Caran d’Ache Leman Bicolor Black/Silver (F) Fountain Pen

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I’ve been wanting to buy a Leman Bicolor Fountain Pen for about 4-5 years and have procrastinated for too long. What accelerated my purchase this month was due to my personal circumstances.  I recently started Journalling everyday because I am going through a really down period in my life where I am demotivated and kind of lost with no direction. I’ve read that writing about positive aspects of your day, what you plan to do in future, and generally writing down your feelings can help to make you feel better. After doing so for a few weeks, I certainly found that this was helping me.

 

So when I recently saw a promotion in the UK on Andy’s Pens website and decided to purchase because it was an amazing deal. It worked out £322.15 GBP ($385.21 USD as at 21 Jul 2022). In addition to a review, I wanted to show you all the unboxing experience if you purchase from Andy’s Pens. This was my first purchase from his store. Most of my previous Fountain Pen purchases have been from Cult Pens, The Hamilton Pen Company, and a local jewellery shop in Bristol.

 

I wanted to show you how the (F) nib writes on Clairefontaine paper. I use the A5 Age Bag Notebooks with Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black ink. I wrote out a few quotes from my Quotes document that I keep online whenever I read something that resonates with me.

 

Note: I asked for the nib to be changed after I found out how wide the CdA (M) nib is. I have been using much cheaper Sheaffer 100 Fountain Pens for a few years with an (M) nib. They write very thin and I’ve been very happy with them. Therefore, the unboxing pictures below are with the (M) nib as it was shipped to me, but one of the pictures is with the (F) nib after it was changed and I started writing with it.  

 

[Build Quality: 10/10]

 

This pen makes me feel like royalty when I use it. The pen is solid, has excellent weight and weight distribution. It is just the right amount of heavy in all the right places, that’s the best way for me to describe it. I have gotten so used to using my small and light £30 Sheaffer 100 that this pen was a shock to the system when I used it. Many years had gone by when I last tried it in a pen shop about 5 years ago and I couldn’t remember exactly how it felt. It is quite simply in another league. The manufacturing and attention to detail is fantastic. The build quality justifies the price whether you buy it at the regular or discounted price.

 

[Design: 10/10]

 

The design of the metal cap and the polished body is superb. It is almost perfection in my personal opinion. It has a screw on cap which comes off very quickly when you give it a turn. The converter itself screws into the nib as well (i.e t’s not one where you just pull it out from the nib unit). I was disappointed that this is not made clear in any instructions because I did initially try to pull it out. When it didn’t budge, I thought I’d try screwing it out, which worked obviously! But by not making this clear, CdA could end up helping customers to damage these pens if like me they have only had cheap pens with converters up until now.

 

[Nib: 10/10]

 

The nib writes like it has been dipped in butter. It feels fantastic when using it with my Clairefontaine notebook. It really does make me feel like I’m a very important person who is signing some kind of international trade deal when I write with this nib. I absolutely love it. The engraving of the straight lines on the nib match the straight lines on the cap, which is a nice touch. Although when looking at the engraving in isolation from the cap, I suppose it’s a little boring than fancier patterns on other nibs. However, I understand why this has been done to match the cap.  

 

[Filling and Ink]

 

I inked the pen by dipping the nib into the ink bottle. I normally remove the converter and fill that up by itself for my other pens. But as it can take time for the ink to flow through, I did it properly in the first instance. I struggled to fill up the converter entirely even after two attempts, even though I had submerged the nib enough from what I could see. Maybe I wasn’t quite doing it right, but I will probably go back to filling the converter directly in future as this is also less messy.

 

[Writing Sample]

 

INK: Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black (bought from Cult Pens)

PAPER: Clairefontaine Age Bag Notebook

 

[Summary]

 

I absolutely love this pen and would highly recommend it to anyone. The way it makes you feel when writing is worth the price alone. It makes you feel special, and for my particular circumstances where I am feeling down at the moment, it really does uplift me when I am using a high quality product to write about my feelings and my plans for a better future.

 

 

[A1979]

Thank you for the great review and the pictures. I have many CdA Léman and I completely agree with you. My only minor regret / complaint: those pens are a little bit too short for my personal taste. 

[1nkulus]

Thank you for the review.

 

A fine choice and wish you many reams of happiness.   

I have enjoyed using Cd'A on and off over the years.

 

OTOH, Cd'A have made some ostentatious limited ed. in the past.

 

 

[TakingNotes]

Great review, I have a Grand Bleu coming in the mail and I'm so excited!

[ArchiMark]

Great review of a very handsome looking pen!

 

I've been tempted to get a Leman, but my questions are the section looks very narrow and wonder if the nib is very rigid or has some give (bounce) to it.

 

Could you please provide some input about my questions.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Toolattack]

A bit late to the party on this one, but a great review of a lovely pen.

I have to say that I love the look of CdA fountain pens, but haven't ever found a CdA nib I like!

[ballboy]

It's hard to believe this 'Update" is over five years old now! 

Your black gloss bi-colour looks timeless and classy. 

 

I had the previous iteration in blue then pink with medium nibs till a few years ago. They are sublimely gorgeous and reassuringly reliable. Mine had the ring emblem just behind the nib unit, which lent the pen a unique boutique look. Posting the cap was secure but made the pen on the verge of too long for me but was just bijou when unposed for cute note-taking.

 

A pen like this at either sale or retail is worth more than all the potential cheap disappointments collectively bought.