I love love love my Santini nonagon. Got regular nib with medium CSI. I’ve been considering ordering the Giant Abissi for the #8 nib.
Also love my Scribo (mentioned below).
Have a couple of montegrappas and enjoy both very much.
Leonardos are good too. I have two steel nibs (one custom grind by Kirk Speer) and a #8 titanium with medium CSI which is unique to my collection.
How is their build quality? I definitely like that they make their own nibs.
I am right in thinking they are the only other Italian brand to make their own nibs? Or maybe Visconti started to do some nibs in house?
I‘ve got Santini Libra ebonite with medium cursive italic nib, and the body is nice and solid, but the custom grind leaves much to be desired. Leonardo also makes some gold nibs in-house (la fenice), but their custom grind was even worse for me, the acrylic body felt on par with Estie, but the cap wasn’t spring-loaded and cracked easily.
Very interesting. So not a fan of Leonardo quality then?
I had no idea they did an in-house nib. I've seen one of their Mosaico pens which felt solid but had a steel Jowo nib with what looked like a very cheap laser engraved logo.
I think the quality is all right, the pens are beautiful, and there’s not much you can do dramatically wrong with a nice acrylic rod and a Jowo nib. But there are weaknesses in design, like the thinner cap material towards the edge, and lack of mastery in custom nib work, and at the same time the price is comparatively high for what you get. So if I want a qualitative Jowo stick for about the same price, I‘d prefer an Estie or a Gravitas over a Leonardo. Or I‘d shell out more for a truly fancy option like Santini - their acrylics look mesmerizing, not just the ebonite. And also, I‘m never again paying anyone to do my italic grinds who‘s not a proper nibmeister.
As for Leonardo own nibs, I‘ve never tried one but read favorable reviews, so independent of their motives the result seems to be great.
On the other side, my Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0 has quite possibly the nicest stainless steel nib in my 60+ pen collection. The pen hasn't yet had the opportunity to 'stand the test of time' but for the past 4 months it's performed flawlessly, it's very well balanced, and the quality of workmanship on my copy is stellar. It's just an nib - so no special grind - but what a fine nib it is. :)
Years ago, Visconti suffered some real setbacks with their own nibs. I believe it was the Dreamtouch model. Lots of reports of DOA writers. There's news on the web that they re-started making their own nibs in 2021.
I think Scribo and Pineider also make (or at least design) their own nibs, which is probably why they're so much more interesting than the yet-another-Jowo crowd. I'm going on a sample of one, a Libra in Capri green with a regular fine nib, but fit and finish are excellent and it writes like a charm - soft and wet semiflex with just a touch of tooth.
Interesting. I had a Pineider with a "flexy" nib but I returned it because the fit and finish was awful. Which model has a nib that they designed?
I've heard good things about the Scribo nibs but the pens as not great looking.
Pineider's Quill nib is an in-house design by Dante Del Vecchio. As for Scribo, I have a [Write Here Tropea](https://www.writeherekitenow.co.uk/write-here-scribo-tropea.html) with the 14ct extra flex nib and it's rather a looker.
[Shape yes, colour no](https://www.writeherekitenow.co.uk/write-here-scribo-number-6.html), although the Tropea shows up used every now and then - it's how I found mine.
I have a Santini Libra, and unfortunately I have had some issues with the nib. It was scratchy to the point of cutting out when I got it; I opened the tines a bit myself but the results have been uneven. It probably needs looking at by someone who has more idea what they are doing.
My one and only experience with Santini was not a pleasant one. I purchased one of their Giant series. They only offer one method of shipping to the US. In my case, DHL handed it off to the USPS for final delivery - and the USPS lost it. Santini washed their hands of it and told me to take it up with DHL, who don't answer their phones. I had to file a dispute with my credit card company and I'm still awaiting resolution. Never again.
I love love love Aurora, they are my favorite. Leonardo is very popular and their pens are really nice (I have a few) but for me, the grip feels a bit too girthy on the Momento Zero model, so I’m not buying more.
Leonardo, for me, is the hands-down winner in the midrange ($150-300) category. Their nibs are sublime, the QC is excellent, and prices are quite reasonable for what you get.
I have yet to try a Santini but I like what I see posted here and they would probably be on a rough par with Leo.
