All Pens and Ephemera

Montegrappa is easily our favorite Italian luxury pen maker. The company is filled with master designers and artisans. Our Montegrappa Nazionale Flex fountain pen is a limited edition. Numbered 48 of 100, it is more than a pretty pen. It has a flexi 14k gold nib! You will write from extra fine to about 1mm wide. There is a little up-front pressure that gives quickly with a little pressure. It isn't a wet noodle, but you need to go gently on it until you learn to feel how it performs. We tested the pen with water, and its piston fills well. The color of the near mint condition pen is called "Indian Rainbow" and the trim is solid sterling silver. Comes with its original box, sealed bottle of blue ink and a pamphlet under the pad. 13.7cm capped.

Rounding out our collection of Levenger Verona fountain pens is this purple model. We love how the acrylic undulates from light to dark purple. It is strongly suspected that these were made by Stipula in Italy. Our pen comes with a standard international converter, but it also takes like cartridges. Click the headline for close-ups. There is a two-tone 14k gold nib. You will write a nice broad line with it. It has just a touch of feedback. 13.8cm capped.

The late 1940s brought the invention of the Sheaffer TouchDown filler. This pen used pneumatics to fill a standard ink sac using a series of metal tubes and an O-ring seal in the tail of the pen. We love these simple filling systems. We think this pen is called a Sheaffer Craftsman, but we aren't sure. We restored it with a new ink sac and O-ring. Its gold-plated trim shows some brassing, but it isn't hideous. The read of the blue pen shows wear from use but no cracks or serious blemishes. You will write a firm, fine line with its two-tone 14k gold nib. It has a small hint of feedback. Click the headline for close-ups. 13cm capped.

Glittering blue acrylic swirls make this Levenger Verona fountain pen a real stunner. It looks almost like new with minimal wear. It comes complete with a standard international converter, but it also can use the same style cartridges. You will write a nice medium line with its two-tone 14k gold nib. Compared to the grey model of this pen below, the blue pen's nib is a little firmer with a touch of feedback. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.8cm capped.

Odds are pretty strong that these Levenger Verona fountain pens were made by Stipula in Italy. Its deep silvery-grey swirls reminds us of the stunning hour or so before a daylong summer thunderstorm over the suburbs of Chicago. Those were days where the air felt electrical and one's mind tingled with the proximity to raw nature and a desire to take the time to write a story, the scent of fresh rain mingling with the scent of an open bottle of ink. Our fair Verona looks almost new and sports a buttery smooth broad 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. It fills with an included standard international converter. 13.8cm capped.

GARAGE SALE ITEM 8: Ever say to yourself, "I need to pour out a dirty bag of third tier pens and parts and just revel in the joy of it all?" Well, then, my friend, today is your lucky, lucky day. There's nothing special in here. It is literally a dirty bag of parts. If you ever wanted some cheap old pens to tear apart to learn how to do pen restoration, this is ideal. No Refunds. No Returns.

GARAGE SALE OFFERING #3: The theme of this pairing is silver and broken clips. There is a sterling silver Tiffany (as in Breakfast at....) ballpoint pen and a likely silver plated Wahl-Eversharp pencil, also missing a clip. The pen has a black refill. We don't know how well the ballpoint actually works, and we aren't sure if the pencil works at all. Fix 'em. Melt 'em down. We don't care. It is a garage sale bargain. No returns. No refunds.

Esterbrook J-model pens are fun to collect for all of the dozens of nibs the company sold. Overall, this is a standard black J-model. Remarkably, it still has a functional Esterbrook imprinted ink sac. More impressive is that it comes with an upgraded 2284 steel nib. This was intended as a "Signature Stub" nib. It has some gentle oblique and stub qualities, but, overall, it writes more like a double-broad nib. Take it easy on some corners, as it can dig in a little. However, the nib can be extremely smooth when you get it angled correctly. The cap and barrel have some wear from use but no cracks. 12.8cm capped.