My New Taccia Momenta - Not familiar with the Brand

[KBeezie]

I got this pen in trade for one one of my Japanese pens. What primarily attracted me to it was the color and twist to the barrel and that it takes #6 Jowo nibs.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/taccia/momenta/full.jpg

Initially the brand name seemed to strike me as maybe Italian, but it's distributed by Itoya USA LTD (subsidy of Ito-ya, Japan). So I'm guessing it's Japanese. They come with a pretty much unbranded IPG (Iridium Point Germany) nib which are ... ok.

Have a write sample here with Iroshizuku Kon-Peki as I was just swapping a bunch of nibs in and out (didn't need to move the feed, so was quick to try a bunch).

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/taccia/momenta/konpeki-strokes.jpg

Later today I got a Franklin-Christoph Needlepoint grind by Masuyama in #6. At first I put the nib into the existing feed/collar which did work, flow was a little inconsistent but did flow wetter. Then I just put the whole F-C nib unit into the Momenta which does fit, the only main difference between the collar F-C uses and the one Taccia uses, is the Taccia's "lip" or rim by the base of the nib goes out further in diameter to fill the recess in the section fully like shown in the picture below. With the F-C nib unit it's not as wide on the diameter, still fits just fine, just doesn't go all the way out to the edges of the recess but still covers the access to the walls of the section, but more likely to get ink in the groove during filling (the same problem Faber-Castell BASIC has on it's own, a little groove ink can get trapped in). But the Franklin-Christoph feed provides a much more consistent flow, and with the seating with the nib provides a dryer flow which shows shading better.

Shot of the Masuyama grinde next to some of my other EF sized nibs.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/taccia/momenta/ef_nibs_1280.jpg

At the bottom of this write sample I have the Needlepoint written in the Taccia.
http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/murex/write2.jpg]http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/murex/write2.jpg

I like the pen though. It's one of my tallest (my Parker Ellipse is taller by a hair), but it's pretty light, about 20 grams, split nearly half and half between the body and the cap. I prefer to write with it unposted because the cap causes it to be noticeably back heavy. The 'Twist' on it is actually pretty comfortable and doesn't bother my hands, probably because of how tall it is.

The main gripe I have is that it does not seem to handle longer converters well. It won't take a Long standard cartridge.

#1,2,3,4 below are too tall to fit into the barrel, the barrel won't screw on with them in. I haven't tried #5 because I no longer have it (gave it away with the Jinhao 599 it came with), #6 is too loose on either Taccia's nipple or the franklin-christoph nipple, even though it'll fit height wise into the barrel. Don't' have #7 anymore to try (it sold with the Jinhao 159).

#8 is what I am currently using in the Taccia, works fine and easy to operate. Would be nice to find a Schmidt piston converter that's shorter than the first for so it would fit. The guy who I got the Momenta from, said he had a Black Onyx Momenta before which was slightly taller overall and fit those converters fine, the Marine Wave one I have, was a warranty replacement they offered him at a pen show when he talked to a Taccia rep regarding his broken barrel, and they just gave him one of the stock they had on hand.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/shares/converters_sep_2014.jpg

I cannot find these pens anywhere so I'm assuming they been discontinued for a while, and in ebay search history when they do show up they're significantly higher priced than they were originally offered for. The current modern equivalent appears to be the Levenger Faucet.

But overall I like it, it's comfortable, it's lightweight, definitely not too small, but it's also not too fat. But it is a little too tall for my 3-pen case.

[AltecGreen]

Taccia was founded by Shu-Jen Lin who I know quite well. The pens were originally made in various places but the pens are not strictly Japanese. Itoya acquired Taccia and Shu-Jen still runs the brand as part of Itoya USA. The office is in Orange county. Itoya gives Taccia access to better manufacturing capabilities for their pens (ex. Sailor). The quality of the Taccia pens has increased significantly over the years and they make relatively affordable pens that are not boring.

[KBeezie]

Taccia was founded by Shu-Jen Lin who I know quite well. The pens were originally made in various places but the pens are not strictly Japanese. Itoya acquired Taccia and Shu-Jen still runs the brand as part of Itoya USA. The office is in Orange county. Itoya gives Taccia access to better manufacturing capabilities for their pens (ex. Sailor). The quality of the Taccia pens has increased significantly over the years and they make relatively affordable pens that are not boring.

