Grifos Bog Oak Wood Fountain Pen

[onetwothree]

Hello,

 

This is my second fountain pen review ever, so I am still working all the kinks. If you have any suggestion, please by all mean suggest away!

 

The pen I would like to talk (write?) about today is the Grifos Bog Oak Wood Fountain Pen. Grifos is an Italian brand that specializes on pens crafted with exotic materials and sterling silver accents.

As far as I know these pens are not being sold regularly in the US by any retailer. I see them pop in Massdrop from time to time and I see a couple of them being sold on eBay from time to time but those deals are not reliably accessible. I got my pen from Massdrop a few months ago.

 

 

The pen comes in in an unassuming and rather boring cardboard box covered with some kind of material that resembles fabric/paper and is adorned with a small metal insignia on the top of the box. I don’t buy my pens for their boxes so I don’t mind that the box is a bit bland. Inside the box you will find the pen, a small card certifying that this pen is made in Italy by authorized craftsman’s that guarantee that the parts advertised as being silver are indeed silver as guaranteed by some kind of Italian/european silversmith Guild (my Italian is a bit rusty but that’s the gist of it). There is also a box with 6 ink cartridges (although funny enough I just opened to check the cartridges colors and found out that there are only 5 cartridges inside, I don’t know where the 6^th went). Finally, there is also a paper mostly on Russian, with a graph, some signatures, and a stamp to certify the age of the wood.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/6479/kRFv3Z.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/2973/SiJXNg.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/924/r7QJOv.jpg

 

This certificate is supposed to complement/authenticate that the material used for this pen (wood) is indeed a ~5,000 years old fossilized wood. Indeed, the “exotic” material of this pen is supposed to be fossilized wood. I use quotations marks because I consider this to be a gimmick. In the grand scheme of things, considering the age of this planet, the millions of years for which plants that produce cellulose (wood) have existed, 5,000 years is virtually nothing. Furthermore, I would hardly call this material a fossil as it does not have any petrification characteristics that I can tell. To be fair, the pen’s website does not call it a fossil but rather call the wood “ancient”. I bring up the fossil thing because Massdrop (where I bought it) said it was a fossil. That being said I did not buy this pen for the wood (as strange as that might seem) as from the very moment that I saw it I kind of realized that the whole 5,000 years “ancient” wood was a gimmick. It turns out that this bog wood is commonly used to make smoking pipes.

 

The wood is indeed beautiful but it is nothing (in my opinion) special. Perhaps an expert could appreciate this far more but to my untrained eye is not much different from most other dark woods. So why did I buy this pen if I was not sold on the “precious wood” you may ask? Well, the silver work and the Guilloche pattern of the cap. Yes, ironically it is not the “precious” material but rather the accompanying decoration that attracted me to this pen. I am a fan of guilloche pattern and even bigger fan of silver. I would have bought this pen in a heartbeat if the whole pen had the cap’s pattern and material. For me, the wood is not a selling point but rather something I was willing to “tolerate” in exchange for the beautiful cap.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4684/URWswR.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/4314/yrl6h1.jpg

 

The cap is made out of solid silver with a ruthenium plating which I think complements the dark wood very well. The finial is round with no adornments. The clip feels solid (not flimsy) but opens easily and convincingly to easily put and secure to most pockets. The cap’s band flares up and it is the thickest part of the pen. In the front of the cap bad, it is engraved “Nero Muse Italy” and the back has the company logo. The whole cap is adorned with a square/diamond guilloche pattern which seems very even throughout the cap except at the very top of the cap on the back side where 3 of the “squares” seem to be missing. I presume this is a tiny defect which is a consequence of the hand-made nature of this pen.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/637/KrGWDS.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/7682/yHjay4.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3382/8rZ4Fo.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3863/DCUl1l.jpg

 

