Leonardo Officina Quality

[SkyCyclePilot]

I just received a Leonarda ballpoint that I ordered, to use with standard Parker refills, such as the Monteverde Gel refill, and my initial impressions of the pen are not good. Its very light, but the metal inner parts show through the acrylic in several places, and the twist mechanism feels, well, cheap. It works well enough, but it has no friction to it. I expected it to have a nice viscous feel. I've got $10 Chinese pens that feel better. I'm wondering exactly what it is that I've paid so much for...

Am I expecting too much, or have I just paid $150 for a pen that isn't much better than some giveaway pens???

Pen Quality for Posting.jpg

[Jon Szanto]

I only own their fountain pens, and in fact didn't even know they had ballpoints. If you chose that light colored acrylic, one would assume you looked at photos; most of the light fp that I've seen you can frequently see internals - pistons, convertors, threaded areas. That aspect wouldn't have been a surprise to me, but it seems to have been for you. As to the mechanism... can't say. If it compares poorly to similar mechanisms, then that is reason to not care for it. You mention it not having "friction", which baffles me as to what you mean.

I'm just not sure these are quality issues, except for possibly the latter. I've never quite understood the purchase of expensive ballpoint pens unless they were to complete a set, but again that is personal taste and usage habits. If the 'quality aspects are things that you think should be corrected, you should pursue it. The issue with the acrylic material, though, is really not a fault of the manufacture, it is just how that material is.

[SkyCyclePilot]

I only own their fountain pens, and in fact didn't even know they had ballpoints. If you chose that light colored acrylic, one would assume you looked at photos; most of the light fp that I've seen you can frequently see internals - pistons, convertors, threaded areas. That aspect wouldn't have been a surprise to me, but it seems to have been for you. As to the mechanism... can't say. If it compares poorly to similar mechanisms, then that is reason to not care for it. You mention it not having "friction", which baffles me as to what you mean.

I'm just not sure these are quality issues, except for possibly the latter. I've never quite understood the purchase of expensive ballpoint pens unless they were to complete a set, but again that is personal taste and usage habits. If the 'quality aspects are things that you think should be corrected, you should pursue it. The issue with the acrylic material, though, is really not a fault of the manufacture, it is just how that material is.

Thanks for your input. Perhaps I should have ordered a darker color. As to the twist mechanism... Most mechanism have a "viscous damped" feel to them. It's hard to explain...

[Jon Szanto]

Thanks for your input. Perhaps I should have ordered a darker color. As to the twist mechanism... Most mechanism have a "viscous damped" feel to them. It's hard to explain...

Ah, ok. I don't think I've ever used a twist BP, only click. I hope you come to a comfortable place with the pen, either enjoying it for what it is or finding a new home for it.

[Dougc]

I just received a Leonarda ballpoint that I ordered, to use with standard Parker refills, such as the Monteverde Gel refill, and my initial impressions of the pen are not good. Its very light, but the metal inner parts show through the acrylic in several places, and the twist mechanism feels, well, cheap. It works well enough, but it has no friction to it. I expected it to have a nice viscous feel. I've got $10 Chinese pens that feel better. I'm wondering exactly what it is that I've paid so much for...

Am I expecting too much, or have I just paid $150 for a pen that isn't much better than some giveaway pens???

Pen Quality for Posting.jpg

Translucent acrylics are common in Italian pens.
You are paying for Italian products, which will never stand up price-wise to pens from China.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

[SkyCyclePilot]

Thanks for your input. Perhaps I should have ordered a darker color. As to the twist mechanism... Most mechanism have a "viscous damped" feel to them. It's hard to explain...

Ah, ok. I don't think I've ever used a twist BP, only click. I hope you come to a comfortable place with the pen, either enjoying it for what it is or finding a new home for it.

Thanks Jon. I think the twist mechanism is probably fine. Using it more, I've realized that it works differently than most others, and is probably working as designed. And from what you and others have said, the translucent nature of the resin is normal. I did buy this pen to go with an emerald Leonardo Furore fountain pen that I'm getting for Christmas. I have to write on a lot of garbage paper at work, and a fountain pen bleeds too much on that paper, so I'll wind up using the ballpoint a lot. At least I have found some really good gel refills for it, from Monteverde.

[SkyCyclePilot]

I just received a Leonarda ballpoint that I ordered, to use with standard Parker refills, such as the Monteverde Gel refill, and my initial impressions of the pen are not good. Its very light, but the metal inner parts show through the acrylic in several places, and the twist mechanism feels, well, cheap. It works well enough, but it has no friction to it. I expected it to have a nice viscous feel. I've got $10 Chinese pens that feel better. I'm wondering exactly what it is that I've paid so much for...

Am I expecting too much, or have I just paid $150 for a pen that isn't much better than some giveaway pens???

Translucent acrylics are common in Italian pens.
You are paying for Italian products, which will never stand up price-wise to pens from China.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

I understand. I guess I just expect more out of a pen that costs ten times what some of my Chinese pens cost.

[Jon Szanto]

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

I understand. I guess I just expect more out of a pen that costs ten times what some of my Chinese pens cost.[/QUOTE]

You might want to consider the fact that your "Chinese pens" (there are actually brands you could name, etc) are made as such a ridiculously low cost for all the reasons people know about, that *any* Western or Japanese pen, even an economical one, is going to be costing a lot more. Start buying small-maker, bespoke, fashionable pens (pretty much means any of the Italian brands) and you'll be paying many times more for a similar object. You still haven't really said anything about the pen that is actually of poor manufacture, just that you had different expectations.

Just think of Gucci handbags vs. the knockoffs available - from China and other countries - at a mere fraction of the cost. They may both be pens, but it is almost apples and oranges territory. Hell, one of the Chinese companies - Moonman, maybe? - has an exactly identical pen to the Leonardo Momento Zero, truly a ripoff copy. It probably works well enough and costs many times less. Up to you where the value lies.

[SkyCyclePilot]

I understand. I guess I just expect more out of a pen that costs ten times what some of my Chinese pens cost.

You might want to consider the fact that your "Chinese pens" (there are actually brands you could name, etc) are made as such a ridiculously low cost for all the reasons people know about, that *any* Western or Japanese pen, even an economical one, is going to be costing a lot more. Start buying small-maker, bespoke, fashionable pens (pretty much means any of the Italian brands) and you'll be paying many times more for a similar object. You still haven't really said anything about the pen that is actually of poor manufacture, just that you had different expectations.

Just think of Gucci handbags vs. the knockoffs available - from China and other countries - at a mere fraction of the cost. They may both be pens, but it is almost apples and oranges territory. Hell, one of the Chinese companies - Moonman, maybe? - has an exactly identical pen to the Leonardo Momento Zero, truly a ripoff copy. It probably works well enough and costs many times less. Up to you where the value lies.[/QUOTE]

I get what you are saying. I have bought a few Chinese pens - Jinhao mostly - just to play around with, but I do own several other pens - Parker Duofold, TWSBI Diamond Mini, Conklin Metropolis rollerball, the Leonardo ballpoint, with a Furore fountain pen on the way... One of the nicest, and best writing pens I have is a Jinhao Century 100 with an Edison nib installed. It's a hobby...