All posts by Anthony

Taccia Spectrum fountain pen review

A little bit of history   You may not have heard of Taccia, but it’s been around as a brand since 2003, and today has a rather diverse range of fountain pens, ballpoints and accessories. I say diverse because as well as exotic but proven finishes like Maki-e and raden, Taccia uses frankly weird materials and construction — ever seen a barrel wrapped in woven leather? A hexagonal metal pen with wooden inlays? Or buffalo horn shaped to look like a stick?

How it looks  In this experimental portfolio, the Spectrum ironically stands out because it looks so… normal. Sure, it’s a bright (even garish) blue demonstrator, but it’s pen-shaped, and we can work with that. Our Inkdom reviewers felt the silkscreened Taccia logo on the cap seemed a bit cheap, and weren’t convinced by the design of the silver-coloured clip, but generally speaking there’s little here to complain about. A sign of good things to come is the steel nib — a rather pretty little thing that (spoiler alert) resembles a Sailor nib more than a little, and is paired with a Sailor-design feed, too.

How it feels  The Spectrum’s cap takes a good couple of turns to remove, and doing so exposes a block of shiny threads and a section that might be just a little narrower than you hoped. But in the hand it’s got a good weight, and feels solid enough.

How it fills  Our reviewers agreed that the filling mechanism is the Spectrum’s Achilles’ heel. It uses a proprietary Sailor converter, which simultaneously held very little ink and leaked like a sieve. Luckily the worst of the leaks are contained by an o-ring between barrel and section, but one reviewer still ended up with inky fingers.

Crucially, how it writes…  All three reviewers enjoyed the Spectrum’s broad steel nib on paper, noting the generous flow and smoothness, the ease of reverse writing, and — most distinctively — the similarity to Sailor’s ‘Zoom’ nib. If you’re not familiar with the term, a zoom nib writes a different line depending on the angle between the pen and the paper. Lay the pen down and you get a wide line; stand it up and the line narrows. The nib is really the best bit of the Taccia, and would you want it any other way?

Pen! What is it good for?  A good pen to keep at home (given the risk of leaks, at least in our review sample), and to play around with new inks — the broad nib and zoom effect really shows off the best of a colour.

VFM  At $127+ from its US dealer Pen Chalet, or £115 from EU-based Iguanasell, the Taccia Spectrum is not a cheap pen. Despite the lovely (steel) nib, our reviewers weren’t completely convinced that the Spectrum stacked up against rivals like the Platinum #3776, which is a pretty even match, except with a gold nib and no leaks. But the lovely packaging is not to be sniffed at — the Spectrum would make an impressive gift.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…  As we noted above, the Platinum #3776 is a good alternative. But if you want a steel-nibbed, interesting demonstrator at around $125, you could also try stretching to a Franklin-Christoph, or take a look at the Opus 88 Koloro, previously reviewed here.

Our overall recommendation  Divisive design, great and interesting nib, unfortunate filling mechanism — the Spectrum is a real head-scratcher. On balance, two of our three reviewers decided they wouldn’t choose to purchase one with their own funds. Probably the best reason to buy a Spectrum is if you really like the colours (the Teal version is very pretty, for starter’s), and want a Sailor nib (the Spectrum even comes in a Music nib variant) but can’t stretch to a Pro Gear.

Where to get hold of one  Right now, US-based Pen Chalet is a good bet.

This meta-review references:

Thanks to  Pen Chalet for lending us the pen to test.

 

Namisu Ixion fountain pen review

 

A little bit of history  Namisu is a small Scottish design house that’s been turning out metal (and more recently ebonite) pens for around five years, with names like the Nexus, Nova, Orion… and here, the Ixion. Namisu has launched several of its pens via Kickstarter, and in June 2017 the Ixion appeared. It promptly smashed its goals and — after some drama — landed in our reviewers’ hands in early 2018.

We’ll get this out of the way: all of our reviewers (and many other backers) were disappointed with the purchase experience. Namisu delivered four months later than promised, which is not unusual for Kickstarter, but its communication and customer service along the way was poor. Caveat emptor and all that.

How it looks  The Ixion is a full-size metal pen, available in titanium, brass and aluminium, with optional contrasting metal section and finials. Like the other Namisu models, the Ixion is clipless, but it won’t roll away due to the distinctive dodecagonal cap.

Our reviewers between them had brass, black alu and blue alu versions, and universally agreed that this is a good-looking design. The ability to change the colour schemes by swapping over parts is a great way to make the Ixion yours.

204-Namisu-Ixion.jpg

How it feels  As you’d expect, the brass version is weighty; the aluminium less so. Either way, it feels good in the hand, and should you choose you can put on a steel or brass section to change the weight balance. The section is long and comfortable. The cap posts securely and deeply. Nothing to complain about here.

How it fills  With a generic converter, or a standard international cartridge. Move along, nothing to see here…

 

Crucially, how it writes…  And here’s the bone of contention. Two of our three reviewers had a wonderful experience with fine and extra fine steel nibs writing perfectly out of the box.204-Namisu-Ixion-1.jpg

However, one unlucky reviewer suffered from two duff nibs, one Ti and one steel. The nibs are #6 Bock units that screw simply into the section, so you’ve got complete flexibility to swap nibs around with other pens or buy replacements quite inexpensively. Just as well, as a number of other buyers we’ve chatted with on social media have suffered from quality control issues (including nib problems and premature wear on the barrel anodising) and found Namisu’s customer service somewhat lacking.

Pen! What is it good for?  The Ixion would make a great daily writer for someone out and about. With a metal body and an inexpensive, easily replaced nib, you don’t have to worry about damage.

VFM  The Ixion is actually very keenly priced, with the “standard” Kickstarter price for an aluminium version coming in at £33. For a full-size metal pen that’s pretty competitive. The price is likely to be higher at retail, of course.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost…  You might want to look at the metal pens from Karas Kustoms, which also use Bock nibs and give you a huge range of customisation options.

Our overall recommendation  If you like metal pens and value the ability to swap nibs and customise components, you’ll enjoy the Ixion a lot. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into; there’s a risk of QC issues and you may not get the kind of support you’d expect.

Where to get hold of one  Right now, it’s the used market only. The Kickstarter has closed and the Ixion isn’t yet up on Namisu’s website for retail purchase.

This meta-review references: