Pineider - La Grande Bellezza

[Ghost Plane]

Good to know. I’ve been hesitating whether I should try a B or keep on with my stubs. Mind made up. Thank you.

[TheDutchGuy]

Somehow I missed this thread. Great read. Thanks!

[Rindy_Ruth]

And here she is. My Pineider La Grand Bellezza soft fine in Rodolite Red. Much has been said about this wonderful pen and I agree with all of it. It writes like a dream right out of the box.

 

Edited August 24, 2018 by Rindy_Ruth

[TheDutchGuy]

Beautiful pen! Hope you'll enjoy it for many years to come.

[ErrantSmudge]

I went to the San Francisco Pen Show today with the number one goal to try out the La Grande Bellezza in person. I didn't have to look hard; the Yafa booth was right at the entrance and the pen was literally the first thing I saw.

 

I understand why the people who love this pen do so. The nib has a beautiful soft feel when writing, and it's smooth. The pen was dipped so it's hard to judge, but it seems like a juicy writer. Though it's not a flex nib, it's easy to get some line variation without undue pressure while writing.

 

I had my eye on the green based on online photos, but I didn't like the green in person. It's a light jade green color that didn't suit my preference. The blue doesn't excite me, and I don't like the yellow at all. Red does look nice, but I already have several red pens in my collection.

 

Ultimately color wasn't a dealbreaker. What bothered me was the way the cap posts. It has a magnetic attactor on the barrel end as well, to hold the cap when posted. But there's nothing at all to keep the cap from twirling around, quite easily, when it's posted. This behavior wasn't mentioned in any of the discussions or reviews I've read or seen to date, and it was extremely off-putting to me. Honestly, I would have preferred a simple screw cap over the magnetic mechanism.

 

In the end, for me this pen is a wonderful nib on a so-so body. For the price, the pen body didn't clear the bar for me and I have decided to pass.

Edited August 26, 2018 by ErrantSmudge

[Ghost Plane]

I have to agree. It makes writing posted annoying. I’d prefer to, but the cap is so busy swiveling around that it defeats the purpose.

[mulrich]

For those that haven't purchased one of these, Chatterley has a sale on the Pineider La Grande Bellezza line, including the five standard colors and the honeycomb. I'm not sure why he's discounting them so much, but these are the best prices I've seen on these pens

[zaddick]

Thanks to this thread and Bryant's flash sale, a quill nib stub is heading my way. I went with the honeycomb for a few reasons:

 

1) it is the lightest option

2) it is the least back heavy

3) I prefer the completely untextured section

4) comes with a pen case

5) I can solve the poor posting problems by running something through the body and cap to prevent spinning (this is theoretical at this point)

6) the design is unique

 

I am worried the texture may bother my hand a bit, but since it is a light pen the risk is minimal.

 

Being an LE and having gotten a splash of publicity, future resale may be better. This is a minor consideration, but still there.

 

I was also not a big fan of the color versions currently available in the regular production line, nor the Pana gram on the cap band.

 

I really am not a fan of clear pens that hold a converter. I even hesitate to call them demonstrators as they are not really demonstrating anything functional. That was the biggest sticking point for me, but I decided if I needed to I can just get a new body made as the nib was great in my test drive at the SF pen show.

 

Maybe these musings will help someone get off the fence and buy one of these pens and unique nibs while the price is about as low as you can go new.

[Ghost Plane]

For those that haven't purchased one of these, Chatterley has a sale on the Pineider La Grande Bellezza line, including the five standard colors and the honeycomb. I'm not sure why he's discounting them so much, but these are the best prices I've seen on these pens

Bless you. I plunged again. Pretty colors.

[mulrich]

Bless you. I plunged again. Pretty colors.

Blessings go to Bryant.

 

Hopefully mine will arrive before the sale ends so I can order a second one if I like the pen.

[Rindy_Ruth]

Bless you. I plunged again. Pretty colors.

 

Ghost Plane - What color and nib did you get this time? My cell phone snapshots (above) of my Rodolite don't do the pen justice as the red/amber, gold and black mixture is truly breathtaking. I hope the pictures didn't talk you <out> of that color! Ha.

 

Rindy

[ajoe]

... I'm not sure why he's discounting them so much, but these are the best prices I've seen on these pens

 

 

I just looked at one there and under the price and details sections it says: Categories: Pens, Pineider, Specials/Closeouts

 

​Emphasis added by me.

[Ghost Plane]

Ghost Plane - What color and nib did you get this time? My cell phone snapshots (above) of my Rodolite don't do the pen justice as the red/amber, gold and black mixture is truly breathtaking. I hope the pictures didn't talk you <out> of that color! Ha.

