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Danitrio Cum Laude


French

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Introduction & First Impressions

Since buying a Danitrio raw ebonite Densho, I’ve been enamored with the Danitrio brand, and impressed with the quality. I’m constantly on the lookout for a reasonably priced Dani. After missing out on one of the Cum Laude’s on the green board I emailed winedoc to see if he had anything similar in his warehouse. He had this gray/blue Cum Laude and I took a chance on it. Here is the review

 

 

Appearance, Fit and Finish 4.9 out of 5

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/french_lewis/my%20pens/IMG_2176.jpg

When the pen arrived it was in the same wooden box the raw ebonite Densho comes in, which is a very nice presentation case. I opened the box and saw the pen. I was immediately impressed with the depth and visual interest of the celluloid. I’m guessing this is made from a rod of celluloid, since I can’t find a seam anywhere on the pen. The cap screws on securely, and the gold color metal trim is installed well. The clip is tight, and while a spring-loaded clip would be nice, this is very functional.

 

Design, Size, Weight 4.9 out of 5

I would call this pen torpedo shaped. The pen is rather light, especially considering its size of 5.875” capped. The width at the section is about 0.5”, which is a bit wide, but is the width that I find very comfortable. The Cum Laude is very well balanced unposted, and since I don’t post, I can’t comment on the balance while posted. The cap is light, so I don’t think posting would make an overly back heavy pen.

 

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/french_lewis/my%20pens/IMG_2177.jpg

 

Nib Design and Performance 4.9 out of 5

The pen came with medium steel iridium point Germany nib. The nib was very smooth out of the box and the pen was a medium-wet writer. The nib was on the fine side of medium, which is what I asked Kevin (winedoc) for. However, I had been contemplating a custom ground nib for a while and this pen turned out to be the pen I sent to Dillon (dillo on FPN) for a custom grind.

 

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/french_lewis/my%20pens/IMG_2178.jpg

 

Dillon ground me an italic nib, and the nib really gave my poor handwriting some character. There is good line variation between the horizontal and vertical lines. I asked for a nib with a moderate amount of tooth. Dillon provided that. The nib has a nice sweet spot, but it can be somewhat elusive, however, I am enjoying the learning curve. I would recommend Dillon’s nib grinding service (in fact I just sent him a second pen), and he as a satisfaction guaranty, so, IMHO, you can’t lose. Below is a sample of my handwriting with this nib.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/french_lewis/my%20pens/IMG_2173.jpg

 

The Filling System 4 out of 5

Cartridge/Converter system, not much excitement here. The pen has metal threads on the section, so it isn’t a good candidate for conversion to eyedropper. However, I don’t think I would recommend this conversion, due to fear of staining the celluloid.

 

 

Cost 5 out of 5

Kevin sold me this pen at a very reasonable price, especially considering how much I like the pen. I consider this pen a bargain even including the $30 for the nib customization.

 

Conclusion

I would highly recommend any Danitrio pen, none of the 4 I have were a disappointment. When you combine the apparent quality control standards of Danitrio with winedoc’s outstanding customer service, this is an unbeatable combination. The Cum Laude is not a really flashy pen, which is OK with me. People seem to notice the nib, but the celluloid doesn’t scream out “look at me” like the Danitrio Tosca does. That isn’t to say the blue and gray celluloid isn’t attractive, it certainly is. The combination of classic shape and understated good looks makes the Cum Laude a pen that I plan on keeping as a regular user.

 

This pen scored a 23.7 out of a possible 25, which I consider to be outstanding. What could have given this pen a better score? An eyedropper or other integrated filling system, maybe a gold nib. However, these also would increase the price, and the Cum Laude is a reasonable priced pen for those of us who have limited funds to spend on pens.

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Nice looking pen. Congratulations. I like the italic script, and thanks for sharing the writing sample. I just sent a couple of pens to Dillon, so seeing yours makes me even more excited about getting them back. Enjoy the pen!

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thanx for the review.

I just ordered my first Danitrio.

After reading your review I am even more excited to get it

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Cool celluloid patterns on that pen. Nice review!

Out of thin air, quote of the moment (6/1/06): "boredom leads to creativity, as compulsion leads to innovation"

 

-Name your kids dudley, cause the name is feeling a little deprived =P

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Excellent review - thanks for sharing.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8, NKJV)
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The DaniTrio Cum Laude looks just like the alphaplus but the Cum Laude seems a bit shorter and fatter. It really is a wonderful looking pen and DaniTrio does a great job with the Celluloid Acetate pens. Too bad that they get overlooked for other pens. The prices are very good and the quality is excellent. The Steel nibs are also super smooth, just like the gold nibs. I find DaniTrio pens to be nice wet writers but not overly wet.

 

Great Review!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

TNS

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Thanks everyone.

 

The Cum Laude is about Densho size, somewhat bigger than the Alphaplus.

 

There is a picture of my Danitrios at this link 4 Danitrios

 

I agree that Danitrio makes a really nice pen which often gets overlooked.

 

french

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  • 5 months later...

I recently bought this pen from French, and I love it! The pen is HUGE and it towers over my other pens. However, it's quite light and very comfortable to use. I normally like to write with the cap posted, and given the light weight of this pen, it's still very well balanced posted. But I don't think I'll be posting the cap when I use this pen -- I don't want to run the risk of marking up the beautiful celluloid. This pen is just stunning.

 

Here's a writing sample:

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/danitrio.jpg

Edited by girlieg33k

Talking about fountain pens is like dancing about architecture.

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I too just received one of these from Kevin. Mine is the brown version, and it's absolutely stunning! The celluloid feels so good in my hand, and the pen writes better than most pens twice its price. The IPG nibs in these Danis are really very smooth writer! I'm so pleased!

"I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them."

- Baruch Spinoza

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I have the smaller Cum Laude, also in blue and grey and (as I said in Marketplace today) it is a lovely pen. The pen feels nice and warm in my hand (as celluloid is reportedly known to feel) and is a nice writer too.

 

edit: Thanks for the nice pen review, French! (I almost forgot to mention that! :doh: )

Edited by Maja
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I'm currently trying to fight off the desire to grab a blue/gray Cumlaude from Kev while they're available. That would make three :D

 

It's just sooo hard to resist.

"I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them."

- Baruch Spinoza

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  • 2 years later...

I just received my blue/grey Cum Laude (steel F nib) in the mail from Kevin a few days ago. It's absolutely beautiful and it's a great combination of large size and modest weight. I found the section's width bothered me a little at first (wider than I'm used to) but I got used to it pretty quickly.

 

The celluloid feels really nice, too. I keep picking the pen up and fiddling with it.

Edited by Silvermink

http://twitter.com/pawcelot

Vancouver Pen Club

 

Currently inked:

 

Montegrappa NeroUno Linea - J. Herbin Poussière de Lune //. Aurora Optima Demonstrator - Aurora Black // Varuna Rajan - Kaweco Green // TWSBI Vac 700R - Visconti Purple

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I certainly think that they are among the most attractive celluloids around. I have one that sees a lot of action - it is a great writer as well.

The Danitrio Fellowship

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