Santini Italia Libra Ebonite Fountain Pen

Pen Review: The Libra Fountain Pen from Santini Italia

October 25, 2023

Even after all these years, I love that I can still discover new makers, and come away as excited as I was back when I first encountered fountain pens. Santini Italia is not necessarily a new brand - the company and its principals have been manufacturing pens since 1998 - but their current line has just started to gain traction in the United States, culminating in their attendance at the D.C. Pen Show back in August. While I didn't get to spend an extended amount of time at their table, and most of their wares had sold by the time I was able to make it over, a friend from my local pen club was kind enough to lend me her Santini Libra in ebonite for review!

Santini Italia Libra Ebonite Fountain Pen, Turned for Additional Detail and Swirls — I don’t believe this particular ebonite is still available for purchase, but it features multiple shades of blue and turquoise, along with red, pink, and beige mixed in. The combination is gorgeous.

About Santini Italia

Santini Italia is headquartered in Turin, Italy, the same city as famed Italian penmaker Aurora. As I mentioned above, Founder and manager Giovanni Santini has been involved in pen manufacturing for many years. (You can read more on his and the Company's background on their website, which also links to two excellent Pen World profiles.) What makes Santini unique? Their pens are 100% made in-house, from the pen bodies themselves to the nibs and feeds. In today's marketplace, this is rare. Most smaller makers lack the knowledge and/or resources to make their own nibs profitably and with the necessary level of quality control. Santini's 18k in-house nib is entirely their own, comes paired with an in-house ebonite feed, and is also offered with custom nib grinds. Frankly, I’m impressed.

Santini Italia Cap Band Close-up, Showing Coin Edges and Script — The Libra sports a wide coin-edge cap band inscribed with “Santini Italia".

About the Libra Fountain Pen

Santini describes the Libra fountain pen as "classic, elegant, and light." I would agree with all of that, from the form of the pen itself to the materials chosen. While the Libra features a piston filling system, it's not a heavy pen, leading me to believe that Santini uses something other than brass for their filling mechanism. (Perhaps ebonite or titanium?). I would characterize the profile as classic and vintage-inspired, with a slightly oversized cap and peaked ends, a wide cap band with coin edges, and a roller clip. "Santini Italia" is engraved on the cap band, and while prominent, doesn't appear out-of-place in the overall design of the pen. The Libra is definitely a larger pen, and while it will technically post, I found the pen way too long to be usable posted.

My Santini Writing Experience - All About the Nib

While the pen world's move toward "standard" nibs manufactured by German companies JoWo and Bock certainly has its upside (lower pricing due to economies of scale, interchangeability, ease of repair and customization, etc.) it has also resulted in what some would consider a “uniform” (some would say “consistently boring”) writing experience. Don't get me wrong - I consider JoWo nibs to be reliably smooth writers, and it's hard to beat a well-tuned Bock fine-nib - but at the same time, I love the unique, one-of-a-kind writing experience that you can only get from a nib made and individually tuned in-house.

Santini 18k Nib close-up photograph — Though on the ornate side, Santini nibs are tastefully engraved with the company’s “S” logo and 1998, the year in which they started making pens. I also appreciate that the nib size designation is visible on the nib - something that many pen companies omit these days and which I find inconvenient, especially when trying to easily compare nibs.

It took a bit of time to get used to the Santini nib, with its combination of softness and tactile feel. I reviewed a standard 18k fine nib, paired with Santini's ebonite feed. Overall, I would describe the Santini writing experience as "bouncy", and you of course have the option of a true flex nib if you'd like more line variation. It definitely writes on the wetter side. The closest comparison I can make to another nib would be Scribo, though I found the Santini fine nib more tactile than my extra-fine Scribo, akin to a fine Aurora if the Aurora nib was a bit less stiff. (If you'd like to read previous reviews of both Scribo and Aurora fountain pens, visit the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Review Archive.) Personally, I enjoy my nibs when they’re on the more tactile side: with Santini, those looking for a more "glassy smooth" feeling should probably opt for a nib that lays down more ink, possibly a medium, broad, or even a stub.

A writing sample from the Santini Libra: The paper is a ruled Clairefontaine “Pupitre” writing tablet, and the ink shown here is Scribo Grigio, a dark grey-blue.

