Delta Titanio

[richardandtracy]

This review is of the Delta Titanio in Blue Celluloid with a Titanium nib.

First Impressions
On first opening the packaging the initial assault on the senses was almost overwhelming. While in the postal system the camphor smell of the celluloid had built up to an almost eyewatering degree and the turquoise celluloid just looked fabulous, shimmering as it moved in the light. Just unbelieveable. It really is a pen to drool over. It was on loan, so I had to be very careful with it. I felt I should be wearing white gloves while using it.

The next impression was 'Isn't it a FAT pen'. It's certainly fatter than any pen I have tried except the Delta Turchesa. The pen has a fair heft to it, but there is no impression of great density because the pen is fairly large in diameter. The proportions look slightly odd to me, being used to relatively slender pens. The Parker Duofold Centennial seems slightly short and stubby to me, but it's quite slender next to the Titanio.

This pen is one of a limited edition of 50 with titanium trimmings and the spectacular Chatterly Pens Celluloid. The titanium colour trims go beautifully with the colour of the celluloid - I think it's such a lovely material anything would go well with it. Shame there are so few pens with this material! The celluloid is the same as used for another Chatterly Pens LE, the Delta Turchesa Meraviglia, which looks equally amazing wearing silver furniture. As I have said before, this material is rather like some exceptionally pretty women, whatever the accessories, the look is always stunning.

The titanium of the nib was wierd. Looked at one way, the titanium is dark grey, then rotated through 90 degrees, it looks much lighter. This had me rotating the pen for ages - as did the way the celluloid changes its sparkles when viewed from different angles. OK, little things please little minds.

Size
The pen size is:-
137mm capped.
125mm uncapped.
160mm posted.
16.5mm cap diameter.
15.0mm barrel diameter.
Weight 31.5g with around 1/3 charge of ink.

Construction
The pen uses a celluloid section, barrel and cap. The trimmings are titanium coloured and the pen has a titanium flex nib ([fanfare for sudden dawning of comprehension] hence the 'Titanio' bit of the name..! Yes, I'm probably a bit slow on the uptake.). On the back of the cap is the pen's LE number engraved by means of dots.

The cap is very cleverly made. Where the trim rings at the cap lip are fitted, the cap body is turned down from the lip to the top of the trim rings. The rings are placed over the cap body and bonded into place with celluloid spacers and a celluloid cap lip. It's unlikely the tough titanium ring could have been successfully swaged onto the cap without damaging the celluloid, so it's a pragmatic approach to take. You may well guess that the cap has to be quite thick for this construction method, and you'd be right. The cap body material looks to be a minimum of 1.5mm thick. The strength of the sprung loaded clip grip is adequate for the weight of pen, and its lack of ornamentation looks perfect given the plain functionlity of the rest of the pen.

The barrel is directly threaded for the cap threads, which are beautifully cut and polished in the celluloid. The barrel unscrews to show that the barrel-section threads are machined directly into the celluloid of both the cap and the section - a lovely touch as the celluloid patterning is visible in the threads.

All trim is titanium coloured and looks absolutely smashing, understated but elegant against the celluloid.

Looks
I think I may have mentioned it once or twice already, but the pen looks fantastic. Feels like an excuse for another photo with it next to the Delta Turchesa:

Durability
Due to the quality of construction I'd expect the pen to last for centuries. The cap, barrel, and section are well made and very sturdy. This pen will survive every day abuse with ease.


Filling Mechanism
The filler is a c/c filler with a screw in c/c. Sensible choice is all I can say.


Writing
I'd love to say it's perfect, but I cannot.

This pen comes with a modern fine Titanium Flex Nib.
Which isn't a flex nib.

Confused? Sorry, I'll explain.
Vintage flex nibs are gold and can give extreme line variation depending on how hard you press. The feed - when properly tuned to the nib - keeps up with the flow and enables you to write with a significant variation in line width. The forces involved are not high, which is why many old vintage flex nibs have been damaged over the years when people use too much force.
On this nib, I cannot imagine anyone ever being able to use too much force while trying to flex it, because it's a semi-flex nib and unfortunately the forces are significant to get it to flex at all. In order to flex the nib enough to make the line width as wide as a 'Medium', I was up to ball point forces and to get any wider line variation would take more nerve than I posess; It was a loan pen & I wouldn't and couldn't risk damaging it.

When flexing the nib, the flow was significant, so much so that my reference ink, Pelikan 4001 Turquoise, formed a ball of ink on the page, eventually feathering even on Rhodia paper. This is an ink I have never before managed to get to feather. Not impressed. Due to the forces needed to flex the nib and the near blobbing that occurred when flexed, I recommend that this pen is not used as a flex nib.

When writing with normal, light, fountain pen forces the pen showed no variation in line width and behaved exactly like every other fine nibbed fountain pen. I really don't like writing with a fine nibbed pen...

The shape of the pen was nice to hold, the step in the barrel was not extreme and not noticeable when writing. The taper on the section was shallow enough to be good for writing for hours. I'd prefer a bulb in the section just above the nib to prevent fingers from slipping all the way down to the nib when hot and sweaty, but it did actually feel rather nice and didn't need high forces to hold the pen. It would be good for several hours use at a stretch unless you want to flex the nib. Then the forces involved are similar to ball-point forces and that will give you an idea of how rapidly your hand will get tired.

The celluloid body also adds two things not normally associated with the writing experience of a modern pen. The first is the amazingly slick feel of the material against the hand. It almost compells you to stroke it just to check that it really is there. Then the other sensation is a nasal sensation. Even with my catastrophically awful sense of smell, I can tell that I'm writing with something that's not a run-of the mill plastic. It's quite phenomenal to be smelling and almost tasting the pen you are using. This will fade in time, but hasn't done so yet, and adds a certain something to the experience.

The balance of the pen is good, having an even density throughout the pen, and it can be posted without the nib trying to flip up off the page.


Overall
I like this pen, but not the nib. It's similar to the Delta Turchesa in its feel, but not so massive. It looks stunning, feels gorgeous, smells gorgeous and is nice to write with for quite a time. The flex nib is a disappointment, it's only a semi-flex, and I would have kicked myself had I bought it for the flexibility of the nib. I have returned the pen to its very kind owner (who wishes to remain anonymous) who will love it as it deserves.

I do hope this slightly ambivalent review may be useful to someone.

Regards

Richard.

Edited January 29, 2018 by richardandtracy
tripe writing error

[fabrimedeiros]

Richard,

 

Thank you for the great review! I don't own any Delta, but I'm very tempted...

 

Edited: My only complaint is the c/c filler, which doesn't make justice to only 50 LE pens. Nevertheless the pen is awesome.

Edited July 19, 2011 by fabrimedeiros

[jandrese]

That is stunning...I have to resist adding another limited edition Titanio to my collection! Thanks for sharing.

[Strang]

I have the same model and had never used a titanium nib before. I was nervous about the flex aspect of the nib but am pleased to say that mine works perfectly, with moderate flex without having to lean on the pen and no flow issues. I couldn't be happier with mine. And what a beauty!

[Thier.]

I've just received my Delta Titanio but my nib is very different .....

 

[richardandtracy]

Does it show flex at reasonable forces?

 

Regards

 

Richard

[Thier.]

Oh yes, it's much more flexible that my Delta Dolcevita ..... Looks like a Visconti Gold nib .... It's great ......