Leonardo Photo Thread

[TheDutchGuy]

Last week I saw one of the Leonardo Limited Editions (15 pens for ItalianPens dot com) in this material on an auction site. I bid on it and (miracle of miracles) won the auction for the starting bid price. No one else bid! It has a smooth-writing fine nib. I'm very happy with it.

That’s a stunner! Congrats!

[mongrelnomad]

Theyre interesting pens these Leonardos. They seem almost identical to the late Omas Bolognas. Can anyone speak to how they compare?

 

Since my previous post in this thread, I have been able to acquire one more, very special Leonardo pen. The OMAS Burlwood celluloid has been a "grail" material for me for several years. The price of the OMAS pens in Burlwood was just too high for my comfort level. Last week I saw one of the Leonardo Limited Editions (15 pens for ItalianPens dot com) in this material on an auction site. I bid on it and (miracle of miracles) won the auction for the starting bid price. No one else bid!

 

It has a smooth-writing fine nib. I'm very happy with it.

 

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Happy writing!

 

David

[dms525]

Theyre interesting pens these Leonardos. They seem almost identical to the late Omas Bolognas. Can anyone speak to how they compare?

 

 

I don't have any of the "new" OMAS Bolognas, only the vintage ones, which are much smaller. I think the Leonardo pens most closely resemble the Delta Journal model. Leonardo's heritage includes Delta, as you may know.

 

David

[como]

It surely does, and the use of material, Delta resin and celluloids.

 

I don't have any of the "new" OMAS Bolognas, only the vintage ones, which are much smaller. I think the Leonardo pens most closely resemble the Delta Journal model. Leonardo's heritage includes Delta, as you may know.

 

David

[amble63]

I picked up a Momento Zero Dark Hawaii a couple of weeks ago - my first pen purchase in years. A beautiful pen to be sure but the nib! I got a stub and it is just delightful - such a smooth writing experience and it makes even my handwriting look decent.

Edited September 10, 2019 by amble63

[mongrelnomad]

 

I don't have any of the "new" OMAS Bolognas, only the vintage ones, which are much smaller. I think the Leonardo pens most closely resemble the Delta Journal model. Leonardo's heritage includes Delta, as you may know.

 

David

 

 

I meant the old Bolognas which were basically Paragons, but without the facets.

 

I wasn't aware of the connection with Delta, and had very little experience with their pens before they folded.

[sansenri]

Lovely pens all of them, I don't think there is any one shown that I don't like!

The celluloid versions are fantastic, so are the ebonite...

I wanted the green ebonite but I think it may have run out (and I'm out of funds too...)

More than Omas, Leonardo is a very close relative of Delta (the owner comes from there if I'm not mistaken).

This is my Furore Turquoise, this resin is so striking it almost looks like celluloid

[sansenri]

I also own a Corsani blue

this resin was first used by Delta when they did the Dolce Vita Blue Jay

Corsani, a well know pen shop in Rome, did a special version for the shop using this resin (mine is no. 11)

It seems Leonardo later decided this resin was too nice not to include it in it's regular offers and introduced the Hawai (the resin is the same).

[sansenri]

and David is perfectly right, the Momento zero is a very very close cousin of the Delta The Journal pen (same captive converter and very similar shape)

here you can see the The Journal Corno (sorry for the ugly picture, this dates 2014...)

and the main difference is in the section, tapering on the Momento Zero, almost straight on the The Journal

Edited September 10, 2019 by sansenri

[sansenri]

These pens are gorgeous. I have 2 thusfar--both Momento Zeroes. A fountain in Blue Abyss and a rollerball in Hawaii. For those who have experience with both a Furore and a M. Zero, which style do you prefer, and why?

I'm just slightly partial to the Momento Zero, because I slightly prefer flat tops to sigar shaped pens, but both are very similar in the hand and behave very similarly. It's nice to have both and the resin on the Turquoise is as marvellous as the Corsani/Hawai.

I also prefer the silver trim and it's great that Leonardo offers both for most of his regular pens!

Edited September 10, 2019 by sansenri

[sansenri]

as I'm at it with uploading photos I might as well post this one too, although it's only to show the resin used.

This pen is a special edition made for the members of Fountain pen.it, an Italian site dedicated to fountain pens .

This green and black resin is extremely similar to Leonardo's green resin, infact this pen (called Vera) was available also in blue and red, again similar to Leonardo's resins, and both in silver and gold trim. I'm almost sure that Leonardo made these pens for FP.it (the manufacturer was kept secret, only admins know...).

