Marlen Humanitas - Another Glorious Italian Pen

[onetwothree]

This review is long overdue. The moment I received the pen in question I knew I had to write and share my thoughts because truly, this pen is fantastic.

Until a few months back, just prior to ordering this pen, I have no knowledge of this brand. Marlen is an Italian luxury goods (mostly pens but also watches and leather goods) company. The company was founded in the 1980’s and as far as I am aware it has remained mostly under the radar. Through its history, the company has created high end pens, some of which have been used by Italian lawmakers to sign important documents and/or celebrities but in general the company has remained under the radar (at least as far as I can tell).

Unlike most other Italian luxury pens manufacturers, Marlen does not seem to have a solid group fans. The company also seem to lack in terms of promotion be it via official channels/marketing or even word of mouth. For instance, a quick search in youtube yields just ~600 hits for “Marlen fountain pen” while the same search replacing Marlen for Visconti yields over 6000 (the same is true for Delta/Aurora/Montegrappa/Omas/etc).

At this point it might be quite clear that I am advocating heavily in favor of this company. Just for disclaimer’s sake let me state that I have no affiliation with the company, nor have I been approached or encouraged to do this by anyone. My motive is simply the fact that I have had excellent experience with the brand in general and I sense that the brand does not have the recognition that it should give the quality and beauty of the products it makes.

The pen for today’s review is the Marlen Humanitas. This pen was dedicated to the Red Cross humanitarian organization. I have heard from another person who is a big fan of Marlen that a portion of the proceeds goes to the Red Cross, but I have not been able to confirm that on my own. Mostly because there is not much information out there regarding this or many other Marlen pens.

I bought this pen last year in an eBay auction and the pen was pre-owned. Aesthetically the pen was in mint condition but I suspect someone inked it and left it for an extended period of time as such because I found some ink residue and perhaps a bit of corrosion inside the pen but other than that it was perfect. I mention this because the pen’s trim is in sterling silver and when I received the pen it had a lovely patina. The thing is, when I decided to make a review for this pen (months ago) I thought it was a clever idea to polish off the patina so I could show it as it would appear when new. The sad news is that I forgot to take pictures of how it looked with the patina. Personally, I do prefer the patina, and I will allow it to form again, I polished off just because I wanted to make this review as accurate as possible and I should have taken pictures prior to polishing it. I might in the future update the post with picture when/after patina develops again.

 

The pen arrived in a protective simple balck cardboard box with the company logo as well as a sticker on the side indicating that this was a fountain pen (rollerball versions also exist) and gold nib (steel versions also exist). Inside the protective cardboard box there is a medium/large faux leather coffin. The coffin is unusual because it has an elongated octagonal shape rather than the usual rectangular shape. When the coffin is opened, the inside is lined with a soft white faux leather material and the pen is located at the center. The pen also comes with a small box of fountain pen cartridges as well as a generic operation manual.

 

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In pictures, the pen looks to be of modest size, perhaps even in the small end of the spectrum. Don’t be fooled by this which I suspect is an optical illusion due to its shape. This pen is fairly large and it is just a hair shorter than a Pelikan M1000 in length when capped. The pen has torpedo shape which fattens at the center band and tapers toward both ends. Here is a picture alongside fairly well-known pens which I find better than simply posting dimensions (if someone wants dimensions I’ll measure for you, just ask.) The pens are from left to right: Monteverde Regatta Rose gold, Platinum 3776 Squirrel and Grapes Urushi Maki-e, Pilot Metropolitan (this pen does not belong into this box!), Martemodena Citizen (Spain), Delta Hippocratica, Omas 360, Visconti Divina Elegance Desert Spring Oversize, Pelikan M1000, Pelikan M600, Pelikan M400 tortoise, Pelikan M200 and another Pelikan M200. As you can see, this pen is on the large side of the spectrum, just shy of the size of a Pelikan M1000. Personally, I find it very comfortable in the hand. When uncapped it is just slightly shorter than the Pelikan M600 (I will update post at a later time with uncapped pens as I forgot to do so.)

