First Impressions

I have had some really bad experiences with Stipula but as of lately, I have had outstanding performing pens. I saw the Etruria pens and I really fell in love with all of the different colors and styles. They are not cheap at all, that’s for sure so I guess that’s why I waited so long to buy one. The right pen had to come along and so did the right price. I bought this pen from a fella in Canada that posted it for sale on the Pentrace Green Board. It took a little more than 2 weeks for it to arrive here at my door. Mail is hit or miss when it comes to the mail service in Canada. For example, I bought a Stipula Saturno from another fella in Toronto and it arrived in 6 days. That is the fastest that I have ever received a package from Canada.

The Pen came in a typical Stipula box, really nothing exciting but who really cares about the packaging. The pen is the most important thing to me, as long as it is in great shape and it writes flawless, I really do not care. Since I never owned a Stipula Etruria, I really had no expectations regarding the pen. I read about how large the pen is but that really doesn’t mean a thing to me. I have to hold it in my hand to see if the pen is the right size for me.

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

I was very excited when the pen arrived and I tore into the package and I pulled out the box. I took in a deep breath and then I opened the box, Man O Man I was blown away. The pen looked like the perfect size for my hands and the colors of this pen is truly amazing!! The pen is a very dark blue, almost a grayish color, and there is what looks to be silver swirls. The swirls have a herringbone pattern with the silver and blue alternating. From some of the pictures I have seen on the net, the blue is not as pronounced as the photos from Stipula show. It is not a big deal at all because I have plenty of blue and black pens in my collection. The color and pattern are extremely unusual and that is what makes this pen so appealing. It has a very neat appearance with a very high gloss finish. This can be a bit troublesome for a few people because the pen is a bit on the slippery side.




Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

The design of this pen is your typical large Stipula Etruria. The length of the pen capped is about is about 5.67 inches long and with the cap posted, the pen is a tad over 6 ½ inches. At its widest point, which is the center point of the pen, is well over 1 7/8 inches. This is not your Mommy’s pen, that’s for sure!!! I say that this the same length of the Pelikan M1000 capped. While the Pelikan is a bit longer than the Etruria with the cap posted, it is not by all that much. The nib on the Pelikan is substantially larger but I would consider this a competitor of the Pelikan M1000, Montblanc 149 and the OMAS Paragon full-size to just name a few.



There is a lot of heft to this pen and it weighs in at approximately 1.2 ounces. This is not a light weight pen by any means, this is one big daddy!!! The width might be too much for some people and then I would recommend getting the Smaller Etruria, unfortunately there is none that I know of that has this design. The Etruria d’Inverno closely resembles the Etruria Ocean Blue with the color and pattern. This pen is made out of celluloid Acetate and I am very partial to Celluloid pens. Acrylic is nice but I find it very difficult to match the colors, striations and patterns. Celluloid is a material that has been around for quite some time. I find it to be pretty durable under normal circumstances and the colors and patterns are absolutely mind blowing. Celluloid needs to be treated a bit differently than Acrylics, like keeping the pen out of direct sunlight for extended period of time. I wont go into all the “Do’s and Don’ts” but there are a few.

I find celluloid to have a different feel to it. I sure it is probably is just me but I find that celluloid warms up quickly in my hands and it feels almost like an extension of my hand, I feel close to the same with Ebonite. To me celluloid feels natural while Acrylics seems to feel less natural and cold. Anyways, the pen looks very classy and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and to the hands. There is a serial number on this pen and it is located under the words “Stipula” and they say “Etruria 5473”. Stipula always seems to use serial numbers but I don’t think this is a limited edition but I think they use it as a way to keep track of the pens and where they go after they leave the factory



The balance of this pen is a bit off when the cap is posted. The pen is fine and balanced without is posted. The weight of the pen seems to rest on the web of the hand, between the index finger and thumb. I find that to be extremely comfortable fit and almost like a well fitted glove. The cap band is the typical Stipula wheat design that encompasses the entire band. The cap band is made out of sterling silver, I think that contributes to the weight of this pen. Instead of using the silver and gold finish to the cap band like in the Amber Etruria, they stuck with silver. I think it gives this pen a cool refreshing touch to this pen, kind of like an Ocean would. The silver also compliments the silver and blue herringbone design of this pen. If they would have used gold instead of the silver, I think it would have lost the atmosphere and the theme of this pen. The clip is also made out of sterling silver which adds to the theme. I really dig the clip to this pen because it is spring loaded with plenty of tension to it. The good thing about it is that the pen will have an extremely snug fit while in a shirt or coat pocket. The pen being so heavy and vulnerable to slipping out of the pocket, the clip is tight enough to hold the pen in place but gentle enough not to rip your pockets when clipping the pen to your pockets.