Santini Price Points and Where to Buy

As one might expect from a luxury, small-batch maker that designs and manufactures their pens 100% in-house, Santini pens are not inexpensive, though the Libra remains relatively accessible. In fact, the Libra sits at the lower end of Santini's product range. Available in either acrylic (269 Euros) or ebonite (369 Euros), this pen - at least to me - represents incredible value for the combination of materials, craftsmanship, and artistry, especially compared to many other European makers whose price increases only seem to have accelerated in recent years. Santini makes several other models as well, including the Toscana (starting at 269 Euros), the nine-sided faceted Nonagon (starting at 460 Euros), and the Giant (which sports a No. 8 nib and sells for 630 Euros). While not inexpensive, I found none of these prices particularly eye-popping, considering they all include 18k gold nibs and most include an integrated filling system. All pens can be purchased directly from Santini Italia via their online shop, and I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Santini’s ebonite pens are typically released in runs of 33, and numbered on the cap.

Conclusions and Takeaways

While I would ordinarily want to spend more time with a fountain pen before reviewing it, especially a pen from a brand I've never used, this pen doesn't belong to me and it sadly needs to go home. That said, I've seen enough to know that I will eventually want to acquire at least one Santini pen for my personal collection, and I'd love to be able to compare the Libra against one of Santini’s higher-end offerings such as the faceted Nonagon or the Giant with that magnificent looking nib. Here's to hoping that Santini returns to the D.C. Pen Show (or better yet, another show before August), though I suspect I will have another Santini Pen in hand well before then!

Libra Fountain Pen Santini Italia Compared to a Montblanc 146 and Aurora 88 — The Santini Italia Libra, shown here compared to the Montblanc 146 Ultra Black and the Aurora 88 Sigaro Blu.

Further Information: Check Out Our YouTube Channel!

I’ve decided to supplement this review by filming a short video showcasing a few of the pen’s attributes discussed in this review, namely the ebonite material and the nib. The video also includes a writing sample. You can view the video here on our YouTube Channel!

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Kaweco Collection Sport Fountain Pens — From left, Kaweco Collection Sport fountain pens in Olive, Smooth Sage, Mellow Blue, Teal, Cyan, and Pearl.

Curated Shop Updates: Introducing the Kaweco Collection!

October 24, 2023

This week we received a restock shipment from Kaweco, including the full range of Kaweco Collection Sport fountain pens, plus Kaweco converters and Sport clips in all three finishes, allowing you to customize your Kaweco Sport for bottle filling or pocket carry. The Kaweco Collection features unique colors different from the standard Sport line, including some interested muted tones such as the Olive Green (shown below, which I’ve kitted out with both a clip and vintage nib), as well as a sage green and several muted blue tones. We’ve also filled out our selection of Skyline Sport fountain pens, adding the grey and white options. Of course, we carry the full line of Kaweco ink, both bottled and in cartridges.

Kaweco Collection Olive Fountain Pen, shown with Gold Clip — The Kaweco Collection Olive Sport, shown with a gold clip.

Finally, the colored leads for the Sketch-up Clutch Pencils are back in stock! In addition to the classic highlighter options, we have standard graphite and all-purpose colored leads, perfect for sketching in color or marking up documents. Happy writing!

Kaweco Sketch-up refills come in a range of colors.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Kaweco.

Anderillium Lepidopteran Series Viceroy Butterfly Orange and Atlas Moth Brown pictured in Midori MD Cotton Notebook

Ink Review: Anderillium Viceroy Butterfly Orange and Atlas Moth Brown

October 23, 2023

Wow, do I have a large backlog of products to review! Before I left on vacation earlier this month, I had somehow ended up with 30 inked fountain pens, most of which I had intended to review (either the pen itself or the ink), but at the end of the day I figured it was best to do a reset and choose 10 or so combinations on which to focus. Today, I’m going to look at two of the inks I selected, both of which come from Anderillium: Viceroy Butterfly Orange and Atlas Moth Brown, from the recently released Lepidopteran Series.

Yes, I know it says “Monarch” - whenever I think of an orange butterfly I think of Monarchs, and apparently the two are easily confused!

As many readers already know, Anderillium is one of the brands that we stock in our own shop (full disclosure!), and we love their inks not just because they represent good value and good quality, but because we also enjoy the company’s carefully thought-out themes - typically based around nature - and their offbeat takes on classic ink colors. The initial two series of Anderillium Inks included the Cephalopod Series (squids and octopuses) and the Avian Series (Birds), so the recently released Lepidopteran Series (moths and butterflies) continues the nature trend.

