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A Brief Overview of Bexley Americana Rio Grande Red


jigesh

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Recently, I got a chance to get my first Bexley, an Americana model Rio Grande (red) with a medium nib. This is my first “Made in the US” fountain pen. Georges has it in blue while Russ has it in Red, like mine. Russ also made a nice comparison with Omas Milford. This pen was available in Rio Grande (red), Sierra Silver (grey), Yellowstone (golden/yellow), and Greenbrier (green). Bexley’s official website used to have a picture of all these colors but I can't find it any more on their website. However, it can be seen on the website of few other vendors.

 

It appears to me that the metallic band on the cap had some variations. For example, the red pen in above picture has a band with cut-out patterns in it; while mine has a solid band. The inspiration for this model is derived from vintage Doric, except for the filling mechanism (cartridge converter on Bexley), the material (acrylic on Bexley) and the style/length of the facets on the body.

 

The color and finish are beautiful.

 

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/jigesh_patel/DSC_0022.jpg

 

It looks very lively/vivid under direct light.

 

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/jigesh_patel/DSC_0028-1.jpg

 

The feel of the facets is warm and very convenient to hold. It balances well without posting cap (I don’t post cap) and feels light.

 

Physical Dimensions:

 

It’s a full size pen and yet very light for its size. It’s tad taller than Montblanc 146, Pelikan M805 and Sailor 1911 large – just to give some comparative idea. The measured dimensions are:

 

Full Length with cap closed: 5.75 inch (14.6 cms)

Length of the barrel plus nib section: 5.4 inch (13.7 cms)

 

Weight with ink: 0.8 oz (23.7 gms, the whole pen); 0.5 oz (14.8 gms, barrel only).

 

Nib and Writing Performance:

 

The original nib was medium and it wrote like a western medium:

 

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/jigesh_patel/DSC_0057.jpg

 

The medium nib was smooth, wet and a little springy if gripped farther though technically it can be classified more as a rigid nib I would say. It’s a dual tone 18K gold nib.

 

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/jigesh_patel/DSC_0024.jpg

 

I had no complaints with the original nib, but I wanted to make it cursive italic. I sent it to Mike It Work for regrinding it to a 0.6 mm cursive italic. Michael did a fabulous job:

 

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/jigesh_patel/DSC_0052.jpg

 

I am not an experienced cursive writer, so here’s a close up to show line variation (the paper is not as high quality as Rhodia, for example):

 

http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/jigesh_patel/DSC_0061.jpg

 

Conclusion:

 

This is a beautiful, full sized pen. It’s not very expensive. The MSRP was $335 or so if I am not mistaken. But you can get it around $250 if you look around. I don’t know why Bexley discontinued it. The pen is pleasure to hold, to look at and to write with. I would say, it’s a very good candidate for custom grinds as well, like I did with mine. Georges had grip section broken later on and Bexley replaced it with a black one. I am not sure if this was common. The acrylic material does not look/feel very fragile, but I don’t have much experience with the stability of this material. As a buyer, I had that in mind before buying it. If anything like that happens on mine, I am sure Bexley will take care of it. In the meanwhile, I hope to enjoy it for a long time with positive recommendation to anyone considering this pen or any other pen in this price range.

Edited by jigesh
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That is a most beautiful pen jigesh, congrats on the acquisition!

Parker VS (rust)

Parker "51" aerometric (navy grey)

Sheaffer Snorkel Saratoga (burgundy)

Sheaffer Imperial IV Touchdown (green)

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Thanks for the review Jigesh, the close up of the nib, was this photo taken after Mike worked on it or before?

 

Best,

Hari

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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Great looking pen but I am partial. I picked this exact pen

up at the Philly Show in January of this year. Mine was purchased

from Richard Binder and mine was reground to a .7 CI. The pen feels

great in the hand and lays down a consistent wet line.

Shame they are no longer available.

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Nice review, nice pen, thanks.

And how can this be, because he is the Kwisatz Haderach.

 

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I bought one of these recently - same colour - stunning

A very nice large pen - Richard Binder has them at a good price at the moment.

 

I would love to find a blue one , George's looks great.

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Thanks for the review Jigesh, the close up of the nib, was this photo taken after Mike worked on it or before?

 

Best,

Hari

 

Good question. I had planned to mention it in the original post but somehow forgot.

 

You can see signs of re-grinding on the nib close up. In other words, the close up of the nib is after the grind and in its current state of 0.6mm cursive italic.

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That is a most beautiful pen jigesh, congrats on the acquisition!

 

Thank you, Taurean (and I am a Taurean, too!).

 

 

...Shame they are no longer available.

