Edison Pen Company

October 13, 2008

Ordering Process: As I know almost nothing about the history, specifications etc of fountain pens and was purchasing this as a birthday gift for my son I began my search and information gathering process online. I was considering a vintage pen but eventually found myself on the Edison Pen website. Great pictures, lots of info for a newbie and best of all quick email responses to my handful of questions from Brian Gray, the owner. He never once "sold" me a pen, but rather answered questions about weight, size, nibs, etc in a very general and educational manner. He provided links to sites with plenty of information and was willing to bounce ideas around. The guy knows his stuff and was more than willing to take the time to help me understand what might make a good selection for my situation. Over the period of a couple of days I decided to go with the Edison Pen Co. and the Glenmont in a Red/Black Ebonite with an ebonite section and Taccia Two-Tone Medium Nib (Brian promised that should me son rather a different size nib he would gladly exchange it). In addition I chose to have the pen engraved with my sons initials. Brian was helpful to the point that he volunteered to give me a pen box to present it as a gift at no charge to me.

First Impression: The package arrived and I opened the box with great anticipation. Packed within the bubble wrap was the pen box, and within that the actual pen. Upon opening the box I could see that the pen was a beautiful object. (As an architect I have a great object fetish!) Unfortunately (and don't stop reading here if you are considering an Edison pen…the story has a very happy ending!) when I tried to remove the cap from the pen the nib end, section and ink reservoir came apart as one piece from the ebonite body of the pen. I was hugely disappointed and concerned that I was going to be stuck with an inferior device. I won't drag it out too much, but I immediately emailed Brian – and received an automated 'out of the office' response. I was about to panic! Amazingly enough though coming shortly behind that was an email from Brian explaining he was on vacation but wanted to help me out immediately. I explained my problem, he right away suggested that I send the pen back, he would figure out what was wrong, correct it and send it back to me along with $20 to cover my shipping expenses. I appreciated his willingness to take care of the situation, but then on top of that Brian (who I must say was very concerned about the malfunctioning pen) said he would prefer to credit me another pen along with fixing my initial purchase. He volunteered to select another model (in this case it ended up being the Herald, a nice complement to the Glenmont in that they are very different) and send that along with the repaired pen. I packaged up the damaged pen, sent it back to Brian and within about 5 days from the first email about the pen I had received, had the repaired pen and a second beautiful pen in my hands. This time when he sent them, Brian packaged them in the glass tubes he typically uses. The box was bubble wrapped and included too. Brian explained what he thinks happened to the pen first time around. The pen box (which he had generously "donated" as part of the gift package) was not as "bump proof" as his normal packaging and was damaged during shipping. Lesson learned I guess.

Design Size Weight: So, second "first impression"…I love the Glenmont. It is an elegant object that has a very vintage feel. It is a nice largish size and has enough weight to feel solid but not at all heavy. The Red/Black ebonite has a wonderful warm glow and the black ebonite ends (one of which is engraved in our case) pleasantly finished looking. As I mentioned before I know little or nothing about fountain pens, but this pen is something anybody can pick up and know instantly that they are holding an object of beauty and quality. The second pen is a Black/Green ebonite Herald. It is also a very fine object. Different from the Glenmont in many ways. A slightly smaller feel in the hand and maybe a little more approachable in appearance. Both pens are amazing though and my son (who is 6'2" and has the hands to match) loves both.

I don't have images, but others posted on this site show the glass tube packaging and Brians website also has pen images…

http://pencraftonline.com/userfiles/image/medium/GlenmontRedBlack.jpg

http://pencraftonline.com/userfiles/image/medium/GlenmontRedBlack2R.jpg

Glenmont in Red-Black ebonite

http://pencraftonline.com/userfiles/image/New%20Herald/Medium/GreenHerald.jpg

http://pencraftonline.com/userfiles/image/New%20Herald/Medium/GreenHerald2.jpg

Herald in Green-Black ebonite

I cant really address the performance from a personal level as the pens have been presented as gifts…but my son does tell me (or shows – in the penned thank you note) he is very pleased with the pens.

Overall: I cant say enough about Brian and his commitment to providing a quality product. His immediate concern for the damaged pen and desire to not only make it right, but to make sure my experience as a consumer/client was as near perfect as possible was impressive. I have already recommended him to a friend who is looking for a gift for her husband. I know she and he both are very picky and would certainly not be disappointed with Edison Pens product and experience. Brian is conscientious, attentive and skilled. What could have potentially been a disaster turned into a great introduction to a fantastic product. Thank you Brian!

Edited October 13, 2008 by MYU

October 13, 2008

Wow--first posting from a new member, and it's a review!

First of all, !

I'm glad to hear you had a delightful experience with Edison Pen Company. Brian is a great guy who is eager to please, as your testimony well supports (an extra pen to boot with the fixed pen--wow!). Keep a watch on his website, as he's coming out with new models recently too.

Since you're new, you probably don't know how to link to images, which is what I think you intended with your links. I'll go ahead and do that for you.

Lastly, congratulations on a fine choice of pens for your son's gift. Maybe he'll get around to joining FPN and add his impressions as well.

~Gary

October 13, 2008

I have had a similar experience as you have had with Brian. I ordered an eyedropper Herald and he accidently sent me a c/c. Brian was so sorry for the mistake and promises to convert it and ship the pen out quickly. Brian is a really nice guy who stands by his products.

October 13, 2008

Let me also thank you for not only joining FPN but posting a review. This is valuable information and you are to be commended for sharing it with the rest of us.

There is a slang term used around here for pens that you really want, that being, "drool pens" because when you see them, you start drooling uncontrollably, much like Pavlov's dogs.

Both pens are great but I am drooling over the Herald in green/black ebonite.

Thank you, again for sharing your experience.

David