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Grifos: One Of Italy's Best Kept Secrets


lobsang

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After reading a post in which one FPN member mentioned that he had designed his own fountain pen, and that a pen company called Grifos had created it for him. That impressed me, so I went to the Grifos site to take a look at their pens. I placed an order and waited for my pen to arrive. About two weeks later I received my pen, and I later learned that they often wait to create a pen until it is ordered.

Grifos pens are definitely worth waiting for. They are all hand made, and they incorporate precious and unique materials. My favorite Grifos pen is made from sterling silver and Cobra skin dyed a beautiful lavender color.

They all feel great in the hand, with just enough weight to feel substantial. They are wonderful to write with; the ink flows smoothly and effortlessly across the page. Unlike so many other fountain pens, I can pick up one I haven't used for a while and it writes as well as one that has just been cleaned and inked. They are so reliable that of all the pens in my modest collection, my Grifos pens are the only ones I routinely write with. I generally carry one or two in my handbag, and I never worry that my the lining of my purse will be ruined by ink leaks.

Grifos pens do not arrive in the same fancy boxes some brands use, but I think that the contents of the box is what matters most. Because they lack the cache of better known brands, you get a quality pen for a very reasonable price.

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Pics please!

First question:I found no info on their site but the pics seem to show snap on caps only, is that correct?

247254751_TSUKI-Yo_emptycompressedverkleind.gif.bfc6147ec85572db950933e0fa1b6100.gif

 

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I enjoy my Grifos pen, a crocodile (or Caiman skin, as their site called it) covered sterling silver pen. It is probably two years old now & has never been anything except a joy to use since I replaced the nib with a Goulet stub, 1.5 nib. I did not enjoy the nib that came with the pen, nor it's replacement, but a simple $15.00 nib I knew I liked, was a VERY easy fix. The screw cap has worked well from arrival & with the exception of swiping the sterling silver trim with a Sunshine Cloth, occasionally, it looks as nice after two years of use as it did upon arrival.

 

I was fascinated by a reptile skin covering for a pen, respected the reviews I had read here on other Grifos pens & am happy I ordered it. I think they make a very nice pen & I am glad someone else enjoys their Grifos pen.

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Oops! This thread is not about the Iso Grifo.....

Thankfully. Talk about a turned down nose...

 

http://www.fototime.com/FBD96464D142D22/medium800.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/BA0FAC990EA54B7/medium800.jpg

 

My Website

 

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Beautiful pens indeed, I placed Grifos Pens very high on my Next Pen to Buy Waiting List, thanks lobsang for posting.



Especially the Silver 925 fountain pen lools very alluring to me.



I am sorry I am completely naive about pens, and I do not mean to offend anyone, but do some of these pens look like kit pens? They look beautiful and so elegant and so well designed. Could they accept Jowo or Bock housing?



Congrats and thanks again,



- Frank66

Edited by Frank66

- Kaigelu 316 Modification (250 #6 Bock Nib / Beaufort Ink Converter)
- Titanium Bock Nib - Kaigelu 316 - Beaufort Ink

- Bock Rollerball Nib In Jinhao 886 Pen - Beaufort Ink Converter

- No affiliation with pen industry, just a pen hobbyist.

- It matters what you write, only for us it matters what we write it with.

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Beautiful pens indeed, I placed Grifos Pens very high on my Next Pen to Buy Waiting List, thanks lobsang for posting.

Especially the Silver 925 fountain pen lools very alluring to me.

I am sorry I am completely naive about pens, and I do not mean to offend anyone, but do some of these pens look like kit pens? They look beautiful and so elegant and so well designed. Could they accept Jowo or Bock housing?

Congrats and thanks again,

- Frank66

 

Frank, Maurizio Stura (member stubnib) is the owner of Grifos and I have always found him gracious and eager to talk about his pens.

 

My Website

 

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Greetings:

Someone asked whether all Grifos pens have snap-on caps and they do use both. They are willing tom customize pens, so I believe you can request whether you want a screw-on or snap-on pen. I'm glad that others beat me to the punch by sharing pics of some of the Grifos pens.

I received an absolutely gorgeous catalogue from them and was surprised to learn that they are able to do a number of different patterns in their silver and gold pens. I also discovered that the pattern created by carving lines into precious metals is called Guilloche. Each line is hand carved, something that amazes me, given how reasonable their prices are. One day I was examining one of my silver pens and noticed what I thought was a dent. Examining it under a magnifier, I found that what I was seeing was Grifos's official stamp that all guild members place on these pens to verify that they are using 925 silver.

