Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

[stub]

I scored one of these and can confirm a few things mentioned in the various fora and an additional observation or two:

1. The pen needed to be washed with warm dish-soapy water. I gently washed the whole thing and the nib unit and then rinsed it very thoroughly. It had some manufacturing residue on it. Otherwise the fit and finish were very good. Just some sticky hands on assembly or grinding dust or some such.

The temptation is to ink it right out of the box. I say give it a bath first.

2. My converter doesn't rattle. yay! Lots of complaints about this and rattle driven me crazy so happy to report mine is silent. I have heard that just changing to a regular Schmidt converter or a little tape does the trick. Mine was good to go.

3. The nib had serious baby's bottom. The pen hard started like crazy but >3 minutes working on 8,000 grit micromesh solved that problem entirely. Just be sure not to polish in such a way as to *increase* the baby's booty but to flatten it out. See: various tutorials on the net.

4. The acrylic is gorgeous.

5. Pen looks awkward to hold, with that odd section but is strangely quite comfortable. However the metal converter makes it a tad back heavy. Changing to a standard Schimdt or what have you would solve that but I am okay with it as it is for now. Weirdly delighted by the unnecessarily luxurious screw in converter. hah.

6. The nib (once adjusted) is kind of mind-blowing. It has a soft, wet feel that I associate with a lot of 18k nibs. My theory is that the nib is tuned wet and is a bit thinner and the surface is very highly polished (shines like a mirror) and this leads to a surprisingly luxurious feel. I also think to add to this feel they are horribly over polishing these nib tips at the factory so get out your micromesh for a minute or two and I think you end up with a great result. This is one of the very nicest steel nibs I have now. No hard starts even on that chalky glassy CF/Rhodia stuff. But it did need a little love out of the box.

7. This pen is what I thought the Delta THE JOURNAL was going to be. They got it right this time (these pens looks almost the same).

I got the deep blue. Pleased as punch. Sans VAT, this pen is a surprisingly good value for an Italian pen.

Anyone else have one? I got mine from fontoplumo. They were excellent. A bit of a wait to get the color/nib I wanted but they we pleasant to deal with.

https://i0.wp.com/fontoplumo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Leonardo_MomentoZero_201802.jpg

[penwash]

Nice review. More importantly, you're happy with the purchase.

I've been hearing about this Leonardo brand. Seems like they get the vintage aesthetics right.
And I'm impressed with that modern acrylic material. It almost look like celluloid from the photo, but I won't draw that conclusion until I have one that I can examine in person.

The number of metal rings seems a tad too much for me. But other than that, I don't see anything that I won't like (except my non enthusiasm towards any pen that uses cartridge/converter). If this pen were a piston filler (or anything else but C/C), I may have to buy one.

[stub]

Wild oversimplification follows:

They make 2 versions of this pen (and 2 versions of their quasi-Sheaffer-Balance shaped pen (aka cigar))

for TEH PEOPLES:
Plastic pen, c/c filler, steel nib, plastic feed

for the Bourgeoisie (har har):
Celluloid pen, piston filler, gold nib & ebonite feed

So you are in luck, haha! Except that the spendy version of the pen has an extra cap band, which I see you don't like. I, for one, love the bands.

[penwash]

Alas, I am a one of those collectors with TEH PEOPLES budget with Bourgeoisie appetite. :D

[NHGeezer]

Anyone else have one? I got mine from fontoplumo. They were excellent. A bit of a wait
https://i0.wp.com/fontoplumo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Leonardo_MomentoZero_201802.jpg[/QUOTE]

I bought one, too, with a long wait. When it came, it did not look very much like the picture of the Leonardo Momento Zero Blue Positano posted on the web page. It was much darker/muddier and had none of the fabulous swirling details. I know each pen is different, but I am so unhappy I returned it for an exchange at a US$24 cost to myself! Hope the next one is better, otherwise I'm stuck because I won't spend the postage again. Naturally I did not ink the pen, so I am crossing my fingers about the nib problems you mention. Also, I DID notice the rattle. I have never run into anything like that before even with cheap Chinese pens. So I didn't know what to make of it. I just passed it off as my imagination. Ugh.

[stub]

If you are concerned perhaps ask them to send you a picture of the actual pen you will get. & them ask also for them to check the nib (though fixing a little baby's bottom is quite easy to do).