 

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The cap is made of red resin which has a marbled pattern to it. Pictures do not make justice to the finish of this pen. In a dim room, the chatoyance of the material is a bit toned down but easily seen regardless, but in a well-lit room it is simply memorizing. The cap is adorned with a silver finial with the company’s logo stamped. The clip is made out of sterling silver and it is very stiff (probably not good for clipping to thick fabrics/jeans) and it is adorned at the bottom with a simple red dot. The bottom of the cap has a thick silver ring that is the highlight theme of this pen.

 

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The silver ring has a fairly large red cross just below the clip. Around the cross reads in Italian “Convenzione di Ginevra 22 Agosto 1864*” which refers to the first Geneva convention which occurred in august 22 ^nd 1864. To the left of the cross, the name of the company “Marlen” can be found engraved and just beneath it, the word “Italy”. At the back of the silver ring the letters C R and I in red can be found encircled. I do not know the meaning of these letters but If I find out I will update this review (Thank you sciumbasci for providing this information, C R I stands for Italian Red Cross). Finally, To the Left of the red cross, the words “Special Edition” a small rectangle and 10MPCRI can be found engraved. Inside the rectangle, a tiny number is stamped (presumably the number of this pen as it is a special edition). I don’t know what “10MPCRI” means but if I find out I will update the review. The silver band is surrounded by two thin lines of red resin, and then by two lines of white resin and finally the background is red resin for the whole cap. Just below the cap sits a silver band on the body.

 

The largest portion of the body of this pen is made from white resin. This resin also has a white marbled pattern similar to the red pattern in the cap. The white resin is a bit les exuberant than the red, especially in dim light, but chatoyance is still present. When uncapped, the white part of the body is surrounded at both ends by red resin. The section of this pen and the endcap are made from of the same red resin as the cap of the pen. The threads of the barrel are not sharp and are smooth. Two metallic silver rings surround the threads. Another silver ring is present at the red cap leaving a thin red ring of resin touching the white resin. Below this silver ring, the words “Humanities special edition” is engraved but it is very difficult to read. I suspect this is engraved because the same body or perhaps one very similar is used for another special edition pen (Marlen Italian Flag themed pen).

 

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The section of the pen taper off to reveal a semi-hooded two tone nib. Most of the nib cannot be seen because of this but I have seen the exact same nib in other pens and it is beautiful, perhaps I would prefer for this pen to showcase the nib rather than hide it. That being said, semi-hooded nibs are not very common and this gives the pen a unique look that not many other pen’s share. Nothing much to say about the section. The pen uses international cartridge converters.

 

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What impressed me about this pen was its nib. Certainly, it is one of the best nibs that I have in my collection and from the moment I touched the paper I became a fan of this pen and even the company. Although this was my first Marlen pen, in the months following the purchase of my Humanitas pen, I have acquired over a dozen Marlen fountain pens. In large part because of the high performance of their nibs but also because of their styling.

 

As I said previously, the particular nib of this pen is semi-hooded so it cannot be seen very well. However, I took a picture of another Marlen pen (which I might do a review in the future) so you have an idea of how this nib would look if it were not semi-hooded. Clearly it is gorgeous! The nib width in this pen is a medium. In fact, unfortunately, I have had trouble finding any other size other than mediums for this brand. The nib writes super smooth with just a minuscule amount of feedback. This particular nib/pen is very wet (a bit more than my other Marlen actually) and the tines of this particular nib are so slightly spread as compared to the rest of my Marlen. As a result, this pen writes very very wet but with certain inks, it can have some startup issues on bad paper. For instance, I found it very difficult to write with J. Herbin Lie De Thé on copier paper. Not such problem if writing in ClaireFountaine Triomphe paper or Tomoe River and no such problem if writing in copier paper with other inks that flow better (no problems with waterman’s Florida blue for instance). That is not big deal for me (in fact I could not care much) but it is the only thing keeping this nib from being perfect. Surprisingly I found this nib to be quite bouncy and even a bit flexible (not to say that it is appropriate for flex writing as it is not very soft.)

