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Italix Churchmans Prescriptor.


Ian the Jock

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I know, I know, there have probably been loads of reviews on this pen, but I don't have anyone else with whom to share my fountain pen joy, and I need to talk to someone about it, therefore....You guys are "landed" with me.

Don't expect too much in the way of technical detail, it will be just a good old fashioned "this is my new pen, and here's what I think" type of review.

No scores out of 10 or 100 or anything like that, just my views on the pen, then some pics.

So, if my views might interest you, then read on.

 

The pen

 

First impression when I opened the box was "Oh yes, That's a fine looking pen"

I had to remain a bit subdued as wife and son had gathered round for a look at this pen which cost "HOW MUCH?", however, it must have looked good from the off as my wife said " oh, you just had to go one better than the one I got you, didn't you" which meant that she obviously thought it better or more impressive looking than the Thomas Earnshaw Regency that she bought for me recently, which itself, is a pretty impressive looking pen.

So big ticks when the box opened then. :thumbup:

 

When it was time to get a good look at the pen later in the day I was really impressed with the overall shape look and feel of the pen. It has a kind of Gothic, churchy look to it which really appeals to me and its' name suits the pen to a tee.

It's pretty hefty at around 50 grammes, however, as I was to discover, the balance with the cap posted is just perfect.

 

Unscrewing the cap takes all of 1 turn to reveal the Churchmans' nib and section....and What A Nib!

It looks huge, a lovely 2 tone Johnny with italix tastefully engraved across it and the most important bit........drum roll.................The broad cursive italic stub........OH MY!

I had never seen nor used a stub of any description before, and to be honest, I was a wee bit in awe of it.. :blush:

So, after much deliberation and mind changing (I honestly can't believe how much time it took me to decide what ink to put in it) I finally opened a bottle of diamine sargasso sea and juiced it up.

I had pulled out my best 100gsm pad and it lay open in anticipation, awaiting touchdown.

Now, like most who would be interested in this pen, I watched SBRE Browns' video review where he described the grip section as "small" and he actually held the pen by the barrel, which gave some folks on fpn some concern....not me :D I've got pens of all shapes and sizes, with grip sections of all shapes and sizes too, and I just adapt my grip to suit.....the joy is in the writing after all, and if I had to hold the barrel, then fine, I'd hold the barrel.

But No! :yikes: The grip section is perfect. I find it extremely comfortable to hold and the pen just floats in my hand.

Maybe the section just looks smaller next to the rest of the pens hugeness, ok, maybe not, but it fits my big chubby fingers perfectly, so I'm glad I didn't dismiss the pen over the "barrel holding" concerns.

So to pen touching paper.

WOW, was my first thought, it gushed forth such a big broad line of inky smoothness that I was quite taken aback.

I did a bit of my normal handwriting which slopes down from the left, and it was wondrous, lovely, broad thick letters but to my surprise, not a lot of line variation, or certainly not as much as I maybe expected, however, I did some writing with an up to the right slope to see the difference, and wow again, it was like a different machine altogether, lots of variation, lovely thick loopy bits and thin curves all over the place.... now I was seriously impressed.

I played around with the pen for a few hours, trying different things, and sometimes even just holding it and looking at it with a "big cheezer" on my face, before diving back to the paper and writing another page of nonsense.

 

Now the thing about this pen that strikes me, is that, although the full broad letters that it produces with my normal handwriting don't have the variation that I want, it's not the pens fault....it's mine.

I've read folks saying "oh it'll just take a bit of getting used to" or "I'll adapt to its' wee differences"

but I look at it a bit differently....I owe it to this pen to learn how to get the best out of it, and to do so will take practice, therefore, practice it shall be.

You don't just pick up a camera and knock off an award winning " fishing junks at sunset" first go, now do you? so why should a precision instrument like this be any different?