Nib Design and Performance 5 out of 5

The original nib that came with this pen is a standard Stipula Medium width nib. I decided to swap the nib with my Saturno, which has a 1.3 Stub nib. I did try out the medium nib before swapping and I have to admit that it is super smooth and perfect flow for me, which is a heavy flow but not dripping. Now with the swapped nib, this pen has some serious character. This is my first REAL stub nib and I was always hesitant to buy pens with stub nibs due to my writing angle. With my unorthodox writing style, all stubs were very scratchy to me and I really had no need for them. Well, my curiosity of stub nibs really reached a disturbing level. I bought a Sailor Magellan Lapis Lazuli with the 21kt gold music nib and I really fooled around with the writing angle and I found the pens sweet spot. Well with this nib, the 1.3 stub, it was smooth from any angle of attack. The width is very close to that of the Sailor Music nib and extremely juicy!!! The horizontal lines on the Stipula were really thin but not as razor thin like the Sailor Music nib.



The flow on this pen is phenomenal and it really is a smooth ride from start to finish. If I were to choose only one stub nib to use for the rest of my life, I would choose either the Sailor Music nib or the Stipula 1.3 stub. I am really leaning towards the Stipula 1.3 stub to be quite honest!! The nib is made by the Bock Nib Works of Germany, this is typical of Stipula because they contract out their nib manufacturing to reduce costs. As far as I am concerned, Bock nibs are arguably one of the best nibs manufactured today. You figure a majority of pen companies’ contract out their nib manufacturing and it seems that Bock owns a majority of the market. I think the only other nibs that are more prevalent are the Iridium Point Germany nibs. What more can I say about this pen other than it is a pleasure to use?? It is really hard to compare this pen with any other pen in my collection due to the fact that each pen is unique with its own personality. This pen writes as well as my best writing pens in my collection. With that said, I will not continue on because I think I said all I needed to say in regards to the performance and the nib design of this pen.




The Filling System 4.5 out of 5

Ok, the filling system on this Stipula is called a Convertible Piston Filler. What that means is that the section unscrews and there is this very large odd looking converter. The converter holds about 4 times as much ink as a standard converter does, in fact it might hold even more than that!!! You can even remove the Convertible Piston to put in a standard cartridge converter in there and believe it or not, it reduces the weight of the pen dramatically. It seems to take a standard converter like a Waterman and also takes the international cartridges (short).



If you do not want to replace the Convertible Piston Filler with a smaller converter, then you can use the rear of the pen like a piston filler, to fill the pen. It is similar to the method Pelikan and OMAS pens uses to fill the pen with ink. The main difference is that the Piston in the Stipula is not intergraded like a Pelikan or OMAS. Regardless, you can pretend that it is intergraded!!! J/K!! I believe that the ink capacity is among one of the highest that I have ever seen. The only one I think is bigger the Stipula 22, but we won’t go there with the Stipula 22.



The only problem that I find with this filling system is that the piston knob is very loose and it moves around freely especially when the pen cap is posted. The posted cap can easily be turned and causing a really nasty mess. One way to remedy this situation is to not post the cap, that’s what I did. This pen is heavy enough and long enough to where posting is not really necessary. This is one of the few pens that I do not post the cap and that is due to the size of the pen. I could really knock the pen for a poor design when it come to the loose Faux piston knob but considering that this is not a true piston filler, it is forgivable in my opinion. Even though this is not a true piston filler, I still give it very high marks due to the large ink capacity and the versatility of different filling methods such as standard ink cartridge, standard ink converter and the Convertible Piston Filler. As the user, you can choose which method works best for you, that’s what I really like about this pen, the freedom to choose!!!

Cost 3.5 out of 5

For a wonderful pen like this, the price does not come cheap at all. The MSRP of the Stipula Etruria Ocean Blue is right around $455.00 or so. The cheapest I have seen this pen new is $339.00 at www.penseller.com. Since I bought this off of the Green Board, there is a nice price drop. I was able to get this one to my door for right around $220.00, which is a darn good price. The pen is used but I don’t think it was ever really used. The pen came in the box with all the papers and everything was in perfect shape. This is a fantastic pen at a good price; I would not have paid more for this pen. I think this pen is absolutely fantastic but over priced IMO!! I would love to get some of the other colors in the Etruria Model but the Etruria seems to be a bit of a hard find used on the green board.

