[Man-in-Need]

I might as well be the one to break this to people. The Monteverde Mega Ink Ball has arrived and in my opinion has blown away the Vanishing Point as a fat, comfortable, excellent, aesthetic pen.

Packaging: Gorgeous, solid black with a flip top that unveils a velvet cover inscribed with the Monte Verde logo. That lifts up to show a foam cover for all but the black Monte Verde Ink Bottle. Finally we get to the white interior which shows the color pen with 4 nibs in toto (3 extra and 1 with the body), and an owner's manual w/ all pertinent information. Overall, this is the kind of ultramodern packaging that you could display in your room without feeling embarrassed, somewhat like the Graf Von Faber-Castell line.

Nib: The much touted nib. Really decimates the rest of the FP crowd. Each nib is good for (reportedly) 1 km of writing. It features the obligatory rollerball but an airy section around it for ink suction. Solid construction that features an integrated, screwed in converter to prevent coming out accidentally, as happened with my erstwhile Phileas. Superficially, this does not differ much from what one would see on a rollerball or BP. However, the writing parts wheat from chaff.

Writing: I thought the VP was the standard for control when it came to Fountain Pens, or much else that sucked ink. When one uses the Mega Ink Ball, it flows with more control than what VP users are wont to. At the same time, it has none of the skittishness that accompanies FP's, nor the trouble starting that plagues BP's (not the oil company). It is a remarkably moderate writing experience where one does not have to force the writing. One can simply move the arm primarily and the hand secondarily to get an even flow. Since the pen does not slim down to anorexic proportions like the VP, I do not cramp my hands when writing for 5 odd minutes at a stretch. This would be perfect for those with arthritis. The thickness of the pen is as sturdy as the writing.

Pen itself: The pen comes in two shades of a dark chocolate black or light cherry. Naturally, I chose red because black has too much of a slimming effect. From the photos that Norman has provided, it looks rather dinky, like potatoes in a platinum dinner setting. But when considered with the packaging and all else, it achieves a good degree of style. Though some will complain about the fact that it must be unscrewed to be opened as opposed to lower end fountain pens which sometimes snap, retract, or be prompted with a button (a la VP), anyone who uses more than a reptilian brain when writing will not object to a capping system that is quite tight and not lacking in the least. I can find very few faults with the coloring or the MV logo on the end cap. The pen implies very dressed down tastes as well as a compromise. I believe that this pen will become a kind of belwether for the industry and may force everyone to re-evaluate what a true fountain pen, let alone rollerball is.

In conclusion the pen is like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs: Smoke, thunder, shock waves, and all left to re-adjust to a radically different world.

I will post writing samples quickly and in a subsequent post.

[DrPJM1]

Thanks for your review. I have been waiting to try one.

Why 3 Rollerball nibs?

[Man-in-Need]

They seem to have given three extra rollerball, if you can call them that, nibs as well because it will be enough to tide a user over until they can offer refills. I really can only speculate because it seems strange to me that they would not already be offering replacement heads. Perhaps they are waiting to see consumer reaction, and also trying to find a number that is both sufficient as well as economical for all parties. I hope they do offer extra nibs without buying an extra pen. That would seem very calculating as well as money grubbing. But I will withhold judgement until further down the road.

[petra]

Hmm. So do you think Man-In-Need kinda likes the new pen?

Thanks for the enthusiastic review! I'll look forward to the writing samples and the "in-progress" reports.

Petra

[Man-in-Need]

I apologize if the reviews seem rather fawning, but I write extemporaneously and I was wrapped up in the spirit of eulogizing the pen. In spite of all my inflated language, I still regard the pen as the best I have yet tried. I am trying to upload the photos from the Kodak digital camera, but the computer won't recognize the connection. When that happens, I will upload the photos. If anyone asks, say that my computer is suffering from a disease: Windows. I shall advise others to take up this pen and comment. The writing I have done so far has avoided the Jackson Pollock effect that occurs with a usual FP nib. HisNibs himself has praised it as a smooth write. I hope to hear other reactions.

