Grifos Masonic Square & Compasses Fp (Italy)

[Braxfield]

I loved reading this review. Thank you.

 

I recently had the good fortune to acquire a similar Grifos made some years ago. It is a black resin pen of similar shape but rather than gold it comes with a sterling cap band (with the same motto) and a sliver plated clip. Actually the clip has a shape closer to the "standard" unadorned Grifos clip of some of the other models.

 

My pen carries a steel nib and writes beautifully. There is something about the curvature of the barrel and the deep concavity of the section that makes it an absolute pleasure in the hand: somehow there and not there at the same time. Without a doubt it is a pen that was made for writing.

 

My one anxiety was in relation to the "snap-on" cap. My immediate fear was that the "snap" action of the cap might in time harm the delicate lip that runs round the rim of the section. Your post has allayed my fear to some extent.

 

My pen has a motif incised into the barrel that (I am told) relates to a certain pen group. So I can't refer to the pen-type as "Masonic" but rather Zoss. I'm sure there are order versions in existence. The seller (an habitué of this forum) tentatively dated the pen to the year 2000.

 

I have two other "Grifos family" pens. One a Nero Muse, the other a Cesare Emiliano. In relation to the Muse, I do have a question. The barrel ends with a distinctive black "button". It is a flattened disc of resin. I would like to think that its distinctive shape is a conscious nod to the great button-making tradition of Settimo. I wonder if there is any truth in that notion.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Braxfield