There is no red ink in the Lepidopteran Series: Viceroy Butterfly Orange is a dark reddish-orange that serves that role. You can check out a picture of the full range of colors - some of which are quite unusual - at the bottom of this post.

Viceroy Butterfly Orange - which I keep trying to call “Monarch Butterfly Orange” - is a beautiful dark orange that leans heavily red. Unlike many orange inks, I’ve had no issues with nib crud forming, which is a huge bonus for an ink in this color family since orange and yellow dyes can be finicky in that regard. I chose this ink as the perfect pairing for my TWSBI Diamond 580 Sunset Yellow fountain pen. I typically enjoy pairing orange pens with a red ink (and vice-versa), and this particular ink is red enough that it accentuates the lighter orange/gold of TWSBI’s latest Diamond 580 release. This particular pen also sports a broad nib, which gave me the opportunity to test how the Anderillium ink behaved in a pen that lays down a thicker, wetter line. The end result? Viceroy Butterfly Orange is a great ink that dries relatively quickly and resists smearing. Once you consider this alongside the lack of precipitation/nib crud, you have a fabulous orange workhorse.

Atlas Moth Brown is a VERY dark brown. While you can make out the slight brown hue when it dries (particularly in a broader nib or a wet writing sample), in a finer nib this ink appears black. Also be sure to check out the writing sample below, which definitely shows *green* undertones, and the reverse shot of the page, which shows purple?

Atlas Moth Brown is the “Black” ink from the Lepidopteran Series. While technically a very dark reddish-hued brown, I can really only discern these undertones when this ink is wet. (Those looking for a more traditional brown should check out “Toltype Moth Warm”, which itself isn’t necessarily traditional, but will get you more shading and visible brown tones.) Like the Viceroy Butterfly Orange, Atlas Moth Brown is well-behaved. Though it dries perhaps a touch slower than the Viceroy, I experienced no bleedthrough or feathering in everyday writing except on the cheapest of copy paper. The almost-black hue when dry lends itself quite well to office use, and this ink will see a repeat run through the rotation when I have to return to the office in two weeks. :(

Atlas Moth Brown Ink Anderillium Lepidopteran Series, Shown Swatched on Midori MD Cotton Paper — In my Midori MD Cotton ink journal (which I’ve been using for my ink reviews), this ink looks almost green-black. AND then…

Anderillium Inks MD Cotton Reverse shots of inks swabs, with color on back of page — On the reverse of the page, the bleedthrough from the swabs appear *purple*? (This bleedthrough is not reflective of everyday writing. I literally poured ink onto the page with a pipette to see what kind of sheen I could get when the very wet samples dried.) This is a truly interesting one.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I’ve been extremely pleased with the performance of both inks, having written with them consistently over the past three weeks. The Viceroy Butterfly Orange in particular stands out - strike up another win for Anderillium in the yellow/orange category that includes their excellent Flapjack Octopus Orange (from the Cephalopod Series) and American Goldfinch Yellow (from the Avian Series). Orange inks, and particularly lighter oranges and golds/yellows, can be tricky to get right, as ink makers have to balance legibility with the tendency of orange dyes to precipitate and form nib crud. All three Anderillium inks strike a good balance. The Atlas Moth Brown is what I’d probably characterize as an “interesting black ink alternative,” because it dries so dark. I rarely write with pure blacks, opting for darker versions of other colors that can look black when dry, especially in a finer nib, making them good work alternatives yet at the same time less “boring”.

Anderillium Ink Lepidopteran Series, laid out in a row of ink samples on Col-o-ring cards

You can purchase Anderillium Inks, including the two featured here, directly from us in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. As I mentioned above, both of these inks are from Anderillium’s recently released “Lepidopteran Series,” where all the inks are themed around moths and butterflies. Other series from Anderillium include the Cephalopod Series (based on squids and octopuses) and the Avian Series (based on birds). Inks are sold in individual 1.5oz widemouth bottles ($14.50) or in sets of 8 mini-bottles ($50), which allow you to sample the entire line.

TWSBI 580 Sunset Yellow Fountain Pen and Sailor Moonlight over the Ocean Pro Gear, shown side-by-side — I likely won’t re-review these two pens, given that they are simply new colors of two pens that I’ve already reviewed multiple times: the TWSBI Diamond 580 and the Sailor Pro Gear. But I will say that I absolutely adore both of these editions. As I mentioned above, the TWSBI is the recent “Sunset Yellow” release, and the Pro Gear is this year’s “Moonlight over the Ocean”.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Anderillium Inks.