Uncapping the pen reveals the pen’s section which shares the cap’s design. This section also has a tiny defect on the underside of the section. I suspect that such defects are unavoidable and that the craftsmen are deliberately placing them in the back to hide them. They are tiny and can only be found if looking for them. Not a big deal in my opinion. (Forgive this lower quality picture as I found out the defect after I took the review pictures and had put my camera away, the defect is minuscule). The guilloche pattern of this pen makes this pen very interesting to hold at first. I am a very tactile person and I enjoy the feeling of the little squares and grooves massaging my digits. However, after long periods of time writing or if you hold your pen with a lot of pressure, this pattern might become an annoyance.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/3481/qX9f7L.jpghttp://imageshack.com/a/img924/7975/CYGZ4V.jpg

 

The nib looks massive in this pen. The website of the company states that they use Bock nibs and when compared to my other pens this nib indeed looks like a #6 nib. That being said, unless I put this pen side to side to another pen with a #6 nib, I keep having the impression that this nib looks rather large on this body. Perhaps is due to the rather slender look of this pen (many of my other pens with #6 nibs are Deltas/Edison pens which are chubbier). Don’t get me wrong, I think the pen is a good “standard” size. I like large nibs so I consider this “optical illusion” a plus for me.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/265/thJxwP.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/3404/wuwDkV.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4687/bfN1N4.jpg

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5904/JQMSkR.jpg

 

So far so good. I am not impressed with “ancient wood” but it is actually quite nice (as many “normal” woods are) and I like the silver/guilloche cap. However, this is where things start to go wrong. The threads that screw the cap to the body are very sharp and they feel sharp when screwing/unscrewing the pen. I do not come into contact with the threads when writing and even if I scan the area with the tip of my fingers I can barely feel the threads because they are protected by a metal ring. However when opening/closing the pen, the threads feel sharp and rough not smooth. This means that it is probably a very bad idea to post this pen (it was a bad idea to post metal on wood, to begin with) as the sharp threads surely will leave a mark sooner rather than later. Also, I presented the cap to the back of the barrel and if you were to post it, the cap would not go too deep into the barrel so not only the pen would be very long but also very back heavy (solid silver cap). So this is definitely not the pen for you if you like posting.

 

The barrel of the pen is made of wood. We knew that right? Well I mean it though. There is no brass barrel under the wood, something that I was expecting. As a result, when uncapped the pen is very light with most of the weight concentrated at the bottom (due to the solid silver section + nib). Personally, I don’t see this as a problem, I like pens on the light side and bottom heavy is preferable to top heavy (perhaps someone would prefer a weight balance close to 50:50 but it does not matter to me). However, I do have a concern about the durability of this design choice. The wood on the barrel surely is not very thick and to make things worse the wood is 5,000 years old! So I certainly believe that the barrel is going to be the very first thing to break in this pen.

 

Another concern I have about this pen is the fact that there is no protective coating on top of the wood. While I prefer it like this right now that the wood is “new” (5000 years old new? Ha!) and feels smooth, etc; I suspect that sometime in the future this wood will start to produce small splinters that will eventually make my hands miserable. Perhaps not, but as far as I am concerned, the fear is there. Also after a few weeks of owning this pen I realized that I have to be very careful when cleaning the barrel. Off course I will avoid water/moisture at all cost (I have not done so, but apparently this type of wood would taint water in a yellowish color because of released tannins. This could also mean that the color might get altered not to mention the possibility of swelling/water absorption. Again I am not even considering testing cleaning this pen with water). I also have to be very careful with what kind of cloth I use to clean/polish the barrel as small pieces of cloth lint/threads will break apart and get stuck in the wood (and presumably it is also damaging it). So this is a pen where I might have to have a dedicated special cloth to clean it with.