 

Rindy

Lapis & malachite. Already had the red & tiger eye. Stubs again. When you’re onto a good thing...

[chalkdust]

While visiting my brother in Houston, we went to Dromgooles where I hoped find a Pineider La Grande Bellezza. Sure enough. This is my first high end pen (high for me, anyway). I have a limited edition that is called La Grande Bellezza on some of its paperwork and The Great Beauty on other of its paperwork. I understand it to be a Dromgooles exclusive. Mine is #19 of 37. It is blue, but not Lapis Blue like the gemstone La Grande Bellezza models. It is Pacific Blue like the blue of the Avatars. It has gold-toned finials and clip and band instead of the normal silver-toned ones. And the section is entirely smooth like last year's introductory La Grande Bellezzas. The "quick brown fox" sentence seems to me to be less raised than I see in photos of the gemstone models. It came with broad nib that was not a quill nib. But I asked and Mr Dromgoole kindly swapped nibs. So mine has a fine quill nib. I find it to write very wet, very smooth and very comfortably. The paperwork that says #19 is mine was signed (earlier in the year, of course) by Dante Delvecchio.

 

To go along with the exclusive-to-Dromgooles pen I decided to get exclusive-to-Dromgooles Texas Blue Bonnet ink by Noodlers.

 

I am about a happy as can be with my new pen!!

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by chalkdust

[amberleadavis]

CONGRATS!!!!! I adore the Dromgoole family and your pen is the prettiest I have seen of these.

[zaddick]

Chalkdust your pen looks lovely and distinct from the regular production pens. I think you made a smart move to swap to a quill nib. Enjoy it!

[Ghost Plane]

Chalkdust your pen looks lovely and distinct from the regular production pens. I think you made a smart move to swap to a quill nib. Enjoy it!

This. Sweet!

[mulrich]

The Dromgoole's LE is my favorite of the resin models (side note, Droomgooles is the best pen shop I've ever visited)

 

My Honeycomb arrived yesterday. The material/pattern is incredibly cool and totally unique. I am less happy with the quality feel of the pen. Part of this could be I also have a Pelikan and Conid inked up, both of which are incredibly well made.

 

To be specific, unscrewing the barrel on the Honeycomb almost feels lumpy, like there's a flat spot on the threads. While twisting the converter, the nib unit started to unscrew from the body of the pen. The pen also took a bit of effort to write the first time--this may have been my fault for not fully flushing the converter and nib before inking (I often forget to do this with new pens). The pen literally wouldn't lay down ink, even after pushing ink through the feed from the converter. Once I got it working (I gave the nib unit a little CPR) it seems to be writing well--we'll see how it holds up over time and with the next fill (after a thorough cleaning). The nib is very wet and smooth.

 

Overall I'm still happy with the pen. None of the problems I experienced are deal breakers (unless the pen doesn't write). The nib is really smooth and the material is awesome.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Mulrich

[chalkdust]

Amberleadavis, zaddick, and Ghost Plane - thanks for your congrats. I am really enjoying my pen so far.

 

Mulrich, which nib did you get? I am sorry to hear that it gave you trouble in the beginning. I know that first impression can really affect your reaction to your pen. I hope it behaves for you so that you can enjoy it more.

 

At Dromgooles, I was able to dip test a Honeycomb with a fine quill nib, which is how I chose the fine quill nib for mine. That Honeycomb offers a really unique writing experience.

 

I am still getting used to the wetness. It puts down more ink for a fine nib than I am used to. I do not post my pen, so I do not mind, nor have I experienced any issues about a wiggly posted cap. Another issue that I have not had is any problem with ink flow when the converter is nearing empty. Mine is flowing very well all the way to refill time. I know that can depend on the ink (mine is Noodler's Texas Blue Bonnet).

 

One thing I am liking very much is the section and the perfectly smooth transition to the body of the pen. I am finding that my fingers are happy with the hourglass shaped section. I do not normally put three fingers into the narrow part of the section, just two - not sure why.

 

Oh and my favorite non-writing part of the pen is the magnetic cap. I always twist it and let the magnets push it off instead of trying to pull it straight off. That uses less force, I think. Or it is more fun, not sure which.

[mulrich]

I got a M nib. Since it got started its been great, and very wet. I wonder if there was just something clogging the feed. I probably would have avoided any issue if I just cleaned it before inking. I always do so with used pens but forget with new ones.

 

I usually dont baby my pens and bring them anywhere (whats the point of an instrument if you dont carry it with you) but I am a little concerned about the Honeycombs durability. Dante even suggested in the Goulet video that the pen is more fragile than typical pens. I wonder if this is why it came with a case.