Conclusion

This is one of the top tier pens from Stipula and I can see why!! The pen was manufactured to near perfection with the exception of the loose piston knob. If they would have used a bit more resistance then I would consider this to be a flawless pen. This pen will set you back a few dollars, that’s for sure, also this is a huge pen especially when it comes to the girth! This is not for people with small hands or people who like smaller, thinner and lighter pens. This is a mammoth of a pen in all aspects and if you like that kind of pen, then this very well might be for you!! By definition, this is an oversized pen and there is no doubt about it!! This pen writes like a true champ and with a nice flow of ink. I really wish they would have used a larger nib that was single tone rhodium plated to go with the theme of this pen but that is only a minor issue. Do I give this pen a SAVAGE ENDORSMENT? Yes but conditional, this pen is not for everyone!!!

Hi,

The last Stipula Etruria I had to fix also had a freely-rotating piston knob. <_<

Dillon

If they added more tension to the knob, it would make things so much better but it is rather a minor issue but annoying none the less

TNS

Great Review!

Celluloid acetate... how does this relate to the celluloid nitrate of old pens? As far as I know, they could be similar merely in name, rather than chemical composition or manufacturing process.

I've seen celluloid acetate used in many other pens before. I just want to know if celluloid acetate is another name for acrylic.

Thanks TNS,
Edward T.

I am not the foremost authority of Celluloid or celluloid like products.

Celluloid Nitrate- is a mixture of Cellulose Nitrate and Camphor. It is chemically related to the explosive nitrocellulose. I believe this is what a lot of pens were made of in the late 1920's through the 1930's. Celluloid "cellulose" is a natural or semi natural material that is contained in trees and plants. The mixture contained in Celluloid Nitrate produced some of the most beautiful pens of its time, even now. It was easier to make new patterns, colors and whatnot but the main drawback is that it takes a very long time to cure the Celluloid Nitrate rods so they can become suitable for creating pens. The largest issue with Celluloid Nitrate is the explosive nature of it. From what I was reading, numerous fires and explosions were caused by Cellulose Nitrate being stored improperly or people not knowing how to work with celluloid nitrate safely. I am a photographer and at work we have a vault full of old motion picture film made with Celluloid Nitrate. We are extremely cautious about the storage environment of our film to include both celluoid nitrate and acetate. I guess that is why the Vault is pretty cold!!!

One way to spot Celluloid nitrate pens is by smelling the inside of the cap. If the cap has a camphor smell then it is highly likely that the oen is made out of celluloid nitrate. there are only a few pen makers that use Celluloid nitrate, I know Platinum pen company uses it on the Platinum line, Columbus pens made a line of pens called Academia. I also know that Nakaya uses Celluloid nitrate on its celluloid collection pens. I am sure there are a few other companies that still use this material, in fact Bexley made a few VERY limited edition Submariner Grande pens. I guess that this material is just too unstable to use anymore especially when there are other materials like acrylic or Celluloid Acetate.

Celluloid Acetate : This is another variation of Celluloid that is very stable and does not possess the same explosive nature as does its relative, Celluloid Nitrate. It will burn but not violently like nitrate will. Like Both materials, they are somewhat natural and they can make them with some really mindblowing patterns and colors. They both take several months to cure, I even heard up to 12 months. Maybe thats why Celluloid pens are so expensive. Celluloid Acetate is now used for motion picture film along with conventional still camera film (35mm). This was a fantastic break though to the motion oicture/photographic industry. The film doesnt spontaniously combust as does C/N. Celluloid is a pretty strong material, I guess thats why they use it in film and in producing pens. Acrylics are all synthetic materials and they are extremely strong and can withstand a lot of wear and tear to include weather and UV in some doses.

I believe that Acrylics are one of the most used material in the modern pens. Acrylics have some really fantastic looking colors and patterns but I still dont think it matches up to Celluloid IMO. AS farf as strength goes, Acrylics are more durable than celluloid IMO and Celluloid pens are subject to crazing. I guess one way you can tell the difference between Celluloid nitrate and celluloid acetate is that the Nitrate has the camphor smell (reminds me of when I was a child with a cold) while the Acetate does NOT have this odor

I apologize for all of this techno mumbo jumbo but I guess this is the only way I can describe it. The information is used is from Richard Binders webpage and the book called penspeak.