It's a converter pen with two peculiarities, the threads are at the front of the pen, just after the nib (FC has a similar design) but particularly interesting is the ink window. You see the converter through it, but you do get to see the ink. Very useful.

Edited September 10, 2019 by sansenri

[como]

sansenri, thank you for sharing these photos. While Omas was the king of celluloid, Delta (and now Leonardo) did produce many stunning resin pens. Leonardo's price points for the resin versions are particularly attractive.

 

I have grown fond of the threads in the front, reminiscent of the safety pen design, and also the flat tops. It reminds me of the Omas Ercolessi, very strikingly similar. Of course Ercolessi was designed to look like a 1920'ish safety pen with these frontal threads and flat top.

 

as I'm at it with uploading photos I might as well post this one too, although it's only to show the resin used.

This pen is a special edition made for the members of Fountain pen.it, an Italian site dedicated to fountain pens .

This green and black resin is extremely similar to Leonardo's green resin, infact this pen (called Vera) was available also in blue and red, again similar to Leonardo's resins, and both in silver and gold trim. I'm almost sure that Leonardo made these pens for FP.it (the manufacturer was kept secret, only admins know...).

It's a converter pen with two peculiarities, the threads are at the front of the pen, just after the nib (FC has a similar design) but particularly interesting is the ink window. You see the converter through it, but you do get to see the ink. Very useful.

[sansenri]

sansenri, thank you for sharing these photos. While Omas was the king of celluloid, Delta (and now Leonardo) did produce many stunning resin pens. Leonardo's price points for the resin versions are particularly attractive.

 

I have grown fond of the threads in the front, reminiscent of the safety pen design, and also the flat tops. It reminds me of the Omas Ercolessi, very strikingly similar. Of course Ercolessi was designed to look like a 1920'ish safety pen with these frontal threads and flat top.

 

 

Ah, yes, the green Ercolessi!, the old shop in Milano is not far from where I live, unfortunately my passion for fountain pens started too late to be able to get hold of one of those (at a decent price)

[DrAtomic]

I have four Leonardo pens, three Momento Zero and one Furore, with this being the latest acquisition. The resin and detail work on the pens makes them a favorite, and although I'd prefer a gold nib, the steel nibs are some of the best I've used (Bock, as I understand it). I especially like the use of a captured converter at this price point.

 

The orange/matte black just appealed to me. I've been using it for the last week and love pulling it out to admire the overall look of the pen before putting it to use.

[sansenri]

lovely! had not seen this one before

very Dolce Vita reminiscent!

[Vicary]

Received a pair of Momento Zero Grandes today, along with a little Montegrappa...

 

The Copper is stunning, I think. I'm slightly underwhelmed by the Caraibe though. The blue and green marble is nice but a little bland. The pens are a good size, slightly bigger than an M1000 when capped. Quality seems high. I'll post some reflections once I've had a chance to use them...

 

[Carrau]

Thanks for posting these, and I’m surprised to hear the Caribe was underwhelming. I’ve got a Copper arriving in the next 2-3 days, and was second guessing myself about not getting the Caribe, as the company ads made it very attractive.

[fpupulin]

I know that this is a thread about Leonardo pens, and the two you posted look beautiful. But that malachite Montegrappa... with the vegetal fret and that molded cap lip... oh my! Congratulations on your purchases!

[Vicary]

I know that this is a thread about Leonardo pens, and the two you posted look beautiful. But that malachite Montegrappa... with the vegetal fret and that molded cap lip... oh my! Congratulations on your purchases!

 

That's the Montegrappa Ammiraglia...Montegrappa celluloid and body, Sailor nib. Great combo! The Leonardo Momento Grande with the gold nib is big and beautiful, and about a quarter of the price! These Momento Grandes are quite nice. And with the steel instead of gold nib it's even more affordable. These represent a very solid value in the world of Italian pens.

[Vicary]

Thanks for posting these, and I’m surprised to hear the Caribe was underwhelming. I’ve got a Copper arriving in the next 2-3 days, and was second guessing myself about not getting the Caribe, as the company ads made it very attractive.

 

Here are some pictures of the pens with a less distracting background. The thing about the Caraibe is that the marbled blue parts are nice and crisp chunks, while the green is all fuzzy and blurry. It's a nice color, I'm just not wowed by it. I also got the Caraibe with a stainless steel nib, and the Copper with the 14k nib, so you can see the very slight difference here. Still, they're both big, beautiful pens!