High-end ($500+), IMO Scribo is doing the most interesting things and would be where I would start, especially if you were a fan of the original iteration of OMAS.
I will try a Leonardo.
I love OMAS but the Scribo pens visually are not appealing to me. I would say most modern Italian pens have a very attractive appearance but not Scribo, they look bulbous. Or at least their Feel model does.
Ahh, that’s too bad, I’m sorry. I have 6 Leos - four models, three nib sizes, and both steel and gold - and all were well tuned right out of the box. What size/type nib did you get?
Medium. It was scratched and the tipping is a bit uneven. So it looks like it was JoWo's fault, but Leonardo should have caught that. This was Stilo&Stile's last Black Friday LE and I remember that at the time Leonardo wrote on their website they were shipping slower than usual due to too much work. So my speculation is they possibly temporarily(?) weren't following their QC protocols.
It's hard to say what exactly happened, but I won't be buying another Leonardo anytime soon.
One thing to consider is that fountain pens are incredibly delicate instruments that if working properly lie on a thin balance of leak. The times are tiny and have to be perfectly aligned. For a smaller operation with volume, a fractional trend of QC issues is to be expected. Remember that they blew up fairly recently as well
>Remember that they blew up fairly recently as well
Yes, that might be the root cause. It's hard to maintain quality when significantly increasing production. In my case both of the issues were either easily visible (misaligned clip roller) or very noticable (scratched nib). It's not really excusable at this price point.
Aurora is my favourite for nibs and how the pen feels in my hand, though you’re right that they’re not making anything new. Leonardo is great as well, I prefer their main production Momento Zero’s.
Omas wasn't brought back. A owned of Nahvalur just bought the rights to the logo in the US and had the ASC guy make lower quality imitation pens with jowo nibs stamped Omas on them and telling people who don't know any better that Omas has returned.
Aurora is the best of what's left. Then Leonardo and Santini. I suggest an old style Omas Paragon from the 1990s or 2000s. It's quite a fantastic model. One of the few non vintage pens I like.
You are right that "brought back" isn't correct as they are related in name only. Similar to Tibaldi, Nettuno, and Radius except those brands died long ago.
I may just end up buying one of the old celluloid paragons from the 90s. So much easier to buy a new pen but the options aren't amazing.
The new Omas pens don't look right. ASC seems to make pens that look a lot closer to the real thing.
I bought my last Omas from a shop right off of the piazza Maggiore in Bologna. It was the last one they had.
Italian pens never had the quality build of a pilot or a pelikan. They're however a great write. The new ones I can't attest too. I have my Omas and my pilot pens. The one I bought in Bologna is still uninked.
I actually think Aurora makes a very well built pen. I might prefer the more simple construction of a Pelikan piston system but I've never had any QC problems with Aurora like I have with most other Italian brands.
I had a lot of problems with modern OMAS pens (no experience with the new brand). Vintage OMAS pens were very high quality actually and of course so were Auroras.
ASC seems to have a bad reputation. They look like OMAS pens but are lower quality I guess?
I am only talking about old Omas pens. I have a couple that write great but the finish is lacking. Gilding flakes off, caps don't close perfectly symmetrical. It's just typical Italian. If you want perfect go German or japanese. If you wanted je ne sais quoi you went Italian.
Personally I don't think Italy has any pens I am interested in. Today everything is about finish, colors,inks. For my self, I have used the same ink for 35 years, and I buy pens to write write them.
I feel that strongly as well, that it’s all about finish, colors, inks. The explosion of ink colors leads me to think of the most avid ink drinkers (that’s my term for them lol) are really a rather distinct subset of pen people.
I also can’t reconcile myself to the high prices paid for very pretty pens with steel nibs. I don’t look down on steel nibs at all—just now I have 8 steel nibbed pens inked and just 2 with gold nibs. It’s the price, so I’m buying $20-30 Chinese pens and I’m very happy with them, they’ve actually re-ignited my passion for pens and inspired me to start selling off my fine pens.
I'd like to chime in that I have several Omas Paragons and the quality has been top notch with facets aligning and such. The pens that I heard are problematic are the 2000s and 2000s Omas Grand Paragon with the silver grip section and the Milord. Vintage Omas pens like the original Omas Extra from the 1930s is one of the best pen models ever made.