If anyone knows more about celluloid, please post. I really dig celluloid and the more I learn, the better.

TNS

Delightful review!!!! And the pen is gorgeous. I'm envious!! I will have to keep my eye open for a Stipula.

Thanks for the review!

Handlebar

Hi TNS,

Thank you for the great review on this lovely pen, because that it is for sure.

The material used on the Etruria d'Inverno, and a few other pens Stipula made, is the same as used for the Etruria Blue Ocean, and as far as I know, it is indeed cellulose nitrate, as in, old exploding film material celluloid. It takes a minimum of 2 to 3 years to cure, but I think some, if not all, of the material used by Stipula, is cured for 6 years or more.

BTW, here are some pics including the d'Inverno once more .

Both retractible Etrurias:


And again, different shot:


Both retractibles with nibs extended:


A little closer to the nib:


All of the "blue" Etrurias, and all celluloids, from top to bottom the d'Inverno, the Blue Ocean, and the Indian Nights:


To show the pattern in the celluid more clearly:


And this is the way it looks in normal lighting:


Stipula only used cellulose acetate, which, BTW, also smells of camphor, on the Etruria Amber current model, so the same shape and big piston converter as the Blue Ocean. The older Amber Grande, piston filler only, the one with the pointed clip, was made of cellulose nitrate. Oh, de retractible Amber was made from cellulose acetate as well, but that dates from about the same time as the new style Amber.

There are a number of Etruria models in resin as well, and those are generally about $100 or more cheaper than the celluloid, both cellulose nitrate and acetate, models. I guess that has to do a lot with the availability and cost of the material. Also, it is very difficult to make these pens, with regard to craftmanship required, and all of these pens are hand turned from solid rods of material. I've seen some of those rods. It's impressive! Oh, something else I think of: celluloid is an extremely tough material. Yes, it may not be as durable as resin, but resin breaks and cracks much more easily. Celluloid by nature is so tough it generally doesn't.

Before using nibs branded with the Stipula name, they used to make pens under different brand names, for those brands, like Pineider, they generally used good quality IPG nibs, I think also made by Bock. There even were proto-Etruria models, which looked very similar to the current ones, but just didn't have the Etruria specific trimmings.

BTW, as my accumulation contains a fair amount of Etrurias - yeah, I really like them - I would like to say that the piston turning button does turn very easily, when the piston converter is removed, in other words, when there is no resistance. Once the big piston converter is seated, it has some resistance, which is quite noticeable IMO, so, again IMO, you can't turn it by accident. The resistance is not more or no less than it is with the true piston filling Etrurias, or the 991 for that matter.

Also, and again IMO, the filling system is the best currently in existence, exactly because it offers you the choice of no less than three options! Even RB states an embedded converter is one of the best systems, which it is with the big piston converter, with the added advantage of a huge ink capacity. But other than that, you can still use a normal, international short ended converter, or international short cartridges. IOW, I think it deserves 6 out of 5 for its filling system .

When it comes to posting, as you mentioned, it is quite a big pen, although I wouldn't consider it a honking big pen. The advantage is that most people wouldn't need posting the cap, and the weight added to the back when posted is really only advantageous when you have very large hands. I have fairly large hands, and to me they are equally comfortable posted and unposted. I generally don't post pens anymore, though, unless I really don't know what to do with the cap.

Regarding the nibs, I really think you chose the most difficult one to write with from the range of italics/stubs, so it is great you get such a good performance from it. The only ones more difficult to use are the OB and OBB ones. The thing I really like about the big Stip nibs is the springiness and great feedback they give when writing. I haven't come across any other nibs yet, which are such a joy to write with. I find myself taking out one of my Etrurias every so often, just to squiggle and doodle with it, just for the pleasure it provides, and I don't do that with any of my other pens (and yes, I did know already that I am mad ).

You say the nib is maybe a little small for the pen, but I think it is just right. Just uncap it, and look at it, and you'll find the size is perfectly in balance with the section, and the section and nib again with the pen as a whole. Just my opinion of course, but that is how it "feels" to me.

BTW, was the nib on your Saturno a screw-in nib/feed/collar assembly? Or did you extract nib and feed from both pens, and just exchange nibs?