I noticed they don't really go in the direction my pen is anymore, but more "oriental" in a way with sort of a urushi style of look as well as briar wood and maki-e style of designs (ie: more like they're trying to compete with someone like Nakaya). Though I wonder if they still use the same kind of nib units.

[picautomaton]

Hey Karl, do you possibly know which year this model was released? It looks so much like one of the Viscontis

[KBeezie]

Hey Karl, do you possibly know which year this model was released? It looks so much like one of the Viscontis

No clue on that. The guy I got it from seems to think at least until about 2010 or so, but not sure when it was actually *released*.

[Bogon07]

Nice looking pen - similar material & barrel twist to those Blue Visconti Divinas.

Could you possibly cutdown the black plastic turning "knob" of the converter to make one fit ?
I recall Delta did that for converters on one of their pens recently.

[KBeezie]

Nice looking pen - similar material & barrel twist to those Blue Visconti Divinas.

Could you possibly cutdown the black plastic turning "knob" of the converter to make one fit ?
I recall Delta did that for converters on one of their pens recently.

Does not seem to be quite that likely since there is a small hole in the bottom of my standard converter's knob, so I stock a small toothpick there and started retracting the plunger to see how far down the piston rod itself reached til fully extended. Seems the knob on this model was made without any excess plastic on the end, and any I could shave off wouldn't be enough. Seems almost like I'd have to take it down another 5mm or so.

In any case, in a "just because I can" move, I have one of those bottom-less cartridges that normally come with the faber-castell pens for cleaning, and I also have like 6 or so spare sacs.

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/taccia/momenta/sac.jpg

Just trimmed it enough that it didn't impact with the bottom of the barrel.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hey Karl, do you possibly know which year this model was released? It looks so much like one of the Viscontis

That was my first thought, too. What a cool-looking pen.

[KBeezie]

Someone asked me this over on Reddit, so figured I may as well copy into here since I got it broken down.



[–]NeilZod [score hidden] 2 hours ago
What is your opinion on the Taccia?




[–]kbeezie[S] 1 point an hour ago

To get the gripes out of the way:


A little too tall for usage in my 3-pen leather case. the flap won't close, and the broad end of the cap is too thick for the slot. Course I have the same issue with the Parker Ellipse which is near identical in capped height.
Won't work with most of my standard international converters as they're too tall to fit into the barrel (it's roughly about 5mm too tall on most of the schmidt ones). Since I had a bottom-less cartridge from Faber-castell (used for cleaning) and bunch of spare sacs, I put together this little squeeze filler. The previous owner said his Black Onyx Momenta worked fine with them, but when they gave him the Marine Waves one (mine now), it was a little shorter and as such didn't work with his pre-existing converter.
Posting it works, but as the cap feels a little heavier than the body it makes it a tad back-heavy in the balance for my light hand.


On the plus side:


Rather lightweight, about 20g-25g (my postal scale rounds to the nearest 5g) with the pen body feeling maybe shy of 10g if not a little less, the cap seems to be slightly ever than the pen.
Quite comfortable. Even though the grip is a little on the smaller side (lengthwise) the contours towards the front and the threads towards the back are smooth and angled gradually so the steps don't feel sharp. The twist on the facets fits nicely into the cup of my hands. While I can write with it posted, I prefer to do so unposted.
Attractive. Not much to say, just in my opinion it's a pretty attractive pen for something that was originally an $80 pen (when they do pop up on eBay the sellers seem to want $200+ for the Momenta specifically). Visually wise, the closest equivalent seems to be the Levenger Facet.
Takes standard #6 Jowo Nibs. But also seems to work fine with a Franklin-Christoph nib unit directly (and I do prefer the F-C feed, more consistent on the flow). The Taccia's nib unit that unscrews from the section is a little wider on the lip that goes down into the recess in the section. The Franklin-Christoph is a little smaller on that lip, but still screws in just fine, just doesn't go flush up against the recess in top, so if you get any ink in there from filling it's just taking a napkin and whisking it away around that groove (it's not so narrow that it exposes the walls of the section, I can always get a macro shot later if curious).