 

Finally, let’s talk about the writing experience. Overall the writing experience with this pen is mediocre. The nib is neither too wet nor too dry, just medium. The nib width is also medium (although you can choose extra fine/fine/broad, Massdrop also gave the option to upgrade to a gold nib for $150 which I did not take). The nib writes smooth but there is a bit of feedback, perhaps a 3-4 in a 0-10 feedback scale. Finally, the nib is a nail, it has absolutely no spring/flexibility/bounce to speak off. These characteristic does not make for a bad nib at all, in fact quite the opposite, I think most people (including myself) would agree that this pen is a very good writer but the problem I find is that it is missing character. The nib is too “standard” for my taste. After many weeks of playing with this nib, and more importantly (I think) using different inks. I have started to grow into this nib. The very first few days it felt a bit boring, especially with a fairly dry Faber Castell Garnet Red ink. However, now that I have used a wider variety of inks I think I was perhaps a bit too harsh, the nib does have some character. Still, it does not have anything special but it is definitely a very very nice nib that is not as boring as I previously thought.

 

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/923/zfqRsW.jpg

 

In conclusion, the pen is overall a nice pen. To me, it is aesthetically pleasing but not more than that. The writing experience is OK but lacks character. The “selling point” of this pen seems like a gimmick to me and what sold me over was actually the silver work. I have concerns about the durability of this pen and perhaps, more importantly, the possibility of endless injuries if the wood starts to splinter off. Although I can tolerate the small defects on the guilloche pattern of the cap and section, the sharp threads are unacceptable even for a hand crafted pen like this one (seriously even $3 Jinhao pens don’t have this problem).

I have not talked about price, but this pen has an MSRP in the website for €300 (although every time I see the website it is in “promo” for € 210.00). That is close to $230 USD (presumably + shipping) if you take the promo price, or $330 if you don’t. I got this pen through Massdrop for $194.99 shipped (although I did have to wait around 2 months to have it delivered). I personally, would not have bought it again had I known what I know today. The only part that I really like about this pen is the cap, and $200 feels a rather steep price to pay for a nice cap in a pen that I don’t really care for. If the nib had more character and the finish of the threads smoother I could change my mind but as it stands today I don’t like it for that price. Do keep in mind that overall the pen is a very good pen, if you love the design and the wood, and like a nib that writes very well it might be the perfect pen for you the problem is that I don’t love the wood, etc.

 

Finally, perhaps the strongest selling point of this pen, from Grifos’ point of view is “ancient” wood. The cheap photocopy, mostly on Russian, certifying the legitimacy of the material is a missed opportunity. Instead of this cheap photocopy, I think they should have shipped the pen with a larger certificate, in higher quality paper and/or cardboard with some sort of seal. I say this because this certificate is very ugly (and sketchy at best) so I doubt anyone would ever display it (and use it as a conversation starter). Like I said, I think this whole “ancient” wood is a gimmick, so personally, I would not even display it if it were a pretty one, but I think this is still a missed opportunity for the company to try to improve the overall value of its product.

 

Let me know what you think about this pen. If you enjoyed my review and/or if you have any suggestions! I am still tweaking the format of my reviews so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

[Mr.Rene]

Photos are not working..or just me ?

[Uncial]

Fossilised Bog oak is used quite extensively here still for all sorts of things. When correctly dried it shouldn't absorb moisture and people make bowls out of it for use, not just decoration. Over time it will take on a slight tan hue that is slightly shiny and the material is incredibly tough but light. I personally would never polish it. If it is recently worked Bog oak it should look quite black. It should also never splinter.

[Uncial]

Fossilised Bog oak is used quite extensively here still for all sorts of things. When correctly dried it shouldn't absorb moisture and people make bowls out of it for use, not just decoration. Over time it will take on a slight tan hue that is slightly shiny and the material is incredibly tough but light. I personally would never polish it. If it is recently worked Bog oak it should look quite black. It should also never splinter.

[onetwothree]

Photos are not working..or just me ?

Showing for me, but then again I published it so maybe that is why. Anyone else experiencing this problem? Images are being hosted by imagehack but I can make adjustments as needed.

 

 

Fossilised Bog oak is used quite extensively here still for all sorts of things. When correctly dried it shouldn't absorb moisture and people make bowls out of it for use, not just decoration. Over time it will take on a slight tan hue that is slightly shiny and the material is incredibly tough but light. I personally would never polish it. If it is recently worked Bog oak it should look quite black. It should also never splinter.

