Celebration Ceblopast

[kazoolaw]

Prologue



Carl posted an offer to test drive a new pen in exchange for a review being posted on FPN. Everything about the posting, and the webpage it linked to, said this was well thought out and promising. He wanted seasoned members, presumably who would have experience and perspective.

I picked the Celebration Cebloplast: the material was gorgeous, the pen itself looked promising. All I had to do was take it for a few laps, pass it on to the next reviewer, and post a review.

What could go wrong with such a clever and professional marketing plan?

Arrival

Soon enough the pen arrived, securely packaged, with very nice material along with it. A business card, an offer for a discount on a future purchase, and the pen itself.

The Celebration was a bit smaller than I anticipated. I was thinking Danitrio Mae West size. Clearly my mistake from not looking at the photo closely enough. It's posed here with some familiar pens to give a sense of scale: MB 149, Parker 51 Flighter, Lamy Vista.

 

 

The pen was bright, shiny, with nothing amateur about its appearance or presentation. The material had genuine depth, something lacking from the others shown.

Time to ink it up.

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

I really need to write things down: it was either Waterman or Akkerman ink which fueled my testing. The converter filled without problem, and ink flow began right away: no remaining oils or debris.

The nib is generic: an expert could probably identify it immediately as a Jowo, Bock, or otherwise. Throughout its stay the nib was flawless, if bland. It ran a medium standard line from a stiff nib. Don't get me wrong: there was no problem with it. The nib wrote just fine, only without flex or line variation. It would have been a mistake to expect such. The nib, feed, and section were well integrated into the rest of the pen.

But, I picked this pen for its looks. Shallow, but I've always been a sucker for a pretty face. And this pen is pretty, handsome, just plain good looking.

I had the pen for several days before noticing a seam around the cap which I assume is how a clip would be attached if one chose. The cap and barrel were perfectly polished, without lines or scuffs. The cap/barrel and the barrel/section threads were well done. The cap attached securely. Sorry, I'm not a rotation counter, but the cap didn't seem to take too many or too few turns. When closed the cap aligned straight with the rest of the pen.

The proportions of the cap and barrel, both length and shape were attractive. Without the voluptuous curves of the Mae West, the Celebration reminded me of the Nakaya Neo-Standard: curvy but not to excess. The ends of both the cap and barrel were well executed, with consistent radii(?) all the way around.

Now the hard part: what I didn't like. There is nothing about the design or execution for me to criticize. I do have several personal preferences that came into play.

The section has a waist: I refer mine straight, or at least without the hourglass shape. Some folks clearly prefer this shape, and it was nicely done. The threads next to the section were not sharp, so when my grip went up the barrel there was no discomfort in doing so.

As I noted above, this is a slender pen. You can see how it compares with a 51, which is a daily user of mine. Combined with the section, the pen just felt too small in my hand. In fairness, it felt balanced posted or without the cap. Its just not what I would use for long periods of writing.

 

Conclusion

This pen is a gem. Finely crafted, well designed, thought out presentation, clever marketing strategy. It didn't match my personal quirks, but based on all I've seen I'm confident that Carl would work with his customer to match a pen to those particular choices. After all, that's the reason for going to a small shop for a one-off, or limited edition.

When I started out in the hobby there were no Carl Fishers, or Newton Pens, or Scriptorium Pens, or Bruno Rossi, or Thompson Pens, or Henry Simpole or others Ive forgotten. We are very fortunate to have choices for pens we get to have customized for ourselves.

Take a good look at Fisher of Pens if you're in the market. I think you'll be pleased.

gary

PS-The marketing flaw? Relying on the tester to be timely. My apologies!

Edited March 23, 2015 by gary

[Carl Fisher - F3 Pens]

Thanks Gary! Great review.

 

It's fun to get everyone's take on size. I've been told that size pen is both "too big" and "too small" which means it's just right in the middle

 

Part of custom pen making is to tailor them to a customers specific needs. This one was more of a middle of the road approach.

 

No apologies necessary on being timely. You're the first one to get a review up there which makes you the early bird