Michel Perchin LE Blue Serpent Fountain Pen

[yachtsilverswan]

That is an outstanding pen, amazingly beautiful - whats it like to hold and write with?

 

Hey Shelly -

 

Because of my early experience with a Montblanc 149, I have always liked a big pen. While I do not have unusually large hands (glove size 7.5 - men's medium), I have nonetheless found that narrow pens bring my fingers too close together on the grip section and prevent me from relaxing in the grip.

 

Additionally, I have always somehow psychologically equated weight with quality - a Mercedes is heavier than a Ford, lead crystal is heavier than glass - and so I have come to prefer metal pens with some heft to them. I have a 1952 Cadillac limousine by Derham that tips the scales at over 3 tons - and it's the best built most indestructible car I have ever seen. Last year, the kid I hire to drive the car when I want a night on the town backed the Derham into his own Honda Civic, which was also sitting in my driveway. The Derham picked the Civic up (no tread marks) and carried it four feet before dropping the deeply dented and creased Japanese sheetmetal. Not a scratch on the Derham - not a ding, not a dent - nothing. Newton was right, F=ma.

 

This pen has both size and mass - the large size of the Montblanc 149 (see the comparison photo in my review) and the weight of a gold brick - twice the weight of a Pelikan Majesty.

 

Surprisingly, even to me, the weight does not push the pen down uncomfortably into my grip - nor does it cause the nib to drag the paper. The nib just glides - smooth as butter (to use an overworked but very appropriate fountain pen metaphor).

 

Thanks for your comments.

Edited February 3, 2008 by yachtsilverswan

[Ghost Plane]

A land yacht AND that glorious pen?! You're determined to keep me green with envy, aren't you?

[yachtsilverswan]

A land yacht AND that glorious pen?! You're determined to keep me green with envy, aren't you?

 

You're keeping up just fine GP. After all, the Derham won't fly.

Edited February 3, 2008 by yachtsilverswan

[Ghost Plane]

Bet it would if I were at the wheel.

[greencobra]

Nice score, congrats. A beautiful pen. I'd say out of my price range but sadly my price range grows with every purchase. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do looking at it.

[texellence]

Thank you for such a great informative post about the Perchin serpent. I was not aware that all of the pens used the same nib. A great source for the lower end of the Perchin scale is ebay, as several have noted. "Haytne" is the ebay seller name of a source that sells this at a better price..ie, "Make best offer". I saw an $850 Executive roller ball accepted at $550, and a $999.99 Executive (which I think actually retails for $990) go for $660.00 For those who want the feel of a Perchin nib but don't have the budget for our heart's delights, this might be a way for you to get into the market. I have the Executive ballpen...I enjoy the girth and the weight of it, but it is a heavy pen and perhaps not for everyone. I think of all the pens I have my very favorite is the Montblanc Charles Dickens...wonderful ergonomically.

 

[joshua]

michel perchin i'm lost i guess that you would pay so much for a writing pen but you must have very good knowledge of those

pens. is it really that good for such a high price ocourse i'm just a guy that always used any pen that was advaailable so i'm not a person that would appreciatate top quality. although if it is what you want why not get it. I'd love to try one out some day just dreaminga bit joshus

[slimnib]

Must be me, but I find the pen to be overdone.

 

To each his own.

 

Good luck with your new pen.

 

Happy for you.

 

Harv.

[yachtsilverswan]

michel perchin i'm lost i guess that you would pay so much for a writing pen but you must have very good knowledge of those

pens. is it really that good for such a high price ocourse i'm just a guy that always used any pen that was advaailable so i'm not a person that would appreciatate top quality. although if it is what you want why not get it. I'd love to try one out some day just dreaminga bit joshus

 

Evening Joshua -

 

Thanks for your note. Michel Perchin pens are great writers - they lay down a smooth wet line. But of course, no one pays a fist full of hundred dollar bills for a pen that just writes well. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of pens that write just as well as my Blue Serpent - and at 1/10 the price.

 

Michel Perchin pens in general, and the Blue Serpent in particular are about artistic craftsmanship - the finely carved solid block of sterling silver - the guilloche engraving - the layer upon layer on translucent enameling - the Imperial Russian historical themes.

 

Quality of function is available in many pens in the $100-$300 range - and discovering the pleasure of writing with those pens is what Fountain Pen Network is all about.

 

The Michel Perchin pens go beyond function - they are art.

Edited October 31, 2008 by yachtsilverswan

[yachtsilverswan]

Must be me, but I find the pen to be overdone.

 

To each his own.

 

Good luck with your new pen.

 

Happy for you.

 

Harv.

 

Hey Harv -

 

Yeah - the Blue Serpent is certainly ornate. Some would certainly find the pen "over the top," but truthfully that fits with parts of my personality. I use it as a dress pen, not as a daily writer. The ornate design follows the Imperial Russian style from which the pen is themed. The Faberge Blue Serpent Clock Egg, designed and crafted for presentation to the Czarina was equally ornate, like most furnishings and jewelry of the time. But pulled from the jacket pocket of a well tailored dark suit or tuxedo, the Blue Serpent pen looks very appropriate.

 

Michel Perchin does make pens that are less ornate, but crafted with similarly laborious techniques and similarly precious materials. www.mppens.com Their Executive line is understated black lacquer with just a small band of color at the top of the cap, and very little ornamentation.

 

As you said - to each his own. For me, this pen fits quite well.

 

Thanks for your comment.

Edited October 31, 2008 by yachtsilverswan

[tarheel1]

Amazing pen. Just got a Jules Verne and now i see this one.