that resin could have such subtlety in its chatoyance and interaction with light - even my Dolcevita cannot match the glimmer and sheen of these resins.

Although the following images do not do the effect justice, compare these two:




now imagine the highlights in the second image emerging from the deep blue, curving into visibility like a shoal of fish.

Here is a deliberately underexposed shot of the cap to show that even the white resin band has some subtle marbling effect, albeit barely discernible



And here is a view of the red band, again some texture is visible.



Another comparison of the way the resin reacts to light can be seen by comparing the light blue resin of the blind cap in the above photograph with the full length horizontal shot at the beginning of the review: the latter appearing very subdued, the former catching light from a new angle.

A closer view of the section.



The threads are not sharp.

The seal of Amalfi and a maritime compass form the ends of the pen.




Hopefully my appreciation of this pen is evident, so I will now deal with a couple of niggles. The gold ring separating the section and barrel is loose enough to create a slight rattle if you tap the area (handing the pen to someone, placing the pen down uncapped etc.) and though it does not slide forward or come off, this bothers me. Not a big deal, but I'd rather it wasn't there.

Another small detail is that the word "Amalfi" beneath the number on the cap is not centred with the exact rear of the cap (the number is). It is however centred between the word "MAGNIFICA". This means that the gold band was not centred when it was affixed to the cap.

Again, it's a tiny detail, but worth mentioning.

Those of you who find the rattle of converter tips inside tapering pens annoying are, unfortunately, going to notice an issue with this pen. To make sure that the gold plated captured converter does not scratch after inserting though the barrel there is some leeway in the fit. This means that the user operated twist section has a fraction of a millimetre of space around it, causing the occasional rattle when tapped.

I fixed this in mine with an accurately measured shim of paper. This will only fall out when the entire barrel is removed, not when filling up each time.It is an invisible and quick fix for those of us who are pernickety enough to care.

As for the feel of the pen - it is very light by my standards. The uncapped body with a full load of ink is 22g, the cap 18g. This is however an EF and so I can accept a pen this light.

The section has a very pleasant concave taper, comfortable and natural. The transition between the different materials is also very good. The three resins on the cap are all flush, as is the wood -> red resin -> metal -> blue resin combination at the rear of the pen. However the fortifications detailed on the gold band are raised slightly, and this does occasionally catch on my hand. Not too egregious, but enough to remind you that the pen is there. Posting the cap doesn't change anything either as the "MAGNIFICA" gold band falls in the same place. It also has raised detail.

Speaking of posting - the pen certaily feels more substantial and not too back-heavy, but I have a dislike of posting pens and doing so always makes the pen I am using feel wrong, so I am not the best to judge this.

The pens writes very smoothly. I'm used to EF nibs so my hand is accustomed to the gentle touch required to creat smooth contact with EF nibs. YMMV.

The blue ink below is from the bottle in the first image. It is not named so for all I know it clould just be normal Delta Blue. I refer to it as "Amalfi Blue".

The Amalfi Blue ink lays down vibrantly, yet significantly fades on drying.



The green ink is from my Faber-Castell E-Motion EF. That was previously the finest nib I had, much finer than other EF nibs by various companies.



And here is a medium nib with the same blue ink, the Amalfi pen writing underneath.



Thank you for reading. This review was written in one continuous stream without editing or revision, so if you have any questions about something I missed, please ask.

[bone215]

good luck with your beautiful new pen

[rohit1974]

That's a beautiful pen. The combination of different shades of blue with the colour of wood looks fabulous. Have been eyeing one on martemodena. Thanks for the review

[rogerico]

Great pen. I've got a Delta Dolcevita Oversize EF and it's also a true EF, really fine. In fact, my only trully EF nib: not Pelikan M1005 nib, not Parker Duofold's nib. Only my Delta is a true EF and it writes wonderfully.

 

Enjoy it!

[Mainecoon]

Excellent review and pictures. Keep up the good work! Very beautiful pen! Drooling all over the place right now

enjoy writing with it!!

[freeboy]

super duper pretty very nice..and I am glad for you ... I always wonder when I order from Delta if Im getting the best pen I ever had or just another good delta... this looks like the former so so nice

[Angel91]

So beautiful. Delta makes really classy designs. Enjoy it.

[abkudva]

Beautiful pen!! The play with light on the resin's and the grain on the wooden barrel looks beautiful!!

Thanks for the review

[OngL]

How do I adjust the feed? I have the same pen and I noticed that after the initial ink on feed used up, the pen wont write. The feed seems to get ink when I pushed the cork converter and dries outnon reverse

 

I see a small gap between the tines. Can you clarify how yours misaligned and how to nudge it? I cant seems to get it correct

[darazs]

Thanks for the review. It is very good and well balanced.

Delta does make beautiful pens, this is one of them!

 

Good catch

[EBGBs]

Dear FPScribe,

 

Thank you for this amazing review – so amazing that the first thing I did after reading it was to hunt for one of these!

Number 181, M nib, reporting below.

 

I apologise for the poor quality of both the handwriting and the photos

 

 

 

(Links if this above failed:)

https://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/238264Amalfi1.jpg

https://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/320126Amalfi2.jpg

 

 

I love this pen. All the different materials and colors blend beautifully, and the pen is a joy to write with. The nib on mine is not very wet, and gives a little bit of feedback; not scratchy but I wouldn’t call it very smooth either – maybe because I’m used to wetter and thicker nibs.

 

The nib is the finest of my M nibs; it seems slightly finer than the Omas, Visconti and Montblanc (of course) M nibs I have (I am not saying this is true for every model of these brands of course).

 

Wood is a natural if not living material, and of course this means that differences from a pen to another and signs of aging are to be expected. My pen seems quite a bit darker than yours.

[JonathanHarker]

I'm looking to buy just the box for one of these, if anyone knows of one for sale!

 

Great review!

Edited March 11, 2019 by JonathanHarker

[Bill P]

Thank-you for the comprehensive review.

 

Delta made some great Fountain pens...and the Amalfi is one of them

 

Enjoy!

 

Bill P.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Bill P

[Theroc]

I sold mine about 3 years ago. I've never regretted selling a pen more.