Why Is Nobody Talking About Santini Italia Pens?

[YonathanZ]

Hi,

 

So a few months ago I've come across this company, turns out they're one of two Italian pen manufacturers who produce their nibs in-house. I like some of their designs but admittedly have yet to take the plunge and actually buy one, mostly because nobody mentions them, and nib performance is a concern for me especially because there are no nibmeisters in my country.

 

Anyway, how come there's zero mention of them? I can't find much online, not even a single YouTube review. If you have experience with their pens, please do share it.

 

Thanks.

[Newton Pens]

They look like well made pens to me. I've only seen them at shows.

The nibs look like the old Ancora nibs, so this company might be related to the old Ancora. Those were really nice nibs, too.

If you're interested get one. I don't think you'll be unhappy.

I don't know if you use Instagram, but I've seen lots on there. So people are definitely buying them.

[langere]

I have two Santini Italia pens, a Libra in red and another one in royal blue.

 

I am extremely impressed by the pens. The nib is a delight - smooth writer, with just a tad of feedback a bit like Aurora, but with its own character. The acrylic is a deep, complex color. It is a pleasure holding and using these pens. They are also well weighted.

 

I met the owner at the Washington DC Supershow last August and bought my first pen then. Giovanni was very nice and concerned about customer service. Since his credit card reader was not working at the show, Giovanni gave me the pen and gave me a Paypal address where to pay, trusting me to do so. Now that is customer service!

 

In other words, I cannot say good things about the company and its products. I have not tried the other pens other than the Libra, but from what I have seen, I recommend the company.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Erick

[carlos.q]

Never heard of them. Does this company have a web page?

[WLSpec]

https://www.santini-italia.com/

 

No affiliation

 

I've seen these pens as well but don't have one, they look quite well made and high quality.

Edited December 27, 2019 by WLSpec

[Freddy]

Hi,

 

So a few months ago I've come across this company, turns out they're one of two Italian pen manufacturers who produce their nibs in-house. I like some of their designs but admittedly have yet to take the plunge and actually buy one, mostly because nobody mentions them, and nib performance is a concern for me especially because there are no nibmeisters in my country.

 

Anyway, how come there's zero mention of them? I can't find much online, not even a single YouTube review. If you have experience with their pens, please do share it.

 

Thanks.

Yo..Yona.....I have 'em both...well made pens..same person running Santini use to make Ancora....

People are talkin' bout 'em.....For your consideration..................

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348301-santini-italia-libra/

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/350420-santini-italia-libra-ambra-here-it-is/

 

Re Santini pens....there is more scuttlebutt here.......

 

When and if you purchase...Please post photos of your new pen{s}.....

 

Fred

 

Redactin'.....https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316818-santini-italia/

from December '16 Re Santini....

 

Article on the Santini family at Pen World Facebook..............................................

https://www.facebook.com/penworldinternational/photos/pcb.2123389177956460/2123388967956481/?type=3&theater

Edited December 27, 2019 by Freddy

[praxim]

Searching for "Santini" in forums (search bar at top of page) produces a string of hits including threads dedicated to them.

 

I have five, plus an Ancora Perla. Santini is the designer of nibs for each of those brands. I use F and M nibs all of which have been excellent. I place Santini nibs among the best of modern nibs. They are not among the modern glassy, rock hard set. The pens themselves are colourful, well made, comfortable. Most of them are C/C, one a piston fill. I commend them as well worth a try.

[YonathanZ]

I have two Santini Italia pens, a Libra in red and another one in royal blue.

 

I am extremely impressed by the pens. The nib is a delight - smooth writer, with just a tad of feedback a bit like Aurora, but with its own character. The acrylic is a deep, complex color. It is a pleasure holding and using these pens. They are also well weighted.

 

I met the owner at the Washington DC Supershow last August and bought my first pen then. Giovanni was very nice and concerned about customer service. Since his credit card reader was not working at the show, Giovanni gave me the pen and gave me a Paypal address where to pay, trusting me to do so. Now that is customer service!

 

In other words, I cannot say good things about the company and its products. I have not tried the other pens other than the Libra, but from what I have seen, I recommend the company.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Erick

May I ask what nib you have?

 

Searching for "Santini" in forums (search bar at top of page) produces a string of hits including threads dedicated to them.

 

I have five, plus an Ancora Perla. Santini is the designer of nibs for each of those brands. I use F and M nibs all of which have been excellent. I place Santini nibs among the best of modern nibs. They are not among the modern glassy, rock hard set. The pens themselves are colourful, well made, comfortable. Most of them are C/C, one a piston fill. I commend them as well worth a try.