[tryphon]

Man-in-Need, on Apr 25 2006, 04:51 PM, said:

I apologize if the reviews seem rather fawning, but I write extemporaneously and I was wrapped up in the spirit of eulogizing the pen. In spite of all my inflated language, I still regard the pen as the best I have yet tried. I am trying to upload the photos from the Kodak digital camera, but the computer won't recognize the connection. When that happens, I will upload the photos. If anyone asks, say that my computer is suffering from a disease: Windows. I shall advise others to take up this pen and comment. The writing I have done so far has avoided the Jackson Pollock effect that occurs with a usual FP nib. HisNibs himself has praised it as a smooth write. I hope to hear other reactions.

I believe they buy the writing points from Borghini. Borghini invented the fountain pen ink rollerball. You can buy Borghini pens with the same writing point: in the U.S. they are known as Borghini Ink-O-Sphere pens.
They are very inexpensive and the writing experience is the same.....

[Sidney]

Mega™ Inkball™ point: The world's first fountain pen with a rollerball tip and tungsten carbide ball. Worldwide patents pending. They are not the first rollerball to use fountain pen ink. If they bought the points from Borghini then I don't think they would be applying for patents.

Each Inkball™ point will last about one kilometer of writing! Sounds like they wear out rather quickly

color matched jewelry-grade chromium What does color matched mean?

a bottle of highest quality MonteVerde™ ink MonteVerde has never offered bottles to my knowledge. They only offer cartridges on their web site.

This post has been edited by Sidney: 28 April 2006 - 11:47 AM

[His Nibs]

Quote

I believe they buy the writing points from Borghini. Borghini invented the fountain pen ink rollerball. You can buy Borghini pens with the same writing point: in the U.S. they are known as Borghini Ink-O-Sphere pens.
They are very inexpensive and the writing experience is the same.....

Hi Giovanni,

I hope this note finds you well. Your statement above is not quite correct. YAFA is the North American distributor of Borghini. Neither the filling system nor the writing experience are the same. Jerry Greenberg, the president of YAFA/Monteverde, assures me that the technology used is in the Mega*Ball and the Ink-O-Sphere are totally different. Monteverde spent 2 years developing the technology -- patents pending -- for the Mega luxury pens. He's on a plane flight as we speak, but gave me permission -- through his Blackberry before they closed the aircraft doors to quote him directly:

"Yafa is the exclusive North American distributor of Borghini. However the Mega Pen is not based on the Borghini system."

Hopefully this will clear up any confusion, but feel free to contact Monteverde directly at 1-800-YAFA-PEN if you have additional questions.

Regards,

Norman Haase
His Nibs.com
www.hisnibs.com
Blog: http://hisnibs.blogspot.com

[tryphon]

His Nibs, on Apr 27 2006, 06:07 PM, said:

Quote

I believe they buy the writing points from Borghini. Borghini invented the fountain pen ink rollerball. You can buy Borghini pens with the same writing point: in the U.S. they are known as Borghini Ink-O-Sphere pens.
They are very inexpensive and the writing experience is the same.....

Hi Giovanni,

I hope this note finds you well. Your statement above is not quite correct. YAFA is the North American distributor of Borghini. Neither the filling system nor the writing experience are the same. Jerry Greenberg, the president of YAFA/Monteverde, assures me that the technology used is in the Mega*Ball and the Ink-O-Sphere are totally different. Monteverde spent 2 years developing the technology -- patents pending -- for the Mega luxury pens. He's on a plane flight as we speak, but gave me permission -- through his Blackberry before they closed the aircraft doors to quote him directly:

"Yafa is the exclusive North American distributor of Borghini. However the Mega Pen is not based on the Borghini system."

Hopefully this will clear up any confusion, but feel free to contact Monteverde directly at 1-800-YAFA-PEN if you have additional questions.

Regards,

Norman Haase
His Nibs.com
www.hisnibs.com
Blog: http://hisnibs.blogspot.com

Dear Norman,
far from me the wish to start a controversy.
As you know, I also import Borghini pens. My information is different from Jerry's. Perhaps my information is inaccurate, in which case, I apologise for the confusion. In any event, the tips are similar and provide a similar writing experience. Take care,
Giovanni

[His Nibs]

tryphon, on Apr 28 2006, 05:27 AM, said:

Dear Norman,
far from me the wish to start a controversy.
As you know, I also import Borghini pens. My information is different from Jerry's. Perhaps my information is inaccurate, in which case, I apologise for the confusion. In any event, the tips are similar and provide a similar writing experience. Take care,
Giovanni

Hi Giovanni,

No problem. You and Yair will have to compare patent filings and have a 'write-off'