 

The pen itself is fabulous. I love everything about it, its' looks, the weight, the balance, and of course the wondrous nib which is a thing to behold in itself (well done Mr Ford I doff my cap in your direction) and although it's described as a "good value for money" pen which is deemed pretty inexpensive by all accounts, to me, (all things being relative) it cost an absolute fortune, and is by far my most expensive pen to date, yet, such is the magic of The Churchmans Prescriptor that I feel that it is an absolute bargain.

 

I hope you enjoyed the inane ramblings of a 40 something Jock, who, for some reason has inexplicably turned into an excited 12 year old, just because of a few pens.

 

Oh, and the pen....I nearly forgot I was actually doing a review of sorts there. :lol:

 

THE ITALIX CHURCHMANS PRESCRIPTOR REVIEW SUMMARY

 

Have you got one?,

No!.......Get one.

 

 

Ok

I'll stick on my pics now, and then I'm off for some "Practice"

 

Cheers

Ian

 

fpn_1439560531__churchmans_prescriptor_1

 

fpn_1439560574__churchmans_prescriptor_2

 

fpn_1439560605__nib_oot.jpg

 

fpn_1439560635__review_sample_2.jpg

 

fpn_1439560672__the_nib_1.jpg

 

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It's a beautiful pen, Ian, and you're handwriting is top notch. I don't have this Italix pen but I have three of the Parson's Essentials in three different nibs and love them. Easily the best writers in my collection. I also think Mr Ford does an awesome job, both in pen design and nib grind. And I love the piano lacquer finish on the pens. Congrats on acquiring an awesome pen!

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Brilliant review! And you have amazing handwriting.

 

I don't have a Prescriptor, but I have three Parson's Essentials in different nib variants [M, MI, BI], and a Commodore's Credential in medium cursive stub.

 

So, obviously I'm a huge Italix fan, and while I'd promised myself I would wait for the English Curate and then restrict myself to that one for a while, you've now got me fancying a Prescriptor too! :)

PORTIA DA COSTA
writing erotica and erotic romance since 1991/

born again fountain pen addict
http://www.portiadacosta.com

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Wonderful review! We can read the specifications and look at the pictures on the Web, but reading as an artist relates what it was like to first encounter the pen is priceless.

ron

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Hi, well I'm a fan of Mr.Ford's products. I have a Parson's (fine italic stub) and the Churchman's (medium italic). One of them is always part of my daily use set of 3 pens I take to work. So far they both have delighted in terms of the writing experience and are my top two pens ... I'm still on the lower rung with respect to Experience with different fountain pens ( don't own a Pelikan /Omas etc) but compared to what I do own (Lamy 2000/Mont Blanc/ Edison/ TWSBI/Conklin/ Pilot Falcon/ Pilot Custom 74 - mid level pens I guess) these two have worked straight out of the box and have never begged questions regarding smoothness, ink flow, hard starts etc. ... I will be getting more of the Italix range with different nib options..

 

. Mr . Ford has recently announced the introduction of a new Model... The Curate's ..... Forget the full name .... This is to be made available from August end 2015.... Again a different shape and form factor and a promise of a wider nib range to choose from....

 

But great review... Of a wonderful pen... Thanks

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Thank you, Portia and Shubhranshu for pointing out that Mr Ford will be offering a new pen, The English Curate at the end of this month. I just watched his YouTube introduction of this new pen and I am sorely tempted to add it to my collection. I doubt that any pen will ever be able to replace the Parson's Essential as my favorite pen. I like the design of the Churchman's Prescriptor but think it may be too heavy for my small hands. I've had my Parson's Essentials for 6 mo - 1 year now and still marvel at the appearance and writing characteristics of these beautiful pens on a daily basis...the love affair continues.

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It's a beautiful pen, Ian, and you're handwriting is top notch. I don't have this Italix pen but I have three of the Parson's Essentials in three different nibs and love them. Easily the best writers in my collection. I also think Mr Ford does an awesome job, both in pen design and nib grind. And I love the piano lacquer finish on the pens. Congrats on acquiring an awesome pen!

