The Agony Of Waiting: Montegrappa Extra Zebra

[Jezza]

I caved last week and, against my general rule to avoid Italian pens, I preordered a Montegrappa Extra in the striking zebra celluloid. I selected the extra fine nib. Anyone else have one of these yet? I havent had a Montegrappa in ages. Some of their designs leave me...puzzled...but the Extra is gorgeous. The agony of waiting....

[16m3mx]

I feel you, I ordered this past week an Armando Simoni Club Ogiva Bronze Arco Pavarotti....man! tha'ts a long name for a pen, and the wait is awful!

 

I don't own any Montegrappa but sure they look amazing, congrats on your purchase!

 

Luis A.

[paradigm]

I havent had a Montegrappa in ages.

Here this beauty?

And how often do you plan to write with this pen? And with which nib did you order?

 

 

[Jezza]

Thanks Paradigm. Thats the one. I ordered from Bryant at Chatterley, though Ive ordered from Dan Smith and John Mottishaw in the past, too. All great. I got the extra fine nib hoping it will be suitable for every day writing. Ill probsbly write with it on a daily basis as a journal pen, but then it will go into the rotation. Im fortunate to have a number of other good pens from which to choose. In fact, Dan just sent me a Pelikan M800 in Renaissance Brown with an amazing B nib reground to a cursive italic.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Jezza

[paradigm]

I got the extra fine nib hoping it will be suitable for every day writing.

I would choose Fine for daily writing, but extra-fine gives even denser words and subtle letters. And the capacity of the converter inside should be enough for long writing sessions. It's good.

Owners of Montegrappa Extra with a Bold nibs complain that the filling is enough for 1-2 pages, not more.

p.s. I also had a wonderful experience with Bryant!

[paradigm]

Pelikan M800 Renaissance Brown, cursive italic! Wow!

This is a charming fountain pen! This is a charming beauty of writing! Giving calligraphic appearance with a minimum of effort!

Beautiful in degree two!

 

[Jezza]

Yeah, I know the capacity of Montegrappas internal piston filler isnt great. If I was getting a broad nib or even a medium, I might think twice. But, from what Ive read, Montegrappa has made some improvements. Also, I noticed Montegrappa took the complaints about how many turns it took to uncap the pen to heart, and the second generation of Extra pens use a different thread design. I tend to bounce between pens frequently, so the limited ink capacity isnt much of an issue for me.

 

BtwBryant shipped the pen yesterday, and I should have it Wednesday evening. Ill try to post some pics Thursday.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Jezza

[bbs]

I have the very similar celluloid in Montegrappa's Beauty Book Gentleman. I don't think you'll be disappointed, it's beautiful.

[GranTorino25]

I have this beauty on the way from The Nibdmith and the wait is killing me!! Shipping for US to Aus takes well over a week

[truphae_inc]

I have this beauty on the way from The Nibdmith and the wait is killing me!! Shipping for US to Aus takes well over a week

Ohhh this is gorgeous!

[Jezza]

Im not necessarily a fan of the butterfly design on the cap band, but that is some of the most gorgeous celluloid I have ever seen! And the colors and irredecence are very much reminiscent of certain butterfly wings. Its a shockingly gorgeous pen. I dont envy your wait, but I think you will find the pen well worth this temporary agony. Please do post some pictures once it arrives, and congratulations on snagging such a lovely pen.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Jezza

[GranTorino25]

Thank you! The wait sure is killing me, but I think it will be a simply phenomenal pen, both in looks and writing experience

[aardvarkbark]

My finest pen is my Monty Extra 1930 in turtle brown and 18k trim. The EF is a wet EF, much like the Pelican, IMO. What is your experience with yours, Jeeza? One of the benefits of owning a Monty in the US is the service offered by Kenro, their US distributor. My Extra had some 'play' in the blind cap that operates the piston. Kenro sent it off, monitored it's progress, tested it upon return, and coordinated it's return timing with me given my frequent travel schedule. Superior customer service.

[Jezza]

My finest pen is my Monty Extra 1930 in turtle brown and 18k trim. The EF is a wet EF, much like the Pelican, IMO. What is your experience with yours, Jeeza? One of the benefits of owning a Monty in the US is the service offered by Kenro, their US distributor. My Extra had some 'play' in the blind cap that operates the piston. Kenro sent it off, monitored it's progress, tested it upon return, and coordinated it's return timing with me given my frequent travel schedule. Superior customer service.

 

I haven't had any issues with mine, so far. It reminds me a little of the Pelican M1000, but with a little less spring to it. Great writing pen, though.

[GranTorino25]

Im not necessarily a fan of the butterfly design on the cap band, but that is some of the most gorgeous celluloid I have ever seen! And the colors and irredecence are very much reminiscent of certain butterfly wings. Its a shockingly gorgeous pen. I dont envy your wait, but I think you will find the pen well worth this temporary agony. Please do post some pictures once it arrives, and congratulations on snagging such a lovely pen.

It arrived yesterday! I'll try to take some photos that do justice to the pen

[GranTorino25]

Here are a few. The colour is impossible to accurately capture, but it does also change drastically in the light- from almost a grey to a bright light blue!

 

For people who didn't like the ocean swirl, this isn't for them though- the two sides of the pen are almost all black/dark blue, but I quite like the darkness

[Ceelo]

Congrats on the pickup! Not a massive fan of the cap band (personal taste) but I love the celluloid and that Montegrappa is launching more limited Extra’s of late with some great variations of materials and trim. How does it write?

[GranTorino25]

I love the celluloid too!!

 

The nib is 18kt and very firm, almost no give, but it is oblique broad so wouldn't notice much anyway. It is incredible smooth, very much like a Pelikan M1000 smooth, it's like glass! But Dan Smith did tune and smooth it before I received it, so I can't confirm if that was how it came in the box

[Pennenut]

GranTorino25,

Congratulations on your lovely acquisition! Does the Montegrappa OB nib provide any line variation? Can you post a writing sample?

[Ceelo]

Strange that the nib is very firm. I recently picked up an extra with a fine nib and it can eek out decent line variation with little pressure. By no means flexible but definitely soft. A modern Duofold nib by comparison is what I’d call firm with no give.