[AndyLogan]

I bought the positano middle of last year also from fontoplumo. I was actually excited that I inked it up straight out of the box, I usually flush my pens whether old (pre-loved) or new when I receive them, it wrote nice, smooth & wet, No problems out of the box. But I did notice that it hardstarts when I pause for a while to gather my thoughts or when I put it down uncapped just to get something for maybe less than 2 minutes, then I'd get the hardstarting.

[NHGeezer]

If you are concerned perhaps ask them to send you a picture of the actual pen you will get. & them ask also for them to check the nib (though fixing a little baby's bottom is quite easy to do).

Thank you! I followed your recommendation. Here's the update.

I sent it back, paying 20% of the retail price for the postage. I then asked to see a photo of the replacement. He showed me one he chose from a new batch just received from the manufacturer, most of which he said were dark, too. The one I have received as a replacement is lovely. However, the nib does not work! The pen can't write. It takes dozens if not one hundred words to flow properly, and thereafter, it hard starts every single time and skips most of the time. Totally unusable. The vendor said he will send me a new nib. That's great. I have not received it yet. But in the meantime, we have tried to take the bad nib out. Nothing works. We even bought a rubberized gripping pad like we saw on tutorials on the web. The nib seems wedged in so tightly no amount of tugging is able to get it out. I wonder if there is some trick of the trade to remove this immovable object.

The whole situation with the Leonardo Postiano is wretched up to now. Crazy how such a thing is tolerated in the fountain pen industry.

[Chrissy]

I have watched SBRE Brown's review on this pen after seeing and using one at the Reading meeting. He loved the Positano so much he rated it in his top 10 pens of 2018.

I've been thinking of getting one. What nibs do you need to wait for?

[NHGeezer]

I have watched SBRE Brown's review on this pen after seeing and using one at the Reading meeting. He loved the Positano so much he rated it in his top 10 pens of 2018.

I've been thinking of getting one. What nibs do you need to wait for?

I bought one, too, after reading SBRE Brown's review. The Leonardo Positano I got looked awful. Muddy, dark, almost without any of the lovely swirls on Brown's pen that he showed on his review. I sent it back at my own postage expense. I have received a replacement pen that looks wonderful. But the pen I have now does not write! It is totally useless as a writing instrument. So, having complained again and after the seller in Holland offered to send me a replacement nib, I am still awaiting its arrival.

Meanwhile, I can't remove the existing nib no matter how hard I pull and no matter what rubber grip I use to help. It seems stuck.

So far in my experience, the Leonardo Positano that I got after reading SBRE Brown's review is disgraceful. I cannot imagine how the fountain pen industry can justify an operation like this.

If you surf the web, you will find complaints about the Leonardo Positano like mine. It's really a crazy situation, IMO.

[Voiren]

Which nib size is it that isn't writing at the moment? The broads had baby's bottom issues for a while.

(I want a Hawaii, but will probably wait until a pen show so I can pick in person).

[NHGeezer]

Which nib size is it that isn't writing at the moment? The broads had baby's bottom issues for a while.

(I want a Hawaii, but will probably wait until a pen show so I can pick in person).

The nib I have, which is not functional, is a medium. And according to the seller I bought it from, it is from a new batch of Leonardo pens he received for sale.

It is useless. I bought a pen for around 133 euros, and then had to spend about 20% more to send it back, and now have a replacement Leonardo Positano, which doesn't write and from which I can't remove the nib to try a replacement.

Ugh.

[Dai Capp]

I've just taken delivery of a MomentoZero in Positano Blue. The acrylic is beautiful and the medium steel nib is the smoothest steel I have, it's as good as some of the gold nibs in my collection, though I did ask Appelboom to tune and smooth it. Took 2 weeks to arrive from ordering so I guess there's a small delay on supply but it's been among the best purchases this year and that includes a Pelikan M1000 (which is causing a headache having waited 4 weeks for a nib exchange and there's still no progress) and a Montblanc 149!

[NHGeezer]

I've just taken delivery of a MomentoZero in Positano Blue. The acrylic is beautiful and the medium steel nib is the smoothest steel I have, it's as good as some of the gold nibs in my collection ...

Lucky you! My MomentoZero in Positano Blue is lovely (after I sent back one that was muddy and ugly). But the nib does not write. And it is from a "new" batch sent by the manufacturer to the vendor. Crazy that a company can ship a product that does not perform at all.

The vendor has sent a new nib, which arrived yesterday. But no one here has been able to pull the old one out yet.

[Chrissy]

Lucky you! My MomentoZero in Positano Blue is lovely (after I sent back one that was muddy and ugly). But the nib does not write. And it is from a "new" batch sent by the manufacturer to the vendor. Crazy that a company can ship a product that does not perform at all.

