Omas Extra Flessible Nib

April 6, 2011

First Impression (9/10):

I have been using Omas Pens for many years now and have been writing with the Paragon, the big brother, to this pen daily for about 2 years now. With traveling more for work and the need for an Airplane friendly pen, I purchased an Omas Arte Italiana Milord Fountain Pen. I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to get it with the new Vintage Extra Flessible Nib. I think my new friend and I will have many great years of enjoyable writing! 

Appearance & Design (9/10):

The design is the classic, basic 12 sided Omas style.

Construction and quality (10/10):

The pen has a very solid feel. The entire pen is composed of cotton resin. Initially I was concerned because the Paragon I am use to writing with has a gold/metal bottom portion, so it has some weight to the bottom of it, where this version does not. Without the gold around the bottom, this pen still has a decent weight to it, while being light weight.

Dimensions (10/10):

With Cap Screwed On: 6

Cap Alone: 2.5

Pen Body Alone: 5

With Cap Posted: 7.5

Nib & Performance (9/10):

Omas Extra Flessible

14K Yellow Gold, Extra Fine

This nib is Extra Flessible, so it has a springy feel to it when writing. It still stills firm during normal writing, but with the addition of pressure, it flexes and bends very nicely to adjust the width and boldness of the line that is being transferred to the paper.

Filling System & Maintenance (9/10):

I am use to writing with Piston fill fountain pens. I have never been into the cartridges, but throwing out the cartridge and replacing it with a new one upon landing has been much easier that taking along many different bottles of ink, especially at security !!

I have written with the converter, as well as the cartridges, and the ink has flowed freely and consistently with no blockages. It has started writing each time I have written with it. (I use Aurora Black when I filled the converter and Omas cartridges when using cartridges.)

Cost & Value (8/10):

This pen retails for $550. It is in line with what would be expected for a pen of this caliber.

Packaging (10/10):

The packaging is a little different than my previous Omas purchases. The pen case that it came with was not the usual leatherette type case, but rather a velvety material. It was light gray/white and seems to be ok to keep the pen in while in your shirt pocket without showing through the pocket a lot.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts (9/10):

I am happy with this purchase. I think I will have many years of writing pleasure with this new addition to my collection, but being one of the only cartridge/converter pens I have, it should get more use than any of my piston fills. I would recommend it highly, especially with the Extra Flessible nib!

The writing sample below was written with the converter in the pen and filled with Aurora Black ink on a Rhodia #18 pad.

Edited April 6, 2011 by ftnpenlover