A chance ancounter with two lovely nibs from the London Pen Show, yesterday

[Tommaso Santojanni]

What a splendid day out and marvellous discovery at the London October Pen Show! I simply must share the tale...!
 

While I refrained from making too many purchases, I found myself irresistibly drawn to a large stand hosted by a charming Colombian family, accompanied by their delightful daughter, Nelly, who was of a similar age to my own daughter. Amongst the usual notable pens, there were several boxes labelled “£5 each,” “£10 each,” and “£20 each,” brimming with broken pens, parts, and some rather unattractive, seemingly discarded whole pens.
 

Nelly, ever so charming, was soliciting buyers to purchase their pens. After a cheerful exchange with her father, he jovially agreed to let Nelly assist me in selecting pens from the more neglected boxes. She accepted, with the understanding that I would make my purchases from her, not her father! With enthusiasm, we set about the task of testing nearly fifty pens—much to my own daughter's delight, who was assisting remotely via video, offering her own suggestions on which pens to try.
 

After half an hour of inky fun—during which Nelly’s fingers became generously ink-stained, and sported a charming splash of ink across her face—we had selected eleven pens in total. Unfortunately, whilst distracted, another buyer swooped in and purchased most of them, abandoning only two unassuming, worn and tattered Tropens. Quite the frustration! While the Tropens did appear unremarkable, I had been thoroughly captivated by their writing samples, which had likely captured the attention of the buyer who had sneaked upon them, mistaking their samples with others which pens he bought.
 

In the midst of this commotion, neither Nelly nor I could recall the origins of the pens from the various boxes: this elicited a vigorous and amusing negotiation between Nelly and my daughter, eventually agreeing on a price of £10 per pen, plus an ice cream for both (sadly, later replaced with sweets, as there was no ice cream to be found in the lobby of the hotel).
 

Upon closer inspection, the Tropen nibs turned out to be true gems. Not only were they remarkably thin and flexible, but when tested by my trusted nib master, Thomas (a piano virtuoso), he remarked that it would be very difficult to improve upon their smoothness. The combination of EF, Flex and smoothness is simply extraordinary, and these pens will become my everyday writers, pushing aside a lovely Pelikan 400NN that is currently being repaired anyway.
 

This, I daresay, is far more satisfying than spending a fortune on a similarly excellent nib. For a mere £20, I left with two exquisite writing instruments, a timely reminder that in the world of fountain pens, much like in life, true beauty often resides beneath the surface, and a "ton" of fun, as my daughter later put it. I shall not miss the next show for the world!

 

 

[Tommaso Santojanni]

[Tommaso Santojanni]

 

Forgive me, as I have not yet mastered the art of the multiple 8 figure

[Tommaso Santojanni]

Forgive me, also, for being unable to resize these images into a more convenient dimension.

 

[Stompie]

Wow, looks like you had a great day out! Well done!

[Tommaso Santojanni]

Thank you, yes! I also met the Managing Director of Conway Stewart, who very kindly invited me for a factory tour: apparently you are located very close to them!

 

[Christopher Godfrey]

OMG, what impressive nibs you found!  Felicitazione, Tommaso!  Che sono belli, gli due!  (E sembra che tu sia un Ducatisti, anche?)

[Stompie]

On 10/14/2024 at 11:26 AM, Tommaso Santojanni said:

Thank you, yes! I also met the Managing Director of Conway Stewart, who very kindly invited me for a factory tour: apparently you are located very close to them!

 

Really, I am close to them? Did not know that!

[fireant]

Wowza those nibs!

 

[Tommaso Santojanni]

On 10/15/2024 at 6:24 AM, Christopher Godfrey said:

OMG, what impressive nibs you found!  Felicitazione, Tommaso!  Che sono belli, gli due!  (E sembra che tu sia un Ducatisti, anche?)

Indeed, I once fancied myself a racing motorcyclist, competing in the Japanese Supersport Championship during my days living in Japan. Life, however, has since blessed me with fatherhood and a lovely wife who now firmly vetoes all things motorbike. These days, I’m left to relive my “glory days” through that photograph—while in truth, I’ve acquired both a bald head and a comfortable layer of padding around the middle, the latter impeding any reasonable times around a track!

 

On 10/15/2024 at 12:00 PM, Stompie said:

Really, I am close to them? Did not know that!

Yes, they are located in Southampton!