Thank you for the information! Perhaps the finish of my pen is not 100% correctly done because there are certainly small areas where if I pass my finger I can feel splinters (or perhaps there is a more technical term to describe something that looks/feels like a splinter but it is not quite it). Although not big enough to harm my fingers (yet) the pen is still new so time will only tell. I can say however, that they are there for sure as I also noticed tiny pieces of treads/lint from the cloth i used to wipe the oily residues from my hand after handling it when I was going to take the pictures.

[Uncial]

It can feel very rough in places, but it shouldn't splinter. If it's splintering then there are three possibilities; it isn't what it says it is, it has been incorrectly cut or they are using poorly prepared material. Like I said above, I wouldn't put a cloth or any kind of polish near it. It's a living wood, in the sense that it will take on it's own patina as it ages in exposure to the air and to your hands. It will result eventually in a very uneven finish, but many lovely tones and some high shine areas and other very matt black areas. It's for these qualities and for its robustness that it is used. If you were looking for a finish that remains the same and is uniform then unfortunately you've picked a pen of a material that won't do that.

[visvamitra]

Thank you for presenting the pen. WHile I like wood and metal combionation a lot, I don't fancy this design.

[onetwothree]

It can feel very rough in places, but it shouldn't splinter. If it's splintering then there are three possibilities; it isn't what it says it is, it has been incorrectly cut or they are using poorly prepared material. Like I said above, I wouldn't put a cloth or any kind of polish near it. It's a living wood, in the sense that it will take on it's own patina as it ages in exposure to the air and to your hands. It will result eventually in a very uneven finish, but many lovely tones and some high shine areas and other very matt black areas. It's for these qualities and for its robustness that it is used. If you were looking for a finish that remains the same and is uniform then unfortunately you've picked a pen of a material that won't do that.

I did not mean polish. In fact, I tend to stay away from polishing unless on my non-plated metal pens, solid plastic or sometimes solid resin pens. I would certainly not attempt to polish this pen ever. That being said, it is a pen. At if I were to like it a lot, it would end up in my pocket at all times and that means that it will unavoidably get in contact with various things that might need to be wiped off its surface. Oil, dirt, grime or even ink are very likely possibilities. So any material that is not friendly to something as simple as a wipe with a damp cloth or napkin is simply not a good material for a fountain pen. I believe this material, in its current finish, might be one of them. Only time will tell, I can only report that the one time I wiped some fingerprints from the finish, a few threads and flint from my cloth got stuck into the wood so that causes me to suspect that this might be a concern.

[onetwothree]

Photos are not working..or just me ?

Did the photos issue resolve or are you still having trouble? Anyone else having pictures problems?

[ian1964]

Great review. I have often seen these pens on Massdrop and wondered. Now I know I don't want one.

[inkmeupscotty]

Hi there. Just to share my experience with the Grifos bog oak pen. I was very new to fountain pens when I bought one a couple of years ago, not understanding much about variations in nib quality, writing functionality etc. I now realise that much of its value lies in the silversmithing, not so much any ultra superior functioning of the pen itself. After some time using it, I must say I am quite happy with the pen, having compared in daily use against big name brands and more expensive nibs.

 

Firstly, those defects on the silver cap and grip are not defects at all. On closer inspection, you will see that they are flat areas deliberately placed to accept the tiny hallmark stamps. This is the case with most sterling silver pens.

 

Next, the quality of the guilloche work is excellent. No argument here, they have done a sterling job.

 

Don't even think about posting it, it's just not a postable design. Looks stupidly long and misshapen if you do. Just look elsewhere if you really must stick your cap on the back.

 

The wood barrel shows no signs of cracking, splintering, staining or marking after two years. It may in fact have a matte polyurethane finish on it, but hard to tell. It feels solid and smooth, just like my Faber Castell wooden pens, and I don't see anyone fretting over that maker's barrel quality!