The vendor has sent a new nib, which arrived yesterday. But no one here has been able to pull the old one out yet.
Because of where the manufacturer comes from I might have expected the nibs to be removable in a similar way to Omas nibs. Some of those would screw out.
Has the vendor not advised you how to replace the nib?

[Chrissy]

Which nib size is it that isn't writing at the moment? The broads had baby's bottom issues for a while.

(I want a Hawaii, but will probably wait until a pen show so I can pick in person).
The one I've seen was a Hawaii, but I didn't think it was worth the extra price especially as the lines didn't line up between the cap and barrel.

[NHGeezer]

[/QUOTE]Has the vendor not advised you how to replace the nib?[/QUOTE]

Oh yes. The vendor has told me how to remove the friction fit nib unit on the Leonardo Positano. We are still trying to pull it out without success so far.

[Voiren]

The one I've seen was a Hawaii, but I didn't think it was worth the extra price especially as the lines didn't line up between the cap and barrel.

I like the colours on it better than the fully blue ones :)
(Same pen made an appearance today!)

We were talking about the nibs - it does sound like there's a lot of friction involved in the friction fitting for these!

[mikey_abz]

I have the Hawaii version - any idea why it has three bands on cap v two on others?

https://i.ibb.co/LpZSRdG/leonardomzhawaii.jpg (https://ibb.co/zf4sxVk)

[Chrissy]

I have the Hawaii version - any idea why it has three bands on cap v two on others?

Some of the colours have 3 bands, and the Hawaii is one of them. Fontoplumo shows the Hawaii with 3 bands.

[dms]

Chrissy, some materials were used first in limited editions for one or another pen shop. Later, the same material was used for a "numbered (but not limited) edition" which was distinguished from the limited edition by a different number of cap bands. The Blue Hawaii material was first issued in a LE of 15 for StilographCorsani in Rome. The LE was called "Blue Striated" in English.

[stub]

I enjoy mine so much that I bought the new Coral Red version. I love the design of these pens. Chunky, good looking, reasonably priced, and much more comfortable than I would have predicted.

[Bob]

Yes, I have 8 of them. I didn’t like them at first. I think it was because of the name. I just dislike the name. That was 8 Leonardo’s ago.


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[Bob]

Wow, all of the poor reviews. I’m very surprised. I’ve bought 8 Leonardo pens from PenChalet. They’re all gorgeous and they all write just as well


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[Jon Szanto]

I've had one since early December, when endlesspens.com was running a silly sale, selling the Momento Zero for $99.00. I purchase one in the Perla Marina acrylic and I've rarely been more pleased with a purchase. Even at it's normal retail, the pen brings a feeling of Italinate quality beyond the price point. Handsome, perfect writer out of the box, this pen has really become a very favorite of mine, pushing a number of pens aside in my rotation. I've been meaning to do some photos and I'll get around to it soon, as I only have the following quick and dirty shot from the first inking.

https://i.imgur.com/20Azv8j.jpg

As an addendum, I came home from the LA Pen Show with a very, very special Leonardo (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/2378-What-is-your-latest-pen-acquisition?p=282261&viewfull=1#post282261). I'll put that in a separate thread when I can get some time.

[whichwatch]

I've had 4 Moments Zeroes but now have three. The first was a Blue Hawaii that I later sold to make room for a Pietra Marina. I liked it enough that I bought a black and orange special edition for Pen Chalet. It reminded me of a Delta Dolce Vita. This two were and are fine.

More recently I bought the Turquoise special edition from Pen Chalet. While the pen is lovely, the nib is total garbage. I got the stub, which apparently is a 1.5. It skips something awful, and it appears to me the two tines are different widths, meaning maybe the slit wasn't put exactly in the middle. I'll probably try having it ground a bit by a nibmeister at the next show, which is perhaps as inexpensive and less risky than requesting an exchange at Pen Chalet.

[Chrissy]

I've been almost tempted to buy one but have been led to believe that the stub steel nib has no tipping. Whether that's right or not I don't know, but I wouldn't buy one without tipping for such an expensive pen.

Edited to add the word "steel" that was missed out originally.

[broadoblique]

Which nib doesn't have tipping?
The steel stub doesn't, and doesn't need it. I have stainless italics with decades of use and no wear (vintage Osmiroid had softer steel that wears out).

My gold Leonardo stubs have tipping. Do they make italic nibs that don't appear to be tipped? I want one.