[tryphon]

His Nibs, on Apr 28 2006, 02:36 PM, said:

tryphon, on Apr 28 2006, 05:27 AM, said:

Dear Norman,
far from me the wish to start a controversy.
As you know, I also import Borghini pens. My information is different from Jerry's. Perhaps my  information is inaccurate, in which case, I apologise for the confusion. In any event, the tips are similar and provide a similar writing experience. Take care,
Giovanni

Hi Giovanni,

No problem. You and Yair will have to compare patent filings and have a 'write-off'

Thanks, Norm.
As always, you are a gentleman. I would like to make a statement for our FPN friends: I bought pens from Norm, his service is superb and the pens he sells are well made, interesting and excellent writers. I have some great Duke pens that I bought from hisnibs.com and I really enjoy them.
Highly recommended!

[Sonnet]

So I checked out Monteverde's web site after reading this review. Pardon my ignorance but I still feel confused. So the Mega Ink Ball pen is...a rollerball? That emulates a fountain pen? And comes with several "nibs" in case the rollerball points wear out?

How is this different from the rollerball pens that take fountain pen cartridges, like Pelikan's? I'm not raining on your parade; I'm curious because it sounds like a cool pen.

[His Nibs]

tryphon, on Apr 28 2006, 07:51 PM, said:

Thanks, Norm.
As always, you are a gentleman. I would like to make a statement for our FPN friends: I bought pens from Norm, his service is superb and the pens he sells are well made, interesting and excellent writers. I have some great Duke pens that I bought from hisnibs.com and I really enjoy them.
Highly recommended!

Hi Giovanni,

This could get embarrassing , but I've purchased from Gio in the past too, both for personal use and on behalf of my customers. As everybody knows, he's the best! Now, let's send each other pens in celebration of our mutual-appreciation society! The only bone I have to pick with you Gio, is that you copied me by marrying a beauty from the Far East . Teresa and I just had our 14th wedding anniversary this week (I'll send everyone our address so that you can forward expensive gifts)!

[His Nibs]

Sonnet, on Apr 28 2006, 09:11 PM, said:

So I checked out Monteverde's web site after reading this review. Pardon my ignorance but I still feel confused. So the Mega Ink Ball pen is...a rollerball? That emulates a fountain pen? And comes with several "nibs" in case the rollerball points wear out?

How is this different from the rollerball pens that take fountain pen cartridges, like Pelikan's? I'm not raining on your parade; I'm curious because it sounds like a cool pen.

Hi Sonnet,

The wonderful and enthusiastic customer review that started this thread caused a little confusion with the word 'nib'.

I've hopefully explained it clearly on my website, but basically Monteverde refers to this as a fountain pen with a rollerball tip, in that it will not only take ink cartridges, but the included piston converter can be filled by drawing up bottled ink right through the tip, as in a 'nibbed' fountain pen. That's one of the ways it differs from the Borghini Ink-O-Sphere as I understand it (I've never seen the Borghini -- but I know that Giovanni will correct me if that's in error).

This bit of ad copy from Monteverde will hopefully clarify things further:



A fuller explanation is on my website.

[Titivillus]

His Nibs, on Apr 28 2006, 09:32 PM, said:

Sonnet, on Apr 28 2006, 09:11 PM, said:

So I checked out Monteverde's web site after reading this review. Pardon my ignorance but I still feel confused. So the Mega Ink Ball pen is...a rollerball? That emulates a fountain pen? And comes with several "nibs" in case the rollerball points wear out?

How is this different from the rollerball pens that take fountain pen cartridges, like Pelikan's? I'm not raining on your parade; I'm curious because it sounds like a cool pen.

Hi Sonnet,

The wonderful and enthusiastic customer review that started this thread caused a little confusion with the word 'nib'.

I've hopefully explained it clearly on my website, but basically Monteverde refers to this as a fountain pen with a rollerball tip, in that it will not only take ink cartridges, but the included piston converter can be filled by drawing up bottled ink right through the tip, as in a 'nibbed' fountain pen. That's one of the ways it differs from the Borghini Ink-O-Sphere as I understand it (I've never seen the Borghini -- but I know that Giovanni will correct me if that's in error).

This bit of ad copy from Monteverde will hopefully clarify things further:



A fuller explanation is on my website.

AM I confused in assuming that the front end of this pen will wear out over time and need to be replaced?