 

This next picture is the nib of a different Marlen pen, but I suspect they are decorated in the same way. Clearly it is a very pretty looking nib so perhaps making it semihooded is a missed oportunity to show such a pretty nib. Either way, like I have said, semi-hooded nibs are not very common so I do not mind to have it in this pen.

 

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And finally, the writing samples in different types of papers and ink. Usually, I only make one or two samples in 1-2 different types of papers and only post one sample. But since this nib gave me a little bit of an issue on cheap copier paper with certain inks, I wanted to test in various papers to make sure the problem was not more widespread than I thought. I only had trouble in copier paper and in cheap lined Staples paper (the kind that is sold to put in binders with the holes). And the problem seems to be a combination of massive feathering (very wet nib) and drying/skipping issues (I suspect that the feed cannot keep up with the flow in this absorbent paper and it dries up, could be this or something else). All that being said, no issues what so ever in good paper and almost no issue what so ever in cheap paper when using inks that flow better (i.e. Waterman Blue, Kon-Peki, Levenger Cobalt Blue).

 

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Sample #1: Southworth Ivory Cotton Paper + Private Reserve Electric DC blue. I have had issues with fountain pens in this paper, not the friendliest but this pen likes it. Writes moderately wet on this paper.

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Sample #2: Tomoe River Paper + Private Reserve Electric DC blue. Flows amazing, I think this is the best paper for this pen.

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Sample #3: Clairefontaine Triomphe + Private Reserve Electric DC blue. Performs very well in this paper although I do slightly prefer the texture of tomoe over this one as this one is super smooth. This is a close second in my opinion.

 

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Sample #4: Copier Paper + Private Reserve DC electric DC blue. Notice the small blobs at the angles of the letters (for instance letter M after 14k has 2 dots on top). This is far worse in the paper than what can be shown in the picture. There is also some feathering though not much.

 

I like this pen quite a bit as you can probably tell by now; but is it a good deal? The pen list price is under $400 (I believe $375) which frankly seems a reasonable list price when compared to other similar pens. For instance, a delta dolce-vita slim which is also a resin Italian pen with silver trims/accents and gold nib has a list price in the $500 range. Off course many of us don’t ever pay list price for our pens, so what about the “expected” price for a new one? I have found this pen listed in various sites in the $250-310 range with Europe prices being a bit higher because of the VAT. I personally paid just over $200 for a minty, slightly used pen and I consider it to be one of the best value-for-dollar pens that I have bought recently. Two to three hundred dollars for a Italian made high quality (and beautiful) resin and sterling silver pen with solid gold nib is a fantastic deal if you ask me and on top of that, it is a great writer.

At this point I would like for you to share your thoughts about the pen and/or the company and if you have had a previous experience with this or other Marlen pens. I hope you enjoyed this review, and please if you have any questions of suggestions please share them!

[jchch1950]

Marlen are pens quite different . They write ok and can have very special shapes like the Macus or the Hong Kong series .

[sciumbasci]

Costs too much for my butter hands, but indeed very beautiful and writes very well!!

 

C R I stands for Italian Red Cross

[onetwothree]

Marlen are pens quite different . They write ok and can have very special shapes like the Macus or the Hong Kong series .

 

 

Costs too much for my butter hands, but indeed very beautiful and writes very well!!

 

C R I stands for Italian Red Cross

I don't want to sound like a fanboy but I am! Writing well is an understatement, seriously Marlen nibs are among the best out of the box that I have tried, and consistent.

 

@sciumbasci Thank you very much for the information. I updated the main post to reflect this.

 

As for cost, I agree and disagree with you at the same time. Sure $200-300 is a lot of money to put on a pen. If all you care is writing, for $300 you can have a lifetime supply of cheap ballpoints or rollerballs, but it is unlikely any single pen will last a lifetime and we are not even factoring in ink.

On the other hand, this is the approximate MSRP price point of a Visconti van gogh (steel nib), a fusion nib equipped Delta Journal or a Montegrappa fortuna. I think this pen compares favorable to the mentioned examples when it comes to value per dollar.

[jandrese]

Thanks for the very nice review. I've got some good Marlen pens. Hard to find but worth it.