This week the Germans (Pelikans and MB) and Americans (Parker "51"s) meet the Italians. With your help the pen box now sports these new arrivals. More later.

Randy in Florida

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A beautiful clutch! Congratulations!

Lovely Aurora (I miss her already)

You've been pretty ambitious this week, Randy. Picked up prime examples of what most folks would call the top three marques in Italian pens today!

Hmm, looks like an older Etruria, too. Good catch!

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with them. The Omas is heading out soon to be stubbed and I have extra nibs for the Stipula and Aurora that will have some custom work done too. I'm gonna keep the Fine for the Erturia but have the 1.1 italic narrowed to something like .6 italic. The Optima broad is delightful and I second broad on the way which will probably end up as a .5mm oblique.

Yes, by referral from a FPN member I was introduced to Jerusalem Pens. David hooked me up with the pen as well as an extra nib. And the Omas came from my Pelikan friend in Germany, Regina Martini. It still amazes me that our love affair with pens extends around the globe. In the last two weeks I sent off a wonderful Pelikan M400 tortoise to Viet Nam (via Singapore) and a couple of really nice Parker Vacs to the Netherlands. The world is indeed flat!

The Aurora is just striking. Very nice. Is it a heavy pen?

It is surprisingly light. I was the one who sold that to him and it was an emotional experience parting with it. It is truly one of the most beautifu, balanced pens made IMHO.

The aurora is the heaviest of these three pens....but it is a delight to write with. (The Stipula is next followed by the Paragon which is surprisingly light). The Aurora is well balanced uncapped or posted. I prefer to write with it unposted simply to avoid any chance of marring the beautiful silver finish. You can't go wrong with any of the three.

Just a quick update. After using and enjoying the Aurora for a week I've now inked the new Erturia and am using it in the office today. What a wonderful pen. I love the unposted size...a little over 5". The pen is light in the hand and the celluloid has a special character that seems somehow "softer" in the hand than regular plastic. The section is also wonderful, being made of the same celluloid and curved in a way that seems to really fit well in my fingers.

I'm using the "Fine" nib which puts down a nice line a bit more toward medium than fine. Maybe a bit too broad for small numbers work, but certainly perfect for note taking. And, although the line is a bit wetter (J. Herbin Perle Noir) than other fines I own its by no means sloppy and with good paper its not a problem.

All in all an effortless writer that feels "rich" in my hand.

More in the days and weeks to come.

OH NO----

I set the Etruria down on my pen rest to take a break from writing and was admiring the Stipula imprint on the barrel when I say a crack approx one cm long...and another about the same length just above it.! Not a big but hairline cracks none-the-less right above the imprint. The pen was well packaged so it wasn't damage in transit.

I've written the shop to inquire how to handle this. My biggest concern, obviously, is that this is the old style pen and I don't know if replacements exist. And, since its my first celluloid I assume all celluloid parts "match" from the same rod stick when originally made so it isn't simply a matter of changing the barrel?????

I'm also curious if these cracks can widen or lengthen?

Finally, if the pen cant' be replaced, how difficult is repair? Sources, etc?

Thanks