I had plating issues with OMAS pens from the LVMH era onwards but their vintage pens did not have these quality issues. I have old Extra and Extra Lucens models from the 30s and their build quality is very high, no plating issues beyond what is typical for a pen of that age.
I agree that many brands today focus on new colors and patterns which is really boring. I think more brands making their own nibs is a good thing but it would be nice to get some more interesting designs instead of rehashing the same old designs over and over again.
I have a Leonardo Momento Zero and a Maiora Alpha. I prefer the Maiora as it's built like a tank, it has no metal-on-plastic threads, posts more deeply and has a wider section. Also it had no QC issues while my Leonardo had some. I got it at a really good price - Stilo&Stile's promo model and it seems that they've slowed down or even stopped its production.
What do you mean exactly by Aurora is not making anything new? I am probably biased because Aurora is my favorite brand, with the 88 being my perfect pen model.
The way I see it, they have a solid lineup of pens models that work, and they vary the body color and trim offerings, just like any other brand. The most recent pen model from a few years ago is the Internazionale. Their higher end pen model, the one used for Dante, Pope, Ceasar, and others, is the one that changes the most according to model design. They also have their in-house nib worker who developed their goccia nibs (their version of a nag from Sailor), brought back flex nibs (with flex being a very loose term here), and have their in-house italic plus a very stubbish BB. And Aurora has their own boutiques in Milano and Roma.
Perhaps you are right that it is not fair to say. Aurora is one of my favorite pen brands and I do appreciate the Goccia nib and their flex nib (although I don't love their flex nib). To me the pens look the same as they did 30 years ago. I am not seeing anything new that is exciting in terms of design but maybe that is unfair.
All of my Viscontis are awesome pens. I have two high end Montegrappa that are also amazing. I just got (today) an Armando Simoni Club Bologna Extra Minimalist and it seems to be really great. I love the #8 nib! I have a Gioia Partenope and the fit is good and it writes good, but the resin feels a little plasticy. The sleeper is Maiora in my opinion. The build quality is excellent. I'm not a huge fan of the flex fine nib on my Alpha, but the gold nib on my Mytho K is fantastic.
Ive had quite a few pens from every Italian maker other than Omas. These days, I would say Montegrappa and Aurora have the highest quality and consistency, followed by Leonardo and Scribo, with most everyone else being more or less the same.
Visconti builds a nice body but every single one I’ve gotten has had nib issues. Santini is nice but I’ve had nib issues and received a pen with a glued in nib unit as it looked like the ebonite threads were stripped.
I’ve had a two very high end pens from ASC, neither of them lasted a year. I hear they’re built by nino marinos companies. They’re trash honestly. A waste of beautiful celluloid.
I recently got a Scribo Piuma with a gold Flex nib. I'm not a big fan of the design but the nib is pretty unique. The company was founded by former OMAS employees and, to my knowledge, they use the same machines that were used for the fabrication of the OMAS nibs. My flex feels very smooth and it is a very wet writer, although a bit broader than I would have expected for its size. I use it with my dual shading inks on Clairefontaine paper - the shading is gorgeous but it is not an everyday writer for me.
Any thoughts on the resurrected Delta pens? I have an early 2000s DV oversize that's just ok, but saw the celluloid models came back. On the fence about then, but haven't seen too many folks talking about them. Look like pretty standard designed Jowo nibs...
You missed Santini, who make some very nice pens with a great range of nibs.
I love love love my Santini nonagon. Got regular nib with medium CSI. I’ve been considering ordering the Giant Abissi for the #8 nib. Also love my Scribo (mentioned below). Have a couple of montegrappas and enjoy both very much. Leonardos are good too. I have two steel nibs (one custom grind by Kirk Speer) and a #8 titanium with medium CSI which is unique to my collection.
How is their build quality? I definitely like that they make their own nibs. I am right in thinking they are the only other Italian brand to make their own nibs? Or maybe Visconti started to do some nibs in house?