Another interesting aspect, I think, is that this pen is not necessarily a pen to be used by people with big hands only. The nib end of the section narrows quite considerably towards the nib, and creates a perfect place to hold the pen for people with smaller hands. When you hold the pen at about a 45 to 60 degree angle, I find I am holding the pen with the tip of my index finger just below the threads, and the rest higher up. This is not uncomfortable by the way, because the threads arn't sharp, probably due to the celluloid.
I have let other people write with the pen, and it seems to depend entirely on the size of their hands where they hold it. People with smaller hands who prefer thinner pens, were entirely happy with it, and held the pen at the thinnest point of the section, while people with bigger hands held it exactly, or similarly, to the way I hold it.
As you note, the pen is resting against the web of your hand. If the pen is comfortable resting on the web of someone's hand, people generally find it comfortable, in my experience. It is different, though, with the old Amber Grande, which has a much fatter section, but even more true with the 991, which has an even thinner section.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings .

Warmest regards, Wim, aka the MEAD (Mad Etruria Addict Dutchman )

Wimg,

Hey there buddy, MR. Stipula!!! Thanks for the kind words. I will try to answer your questions or question your answers Your collection of Stipula Etruria FP are amazing. I love the Indian nights Etruria, it is really a classy looking pen and practically impossible to find!!!



Hmm, all the pens that I own that are Cellulose nitrate have the strong odor of Camphor. The Cellulose Acetate pens that I own do not smell anything like camphor, it smells like the rest of my acrylic pens. I will have to get back to sniffing!!!



Even with the converter seated in place, the piston knob still turns to easily, in fact it turns 2 to 3 times as loose as my Pelikan, MB and Bexley Piston fillers. So mine could be a fluke or it could happen a bit more often. Dillon said he had the same exact problem with an Etruria that he was fixing. Regardless, I still consider it a minor issue and far from being a major defect!!



Well, I beg to differ on that but I like the choice it gives you in regards to international cartridges, standard converter and the Mammoth Stipula Converter. I admit that the Mammoth converter holds about 2 times as much ink as almost any piston filler on the market with the exception of the Stipula 22. I personally prefer integrated filling systems but since this is a versitile filling system I rated it 4.5 out of 5, which is almost perfect. If you look at the rest of my reviews that use standard C/C filling systems, I rated them much much lower. So with that said, if I had to choose a non integrated filling system, I would pick this one hands down over C/C, aerometric, squeeze, button converter or any other converter.



You are 100% right on that, it is a large pen and I would consider this Stipula's OS pen but it is definetly not an OS in length compared to other manufacturers OS pens like MB 149, Pelikan M1000, OMAS 360. This pen really has other manufacturers pens beat in terms of its girth and that is why I called it mammoth. This is a pen that can fit in the hands of a lot of people, like you said. Posted if you have mitts for hands or without it if your hands are smaller or if you just prefer it that way. The pen is much fatter than I anticipated and that is a great thing too!!!



I still think that the nib is a bit too small for the size of this pen. It uses the same size nib as the other models such as the Novecento, Saturno, Duetto to name just a few. I really would of liked to have seen a larger nib with this pen and also have it completely rhodium plated rather than 2 tone. Since the pen has no gold tone color to it, the band and trim being silver, the herringbone design with silver, clip is silver. I think that it would have improved perfection, if that makes sense?? This is something I can change later on. I have a limited release called the Stipula Jerusalem Junem and it has a rhodium plated 1.1 stub 14kt nib, I am in the process of a review as we speak. I think I will just swap nibs to see how it looks, take some pictures, make comparisons and share it with everyone here to see what everyone thinks.

In regards to nib, This 1.3 stub is actually off of my Stipula olive ebonite saturno fp. This nib screws out just like the typical stipula nib. Standard Bock design that is swapable with Bexley and Ancora. The only Stipula nib that I have that doesnt screw out is my Novecento. My novecento is the larger one with the integrated piston filler. Red and black woodgrain ebonite. This one seems to be friction fit and I am not about to force it out. nib is the same size as the rest of the standard Stipula nibs.

Getting bact to the 1.3 stub nib, I have had minimal experience with stub nibs and the nib I felt most comfortable with is my Sailor Music nib. I found the Stipula 1.3 stub to be an almost exact match as the music nib. The only major exceptions is that the Stipula nib is much more springy than the 21kt music nib and the music nib has a thinner horizontal line but not by much. Both nibs are not sharp and are very forgiving so that is the reason why I took to the 1.3 so quickly. I prefer broader nibs and I have a very hard time writing with finer nibs and that goes for stubs too. I cannot write with italic nibs due to the fact that my writing is very unorthadox and I end of slicing through paper. I have to smooth out toothy nibs too, because they are really irritating to me with the way I write. I have to have buttery smooth nibs or else I cannot write with them.