 

My nib behaves exactly as a Bock steel medium nib should: smooth but not exceptionally so, and a pleasure to write with. Mass production can mean that an occasional nib will behave like a dog out of the box, but they should be swappable and tunable.

 

I agree the cap threads are a little sharp, however they function well enough, with no grating or misalignment, and they don't affect my grip at all.

 

I agree that the whole bog oak thing is more than a little overrated, and I put this to the producer via a Massdrop discussion, to the effect that this supposedly precious material can be had from pen blank suppliers for a couple of dollars. His response was that the Grifos oak is older than what is commonly available. Anyhow, I rather like it as a barrel material, and the combination with the dark plating is cool.

 

In short, you can likely get a better overall nib/pen combination for the price, but if you fancy a unique design and the cachet of sterling silver, you could do worse than the Grifos.

[onetwothree]

Hi there. Just to share my experience with the Grifos bog oak pen. I was very new to fountain pens when I bought one a couple of years ago, not understanding much about variations in nib quality, writing functionality etc. I now realise that much of its value lies in the silversmithing, not so much any ultra superior functioning of the pen itself. After some time using it, I must say I am quite happy with the pen, having compared in daily use against big name brands and more expensive nibs.

 

Firstly, those defects on the silver cap and grip are not defects at all. On closer inspection, you will see that they are flat areas deliberately placed to accept the tiny hallmark stamps. This is the case with most sterling silver pens.

 

Next, the quality of the guilloche work is excellent. No argument here, they have done a sterling job.

 

Don't even think about posting it, it's just not a postable design. Looks stupidly long and misshapen if you do. Just look elsewhere if you really must stick your cap on the back.

 

The wood barrel shows no signs of cracking, splintering, staining or marking after two years. It may in fact have a matte polyurethane finish on it, but hard to tell. It feels solid and smooth, just like my Faber Castell wooden pens, and I don't see anyone fretting over that maker's barrel quality!

 

My nib behaves exactly as a Bock steel medium nib should: smooth but not exceptionally so, and a pleasure to write with. Mass production can mean that an occasional nib will behave like a dog out of the box, but they should be swappable and tunable.

 

I agree the cap threads are a little sharp, however they function well enough, with no grating or misalignment, and they don't affect my grip at all.

 

I agree that the whole bog oak thing is more than a little overrated, and I put this to the producer via a Massdrop discussion, to the effect that this supposedly precious material can be had from pen blank suppliers for a couple of dollars. His response was that the Grifos oak is older than what is commonly available. Anyhow, I rather like it as a barrel material, and the combination with the dark plating is cool.

 

In short, you can likely get a better overall nib/pen combination for the price, but if you fancy a unique design and the cachet of sterling silver, you could do worse than the Grifos.

 

Hi inkmeupscotty!

Thank you for your feedback. You are correct regarding the mark. Upon very very careful examination, what I thought were tiny holes inside a smooth area that was lacking the guilloche pattern, are not wholes at all but rather tiny letters and numbers. Even with magnifier glass I cannot decipher what letters/numbers are imprinting. As a result of such tiny imprint I mistook them for tiny holes. Also I have seen such imprints in caps in other pens, but never on a pen's section and that was the reason I assumed they were tiny defects. Thank you for pointing that out.

 

I agree with the rest of your thoughts as well. Good pen overall but not great (in my opinion) and for those of us that don't find this design mind-blowingly beautiful, $200 (or ~$300 which is the retail price) is a hard pill to swallow for a steel nib and for a pen that inset quite perfect (e.i very sharp thread).

[allen_paris]

I didn't know Griffos. I started to live in Italia 4 years ago and I never saw these pens in any shop I know (but it seems they only sell on internet ?) neither in penshows.

 

There are so many little company based on a real craftmanship in Italy. I often wonder how they can compet on an international market... but they do !

 

nice review thanks a lot for the discovery