Loclen Orbite: A Preliminary Review

[Leehu Zysberg]

Fountain pens are about tradition and attachment to the old ways. As a collector I tried to keep my scope of collectable fountain pens broad but eventually I tend to gravitate toward tradional designs and names. An exception to this rule took place with the most recent addition to my stable. I came across one of those pop-up ads on the net which had an image of an avant-garde looking writing contraption and a name I have never heard of before: Loclen. Looked them up on the web and before long I was correpsonding amiably with the person behind the logo: he makes his own pens by himself, designs everything himself and produces it by hand in Italy. I found it facinating and as I learned more on the pens he was making I decided to go for his current top product- the Loclen Orbita fountain pen. In a couple of days it landed on my desk, got inked and here are some personal impressions:

 

Design:

 

Well, this is where the pen really makes its deepest impact - i am getting a lot of responses from people around me every time I am taking it out of my pocket to use in meetings, classes etc. Bold, big, shines like the full moon (pun intended - the Orbita design is inspired by the moon and the stars - see image). It's by no means an object of understatement - be warned :-)

It is original, somewhat off-the-beaten-path blending traditional classic designs with modern elements that are making a difference.

 

 

Build and finish

 

It is a moderately large size pen and it IS heavy. Full metal (brass barrel and cap, and I think the section is steel) construction and the bold size mean it is not for the faint of heart. However - when uncapped for writing it sits comfortably in the hand-perfectly balanced. The barrel and cap are high polish with golden accents (cap top and clip). The section is matte finished to an almost "soft" feeling - allows for easy comfy grip and handling. Threaded body and cap are perfect fit, no rattling parts, accurate screw on and off function and parts are solid enough to not loosen on their own. Very well done. It comes with a standard converter but I use it with waterman ink cartridges.

 

 

Nib and performance

 

 

The 750/1000 or 18K rose gold nib is signed "Bock" - one of the two leading independent nib manufacturers hailing from Germany. The feed is hard rubber and everything fits tightly, no spills or drips even when the pen is shaken. The nib is large size, and though it does not carry a tip size it writes like a 'generous M' and lays a full bodied wet line. It is very responsive to pressure and varying angles - not a "flexi" type but certainly more of an Omas or large nibbed Pelikan than a modern Waterman, for example. I do not know if the pen comes in other nib sizes.

 

Writing is smooth, ink flow is consistant yet as mentioned above it does respond well to my writing dynamics in line-breadth and depth of color of the ink left on the paper.

 

One quibble

 

This pen is not a "popular product" . It is marketed as a custom made luxury product, and prices are mid-upper tier - which can definitely be justified given the original designs and quality involved. My only quibble given the above is the pen case: it comes in a nice simple black case - but when stacked against the presentation of comparable products (upper tier Parkers, Mid-tier Cartier, entry to mid tier Omas etc.) it should come in a more substantial, fancy box, and probably should come accompanied by accessories such as a carrying leather pouch or (and this may prove to be useful given the high-sheen polish on the barrel which tends to smudge easily) a polishing cloth.

 

 

 

All in all it is a refreshing find, blending classic functionality and artisanship with off-the-trodden-path designs and a new name in pens. The fact you can actually contact and talk with the person making the pens is an exciting thing and I highly recommend you take the opportunity to communicate with him - if only for the fun of discussing things with a passionate pen maker - and check out his pens - they will add a unique flare to most collections.

[watch_art]

Now THAT is really interesting. Thanks for the review of a totally new maker and I'll be glad to add his name to our index.

[Leehu Zysberg]

Thanks - i am really excied about this forum and I promise to add some more reviews of my pens in the near future.

Sincerely

 

L.Z.

[PenandDesign]

Whoa. That looks like a nice pen! It's always fascinating to see quality FPs made by relatively-small companies/turners. In either case, that pen looks magnificent!

[Silent Speaker]

Thank you for the review! (those banner ads/pop ups just fade are just automatically mentally blanked; I would never have found such a pen)

 

If that really is a rosegold nib (plated, I assume) that is most interesting indeed, as the list of pens with rose gold trim is short.

 

And, because my funny eyes + badly calibrated monitor make things uncertain, does that odd clip contraption also posses that rosey hue, and does the barrel and cap have a sort of blue/purple tinge?