 

 

I agree.

 

 

Nice review, nice pen, thanks.

 

Thak you, Ed.

 

....I would love to find a blue one , George's looks great.

 

 

John, I think R. Binder still has it in blue.

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While growing up as a kid, I had few pomegranate plants in our home-garden; and I remember the natural "dark/rich red yet shiningly striking" color of the inside of a ripe pomegranate. If you know what I am talking about, the color of this pen is exactly that.

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Great review! This is one of my all-time favorite pens...

 

Thanks. I am tempted to get other colors, especially the green. On the other hand, my mind says if it's worthwhile to collect the same model few times. I already did it for Carene and Aurora 88 though.

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Nice review and pics of that handsome pen,jigesh!

 

Haven't tried a Bexley yet, but that design is tempting...

 

:)

FP Addict & Pretty Nice Guy

 

 

 

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Nice review of a wonderful pen, I landed one recently in Black... not certain if mine is a one-off or prototype or what, but a wonderful pen none the less.

 

Thank you for your thoughtful review.

 

I'm currently pondering tracking one down in the blue to go with my current pen.

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Thanks. I am tempted to get other colors, especially the green. On the other hand, my mind says if it's worthwhile to collect the same model few times. I already did it for Carene and Aurora 88 though.

 

Nice review for a pen I've always liked. Just a couple of notes to add:

 

As you noted, the Sanibel Blue is sold out and has been for quite some time. And, you are correct about the cap bands. The original three colors, Rio Grande Red, Sierra Silver, and Sanibel Blue, had the pierced style cap bands. The two added colors, Yellowstone and Greenbrier had a solid cap band. As the pierced bands were used up the solid band began to appear on the other colors.

 

While the model has been disontinued, a few are still available and I just obtained a Yellowstone for a customer. I believe only one Greenbrier may remain in stock at Bexley.

 

Below is a pic of all the colors.

 

Dennis Bowden

Parkville Pen

 

http://www.parkvillepen.com/images/bexley/americanna.jpg

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....And, you are correct about the cap bands. The original three colors, Rio Grande Red, Sierra Silver, and Sanibel Blue, had the pierced style cap bands. The two added colors, Yellowstone and Greenbrier had a solid cap band. As the pierced bands were used up the solid band began to appear on the other colors...

 

Thank you for paying attention to these details and providing us the info, Dennis.

 

 

Thank you, Archimark and OiRogers for your kind words.

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You can see signs of re-grinding on the nib close up.

 

Jigesh, the grind looks like the nib can be used upside down as well.

 

Best,

Hari

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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Nice review.

 

I have an Americana in Rio Grande red also. I converted mine to an eyedropper about a year ago, and it's worked fine since. All I did was seal the blind cap and section with some silicone grease on the threads. I'm actually thinking of reverting to the converter, though, since the ink capacity of the ED version is too high (I like variety in ink).

"Thus Ar-Pharazôn, King of the Land of the Star, grew to the mightiest tyrant

that had yet been in the world since the reign of Morgoth . . ."

— J.R.R. Tolkien, Akallabêth —

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...the grind looks like the nib can be used upside down as well....

 

Hari, I tried writing that way. It writes, but not well, and more like sharp italic with tooth.

 

 

Nice review.

 

I have an Americana in Rio Grande red also. I converted mine to an eyedropper about a year ago, and it's worked fine since. All I did was seal the blind cap and section with some silicone grease on the threads. I'm actually thinking of reverting to the converter, though, since the ink capacity of the ED version is too high (I like variety in ink).

 

Thanks for the info, ArPharazon.

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Nice review for a pen I've always liked. Just a couple of notes to add:

 

As you noted, the Sanibel Blue is sold out and has been for quite some time. And, you are correct about the cap bands. The original three colors, Rio Grande Red, Sierra Silver, and Sanibel Blue, had the pierced style cap bands. The two added colors, Yellowstone and Greenbrier had a solid cap band. As the pierced bands were used up the solid band began to appear on the other colors.

 

Dennis Bowden

 

Dennis, where in this lineup does the all-black "Euro" edition of this pen fall? I bought one from you a while ago, and it had a vented cap band. I don't like marbled colors, so the all-black one was just right for me!

S.T. Dupont Ellipsis 18kt M nib

Opus 88 Flow steel M nib

Waterman Man 100 Patrician Coral Red 18kt factory stub nib

Franklin-Christoph Model 19 with Masuyama 0.7mm steel cursive italic nib

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My very first Bexley was an Americana in Sanibel Blue; I like it so much that I've added 35 more Bexleys to my collection.

Bryan

 

"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes." Winston S. Churchill

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