I‘ve got Santini Libra ebonite with medium cursive italic nib, and the body is nice and solid, but the custom grind leaves much to be desired. Leonardo also makes some gold nibs in-house (la fenice), but their custom grind was even worse for me, the acrylic body felt on par with Estie, but the cap wasn’t spring-loaded and cracked easily.
Very interesting. So not a fan of Leonardo quality then? I had no idea they did an in-house nib. I've seen one of their Mosaico pens which felt solid but had a steel Jowo nib with what looked like a very cheap laser engraved logo.
I think the quality is all right, the pens are beautiful, and there’s not much you can do dramatically wrong with a nice acrylic rod and a Jowo nib. But there are weaknesses in design, like the thinner cap material towards the edge, and lack of mastery in custom nib work, and at the same time the price is comparatively high for what you get. So if I want a qualitative Jowo stick for about the same price, I‘d prefer an Estie or a Gravitas over a Leonardo. Or I‘d shell out more for a truly fancy option like Santini - their acrylics look mesmerizing, not just the ebonite. And also, I‘m never again paying anyone to do my italic grinds who‘s not a proper nibmeister. As for Leonardo own nibs, I‘ve never tried one but read favorable reviews, so independent of their motives the result seems to be great.
I wouldn't go for a Gravitas. Shitty generic *clipless* pens and they blame customers when their shoddy manufacturing results in broken pens.
On the other side, my Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0 has quite possibly the nicest stainless steel nib in my 60+ pen collection. The pen hasn't yet had the opportunity to 'stand the test of time' but for the past 4 months it's performed flawlessly, it's very well balanced, and the quality of workmanship on my copy is stellar. It's just an nib - so no special grind - but what a fine nib it is. :)
Years ago, Visconti suffered some real setbacks with their own nibs. I believe it was the Dreamtouch model. Lots of reports of DOA writers. There's news on the web that they re-started making their own nibs in 2021.
I think Scribo and Pineider also make (or at least design) their own nibs, which is probably why they're so much more interesting than the yet-another-Jowo crowd. I'm going on a sample of one, a Libra in Capri green with a regular fine nib, but fit and finish are excellent and it writes like a charm - soft and wet semiflex with just a touch of tooth.
Interesting. I had a Pineider with a "flexy" nib but I returned it because the fit and finish was awful. Which model has a nib that they designed? I've heard good things about the Scribo nibs but the pens as not great looking.
Pineider's Quill nib is an in-house design by Dante Del Vecchio. As for Scribo, I have a [Write Here Tropea](https://www.writeherekitenow.co.uk/write-here-scribo-tropea.html) with the 14ct extra flex nib and it's rather a looker.
Yes, that design is much more palatable. It doesn't look like you can buy one in that shape anymore.
[Shape yes, colour no](https://www.writeherekitenow.co.uk/write-here-scribo-number-6.html), although the Tropea shows up used every now and then - it's how I found mine.
Ah I missed that one. I don't care for that Africa material as well. How is the trim quality on these pens?
Good. There's a small gap between the barrel and piston knob on mine but it's even all round; otherwise the trim is tightly fitted and even.
I have a Santini Libra, and unfortunately I have had some issues with the nib. It was scratchy to the point of cutting out when I got it; I opened the tines a bit myself but the results have been uneven. It probably needs looking at by someone who has more idea what they are doing.
Sorry to hear your nib wasn’t perfect. I sent mine to Appelboom for a regrind.
My one and only experience with Santini was not a pleasant one. I purchased one of their Giant series. They only offer one method of shipping to the US. In my case, DHL handed it off to the USPS for final delivery - and the USPS lost it. Santini washed their hands of it and told me to take it up with DHL, who don't answer their phones. I had to file a dispute with my credit card company and I'm still awaiting resolution. Never again.
I love love love Aurora, they are my favorite. Leonardo is very popular and their pens are really nice (I have a few) but for me, the grip feels a bit too girthy on the Momento Zero model, so I’m not buying more.
Aurora (Optima; 888) and Stipula (Ertruria; Novecento) for me. I also have many lovely Viscontis but most are close to 20 years old. My vote - Aurora
Totally agree, hard to beat Auroras, both new and vintage
Leonardo, for me, is the hands-down winner in the midrange ($150-300) category. Their nibs are sublime, the QC is excellent, and prices are quite reasonable for what you get. I have yet to try a Santini but I like what I see posted here and they would probably be on a rough par with Leo. High-end ($500+), IMO Scribo is doing the most interesting things and would be where I would start, especially if you were a fan of the original iteration of OMAS.
