Irene and The Edison Collier Fountain Pen

What's more fun than a rare earthquake in the North East? How about an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week! Whoa boy, were we lucky! Where's my lottery ticket? Thankfully, goldspot.com was up and running with only a few short hiccups and we were able to make it in the office on Monday to process all the orders from the weekend. Most importantly, no ink was spoiled.

As of this morning, half the town was out of power. The supermarkets were still closed. Several of the roads I take to get to work were coned off due to downed trees or utility repair. It proved quite difficult just to get a cup of coffee, as the only Dunkin Donuts on the highway had a line out the door, 7-11 was closed and so were the two DD's inside of the Stop & Shop and the Shop Rite on Highway 34.

So, being holed up in my apartment Sunday, I decided to take the new Edison Pen Co. Collier Antique Marble fountain pen for a write and see what the master pen craftsman Brian Gray has done with this new line of hand-turned pens.

As a retailer of Edison pens, Brian extended the opportunity for us to give input on the final selection of colors for this new production model pen. I decided to review the color that is my personal favorite - Antique Marble. The material reminds me of Jurassic Park and how they were able to use the mosquito inside the amber to extract "Dino DNA" to replicate the once-extinct species of dinosaurs.

Brian "spared no expense" when it came to these brilliant acrylic styles. The Antique Marble is translucent amber with striations of black and pearlescent orange. It is both alluring and fascinating to study in the direct sunlight or, most likely, lamplight. The gold plated clip and bi-color, gold-plated, stainless steel nib add a detail of warmth and sophistication to the body material.

The first detail you will notice about the Collier is the distinctive rounded profile. Make no mistake, this is a pen of girth. In fact, it is really testing the limits of my Libelle leather pen case elastic loops. It has a screw on cap that cannot be posted on the back while writing. While a cap-in-hand pen is not my preference, I played along and gave this pen a thorough test run on some Rhodia Circa paper with Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki Persimmon.

The smoothness of the medium point on this steel nib had actually tricked my Father in thinking it was a gold nib. The flow is wet and generous with no skipping.  It writes marvelously and the larger size allows for more stability and control, while contributing very little to hand fatigue. You can read the handwritten review below for more of my thoughts on the pen and on Hurricane Irene. 

Overall, I continue to be impressed with Brian's work and hope that he continues creating new production pen models to compliment his expansive offering of custom pen-creations. It would be great to see a broader audience appreciate his hand-made work that excels in quality and style. Pick up your Edison Collier at Goldspot Pens and spread the word, tell your friends!