Pre-Owned Pens

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.

We don't know a lot about India's Ranga pens. However, we do know this is a very nice writing fountain pen with a very comfortable grip. The wide grip is excellent for people whose fingers cramp up when writing or have arthritis. You will find its golden alloy nib writes a smooth medium line. Complete with box. The pen looks nearly new. Click the headline for a close-up. 15.5cm 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 world needs more pink pens, and this Levenger Verona is a beaut. Its acrylic swirls take it from a light cotton candy color to really deep pink that gets close to red. Our pre-owned pen is in near perfection condition, with only light wear from use. Nice crisp imprint. You will write a buttery smooth broad line with its two-tone 14k gold nib. An awesome daily driver. 13.8cm 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 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.

We don't often carry hand-turned pens, but we are helping a close friend sell a collection, and this on is especially attractive. According to its "certificate of authenticity" it is an MRX Designs Green Swirl fountain pen, which was hand turned by Mark Gonzales in Brooklyn, Ohio, in 2021. Made of burl wood and green-and-white resin, it is tricked out with an "antique brass" set of trim. It still looks new, and it was a great Covid lockdown handicraft. Its golden allow nib writes a fine line with a little feedback. It appears to only take standard international cartridges. 13.1cm capped.