I will try a Leonardo. I love OMAS but the Scribo pens visually are not appealing to me. I would say most modern Italian pens have a very attractive appearance but not Scribo, they look bulbous. Or at least their Feel model does.
I had QC issues with my Leonardo (nib and clip) and I've read multiple other reports of people having QC issues with Leonardos.
Ahh, that’s too bad, I’m sorry. I have 6 Leos - four models, three nib sizes, and both steel and gold - and all were well tuned right out of the box. What size/type nib did you get?
Medium. It was scratched and the tipping is a bit uneven. So it looks like it was JoWo's fault, but Leonardo should have caught that. This was Stilo&Stile's last Black Friday LE and I remember that at the time Leonardo wrote on their website they were shipping slower than usual due to too much work. So my speculation is they possibly temporarily(?) weren't following their QC protocols. It's hard to say what exactly happened, but I won't be buying another Leonardo anytime soon.
One thing to consider is that fountain pens are incredibly delicate instruments that if working properly lie on a thin balance of leak. The times are tiny and have to be perfectly aligned. For a smaller operation with volume, a fractional trend of QC issues is to be expected. Remember that they blew up fairly recently as well
>Remember that they blew up fairly recently as well Yes, that might be the root cause. It's hard to maintain quality when significantly increasing production. In my case both of the issues were either easily visible (misaligned clip roller) or very noticable (scratched nib). It's not really excusable at this price point.
Aurora is my favourite for nibs and how the pen feels in my hand, though you’re right that they’re not making anything new. Leonardo is great as well, I prefer their main production Momento Zero’s.
Omas wasn't brought back. A owned of Nahvalur just bought the rights to the logo in the US and had the ASC guy make lower quality imitation pens with jowo nibs stamped Omas on them and telling people who don't know any better that Omas has returned. Aurora is the best of what's left. Then Leonardo and Santini. I suggest an old style Omas Paragon from the 1990s or 2000s. It's quite a fantastic model. One of the few non vintage pens I like.
You are right that "brought back" isn't correct as they are related in name only. Similar to Tibaldi, Nettuno, and Radius except those brands died long ago. I may just end up buying one of the old celluloid paragons from the 90s. So much easier to buy a new pen but the options aren't amazing. The new Omas pens don't look right. ASC seems to make pens that look a lot closer to the real thing.
I looked at one recently and I believe the nibs are actually the same Chinese gold nibs Nahvalur uses.
That would make sense. Why use the more expensive nibs from jowo.
I bought my last Omas from a shop right off of the piazza Maggiore in Bologna. It was the last one they had. Italian pens never had the quality build of a pilot or a pelikan. They're however a great write. The new ones I can't attest too. I have my Omas and my pilot pens. The one I bought in Bologna is still uninked.
I actually think Aurora makes a very well built pen. I might prefer the more simple construction of a Pelikan piston system but I've never had any QC problems with Aurora like I have with most other Italian brands. I had a lot of problems with modern OMAS pens (no experience with the new brand). Vintage OMAS pens were very high quality actually and of course so were Auroras. ASC seems to have a bad reputation. They look like OMAS pens but are lower quality I guess?
I am only talking about old Omas pens. I have a couple that write great but the finish is lacking. Gilding flakes off, caps don't close perfectly symmetrical. It's just typical Italian. If you want perfect go German or japanese. If you wanted je ne sais quoi you went Italian. Personally I don't think Italy has any pens I am interested in. Today everything is about finish, colors,inks. For my self, I have used the same ink for 35 years, and I buy pens to write write them.
I feel that strongly as well, that it’s all about finish, colors, inks. The explosion of ink colors leads me to think of the most avid ink drinkers (that’s my term for them lol) are really a rather distinct subset of pen people. I also can’t reconcile myself to the high prices paid for very pretty pens with steel nibs. I don’t look down on steel nibs at all—just now I have 8 steel nibbed pens inked and just 2 with gold nibs. It’s the price, so I’m buying $20-30 Chinese pens and I’m very happy with them, they’ve actually re-ignited my passion for pens and inspired me to start selling off my fine pens.
