Review: Leonardo Momento Magico DNA

[Le.Pen.Supremo]

Hello there! This is a rather in-depth review of the Leonardo Magico DNA! I got this a month ago but I just had no time to do reviews and stuff due to the finals season. Anyways, here we are with this review! 

 

- Price 7/10

This pen is worth 200 USD. For a pen with a rather generic steel nib (more on that later), I find this to be quite pricey. But I do understand that this is an Italian pen, from a solid bar of resin. And with a piston filler. So it's not that bad I guess.

 

- Packaging 9/10

The box doesn't necessarily affects the overall well-being of the pen. But I must say, I like the box quite a bit! Tho my paranoid self is telling me that the metal clamps (there must be a better term) is rather tight.

 

- Build Quality 10/10

I have no flaws to say about the build quality of this pen! I could definitely feel the fantastic craftsmanship that went with this writing instrument! Nothing about this pen feels cheap. And the fact that it's not injection molded (the lovely orange barrel that is, not sure with the black resin parts) but from a solid bar of acrylic, is just wonderful! It is very different from Japanese pens in this price range.

 

- Design 10/10

Absolutely wonderful! The orange and black design pops outs very easily! If you want an understated pen, this one's not for you haha. As the name suggest, the color scheme was based on the Delta Dolcevita pens. Gotta love their bold and pretentious designs! The Magico also has the pointy ends which looks very nice!

 

- Cap 10/10

The cap has a minimalist look and I like it a lot! On the back there's the Leonardo name, and the number of the pen which is 626. The wheeled clip is very good! The cap band is rather simplistic and I would prefer a much bolder design. It also says Italy on the band. It takes exactly one whole turn to uncap which is excellent!

 

- Piston Mechanism 9/10

One of the Magico's unique features! The piston is smooth! And it feels quality! I could feel that the piston mechanism can go on very well with very little maintenance. Though I only rated it a 9 as it takes quite a bit (8 twists approximately) to fully turn the piston all the way to the end. This makes cleaning a bit more challenging haha. It can take up to 1.5 ml of ink which is A LOT. One of the pros of this pen indeed, compared to let's say, a Sailor, haha.

 

- Ink Window 10/10

A wonderful design! I like this better compared to the original/first release. It is very functional.

 

- The Writing/Nib 6/10

The moment of truth. The pen has a laser engraved (by Leonardo) Jowo #6 steel broad nib. Out of the box, the pen has a bit of tooth on a specific cross stroke and baby's bottom. And the wetness can still be improved. I had the pen tuned twice, and tho it now writes decent, it still feels rather plain for my own personal preferences. Maybe because it's my first time to try a Jowo nib? Or that I was in awe of Naginata Togi nibs? Not sure. The steel nib is also hard, like a nail.

I would say that for the price, I would prefer an in-house nib, with more personality. I believe Leonardo is working on it so I'm excited! I might have this nib ground to a stub in the future, as to make it more of a unique writer.

 

- Comfort 10/10

The Magico has more of a traditional section compared to most Leonardo Pens. It is very comfortable! The threads are not sharp so I can grip it there, no problem. Posted, the balance seems a tiny bit back-heavy, but nothing too serious. It also posts super well btw 

 

- Weight and Measurements

The pen is similar in size with the Pelikan M800. The Leonardo is bit longer due to the pointy ends buy is noticeably lighter than the M800. 

 

- Others

One minor thing I observed is that the pen would stop writing even tho there's still a few drops of ink left inside. I find it rather strange as my other piston filler pens would only stop writing once the barrel is fully empty. I found that the nipple of the nib unit, has a certain level needed in order for it to accept ink. Once the ink level can't reach that, the nib and feed would run dry, even tho there's still a few drops of ink still left, below the nipple.

This is not necessarily a problem, but I'm personally quite OCD about that haha. I felt I needed to mention this as this is a long review haha.

 

- Overall Rating 7/10

The pen is wonderful! I love the build quality and the design! I like the piston mechanism too! There's not much cons about this pen but that, the steel nibs (the one on my Magico at least) could have more personality. I'm sure Leonardo will also make their steel nibs in-house in the near future. That makes me excited and afraid at the same time as it would drag me deeper into the Leonardo craze hahahaha

 

I hope you enjoyed this in-depth review of the Leonardo Magico DNA! Please follow me on Instagram @jv.espino for more pen related content! Till the next one!