So I find the 1.3 very smooth with smooth corners that seem to glide across the paper. The 1.1 is nice but nowhere near as nice as my Bexley Prometheus Stub (it is HUGE) Sailor Music Nib, or the stub that Dillon created for me on my Sheaffer Balance II and my Bexley LE Snowfall (Both have broad nibs so both have broad stubs) So since I am used to broader nibs, naturally I take to broader stubs and broader oblique nibs. So I am an opposite in your case. I stated that My Bexley Prometheus nib is a Stub, well I sent my medium nib back to Bexley for a swap to a stub because the Medium was really too fine for my tastes. I was shocked wy the width, the spring and the tremendous feedback to the stub nib. This, the 1.3 and my music nib have become some of my favorite writers. The nib on the prometheus is about 2 times the size of the standard bexley nib and dwarfs the stipula nibs. Pelikan M1000 and MB 149 are about the same size as the Prometheus.




Well I think this pen is more in the line of a mans pen but not exclusivly. If people find that a Pelikan M600 is too big for them, then I would say that this pen is not meant for them. I really do not think this is a pen for someone with tiny hands but OTOH I have very small hands and I am really partial to OS pens and posting them, so I guess there are exceptions to the rules!!

BTW, how much fatter is the Amber Grande in comparison to this pen? (Etruria Ocean Blue)

I got a killer deal on a smaller cartridge converter Etruria FP. here are some pictures right next to the Larger Etruria Ocean Blue. What do you know about this Etruria? The nib is substantially smaller than the standard Stipula nib. In fact, it matches the earlier Bexley 14kt gold nibs and it is interchangeable with the Bexley. The Bexley I am talking about is the Earlier Gemstone model which is a tribute to the Waterman 100 year pen, my pen is black. Anyways, here are some pictures of the Etruria in question along with my Ocean Blue.










So if you know anything about this pen other than it is Black, smaller Etruria, smaller 18kt nib, sterling silver capband, I would really appreciate it so I can put them in my notes and start my review on it.

Wimg, I really love our conversations and sometimes we may not agree on 100% of everything, I learn a lot from them!!!

Cheers

TNS

Thank you for the reviews, Noble Savage and Wim!

You both have excellent taste in pens, gentlemen

The Etruria is one of the pens I have been eyeing to purchase.
Excellent review, great pictures and a most excellent and civil discussion.
Congratulations Savage for your new purchase, and to Wimg for your beautiful etruria pen collection.
Cordially,
Pedro

Wim, ist ist possible that the Etruria 'Indian Nights' and the the Taccia Andante 'Royal Stripe' are made of the same material? What do you think?

Hi Aaron, I think excellent work should get praise, so you only need to thank yourself . Well, I guess I was lucky to be in the right spot at the right moment, and meet the right people. Just blame Elaine and Aunt Rebecca who showed me around NY, that is, the pen places in NY . Only 100 were made, celluloid, but it is a c/c pen , so it may not be entirely to your liking .
Get back to sniffing? I thought you mentioned you did that all the time anyway . Anyway, I found that some cellulose nitrate pens don't smell as strongly as cellulose acetate pens, and vice versa, so I don't exactly know why there is such a difference. Maybe it is time. My Amber Grandes (the piston filling ones, and yes I have 2, one with silver trim and one with gold trim ) don't smell much at all, and they are definitely made of cellulose nitrate. The 991s in my accumulation smell medium strong (cellulose nitrate), as does the d'Inverno (cellulose nitrate), the Ocean Blue (cellulose nitrate) and Amber new (cellulose acetate) smell quite strong, as does the Volterra, which is an LE celluloid, like one of the Tibaldis (the Tibaldi 60 red to be exact) - light reddish brown marbled with green flecks interspersed, but I don't know for sure whether it is cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate.
Well, in the end it is just personal preference. From a practical point of view it is absolutely great, and I really like the ingenuity and simplicity of it, which is why I rate it more highly than any other filling system. But again, that is personal.
Well, we entirely agree on this.
I think it is actually the other way around. The Novecento, Saturno and Duetto use the nibs from the Etruria . The Etruria was there first . Also, Stipula used 3 sizes of nibs up to a few years ago, but they decided to rationalize this and use 2 sizes only, now, but in a variety of finishes. I think it has to do with the number of nib types they have as well. For some reason they didn't do this on the Blue Ocean, but there are other pens which do have this, like the Nuda. However, generally, not all the nib types are available in rhodium plating only, which means that for some nibs you still end up with a special order and a two-tone nib. In rhodium plating they only have EF, F, M, B, 0.9 and 1.1. Yes, it does make sense. You'll find that the Swisher Blue Black LE is entirely "silver" (rhodium plated nib, silver trimmings), but it only has limited choices in nib type, and comes in 14K rather than 18K.

