Curious About Delike Alpha

[Honeybadgers]

I have a few delika EF's that are definitely scratchy and a whole lot more that are lovely and perfect. I think the quality control is still a tiny bit iffy, so if yours is a dud, don't give up, just spend $5 on ebay for a new set of nibs.

[Corona688]

I just tried writing with the Delike Alpha I have here, with a brass barrel and an EF nib, and I don't find it scratchy or dry. It certainly offers feedback when writing – which I actually like – but no more than most Sailor and Platinum nibs I have used. The EF nib on my Sailor 11-0073 desk pen (which is essentially a HiAce Neo with a different barrel and cap) is scratchier, in spite of being wetter than the EF nib on the Delike Alpha. The EF nib on my Platinum DP-1000AN desk pen is much drier. The 'wetness' of the nib on the Delike Alpha is halfway between those two.

 

I can see from your pictures that your EF is nowhere near as fine or dry as my EF.

[Corona688]

I adjusted the nib to align the tines and the difference was night and day. Much darker and smoother.

[Corona688]

So, after carrying it around for a while I've come to like it.

 

It's a metal pen all right. The finish made me wonder, but it is metal and it isn't varnished.

 

It's rather short as a pocket pen but long enough to mot bother me. I'm glad I didn't get the Kaweco Sport, which really would have been too short.

 

It's heavy, especially the cap, which is fine for me. You can easily lighten the load by not sticking the cap on the far end when you write, the cap is half the weight!

 

After a little tuning, the nib writes acceptably, which is high praise from me for an EF.

 

The converter seats firmly, operates smoothly, and hasn't leaked.

 

It doesn't dry out unduly fast, going several days without needing advancing.

 

Most importantly, to me, it has held up fine in the abusive conditions of my pocket and isn't prone to unscrewing itself.

 

Now, the drawbacks.

• The pocket clip is a useless afterthought.
• The cap has the inevitable "War and Peace" engraving which I've convinced myself doesn't bother me.
• The barrel fits the cap loosely, allowing metal-metal contact between the cap's bottom and the barrel to leave spiral scratches. There was probably supposed to be a liner, omitted for cost. I'll fix it.
• The pen has an inscribed line on the bottom as if you could remove it to operate the converter, but it's just a decoration.

[Honeybadgers]

the pocket clip can be made usable with a dab of super glue.

 

If you take some 800,1600, and 3000 grit sandpaper you can sand off the ugly lacquer and take the "war & peace" with it. It will also begin to patina properly and the spiral scratches will start to disappear.

[A Smug Dill]

• The cap has the inevitable "War and Peace" engraving which I've convinced myself doesn't bother me.

 

I actually find it quite amusing, since my fiancée now has the Delike Alpha I was given, and she writes (and is a published author of) children's books as well as short stories for adults in several different genres, but has (only) talked about writing a full-length novel.