I have a couple of the Omas italic nibs that look like the tips are lopped off with no tipping. I've used them quite a bit with no wear; they must be hardened in some way. I've written with untipped gold. It wears down quickly, even leaving traces of gold on the page.

[Bob]

Which nib doesn't have tipping?
The steel stub doesn't, and doesn't need it. I have stainless italics with decades of use and no wear (vintage Osmiroid had softer steel that wears out).

My gold Leonardo stubs have tipping. Do they make italic nibs that don't appear to be tipped? I want one.

I have a couple of the Omas italic nibs that look like the tips are lopped off with no tipping. I've used them quite a bit with no wear; they must be hardened in some way. I've written with untipped gold. It wears down quickly, even leaving traces of gold on the page.
Leaving traces of gold on the paper, Okay.


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[Bob]

I've been almost tempted to buy one but have been led to believe that the stub nib has no tipping. Whether that's right or not I don't know, but I wouldn't buy one without tipping for such an expensive pen.

There stubs have no tipping to speak of


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[broadoblique]

I didn't communicate that very clearly. The Omas that looked untipped have lasted with no wear.
Other untipped nibs that I've acquired, that look like somebody just cut the tip off of, were the ones that wore badly.

This Omas I'm using today has many miles on the nib with no wear at all.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49532313492_5942db053f.jpg

[Bob]

Has the vendor not advised you how to replace the nib?[/QUOTE]

Oh yes. The vendor has told me how to remove the friction fit nib unit on the Leonardo Positano. We are still trying to pull it out without success so far.[/QUOTE]

Me too. Tom at Goldspot told me to just pull it out. He also said it’s easier said than done.


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[youstruckgold]

I began with the Positano and now have 6 Leonardos; a clear sign that I've been smitten.
I have had no issues with rattling and the reverse of issues with nibs: I have been impressed by just how good they are! Every one of my Leonardo's has been superb! I reviewed the Positano on my blog here: https://quillidyllic.blogspot.com/2018/04/leonardo-pen-with-enigmatic-smile.html

[carlos.q]

I just opened the box of my first ever Momento Zero in fabulous purple ebonite:

55085

This is a classy looking pen about the size of a Pelikan M800.

[TSherbs]

I just opened the box of my first ever Momento Zero in fabulous purple ebonite:

55085

This is a classy looking pen about the size of a Pelikan M800.

wow

[penwash]

I just opened the box of my first ever Momento Zero in fabulous purple ebonite:

This is a classy looking pen about the size of a Pelikan M800.

Carlos, I am a sucker for ebonite, so this is a joy to behold.

Sarj Minhas has one in this exact material that has his logo engraved. It's a special edition collaboration between him and Leonardo.

[carlos.q]

I had been holding back on buying a Momento Zero (or any other pen) but the fact that this one was purple ebonite finally won me over. It is a limited edition numbered 020/250 which is way cool.

[TSherbs]

way cool and f-ing beautiful.

I can be prone to hyperbole occasionally, but that pen is just stunning in your photo.

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[AlohaPens]

Purple ebonite? Nice! Where did you find this beauty?

[NumberSix]

I had been holding back on buying a Momento Zero (or any other pen) but the fact that this one was purple ebonite finally won me over. It is a limited edition numbered 020/250 which is way cool.


That's purty!

You mentioned M800 size - is your purple MZ a Grande model?

[carlos.q]

Purple ebonite? Nice! Where did you find this beauty?

The purple ebonite is a special edition made for Penchalet:

https://www.penchalet.com/fine_pens/fountain_pens/leonardo_exclusive_momento_zero_fountain_pen.html

Just checked the site and they are all sold out! :cry:

[carlos.q]

I had been holding back on buying a Momento Zero (or any other pen) but the fact that this one was purple ebonite finally won me over. It is a limited edition numbered 020/250 which is way cool.


That's purty!

You mentioned M800 size - is your purple MZ a Grande model?

Thank you! No this is the regular sized Momento Zero. The Grande model must be huge!

[NumberSix]

Thank you! No this is the regular sized Momento Zero. The Grande model must be huge!

Good to know! I gave been drooling over the Hawaii, and I am not ready to pay for the Grande. LOL

[NumberSix]

All,

What's the recommended nib size on these MZ pens?

[Jon Szanto]

All,

What's the recommended nib size on these MZ pens?