Be careful. The reason I asked is that not all Stip nibs are screw out, especially on some of the older types of Stips, and true piston fillers for that matter. In the latter case you could destroy the mechanism if you try to screw the nib/feed/collar assembly out. I happen to have the Novecento Saturno (Saturno being a sub-model of the Novecento, originally anyway) Orangerie, f.e., and the nib in that model is friction fit. Yes. They can come out though, I think I just learned the trick. I'll experiment a little more first, though, and share it here.
I assume you mean sharp italic nibs by that. They are rather diffuicult to handle indeed. Considering the V/H line factor, which is more than 3 on the 1.3, I would say it definitely is an italic, not a stub, just that it almost is a cursive italic, so still reasonably sharp. A stub in my book is something very smooth, with line variation of let's say 1.5 to 2, closer to 1.5 than to 2. And a stub is still an italic, which is a little confusing as everybody in the US is referring to a stub as a very smooth italic with a little line variation. In Europe in most places they don't make the disticntion yet, certainly not as often. A stub is just another name for an italic over here. I would agree with you, I prefer buttery smooth nibs too, which require no effort to write, just glide smmmmooootthhhly over the paper .
I think you may have been lucky, because the 1.3 has a very specific sweet spot, IME, much more so than the other two italics in the Stip range. Generally, I find it the hardest one to write with. No, it isn't, and exactly because of the shape of the section, narrowing towards the end. I actually sold one while I was waiting in the pen shop close to work, to a lady who was interested in buying an "exclusive" fountain pen for herself. No, I didn't sell any from my own collection, but one of the shop's collection . This is the reason why I was allowed to take apart the Da Vinci to see how the nib assembly works. They trust me now completely over there . This is actually a 495 euro pen over here . Yes, I think so! becasue of the shape, which is essentially different from any other pen, as in narrowing section and bigh barrel girth, I think anybody should try one out to see if it works well, because it depends entirely, IMO, on where you hold the pen, and whether the barrel is comfortable on the web of your hand. The lady I sold the Blue Ocean to, did try several brands of pens, about the same size, including Pelikan M600 and M800. She wasn't comfortable with those, but she was with the Blue Ocean, especially after I exchanged nibs for her . It is only the section that is fatter. The section of the Blue Ocean is diabolo shaped, if you like, so, conical with a curve, and the Amber Grande has a straight tapering section, so, conical without a curve, which remains fatter than an M800. Lenghtwise there is about 2 mm difference, as in the new one slightly longer, and the piston knob is smaller than on the Blue Ocean or Amber new, so sits higher on the barrel.
Stipula made for some Etruria models a so-called medium version, so you had the Etruria Grande and the Etruria Media. I know they did make an Amber Grande and an Amber Media, and I think they did a few like that with the silver and vermeil cap editions. I didn't know about this one. I do have the black piston filler in the big size, though. I am not entirely sure, but I think it was refered to as the Model 916. It is interchangeable with the smaller Stipula nibs as well, the ones you can find, amongst others, on the I Castoni. Like I said above, it is the smaller size (Eruria Media) of the black Grande. It hasn't been in production for several years now (at least 4 years), and it is made of a high quality black resin, probably an acrylate, with real silver trimmings. The smaller nibs were made in less types than the bigger ones, namely EF, F, M, B and BB.
So do I, Aaron! And if we all agreed, life would be utterly boring, I think. I find great pleasure in exchanging ideas and opinions, especially in the way it is done here, on FPN.
Thanks again for sharing!
Warmest regards, Wim

Hi Saintsimon,

As far as I know, the Taccia Andante "Royal Stripe" is a resin pen, rather than celluloid. I did ask this question myself a while back, on PenTrace I think. They do look similar, though. I think the Tibaldi Model 60 Blue Stripe is very likely made of the same material, as it is made of celluloid.

