Edison "Savage Detective" Pearl

[xmattxyzx]

_{And then one of the boys asked me: where are Cesárea Tinajero's poems? and I emerged from the swamp of mi general Diego Carvajal's death or the boiling soup of his memory, an inedible, mysterious soup that's poised about our fates, it seems to me, like Damocles's sword or an advertisement for tequila, and I said: on the last page, boys. And I looked at their fresh, attentive faces and I watched their hands turn those old pages...And when I had sat back down in my chair I asked them again what they thought, now that they had a real poem by Cesárea Tinajero herself in front of them, with no talk in the way, the poem and nothing else, and they looked at me and then, holding the magazine between them, they plunged back into that puddle from the 1920s, that closed eye full of dust, and they said gee, Amadeo, is this the only thing of hers you have...}

-Roberto Bolaño, The Savage Detectives

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/3444775945_a782233324.jpg

 

 

This is it. The pen. I'm done. Game over. The grail, as one may say. This review doesn't have any numbers, but for those of you who crave some quantitative measure in your review (I am one of them) I give this pen 227/227. The organization of this review is rather whimsically thrown together and is therefore not too coherent. It's my first!

 

Preamble: I had had an eye on Edison Pens ever since I joined FPN--the red and black ebonite Herald captivated me, but I was able to not buy it. Gary (MYU) told me early on that Brian (Edison Pens) was coming out with a Nakaya Piccolo style pen--yes! I thought. But then I caught Danitrio Fever and bought a Takumi (which I love). I really wanted a Densho, however, and asked Brian what type of pen is closest to the Densho. He recommended the #76 and I pondered getting it with a satin finish and without a clip. I changed my mind once I realized that the #76 does not post--since I write on the bus and metro, I really need to post. But the Pearl wasn't a compromise, as I felt that the #76 was too close to my Takumi anyway.

 

 

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3445613516_1c37a90c95.jpg

(Photo disclaimer: I didn't realize how difficult taking pictures of pens was. These were taken under disparate conditions and circumstances. Also, I color adjusted some of the photos while using a monitor that was manufactured sometime in the 1840s. As a result, some of the pictures aren't great. Maybe I'll redo some of them)

 

 

The Engraving: I saw that Brian offered both laser and hand engraving for a very reasonable price. That piqued my interest. I decided that my next pen--the pen (allow me to emphasize that)--needed to be special and important. (A personal aside: I have been writing a book for a few years and recently got some good news re:it, so I wanted something especially important as a milestone type thing.) The engraving is a "poem" by a character from the novel Los detectives salvajes (The Savage Detectives) by Roberto Bolaño. The enigmatic character, Cesárea Tinajero, is a poet who in her youth started an avant-garde poetry movement, and later completely vanishes. The protagonists spend a large part of the novel trying to find her. For me the engraving represents the power and magic of poetry, and to a larger extent, literature. (I should mention that the poem itself is little more than a visual joke.) I wanted the engraving on the section because I didn't want the pen to offer any distractions (my thumb covers it entirely) but I wanted to be able to see it when I wanted.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/3445614682_2fd6b57836.jpg

Photo taken by Brian of Edison Pens

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/3445612328_f1d471b870.jpg

 

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3315/3445597012_da290431d7.jpg

 

 

 

The Feel: Fantastic. Visually it looks very similar to the brushed Makrolon of the Lamy 2000 but on a tactile level it is much more...complex. As others have noted ebonite just feels good--there is a warmth. My polished ebonite Takumi has a pleasant coolness at first touch, but the satin finish has no such coolness. But that's ok--just different.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3445610302_c9430fa3bd.jpg

 

The Look: I love the compact stealth look of the black satin clipless Pearl.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3444781691_58bc4581e4.jpg

(A comparison shot--Lamy Safari, Hero 616, Pelikan m200, Lamy 2000, Edison Pearl, Rotring 600, Danitrio Takumi)

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/3444788817_c8445c68b5.jpg

 

 

 

The Smell: Sometimes it smells a little farty, but only if I rub it really hard. I typically don't rub my pens very hard so it isn't a problem.

 

The Service: I pretty much talked to Brian for about 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks. This was through phone, email and chat (only the coolest of the cool need apply). Brian is a cool guy who will shoot the breeze with you during his workday.

 

The Wait: Damned, interminable wait. I was hoping Brian would make my pen as soon as I ordered it, drive that night and give it to me. He did no such thing. It was, however, worth the wait.

 

The Miscellany: There are so many other details I could add, so I will. It's well balanced posted and not. I was able to customize the concavity of the section to fit my hand. Brian adjusts the nibs to just how you want them. The pen is c/c and eyedropper--which is really perfect for me, as I am of the belief that every pen has a perfect ink; so I used the c/c until I found that ink and then used the ED once that ink was found.

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/3445603672_d7414f1531.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3444794125_77df72e572.jpg (I use a mix of the two)

 

The Nib: I would have loved to have been able to afford the Edison gold nib but I could not. (I had to forgo beer, lunch and other frivolities for quite a while in order to afford this bad boy.) This is the upgraded steel nib in a Fine point. It's a fantastic writer that is super smooth and responsive with just a hint of feedback. It writes a little wider than the Pelikan F so I may have it ground to an extra-fine. Although if I do that I'm thinking I may as well just buy the gold nib! Agh!