Depends one what kind of line you want to put down! I've got an F, M and an M that was ground to an italic. These all happen to be steel nibs, but I am going on the assumption that the gold nibs are identical or close. They match the European model of line width, which is to say that they are a bit wider than the same nib designation in a Japanese nib. I only have three at the moment, but all wrote well upon arrival.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

If you don't mind the question, who did the italic grind? And what are the writing characteristics (width, sharpness) of this grind? Okay, that's two questions (there's a sale on!). Asking for a friend.

[NumberSix]

They match the European model of line width, which is to say that they are a bit wider than the same nib designation in a Japanese nib. I only have three at the moment, but all wrote well upon arrival.

That's the info I was seeking, thanks! Just wanted to know if they write extra wet, like a Pelikan. That sort of thing. Sounds like it's as simple as whether I like F or M, etc. Good, good.

[Jon Szanto]

They match the European model of line width, which is to say that they are a bit wider than the same nib designation in a Japanese nib. I only have three at the moment, but all wrote well upon arrival.

That's the info I was seeking, thanks! Just wanted to know if they write extra wet, like a Pelikan. That sort of thing. Sounds like it's as simple as whether I like F or M, etc. Good, good.

With such a small sample set, I hate to make broad statements. The F nib was certainly not a real wet writer. The M had what I would consider a very normal flow, plenty of ink. The italic is quite wet but I don't know if that is how the pen was set up, the effect of the grind (which happened on the spot before I had even inked the pen) or (maybe most likely) that it has an ebonite feed.

I wish I could give you a drop-dead playbook. Honestly, if you really want to know these kind of things ahead of time, I would check out either the LOI threads on FPN (I believe the one with the most traffic is people posting photos of their pens, but then discuss them) or the dedicated LOI group on Facebook. Lots of people who have significant LOI collections and a lot of pens and reports on them.

[Jon Szanto]

If you don't mind the question, who did the italic grind? And what are the writing characteristics (width, sharpness) of this grind?

Mike Masuyama at the LAPS. He has done a number of nibs for me and this was a fluke because a friend's husband decided he didn't need anything done and gave me his appointment. Mike did an italic of about 0.7mm with is my fave zone, very good line variation but no sharp edges (important for LH writers). Always the best to have it done in realtime and hand the pen back and forth, but this guy nails it first time anyway. Fairly wet writer which may be due to the ebonite feed in this model. Tell your friend.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Would you, in your vast experience, class it as a cursive italic then? As these things go. Will tell my friend... as soon as I find one. :)

[NumberSix]

I just received a blue Moonman M800, and it writes like garbage. I am sending it back to amazon as defective.

But the pen design sold me finally into taking the plunge on the Momento Zero Blue Hawaii I have been wanting for awhile. The Pen Chalet 15% FPDay coupon is still working, and that ends up being the only color MZ they still have in stock!

So it's ordered now, with medium nib. :)

(I also went on Penrealm and ordered a bottle of the Leonardo "Turquoise Hawaii" ink.


[my second Italian pen ordered this FPDay weekend. (Ordered a clear Pineider Avatar UR on Friday)

[NumberSix]

Supposedly those nib issues with the Momento Zeros were confined to the early days, and it sounds like you were sadly included in that batch. You've definitely not had the best of experiences with those pens, have you? :(

Maybe I will try to sort out this M800's nib, too. It really is lovely

[Chrissy]

I just received a blue Moonman M800, and it writes like garbage. I am sending it back to amazon as defective.

But the pen design sold me finally into taking the plunge on the Momento Zero Blue Hawaii I have been wanting for awhile. The Pen Chalet 15% FPDay coupon is still working, and that ends up being the only color MZ they still have in stock!

So it's ordered now, with medium nib. :)

(I also went on Penrealm and ordered a bottle of the Leonardo "Turquoise Hawaii" ink.


[my second Italian pen ordered this FPDay weekend. (Ordered a clear Pineider Avatar UR on Friday)
You don't have to buy a Moonman pen that is fitted with a Moonman nib if you don't want a fine nib. I have bought two Moonman C2 pens that both came fitted with Jinhao M nibs from the same Japanese seller on ebay. He even included the swapped out Moonman F nib with the second pen that I bought. Both of my Jinhao M nibs write beautifully smoothly and I'm very pleased with them. :)

[penwash]

Finally I got myself one:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50725930218_d003ebf847_c.jpg

When I saw one for sale here, I can't help but to make an offer and the seller graciously accept. Unlike my other packages that are stuck (sometimes for days in a USPS facility only 20 minutes drive from where I live), this one arrived very quickly, packaged very securely.

But wait Will, what are you doing with a modern pen?