 

Thanks mmg122

You certainly can't doubt Mr Fords' passion for his pens and nibs.

The multi-nib choices are what drew me in, over a couple of other pens that I had considered.

I agree, the pen does write beautifully, and is a joy to use.

 

 

Brilliant review! And you have amazing handwriting.

 

I don't have a Prescriptor, but I have three Parson's Essentials in different nib variants [M, MI, BI], and a Commodore's Credential in medium cursive stub.

 

So, obviously I'm a huge Italix fan, and while I'd promised myself I would wait for the English Curate and then restrict myself to that one for a while, you've now got me fancying a Prescriptor too! :)

 

Thanks Portia, that's the first time my handwriting has ever been described as amazing. :lol:

I had looked at the other Italix pens previously, however, the Prescriptor was always going to be the first one, the styling is right up my street.

I had considered the Parsons previously as I quite like the burgundy, but the shape isn't a winner for me, as I prefer flatter or "quirkier" ends as opposed to the rounded cigar-esque shape, and to spend what is still a substantial amount of money for a pen, on something that doesn't completely knock my socks off is for the moment off limits.

I probably will end up getting one though, as the Italix nibs are a wondrous thing after all, and are certainly capable of swinging any future pen purchasing doubts, in favour of "Aye, go on then". :D

 

 

Wonderful review! We can read the specifications and look at the pictures on the Web, but reading as an artist relates what it was like to first encounter the pen is priceless.

ron

 

Hahaha "Artist" Thanks Ron

I find that the "technical" reviews can be a bit clinical, and I'm glad that you enjoyed the review, and perceived what I was trying to convey.

A pen such as this, is a lot more than just Brass, laquer and a nib.

It is a many splendoured thing that stirs up all sorts of emotions throughout the entire 1st time use experience, and to be honest, It still does exactly the same each time I use it now. It's brilliant. :thumbup:

 

 

Hi, well I'm a fan of Mr.Ford's products. I have a Parson's (fine italic stub) and the Churchman's (medium italic). One of them is always part of my daily use set of 3 pens I take to work. So far they both have delighted in terms of the writing experience and are my top two pens ... I'm still on the lower rung with respect to Experience with different fountain pens ( don't own a Pelikan /Omas etc) but compared to what I do own (Lamy 2000/Mont Blanc/ Edison/ TWSBI/Conklin/ Pilot Falcon/ Pilot Custom 74 - mid level pens I guess) these two have worked straight out of the box and have never begged questions regarding smoothness, ink flow, hard starts etc. ... I will be getting more of the Italix range with different nib options..

 

. Mr . Ford has recently announced the introduction of a new Model... The Curate's ..... Forget the full name .... This is to be made available from August end 2015.... Again a different shape and form factor and a promise of a wider nib range to choose from....

 

But great review... Of a wonderful pen... Thanks

 

Thanks for your comments Shubhranshu Das.

The new Pen, The English Curate, I'm not so sure about.

The step at the end of the barrel is kinda off putting for me, but then again, It might grow on me as I always post my pens, and this pen has been designed with us "posters" in mind, so it's certainly worthy of consideration.

 

 

 

Ian

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Thank you for the review.

 

I got one 2 months ago with an extra broad cursive italic (I do not like anything thin). It is smooth and a joy to write. I use Diamine Majestic Blue with it with excellent shading. I do not have a good camera, otherwise would have posted some pics. :lol:

 

Good day / evening.

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Thank you for the review.

 

I got one 2 months ago with an extra broad cursive italic (I do not like anything thin). It is smooth and a joy to write. I use Diamine Majestic Blue with it with excellent shading. I do not have a good camera, otherwise would have posted some pics. :lol:

 

Good day / evening.

 

I bought some Diamine Majestic blue, diamine grape, and diamine imperial purple, to go with the pen, but I can't make up my mind which to use once the sargasso sea runs out. :lol:

At the minute I'm leaning towards grape, but things could change.

 

Ian

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Ian, love the energy of the writing in this review and your description of first impressions and the writing experience. It's extremely helpful to see a writing sample of exactly what a broad cursive italic looks like, as ground by the fine people at Italix. I'm curious -- what do you think makes the pen look Gothic and churchy? Is it like a solid, plain pen that makes no apologies for its austere appearance, like a cassock or a tab-collar shirt? Is that why Episcopal purple would make an appropriate ink?

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I'm not sure Bob.

When standing upright it has the appearance of a of church pillar, you know the carved internal pillars you get in old churches.

Simplistic yet ornate at the same time.

It also has a dark gothic aura about it, possibly again due to the design and shape, and the deep piano laquer.

It sounds ridiculous, but if it had a bat engraved on the cap top, it wouldn't look out of place in a Batman movie, if that makes sense.

On the ink.

I just think a dark, again, "gothic, churchy" colour, such as an episcopal purple or the like would be needed to Complete the whole overall image and experience of using the pen.

 

Or

It could be that I'm just a Scottish nutter trying to create associations based on the the name of the pen, and it's all really in my head.

 

I wonder why Mr Ford called it the Churchmans Prescriptor....maybe he's as mad as me.

 

Ian

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  • 2 years later...

I know, I know, there have probably been loads of reviews on this pen, but I don't have anyone else with whom to share my fountain pen joy, and I need to talk to someone about it, therefore....You guys are "landed" with me.

Don't expect too much in the way of technical detail, it will be just a good old fashioned "this is my new pen, and here's what I think" type of review.

No scores out of 10 or 100 or anything like that, just my views on the pen, then some pics.

So, if my views might interest you, then read on.

 

The pen

 

First impression when I opened the box was "Oh yes, That's a fine looking pen"

I had to remain a bit subdued as wife and son had gathered round for a look at this pen which cost "HOW MUCH?", however, it must have looked good from the off as my wife said " oh, you just had to go one better than the one I got you, didn't you" which meant that she obviously thought it better or more impressive looking than the Thomas Earnshaw Regency that she bought for me recently, which itself, is a pretty impressive looking pen.

So big ticks when the box opened then. :thumbup:

 

When it was time to get a good look at the pen later in the day I was really impressed with the overall shape look and feel of the pen. It has a kind of Gothic, churchy look to it which really appeals to me and its' name suits the pen to a tee.

It's pretty hefty at around 50 grammes, however, as I was to discover, the balance with the cap posted is just perfect.

 

Unscrewing the cap takes all of 1 turn to reveal the Churchmans' nib and section....and What A Nib!

It looks huge, a lovely 2 tone Johnny with italix tastefully engraved across it and the most important bit........drum roll.................The broad cursive italic stub........OH MY!

I had never seen nor used a stub of any description before, and to be honest, I was a wee bit in awe of it.. :blush:

So, after much deliberation and mind changing (I honestly can't believe how much time it took me to decide what ink to put in it) I finally opened a bottle of diamine sargasso sea and juiced it up.

I had pulled out my best 100gsm pad and it lay open in anticipation, awaiting touchdown.

Now, like most who would be interested in this pen, I watched SBRE Browns' video review where he described the grip section as "small" and he actually held the pen by the barrel, which gave some folks on fpn some concern....not me :D I've got pens of all shapes and sizes, with grip sections of all shapes and sizes too, and I just adapt my grip to suit.....the joy is in the writing after all, and if I had to hold the barrel, then fine, I'd hold the barrel.

But No! :yikes: The grip section is perfect. I find it extremely comfortable to hold and the pen just floats in my hand.

Maybe the section just looks smaller next to the rest of the pens hugeness, ok, maybe not, but it fits my big chubby fingers perfectly, so I'm glad I didn't dismiss the pen over the "barrel holding" concerns.

So to pen touching paper.

WOW, was my first thought, it gushed forth such a big broad line of inky smoothness that I was quite taken aback.