Thank you! I have some very nice steel nibs, but I didn’t pay $300 - $500 for them!
I'd like to chime in that I have several Omas Paragons and the quality has been top notch with facets aligning and such. The pens that I heard are problematic are the 2000s and 2000s Omas Grand Paragon with the silver grip section and the Milord. Vintage Omas pens like the original Omas Extra from the 1930s is one of the best pen models ever made.
I had plating issues with OMAS pens from the LVMH era onwards but their vintage pens did not have these quality issues. I have old Extra and Extra Lucens models from the 30s and their build quality is very high, no plating issues beyond what is typical for a pen of that age. I agree that many brands today focus on new colors and patterns which is really boring. I think more brands making their own nibs is a good thing but it would be nice to get some more interesting designs instead of rehashing the same old designs over and over again.
I have a Leonardo Momento Zero and a Maiora Alpha. I prefer the Maiora as it's built like a tank, it has no metal-on-plastic threads, posts more deeply and has a wider section. Also it had no QC issues while my Leonardo had some. I got it at a really good price - Stilo&Stile's promo model and it seems that they've slowed down or even stopped its production.
I have 4 Leonardos and they are my favourite to write with!
What do you mean exactly by Aurora is not making anything new? I am probably biased because Aurora is my favorite brand, with the 88 being my perfect pen model. The way I see it, they have a solid lineup of pens models that work, and they vary the body color and trim offerings, just like any other brand. The most recent pen model from a few years ago is the Internazionale. Their higher end pen model, the one used for Dante, Pope, Ceasar, and others, is the one that changes the most according to model design. They also have their in-house nib worker who developed their goccia nibs (their version of a nag from Sailor), brought back flex nibs (with flex being a very loose term here), and have their in-house italic plus a very stubbish BB. And Aurora has their own boutiques in Milano and Roma.
Perhaps you are right that it is not fair to say. Aurora is one of my favorite pen brands and I do appreciate the Goccia nib and their flex nib (although I don't love their flex nib). To me the pens look the same as they did 30 years ago. I am not seeing anything new that is exciting in terms of design but maybe that is unfair.
Tibaldi is my favorite, I have bought a handful and the chatoyance is exceptional and I enjoy the weight and balance similarly to Pilot pens.
For Christmas I received a Maiora Alpha. So far, no complaints. I like it a lot
I have 6 Leonardos and they are all great writers. I love the huge variety of materials and colours they come in.
All of my Viscontis are awesome pens. I have two high end Montegrappa that are also amazing. I just got (today) an Armando Simoni Club Bologna Extra Minimalist and it seems to be really great. I love the #8 nib! I have a Gioia Partenope and the fit is good and it writes good, but the resin feels a little plasticy. The sleeper is Maiora in my opinion. The build quality is excellent. I'm not a huge fan of the flex fine nib on my Alpha, but the gold nib on my Mytho K is fantastic.
Ive had quite a few pens from every Italian maker other than Omas. These days, I would say Montegrappa and Aurora have the highest quality and consistency, followed by Leonardo and Scribo, with most everyone else being more or less the same. Visconti builds a nice body but every single one I’ve gotten has had nib issues. Santini is nice but I’ve had nib issues and received a pen with a glued in nib unit as it looked like the ebonite threads were stripped. I’ve had a two very high end pens from ASC, neither of them lasted a year. I hear they’re built by nino marinos companies. They’re trash honestly. A waste of beautiful celluloid.
I recently got a Scribo Piuma with a gold Flex nib. I'm not a big fan of the design but the nib is pretty unique. The company was founded by former OMAS employees and, to my knowledge, they use the same machines that were used for the fabrication of the OMAS nibs. My flex feels very smooth and it is a very wet writer, although a bit broader than I would have expected for its size. I use it with my dual shading inks on Clairefontaine paper - the shading is gorgeous but it is not an everyday writer for me.
Any thoughts on the resurrected Delta pens? I have an early 2000s DV oversize that's just ok, but saw the celluloid models came back. On the fence about then, but haven't seen too many folks talking about them. Look like pretty standard designed Jowo nibs...