Last autumn, the California-based pen company Taccia released the Nightlife collection, which is inspired by the bright lights of some of the world's most exciting cities. The aptly-named finishes are : NYC Blue, Vegas Sage, Paris Lilca and Golden Gate Copper. The first striking feature of this pen is the glittering barrel. One of the astounding specs of the pen is that it is layered with sixty coats of sparkling lacquer, a process that takes twenty days to complete. The painstaking effort is certainly rewarded with a gorgeous finish.
The size and heft are fairly significant, as is the sa
me with most Taccia full-sized writing instruments.
The presentation is very sleek. The pen arrives in a navy blue
leatherette box with Taccia stamped in gold on the top. The insides, instead of the usual white plush interior most manufacturers use, is a black, ruffled, satin-like fabric. The use of black in the box and the design of the pen amplify the color of the lacquered guilloche barrel.
The Nightlife fountain pen is sold with a stainless steel, iridium-tipped nib in medium point (standard) but is also available in fine or broad sizes (special request, no extra charge) in stainless steel or 18ct solid gold (additional $140 cost). For the purposes of this review, I chose to test the standard stainless steel nib.
I loaded the pen with some Levenger Blue Bahama ink via the converter that is included with the Nightlife pen. I know some people will disagree with me, but my natural inclination is to post the cap while writing. The cap screws on to the back of the pen and one of my aesthetic points that I look for is if the cap screws on so that the clip runs parallel with the nib point. It certainly does in this case (refer to picture on right). However, when the cap is screwed on, this pen is a behemoth to hold in my averaged-sized mitts. This pen is by far much more comfortable to write with the cap unposted. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I let it slide.
As far as the nib and the writing experience, the medium width offers a wet and generous amount of ink flow on your standard notebook paper or copier paper. I don't have any of the nicer papers to use here (*wink *wink) but our company is going to be looking into distributing some notebooks and paper in the future. The nib is a tiny bit scratchy, but offers good stroke coverage and doesn't have any issues starting or skipping.
We will be grading based upon four criteria : Writing Quality, Aesthetic Quality, Utility and Price.
And here it goes:
- Writing Quality : Medium Stainless Steel nib flows nicely, but is a bit scratchy. Pen is bit too large and back heavy with the cap posted. (grade B - )
- Aesthetic Quality : The lacquered guilloche barrel is definitely a dazzling sight. The black and silver combination with the lustrous lacquer is elegant, sleek and unisex. (grade A )
- Utility : Cap posts perfectly with the screw threads. Clips on to shirt pockets very nicely. Weight and girth may be an issue for portability and fitting into said shirt pocket. (grade B+ )
- Price : A bit pricey for a stainless steel nib, but you know you will be paying for all the time it took to apply the sixty coats of lacquer. In my honest opinion, if you love the look of it, it is worth it. (grade B )
Final Grade : B+
Overall, the Taccia Nightlife is a beauty to stare at, but not quite the daily writer that I could imagine scribbling dozens of pages of notes with. My hand was already tired after writing the review. Maybe I need to get a squeeze ball or something.
Great review. I really like this pen, Im a big fan of the heavier and/or larger pens. The blue color and texture of the barrel look really nice too. The threaded back for posting is also very interesting.
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