I did a bit of my normal handwriting which slopes down from the left, and it was wondrous, lovely, broad thick letters but to my surprise, not a lot of line variation, or certainly not as much as I maybe expected, however, I did some writing with an up to the right slope to see the difference, and wow again, it was like a different machine altogether, lots of variation, lovely thick loopy bits and thin curves all over the place.... now I was seriously impressed.

I played around with the pen for a few hours, trying different things, and sometimes even just holding it and looking at it with a "big cheezer" on my face, before diving back to the paper and writing another page of nonsense.

 

Now the thing about this pen that strikes me, is that, although the full broad letters that it produces with my normal handwriting don't have the variation that I want, it's not the pens fault....it's mine.

I've read folks saying "oh it'll just take a bit of getting used to" or "I'll adapt to its' wee differences"

but I look at it a bit differently....I owe it to this pen to learn how to get the best out of it, and to do so will take practice, therefore, practice it shall be.

You don't just pick up a camera and knock off an award winning " fishing junks at sunset" first go, now do you? so why should a precision instrument like this be any different?

 

The pen itself is fabulous. I love everything about it, its' looks, the weight, the balance, and of course the wondrous nib which is a thing to behold in itself (well done Mr Ford I doff my cap in your direction) and although it's described as a "good value for money" pen which is deemed pretty inexpensive by all accounts, to me, (all things being relative) it cost an absolute fortune, and is by far my most expensive pen to date, yet, such is the magic of The Churchmans Prescriptor that I feel that it is an absolute bargain.

 

I hope you enjoyed the inane ramblings of a 40 something Jock, who, for some reason has inexplicably turned into an excited 12 year old, just because of a few pens.

 

Oh, and the pen....I nearly forgot I was actually doing a review of sorts there. :lol:

 

THE ITALIX CHURCHMANS PRESCRIPTOR REVIEW SUMMARY

 

Have you got one?,

No!.......Get one.

 

 

Ok

I'll stick on my pics now, and then I'm off for some "Practice"

 

Cheers

Ian Hi Ian, my wife Joy has taken a photo of all of my Jinhao's please tell me how she can send it to YOU and we will do it asap.Trust Me oneill.

 

fpn_1439560531__churchmans_prescriptor_1

 

fpn_1439560574__churchmans_prescriptor_2

 

fpn_1439560605__nib_oot.jpg

 

fpn_1439560635__review_sample_2.jpg

 

fpn_1439560672__the_nib_1.jpg

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HI Ian, my skype contact is as follows. metaldetective@outlook.com oneill.

 

Hi Ian, would you be so kind as to contact me and give me your contact so that we can send you the photos of my JINHAO's

regards Oneill.

Edited by oneill
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  • 9 months later...

I have to make Members aware of the fact that "Ian The Jock" passed away in January of this year at his home

suddenly and his very gracious Wife informed me of that a few days later,He was as far as I am concerned one of the nicest Gentlemen I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, he was without a doubt a Master of the internet in the way that he wrote his articles, changing his writing, changing his Ink His Fabulous writing skill, just his Professionalism which he excelled in, some kind Member has captured most of his articles and as far as I know has arranged for them to be re-posted so that those of you who did not know him can enjoy his work as he was without a doubt on his own on here,the way in which He Lusted after all of the pens he was shown and those he was sent

to review, I have NO idea how many he had but it must have been LOTS,when I introduced him to Jinhao and Baoer he talked about them for weeks and insisted on my taking photos of my collection of those and sending them to him

which I did, I promised him that when I die he would get them all,sadly that wont happen now,He was my favourite

Pen - pal I shall miss him Dearly.May He Rest In Peace.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I’ve owned the Parsons for two years.

ALWAYS ‘writes’ immediately, never skips, smooth as silk on all papers I use.

Some nib ‘creap’ with Noodlers legal lapis, my ink of choice.

Overall great and reliable pen!

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