Vintage Nib on Kaweco Sport Fountain Pen — This picture more or less describes my interest in pens recently!

Sunday Reading for October 22, 2023

October 22, 2023

Planner Rant (via Stationery Pizza). How would you customize your planner if you had the ability to build out your ideal system? Intersperse months, weeks, and days? Or leave them all separate?
Yamamoto Paper’s Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Collection, Vol 7 Part 2 (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Kimberly continues her walkthrough of the most recent Yamamoto Paper Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Sampler Pack.
The Colorado Pen Show 2023 (via Well-Appointed Desk). One of the few pen shows I’ve never attended, I was actually hoping to make Colorado this year but since I was on vacation, it unfortunately couldn’t happen. Maybe 2024?
Calligraphy and Handwriting (via Goodwriter’s Pens). I’ve often wondered myself how my handwriting evolved into what it is today - a somewhat unique combination of cursive and italic that I still want to spend time improving. I can still write the form of cursive I was taught, but my everyday script is more of a hybrid.
Platinum #3776 Karakusa Blue Celluloid Fountain Pen Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). One of the more beautiful #3776 models that I don’t write with enough.
My Parker 61 Flighter Fountain Pen: A Cautionary Tale (via Fountain Pen Blog). Ah, the perils of vintage restoration and learning on the job!
Private Reserve Infinity Violet Ink (via Cheryl Lindo Jones). The Private Reserve “Infinity” ink series is specially formulated to not dry out, which can be very helpful if you tend to leave fountain pens uncapped for long-ish periods of time.
Death by a Thousand Nibs - Fatigue Points in the Pen Hobby (via Ink Journal). In any hobby, it’s important to keep a close eye on why you’re involved in it and to refocus your attention on the specific aspects that bring you joy.
Troublemaker Tablea Fountain Pen Ink Review (via Pen Addict - Jeff). I adore Troublemaker’s browns and greens, especially where they combine the two color palettes!
Dominant Industry: Dominant Blue (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Dominant Industry’s Dominant Blue and it’s shimmer equivalent (Milky Way Blue) are two of my favorites from that lineup.

Stack of Fountain Pen Friendly Legal Pads on a Table

In Case You Missed It…

This past week on the blog, I got back down to business after being out of town for a week! I published a new installment in the “Best Paper for Everyday Writing” Series, focusing on Legal Pads, and also chronicled my recent adventures in vintage pen collecting and restoration, something that I’ve long dabbled in but have allowed to fall by the wayside.

Kaweco Sketch-up with Highlighter Leads — We just received a massive restock of Kaweco Sketch-up Highlighter leads, plus some new colors!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

It may not feel like it outside, but the holiday season is rapidly approaching, as evidenced by the appearance of the Diamine Inkvent Calendars on my doorstep this week! We still have a handful left, so if you’d like to follow along as I open up my own calendar this December, be sure to pick one up! Check out the rest of the recent arrivals in this week’s Thursday Drops, which includes the 2024 Traveler’s Notebook dated refills, new Clairefontaine Writing Pads, desk accessories and more!

Kaweco

Diamine

Clairefontaine

TGS Branded!

Patreon Update - Support T.G.S. via Sample Sales, Early Access, and Meetups!

If you’re interested in further supporting T.G.S., consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which features not only access to meetups and the early gently used sales, but more exclusive content. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing. If you’re interested in meetups and exclusive content, or simply supporting the site, we greatly appreciate your pledge!

Recent Vintage Pen Finds: Pens Lying in a tray — The five pens on the left in the Toyooka tray were acquired in a single inexpensive eBay lot! All are salvageable, and 4/5 have 14k nibs.

My Personal Approach to Vintage Fountain Pens

October 21, 2023

My acquisitions at this year’s pen shows have leaned decidedly more vintage-heavy. There are a few factors playing into this. First, for the most part I’ve been uninspired by many of the modern releases from mainstream pen companies - not necessarily because the pens are bad, but simply because we’ve reached a point where innovation has plateaued. Thus, in addition to focusing on those smaller makers who continue to experiment, I’ve started looking backwards to an aspect of the hobby that I’ve dabbled in yet haven’t fully embraced: the vintage world.