Well, for this one, I'd make an exception, because the shape and design reminded me of vintage pens, good ones. If this pen were designed following the "stick a swirly acrylic into the lathe, cut some threads and call it minimalism" -school of thought that I see so many of these days, I probably won't go for it.

But I think Leonardo put enough care and little touches to make this pen exceptional. Such as threaded converter "seat", nice placement of gold rings, engraved their brand on the handle of the converter, metal to acrylic threading on the blind cap (brave move).

In my hand, the pen is very balanced and I even love the blue/gray acrylic material. There's a no.240 engraved on the barrel, is this supposed to be some kind of limited edition, I don't know, and don't particularly care either. But overall, I like this pen quite a bit.

Now the question is: How long did it take me to decide to replac ... , I mean to *upgrade* the steel nib to a 14K vintage nib?

The answer, not long at all, a few pages into the writing test, I can't stop thinking how much nicer this pen will be with a similarly-sized vintage nib.

Out come the box where I put my *always too few* 14K nib collection, and after trying out a few, this one fits nicely. It's a springy (not flex) one where I still can get some nice line variations if I wanted to, something that the original nib can't do.

So in the end, this Leonardo has a new "heart", one that predates it probably close to a century or so.

[Jon Szanto]

Looks great, Will. I've actually enjoyed the steel nibs on my LOI pens, but your choice looks right at home. I really do think this small-ish company really cares about their products, and are doing very good work. Glad you joined the family!

[penwash]

Looks great, Will. I've actually enjoyed the steel nibs on my LOI pens, but your choice looks right at home. I really do think this small-ish company really cares about their products, and are doing very good work. Glad you joined the family!

Jon, I didn't mean to imply that the steel nib is bad. :)

It's just this "obsession" that I have with vintage nibs.

[Jon Szanto]

Jon, I didn't mean to imply that the steel nib is bad. :)

It's just this "obsession" that I have with vintage nibs.

Ahhh... I thought you were just being exceedingly diplomatic. ;)

[Lady Onogaro]

Supposedly those nib issues with the Momento Zeros were confined to the early days, and it sounds like you were sadly included in that batch. You've definitely not had the best of experiences with those pens, have you? :(

Maybe I will try to sort out this M800's nib, too. It really is lovely

I got a Memento Zero Lavande with a stub nib and the thing wouldn't write. I recently saw that another friend of mine who also got a Leonardo with a stub nib had the same problem. I sent mine to Mark Bacas and he seemed to be able to fix the problem. I don't know what's going on with my friend's.

[MarcoA64]

I ordered and received my first, maybe last Leonardo, Momento Zero Regular in Coral Red. The body is in a nicely made resin. It feels cold at first and warms up while you write, which is nice.
The shiny veneered red is stunning.
I chose a Medium steel nib, the only one available.
Compared to Ranga's medium nibs I have, but JoWo, this is more like a fine nib.
Before inking it I flushed the nib and feed, so the whole section, with plain water and all went well.
The nib, somebody told me Leonardo uses Bock' s, is very stiff but at least is smooth on the Rhodia pages I'm using and doesn't scratch.
I have to say that I like it, although the Ranga ebonite pens with gold JoWo nibs are more flexible and real medium nibs.
I'm now alternating between Ranga and Leonardo in order to empy the converters, I'll have at least a few months of writing to do hahahaha !!

I bought it directly from Italy as I could not find any of the usual UK sellers I use that stocked it.
Price was affordable, 112 Pounds. Ordered it on the 15th and arrived yesterday afternoon, very quick with UPS.
The schock were the Custom duties, 70 Pounds. Never again I'll order from Italy directly.
I told the seller to indicate the correct selling amount in the waybill and not a higher one, like she did, as Customs looks at waybill and not the invoice in the package.
Interesting pen. Nice to look at and hold in my hand. Stiff nib. Maybe a broad nib would have been more appropriate
HTH

[MarcoA64]

Following to my previous post I discovered an interesting feature of this pen.

So, there is no instruction booklet in the box so, just by chance, I discovered that you can unscrew the end bit of the barrell and you have access to the converter. This means that you can either ink the pen in the classic way, unscrew the barrell, immerse the section in the ink bottle and turn the converter or just remove the end of the barrell and ink it without having to take it apart. Cool. This is also why, and I thought about it, the converter is finished in polished aluminiium

[Jon Szanto]

Following to my previous post I discovered an interesting feature of this pen.