 

So you're saying the nibs are soft? How fine is the F nib, compared to other European, or Japanese pens?

 

Thank you.

[eciton]

Yeah, people are talking about them. I reviewed one a few months back: https://ukfountainpens.com/2019/09/25/italys-diamond-in-the-rough-santini/

[praxim]

So you're saying the nibs are soft? How fine is the F nib, compared to other European, or Japanese pens?

 

Thank you.

 

I have no comparison with Japanese nibs, owing merely to rabbit-hole avoidance.

 

My current journal is nearing an end. Checking the pen index (I record the page on which a given pen was first used) I find that I have used three Aurora Optimas (two F, one M) and three Santinis (one F, two M). Every pen used a different ink, which could muddy things slightly, but at least paper was the same, Leuchtturm 1917.

 

Flicking between the pages it appears to me that basic line width is the same when comparing Aurora with Santini F nibs, or comparing their M nibs. However, the Aurora text is in each case quite uniform in line weight whereas a Santini page at first looks heavier but that is owing to greater line variation, more of heavier lines among the light. So, while the Aurora (14k or 18k) is not a hard nib in terms of feel (unlike, say, S T Dupont or modern Waterman) it does not give any significant line variation. The Santinis (all 18k) do give quite evident variation in comparison.

[Honeybadgers]

Well their website is a slow turd. So that made it hard to look into.

[DrDebG]

Yes, their website is rather slow.

 

You can see some of their more limited editions here: https://www.italianpens.com/brand/195/santini-italia

You will also see some of their pens sold on ebay.

Edited December 29, 2019 by DrDebG

[praxim]

One can order not only nib sizes and shapes but also flexibility (and super-flex).

[Freddy]

The websitehttps://www.santini-italia.com/index.html

 

has been lightning-fast..not slow as a hard sxxt....

Of course this has been my personal experience and other folks experience will differ.

Hope this has been helpful in some way......................................................

 

Fred

Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.......Yogi Berra

[OMASsimo]

As mentioned above, Santini makes or uses the same nibs as Ancora. To me it seams that he runs Ancorca by now. I have a couple of older Ancoras and their nibs are exceptional. These are modern nibs and not like my vintage ones dating from the pre-70s. But they are more flexible than standard modern nibs, having rather long tines and beautiful embossing. My M nibs are pretty standard width for European M size nibs. But just as Praxim pointed out above, there is some line variation, so they could be wider if you tend to press harder.

 

One idiosyncracy is that the plating, probably platinum, seems to catalyse the decomposition of some ink. When I fill it with Diamine Blueblack, which is composed of two dyes, one of them fades when the pen sits for a longer time. After a few words, the ink is replenished from the reservoir and the pen writes with the normal ink colour. These are the only pens doing that in my collection. But I wouldn't want to miss those pens because they are lovely writers and there are plenty of other inks not showing any issues like that.

 

So, if you like the design, go for it.

[A Smug Dill]

I like some of their designs but admittedly have yet to take the plunge and actually buy one, mostly because nobody mentions them, and nib performance is a concern for me especially because there are no nibmeisters in my country.

After-market service by nibmeisters of renown, or even just those who have enough of a track record for all to see, are equally inaccessible to Australian fountain pen hobbyists such as me; but if everyone insisted on being assured by either enforceable guarantees or consensus of enough customer testimonials to feel safe in the "knowledge" that the received products will fully satisfy one's expectations and wants, nobody would be ordering anything online! After all, we've all heard stories of how particular Aurora, Lamy, Parker, Pelikan, Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, Visconti nibs fail to satisfy and had to be sent off for nib work to be done.

 

I haven't heard of that company either, but now that I've had a look at Santini's web site, and the company's seeming willingness to customise nibs by special request, I've placed an order for one. Let's see if it comes through!

[Honeybadgers]

I got a chance to poke around and it looks like an evergreen laurel with an extra flexible XXF may be in my future. $300 for a large, custom, gorgeous acrylic piston filler with an in house made flexible nib and ebonite feed is pretty damn great.

[Karmachanic]

One can order not only nib sizes and shapes but also flexibility (and super-flex).

Friction fit or screw-in housing?

[wspohn]

I like some of the simpler designs and quality looks good, but the more elaborate designs suffer from the Italian designer disease - overly elaborate and ostentatious. Unless you are the type to want to 'go for baroque' those designs probably won't appeal.

[YonathanZ]

I like some of the simpler designs and quality looks good, but the more elaborate designs suffer from the Italian designer disease - overly elaborate and ostentatious. Unless you are the type to want to 'go for baroque' those designs probably won't appeal.

I only like very few of their designs, namely the Libra series in Brown and Ebonite. The rest are too flashy.