Vintage Fountain Pen Nibs: Sheaffer Inlaid 14k Gold — All five pens from this lot are salvageable, and 4/5 have 14k nibs. The Kaweco is a new pen to which I added a vintage Mabie Todd 14k nib that I had in my parts bin .

Second, given the amount of time that I now devote to writing about and retailing stationery, I need to carve out some aspect of this hobby that’s pure fun for me. I plan to attend the Ohio Pen Show in a couple weeks, which is one of the premier vintage shows in the country, and is actually the first pen show I attended way back in 2012. In advance of this trip I thought it might be fun to not only show off some of my newer vintage acquisitions, but also provide some insight into how I approach vintage pens in general.

Kaweco Collection Olive Sport with Vintage Mabie-Todd nib — A close-up of the Olive Kaweco Sport with a vintage Mabie-Todd nib. Read more on what I’m doing here below.

My Recommendations For Enjoying Vintage Pens

Don’t Worry About Locating “Mint” Pens or Valuable Collectibles. Nearly all of the vintage pens I own would be deemed “user grade” by a serious collector. I’m totally fine with that. A 75+ year-old pen that’s served as a functional writing instrument for nearly a century should have some dings, scratches, and signs of use. Not only do they make me less reluctant to use a pen for fear of damaging it, these marks add character. In certain vintage watch circles, it’s considered a faux pas to overly restore and polish a vintage watch to where it looks like new, and I take the same approach to my pens. (User-grade specimens of common vintage pens like Sheaffer Snorkels and Parker 51s are also much easier on the wallet than new-old-stock or “mint” condition versions, and you can get them at extremely low prices if you purchase unrestored examples.)
Learn How to Restore Pens Yourself. To get seriously into vintage pens - and arguably, to have the most fun with them - it helps to learn a bit of basic pen repair. Most vintage pens use some variation of a sac-based filling system, which may need to be serviced periodically. Learning how to restore your own pens not only saves you money (and the inconvenience of having to ship off pens to get fixed), but in the course of doing your own work, you also learn how pens are made, the intricacies of vintage filling systems, and how they differ from the modern filling systems we use today. Repairs can range from simple and straightforward (lever filling pens like Esterbrooks) to time consuming and more complex (such as a Sheaffer Snorkel, some of which you can see in the stories on my Instagram profile). Many vintage pens are incredibly durable, including the Parker 51, 51 Special, and Super 21, and often require no restoration beyond a flush with water or bath in an ultrasonic cleaner to remove dried ink.
Swap Vintage Nibs into Modern Pens. While I would strongly advise against purchasing your first vintage pens on eBay or Etsy (unless you absolutely know the seller is reputable), it’s sometimes fun to buy a big lot of unrestored vintage fountain pens sold “as-is” or “for parts”. Usually you can get one or two salvageable fountain pens out of these lots, and the rest you can scavenge for spare parts for other restorations or - my favorite - for nibs and Frankenpens! Many vintage pens, even inexpensive ones, featured 14k gold nibs, some of which are compatible with the feeds and sections used today. You will need to experiment, and it will most certainly void your warranty, but this is a great way to add a luxurious gold-nib writing experience to a less expensive modern pen like a Kaweco Sport. As shown in the picture below, I swapped a Mabie-Todd No. 2 gold nib directly into a modern Kaweco Sport nib unit, so now my Olive Kaweco Collection pen has a 14k gold nib.
Don’t Baby Your Pens - Write with Them! As you can probably tell, I am not a traditional vintage pen collector. I purchase pens both to use them and to help me learn more about the history of writing instruments in general. Because I acquire user-grade pens and have a basic knowledge of restoration and repair, I’m much less hesitant to use my vintage writing instruments and carry them with me semi-regularly. (Most don’t handle airplane travel well, however. Fly with them un-inked.)
Learn About Your Pens. My interest in history, antiques, and “old” technology is what led me to the pen hobby in the first place, so it’s a bit ironic (and inexcusable) that I’ve let this part of the hobby slide. One thing I’ve started doing recently is keeping a “pen journal” about pens I’ve acquired - vintage and modern. For the vintage pens, I note the make, model, and approximate date of manufacture, as well was where I acquired it and how it was restored. I’ll also make notes about why I acquired each pen, what I know about its history, and why I found it interesting enough to add to my “collection.” I’m also considering adding photographs, keeping both a digital archive and a printed copy using my Fuji Instax or similar printer.