I recently acquired a black Beaumont Pen with gold hardware from Brian Gray of the Edison Pen Company and my lifelong search for the perfect pen has ended. I feel like it is the last fountain pen I will ever need. I love simple elegance and that is what this pen is. You can see photos at the following link http://pencraftonline.com/page.cfm/Beaumont-in-Black-Ebonite. I have never reviewed a pen before but I will give it a try here.

FIRST IMPRESSION 5/5

I received the pen about a week after I ordered it from Brian. This is a large pen and at first I thought it would be too long for me. The great thing about the long barrel is that you can put an extra international ink cartridge in the barrel and use it when you are away from home and you run out of ink. I was looking for a large capacity pen to use in the hospital for writing notes and this is very handy.

APPEARANCE/DESIGN 5/5

The pen is very smooth and it shines like a fine piano. The clip is the perfect tension - neither too tight or too loose. I especially like the gold and black combination. The cap does not post and that is fine with me. It is a lite pen but the balance is perfect when writing. I have not used the included converter as I am a cartridge person. I also purchased a single pen case from Brian to hold the pen and plan on getting a 2 pen holder from him soon.

THE NIB 5/5

The most impressive part of this pen is the standard nib which Brian grinds to an incredibly smooth point. It makes for no fatigue when writing for a long time. I have never had a nib this smooth and perfect and the great thing is if it gets out of alignment Brian will tune it up for free. What a great service. The service that Brian provides is beyond compare - he returns my email questions very quickly. The nib does not skip and writes as soon as it touches the paper.

CONCLUSION

I must say that I will likely sell my pen collection of 48 pens sometime soon since this will be the only fountain pen I will need. It is a pleasure to write with this buttery smooth beautiful pen.

Barbara
(Ihave no affiliation with the Edison Pen Company)

Ok...let's all talk Barbara down form the ledge....

BTW...the Beaumont is a beautiful pen!!! But...let's not go way overboard and sell off your remaining inventory (at a count of 48...that's what I'd call it).

Give it a couple of months....see how you feel and then proceed (with caution).

Enjoy your new pen

Peter

Barbara,

Brian does build an outstanding pen! I have found that my initial euphoria about one of his wonderful pens fades over time. HOWEVER, my use of the pen and overall enjoyment tends to go up. Quality and true craftsmanship just don't go out of style.

Congrats on a great pen!

John

PS: Peter has a point... 48 pens... no rash decisions...

Congrats ! It's cool to see you sooo happy with this pen !

Don't rush and take some time to think about your other pens, don't sell them all !

If, however, you wish to GIVE your pens to a deserving soul, I will be pleased to provide my mailing address. Shameful to let those four dozen pens just collect dust!

I second that.

Thanks for all of your offers to take my pen collection off of my hands but I'll try to sell them since there are some expensive one's in the bunch that I have not used in many years. Anyone know a good place to sell them? Is eBay the only good place?

Thanks for your suggestions - Barb

Well, I guess the best place to buy and sell pens is here, on this board, in the "Market" section

As a note, I'm pretty sure Brian doesn't grind his nibs right? Correct me if I'm wrong. I know that he does however tune his nibs before sending them out.

I'm glad you enjoy the pen . I am considering getting myself a Heritage at some point.

-Zac

Barbara, I know exactly how you feel. I recently took delivery of one of Brian's Glenmonts in orange ebonite, one of the first Glenmonts he made, and I absolutely adore it. It writes beautifully and Brian st up the 14k gold Bock nib perfectly.

Yes, I think you are correct. I don't really know the terminology. I think he tunes his nibs. Thanks for the correction.

Barb

Barbara, I am really tempted to get one of Brian's pens. Do you mind letting me know what type of nib did you get?

thanks,
purpledog

I've not tried either of Brian's steel nibs, but I have a 14k monotone gold Bock nib in my Glenmont and seven Bexleys with their 18k two-tone gold nibs (also made by Bock), which Brian also offers, and I highly recommend both.

Well, actually, I do grind nibs, but I don't really advertise it.

I can do anything that Mottishaw offers, but I'm just not quite at the level he is, and I really like our agreement of him grinding my nibs for me.

So if anyone wants some grinding, adding flex, etc...I can do it, but it's not really advertised.

I think I may have found a tiny flaw in your one pen plan...

I got the standard steel nib and I love it. It is especially good when I have to take notes fast.

Don't let Brian underestimate himself. He did a great job on a stub for me a couple of months ago.

John

Yep, no pen holder is complete without a full load.

Those Edison pens are great. Here's a photo of the pen Barbara got:


Personally, I'm smitten by the Herald, which was inspired by the Sailor KoP (King of Pen). It is far more affordable while reputed to be an excellent writer.

I agree with the quote above. I own a couple Edison pens and have had Brian work on a few 'problem children' Conklins. I find his nib work as good as the big names we see in this forum. As the owner of 2 Menlo's I can say his pens are stunning.

I'm the proud new owner of a Menlo - my first pen from Brian. Beautiful to hold, beautiful to look at and a great writer.

Ah well I am even more impressed now than I was before with you. Maybe you'll be hearing from me sometime if I ever get some extra cash .

-Zac