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Thread: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

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    Arrow Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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.



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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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.
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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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.
    Last edited by stub; March 26th, 2019 at 04:45 AM.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Alas, I am a one of those collectors with TEH PEOPLES budget with Bourgeoisie appetite.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Anyone else have one? I got mine from fontoplumo. They were excellent. A bit of a wait
    [/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.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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).

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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.
    Last edited by AndyLogan; March 28th, 2019 at 10:35 AM. Reason: dyslexia spelling

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by stub View Post
    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.
    Last edited by NHGeezer; April 30th, 2019 at 12:55 PM.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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?
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    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.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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).

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by Voiren View Post
    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.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    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!

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by Dai Capp View Post
    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.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by NHGeezer View Post
    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?
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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by Voiren View Post
    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.
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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    [/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.

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    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!

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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

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


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    Default Re: Leonardo Officina Italiana - Momento Zero

    Quote Originally Posted by mikey_abz View Post
    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.
    Last edited by Chrissy; May 4th, 2019 at 02:50 PM.
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