A bit over a week ago I found a new Etruria, the Volterra, which is made of the same material as the Tibaldi Model 60 Red, so I think this isn't a coincidence.

There are only very few celluloid manufacturers left these days, as it is a dangerous and unhealthy process, and requires a lot from a safety point of view as a result. I do think there is at least one manufacturer left in Italy, which is probably where both Tibaldi and Stipula get their celluloid from.

AFAIK, the Amber, Blue Ocean and Hazelnut celluloid are exclusive to Stipula though, I haven't seen it in any other brand of pen (yet).

HTH, warm regards, Wim

Thank you, Pedro!

Warm regards, Wim

Thanks Maja!

Of course, you knew already we had excellent taste !

Warm regards, Wim

Hi Handlebar,

You definitely have to get a Stip, as long as you don't get a 22 . It is a great experience, IMO! Just make sure you get one with the bigger nibsize (Duetto, Novecento, Saturno, Supremo, Etruria); I think they're the best .

Warm regards, Wim

that Tibaldi Model 60 Red celluloid is the same as that of my Stipula Brunnelleschi 'Terra die Sienna' LE piston filler , so Stipula uses it for the Etruria Volterra, too. Also Bexley used it for a Submariner Grande.


BTW: there is now an Etruria 'Blue Dusk' LE

Hi Saintsimon,

Is this the pen you're talking about?



Or is the material lighter?

This looks similar to the Volterra, but the material is much lighter in colour, and the green is more obvious than in this pic, which I borrowed from Stipula.

Warm regards, Wim

Wimg,

I would love for you to snap some shots of all of your Etrurias together. I would really love to see all the different colors and patterns.

TNS

In this thread, there are pics of the Bexley and, further down, of my Brunelleschi:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...hl=brunelleschi

The colour is lighter in real life, than in the Brunelleschi pic you reffer to

Hi Aaron,
So would I, . Lack of time... I posted a pic of my pen case a while back, which held most of them. Here it is:



From left to right:
Etruria 991
Etruria 991 (I have 3 of these )
Etruria Amber Retractible
Etruria Ocean Blue
Etruria Black/Orange Swisher LE
Etruria Indian Nights (FPH LE)
Etruria Blue Black Swisher LE
Etruria Nuda (one of two )
Etruria d'Inverno
Etruria Amber (new or current)
Etruria grande (silver trim)

The colours are a little dark. It was taken before I had my current photo equipment .

Missing from the pic are the Etruria Amber Grande with gold trim, the Etruria Black, the Etruria Volterra, and the Etruria Blue Dusk. And there are a few more Etruria models out there .

Warm regards, Wim

Hi Saintsimon,
Ah! That is exactly it! Thank you!

Warm regards, Wim

TNS - thanks for another wonderful review of a great pen! Been lots of good discussion on this thread - lot of Stip interest. I wonder why (or should I ask who)?

Wim-

Are the 3 BOLDED (above) Etruria pens C/C fillers? How do they compare in size to the regular Etruria - they look to be a tad smaller than the regular ones. Trim looks to be a little different as well?

I know both of the Swisher Etrurias are C/C fillers but no idea about the Indian nights. Wimg, are the Swisher Etrurias the large Convertable piston fillers?

Hi chainwhip
Yes, they are c/c fillers. The Indian Nights is maybe 1 mm bigger than most Etrurias, and the other two 2-3 mm smaller. The trim is different almost from Etruria to Etruria. The silver trim on the Swisher LEs is the same as on the piston-filling only Amber Grande with silver trim, the gold trim on the FPH Indian Nights is slightly narrower than the silver trim on these pens, but otherwise it is the same motif etc.
With the big piston converter Etrurias, Stipula switched to different trimmings, but the old trimmings are still used for specials, LEs and the like. The 991 has a unique trim, with gold ànd silver, which only occurs on this model.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

Hi TNS,
No, they are normal c/c fillers, at least the ones in the pic. Swisher had a cracked ice Etruria LE with vermeil trim that is a true piston filler, which is sold out, and the Swisher Demo with vermeil trim, which is a true piston filler as well. The other Swisher Etruria LEs are all standard c/c fillers.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

Finally,i have secured an Etruria!!!!I cannot wait to receive it in the post soon!!


JD