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3444797527_ee94ec8057.jpg

 

The Conclusion: This pen is my ideal pen in every way. I can't recommend Edison Pens enough!

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/3444780887_b66894e301.jpg

 

 

I know I forgot lots of stuff, so feel free to ask questions and I will answer them! I hope this first review of mine was enjoyable!

Edited April 16, 2009 by xmattxyzx

[Abhik]

WOW!!! Very innovative and heart felt review! Congratulations! Enjoy your pen! Cool pictures. Now only the nib issue: how this nib writes wider than Pelikan F nib? I thought Pelikan F nibs are the widest among 'F' category nibs!!

Engraving is awesome!

Cheers!

Abhik

[WendyNC]

xmattxyzx, I could feel your response to this pen right through the pixels, which made for a thoroughly enjoyable review. The idea of using the converter until you find the perfect ink and then going for it as an ED makes great sense. Would you like to show us a writing sample?

[xmattxyzx]

WOW!!! Very innovative and heart felt review! Congratulations! Enjoy your pen! Cool pictures. Now only the nib issue: how this nib writes wider than Pelikan F nib? I thought Pelikan F nibs are the widest among 'F' category nibs!!

Engraving is awesome!

Cheers!

Abhik

 

 

I'm happy you enjoyed it! You know, I'm thinking the nib has much more to do with the flow/ink. The nib is adjusted to about 6.5 on the "wetness" scale and Heart of Darkness has a propensity (for me, at least) to spread like crazy. I may experiment and try a different black to mix with the Sepia and see how that goes.

 

 

xmattxyzx, I could feel your response to this pen right through the pixels, which made for a thoroughly enjoyable review. The idea of using the converter until you find the perfect ink and then going for it as an ED makes great sense. Would you like to show us a writing sample?

 

Thanks so much! Yes, I would be happy to share a writing sample. I'll try to upload it at some point today.

 

 

[Aysedasi]

A very entertaining review of a lovely pen. Thanks

[MYU]

They looked for her on the prairie

They looked for her on the hills

They looked for her on the mountains

But they could not find her.

 

Is that what the symbols represent?

 

 

Congratulations on your first Edison, Matt. And thanks for the unusual and entertaining review. I hope the Pearl gives you years of writing enjoyment.

 

~Gary

[Brian]

A great review of an interesting pen. I think Edison is becoming the next FPN darling if it isn't already. I like the ability to put a laser etching onto the section. Maybe there are other possibilities too.

[ethernautrix]

I am happy for you! I love that you got the symbol engraved on the section. That is way cool!

[ProfMike]

Awesome review!! I'm trying to put together a review for my Nakaya Piccolo, and I just haven't gotten it where I want it yet. After reading yours, I'll have to go back and give mine another go.

 

Cheers,

Mike

 

PS - This isn't helping me to not zap off an e-mail to Brian and bust my pen budget yet again

[reprieve]

I really like your custom pen with its lovely engraving. I really like Brian's work. I really like Robert Bolaño's writings. Basically, I really like your review! I hope you enjoy your Pearl for many, many years!

[jandrese]

wow. i have three edison pens, one at least old enough to be pencraft... yours, however, is fantastic. enjoy.

[DRP]

Your review was most enjoyable to read. Thanks for posting it.

[scrawlysteve]

When the Montblanc Great Writers " Archimboldi " LE comes out, you'll be getting that....

[xmattxyzx]

HA! Yes, you may be right about that.

 

Sorry for the lack of writing sample. I assure you I will upload it soon!

[Escribiente]

xmattxyzx, Great review. I really like the simplicity of design of the Pearl--everything seems to be form to function. On top of that, Brian is wonderfully patient and has very high standards for his pens. Without doubt, he's the one to make a Savage Detective pen. By the way, I'm sure you have, but just in case you haven't read it, you might like Amulet, the novel in which Bolaño develops the story of Auxilio Lacouture (The Mother of Mexican Poetry).

[Maja]

Great review, xmattxyzx!

It makes me want to buy a similar pen myself (and read the novel, too ).

Congratulations on your new Edison pen with uber-cool engraving, and also on your literary success! :clap1:

[Pippin60]

Very interesting and enjoyable review, and I have to say that pen is "way cool" I've been wanting an Edison pen for sometime now. I assume it was more custom than usual excluding the engraving because I don't see this pen on Brian's site in all black ebonite.

[Nikolaos]

very nice review and very nice looking pen !

 

Congratulations

[Loddonite]

xmatxyzx,

Thank you for the review.

I initially thought the pen's utilitarian look (cool engraving notwithstanding) was just too plain for my taste, but your writing made me read the whole review again, look at all the pictures again, read selected bits again, look at pictures again... I'm off to google now...

[ianmedium]

I watched this pen being made!!! It is so cool to witness Brians amazing talent bringing these pens together.

I really love the stealth look of it, Congratulations, a lovely lovely pen!