So, there is no instruction booklet in the box so, just by chance, I discovered that you can unscrew the end bit of the barrell and you have access to the converter. This means that you can either ink the pen in the classic way, unscrew the barrell, immerse the section in the ink bottle and turn the converter or just remove the end of the barrell and ink it without having to take it apart. Cool. This is also why, and I thought about it, the converter is finished in polished aluminiium

I agree - I wish they would make this more obvious, as I think it is a selling point. And another way to point out their attention to detail: for instance, one that I have has dark (almost black) ruthenium plated hardware; when you unscrew the blind cap, you notice that both the threaded insert for the cap, as well as the piston knob (and other metal parts on the converter) are also plated in the same material. Everything matches. Very classy.

[TSherbs]

I ordered and received my first, maybe last Leonardo, Momento Zero Regular in Coral Red.
I bought it directly from Italy as I could not find any of the usual UK sellers I use that stocked it.
Price was affordable, 112 Pounds. Ordered it on the 15th and arrived yesterday afternoon, very quick with UPS....

The schock were the Custom duties, 70 Pounds. Never again I'll order from Italy directly.....

HTH

£70 duty on a £112 purchase? That's 😧.

[topcat666]

What on earth did they put in the waybill?
Did you get charged UK VAT on the Italian Vat included price ie VAT on top of VAT?
I know they levy charges on the price + postage charged by the seller and a "handling charge" but that seems a lot.

[MarcoA64]

@topcat666 the waybill indicated 200 euros of goods. No Italian VAT added anywhere, Brexit.
The shop lady told me that there are issues with UK Customs if you put a value that is less than 150 GBP, so she increased the pen amount in the waybill only to avoid this. The pen was 125 euros without Italian VAT, 112 GBP.
UPS sent me a notification of duties to pay as a whole, 69,xx in total.
I do not know who's beating around the bush here, the shop, Customs or UPS. UPS's bill reported duties 50 GBP, service charge 16 GBP. Definetely not goign to buy anymore from Italy.

[724Seney]

@topcat666 the waybill indicated 200 euros of goods. No Italian VAT added anywhere, Brexit.
The shop lady told me that there are issues with UK Customs if you put a value that is less than 150 GBP, so she increased the pen amount in the waybill only to avoid this. The pen was 125 euros without Italian VAT, 112 GBP.
UPS sent me a notification of duties to pay as a whole, 69,xx in total.
I do not know who's beating around the bush here, the shop, Customs or UPS. UPS's bill reported duties 50 GBP, service charge 16 GBP. Definetely not goign to buy anymore from Italy.

I must confess I do not understand how US Customs works so it is probably wrong for me to make any comment about another country's customs process & procedures.
But, I cannot resist....what possible reason could there be for overstating the value of an item in a customs declaration?? How could that possibly be of benefit to the buyer?

I agree with the others, in all likelihood, there is something very wrong here.

[MarcoA64]

This is an explanation I got on another forum re why the seller increased the price in the waybill.

For orders up to GBP 135 including shipping, the dealer has to be registered for VAT with the UK Customs and Excise. There is an annual charge to do this, too high for small businesses. They then have to prepay the VAT ahead of shipping the parcel. So if they have not done this, the parcel will be returned.
For orders over GBP 135 the dealer is supposed to deduct the local VAT/MWST/TVA and then the customer has to pay the UK VAT to the courier or Royal Mail. The latter then add a service charge which can be anything up to GBP 30 for handling the charges on your behalf

[mizgeorge]

This is an explanation I got on another forum re why the seller increased the price in the waybill.

For orders up to GBP 135 including shipping, the dealer has to be registered for VAT with the UK Customs and Excise. There is an annual charge to do this, too high for small businesses. They then have to prepay the VAT ahead of shipping the parcel. So if they have not done this, the parcel will be returned.
For orders over GBP 135 the dealer is supposed to deduct the local VAT/MWST/TVA and then the customer has to pay the UK VAT to the courier or Royal Mail. The latter then add a service charge which can be anything up to GBP 30 for handling the charges on your behalf

Yet if I buy from a smaller seller via ebay or etsy, they will collect the VAT on the seller's behalf...

The biggest problem seems to be the big couriers, who appear to randomly set their own figures for vat/duty and then add massively inflated handling charges. Makes the royal mail 'actual duty' plus £8 ransom seem positively reasonable...

[Empty_of_Clouds]

As I understand it, if you use FedEx (as an example) the cost is to your door irrespective of whether the last leg uses a local courier (which is usually the case). Yes it is more expensive, but on the other hand you know all the price upfront at the point of purchase.