I have included a picture of some of my favorite Grifos Pens. The one with the red barrel is made of dyed lizard skin, the lavender one is covered in lavender Cobra skin, and the nubby blue one is dyed Stingray skin.

I am an animal lover and I don't eat meat, so my selections may seem to contradict my beliefs. However, when I expressed concerns, I was told that all these materials are purchased as "left-overs" from other businesses such as catering companies.

 

 

The story behind Grifos pens is very interesting, but if you are not interested in history, stop reading now. And if I have some facts wrong, I hope Maurizio will correct me.

 

Grifos is located in the Aosta Valley in Italy. I understand that the area has seen much violence in the past, and so residents took to hiding precious works so they would not be destroyed. One day while a young Maurizio was sitting in class, there were people working inside a nearby church. They unearthed an ancient, beautiful piece of intricate tile work representing two griffins face-to-face; one was black, the other white.

There was much excitement and Maurizio and 19 of his classmates were permitted to leave class to see this extraordinary find. They were the first people to set foot on the mosaic for a century or more, and this must have been a powerful experience for Maurizio. Years later, when Maurizio decided to make pens, he named his company Grifos...an homage to that amazing mosaic masterpiece. I used to have a picture of the mosaic but cannot locate it, and though I tried, I could not find it online

 

 

 

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The story behind Grifos pens is very interesting, but if you are not interested in history, stop reading now. And if I have some facts wrong, I hope Maurizio will correct me.

 

Grifos is located in the Aosta Valley in Italy. I understand that the area has seen much violence in the past, and so residents took to hiding precious works so they would not be destroyed. One day while a young Maurizio was sitting in class, there were people working inside a nearby church. They unearthed an ancient, beautiful piece of intricate tile work representing two griffins face-to-face; one was black, the other white.

There was much excitement and Maurizio and 19 of his classmates were permitted to leave class to see this extraordinary find. They were the first people to set foot on the mosaic for a century or more, and this must have been a powerful experience for Maurizio. Years later, when Maurizio decided to make pens, he named his company Grifos...an homage to that amazing mosaic masterpiece. I used to have a picture of the mosaic but cannot locate it, and though I tried, I could not find it online

 

 

Part of the mosaic can be seen as the background in the upper picture in this message.

 

And the mosaic:

 

http://www.fototime.com/44DE1EC47DFF3A3/orig.jpg

 

My Website

 

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Frank, Maurizio Stura (member stubnib) is the owner of Grifos and I have always found him gracious and eager to talk about his pens.

Jar, thanks for the advice, I would definitely like to contact Mr Maurizio Stura of Grifos Pens. I am curious whether the some of Grifos Pens are piston fillers or cartridge converters only. Thanks again.

- Frank66

- Kaigelu 316 Modification (250 #6 Bock Nib / Beaufort Ink Converter)
- Titanium Bock Nib - Kaigelu 316 - Beaufort Ink

- Bock Rollerball Nib In Jinhao 886 Pen - Beaufort Ink Converter

- No affiliation with pen industry, just a pen hobbyist.

- It matters what you write, only for us it matters what we write it with.

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It's so well hidden that it is hard to find catalogues or see pens in stores. I discovered them 5 to 8 months ago while browsing Etsy. Their wallet size pen is perfect for the shirtless worker that I am!

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Ugh, how do you go to their site ?

 

http://i.imgur.com/mBEHGNQ.png

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.pnghttp://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png
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Here's the URL: http://www.grifos-pens.it

 

As for the cartridge question, I believe some are cartridge only, but I would contact somebody at Grifos to be certain

Same 403 error.

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.pnghttp://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png
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Same 403 error.

 

To some country, it is not accessible.

The owner said there was some sort of hacker's attack on their site from Asia, so he blocked the access from some countries. I think I read this on Massdrop.

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Same 403 error.

Use Opera. In Settings; Privacy & Security turn on the VPN. Then from the VPN box next to the search bar select a country like Netherlands and see if all is better.

 

My Website

 

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Went to the website. Saw nibs (steel) offers up to "very broad" size - I wonder does anybody know how broad it is?

 

Thank you.

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Grifos makes some beautiful pens, but I could never get past the fat cap band. Breaks the flow of the body of the pen for me.

 

Regards, greg

Don't feel bad. I'm old; I'm meh about most things.

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