[mizgeorge]

I decided on a whim yesterday that I needed one of these. Didn't like the whole rattly converter thing (and I'm not a huge fan of converters to start with) so I went for a LE Dark Hawaii version with a piston fill (which is excellent, apart from having no idea how much ink is left because there's no ink window) with a stub nib that simply glides over even the horridest paper.

I very rarely buy 'new' pens, and then they tend to be very plain, unadorned and chosen because I like the colour or the manufacturer, but curiously, I'm loving this. The super Roy at Izods also included a bottle of Robert Oster Ruthenium, which is just delicious, so all in all I'm a very happy bunny. and feel very grown up!

My only slight niggle is that I wish they'd at least tried to match up the lines in the pattern. If an elderly one man band in India can do that perfectly pretty much every time, working purely by eye, you'd think a serious Italian manufacturer would be able to do the same.

59611
59612
59613

[MarcoA64]

Nice pen and I have to admit the broad nib is very nice. Never heard of the ink brand 'Robert Oster'. How is it compared to other main brands, Pelikan, Waterman, Parker and Diamine ? You bought form Izods which is local to me, well maybe 40 miles from me :-) I discovered a bit too late that they represent Leonardo in UK :-(

[mizgeorge]

Nice pen and I have to admit the broad nib is very nice. Never heard of the ink brand 'Robert Oster'. How is it compared to other main brands, Pelikan, Waterman, Parker and Diamine ? You bought form Izods which is local to me, well maybe 40 miles from me :-) I discovered a bit too late that they represent Leonardo in UK :-(

Robert Oster make some fabulous inks - they're an Australian brand, but have the most extraordinary range of blues as well as the colours you might expect from down under. This one was a special for Izods and is just lovely - it's like a chalky purpley grey and has a great vintage feel to it.

It's a very good thing I don't have a store like that anywhere near me. I'd be broke...

I wrote a fair bit with it today, and I am still very pleased indeed - and doubly so that I opted for the piston LE rather than the regular c/c version.

[AlohaPens]

Nice looking pen and writing sample!

[penwash]

I decided on a whim yesterday that I needed one of these. Didn't like the whole rattly converter thing (and I'm not a huge fan of converters to start with) so I went for a LE Dark Hawaii version with a piston fill (which is excellent, apart from having no idea how much ink is left because there's no ink window) with a stub nib that simply glides over even the horridest paper.


Beautiful photos and presentation of a very cool pen.

I am not sure what you mean by the "rattly converter thing". The LMZ I had (albeit briefly) was the converter version and I found that the converter is threaded into the section -- a very nice touch, I thought -- therefore it won't be rattling, if installed correctly.

Having said that, I, like you, am not a big fan of converters in general.

[Jon Szanto]

I am not sure what you mean by the "rattly converter thing". The LMZ I had (albeit briefly) was the converter version and I found that the converter is threaded into the section -- a very nice touch, I thought -- therefore it won't be rattling, if installed correctly.

If one is going to use converters, I do like the way they go, but I know what MG is referring to. The Converter they use has a long knob on it that is covered or made from metal. You can take off the blind cap and find that the knob sticks out enough to turn, so that you can hold the pen by the barrel to stick it in the ink bottle to fill - no more holding it by the converter body. Where the potential noise comes in is that LOI uses a fabricated metal insert into the back end of the barrel for the threading of the blind cap, and the tolerance between piston knob and that metal insert is close enough that they can rattle. I say can because I never notice it in regular use, but if I strongly shake the pen - which I have no need for - I can make it happen.

One of the signs of care in craft for LOI is that all metal parts are plated alike: if you get a pen with ruthenium hardware, the nib, clip, blind cap threads and converter parts are all plated to match. It ends up being a very handsome way to tie the pen together.

[broadoblique]

I wrapped a piece of tape around my worst offenders. It reduce the noise, but not the feel of something jiggling.
Fortunately, the Grandes I'm using now are piston fill.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Can anyone confirm just how well (or not) the LMZ posts please? I am considering one, but only if it posts securely. Otherwise the pen is too small for me. Cheers!

[Ernest]

My MZG stub nib had terrible baby bottom right out of the box. I was able to polish it out and it writes perfectly now but I was shocked by how bad it was.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

[AlohaPens]

Can anyone confirm just how well (or not) the LMZ posts please? I am considering one, but only if it posts securely. Otherwise the pen is too small for me. Cheers!

I don't post mine, but yeah, it seems to post securely. You might also like the MZ Grandes....

Scot