INTRODUCTION: When I first joined FPN, it didn’t take me long to learn about the Edison Pen Company. However, Brian’s pens were out of my reach then, price-wise. I had another hobby back then that took up most of my budget but now that I’m fully devoted to my writing hobby, I find myself looking through Brian’s photo website almost daily trying to find my 1st Edison pen. Then Brian announced the Mina and Extended Mina at a lower price range. Perfect. Brian had done a Mina previously in Imitation Horn and that really caught my eye. From there, it was a simple matter to send an email to Brian to order an Extended Mino in Imitation Horn.
1. Appearance & Design (10/10) – Part of the Edison pen purchase process is to choose a pen body and a material from among the hundreds of materials and designs that Brian has. Trust me, it’s harder to choose 1 material than it is to choose 5.
I’m not sure if you can see from the photo but the Horn material is actually slightly translucent, so the brown swirl patterns looks 3D. This material is highly under-rated and I’m surprised that so little people actually chose this material (Brian shares the same sentiment).
The pen design is very simple, basically just a round rod that flares out slightly to the ends. The flare is very slight and but it means that the pen cannot be posted. This isn’t a problem since I never post my pens. The “Edison Pen Company” engraving is not present on the pen body but the Edison Pen Company logo is engraved on the top of the cap. Nice~
Since I get to choose my pen design and material from the hundreds of high-quality photos, how can I not give it a perfect 10?
2. Construction & Quality (8/10) – The exterior of the pen is perfect to the touch, smooth with no scratches or bump. The cap twists off smoothly with little resistance as well. However, I just have 2 issues here: First, the interior of the pen body and cap is not smoothen out. The problem with a rough interior cap is that ink stains are much harder to wash off (because the ink remains trapped in the nooks and crannies). The horn material is slightly translucent so any ink stain present is visible to the naked eye. Secondly, the pen section’s grooves aren’t smooth and I actually couldn’t twist it open. I had to remove the nib so that I could get a grip before I can finally remove the section. Luckily, this problem is easily fixed with a few dabs of silicon grease. Now, it’s as smooth as glass.
3. Weight & Dimensions (10/10) – This is the most balanced capped fountain pen I have ever used. When I first held it in my hands, I started twirling and spinning the pen effortlessly. Simply a delight to play with. The pen section is very thin at the thinnest point (where you’re normally supposed to hold) and I feel slightly uncomfortable holding it there. However, the nib of the pen is pretty small, so if I hold the pen there, I will be holding the pen too close to the paper. By shifting my holding position further up, I achieved a near perfect grip and comfort level.
4. Nib & Performance (20/20) – An Edison pen is one of the few pens that is personally tuned by a nibmeister before it is shipped out to the customer. Hence, it’s not a matter of whether the pen writes well, but whether it writes to your liking. Brian actually prefers it if a customer sends his nib to him so that he can tune the Edison nib to write EXACTLY like the customer’s nib. However, I know Brian has his own idea of how the perfect nib should write like so I decided to try a nib tuned to his liking. He likes to a nib to write slightly wet (about 7/10 wetness) and to be buttery smooth with the slightest feedback. When I write my first word, I knew Brian has got it spot on. The nib is wet enough to bring out the ink’s correct color and saturation, but not too wet such that it results in smudging and bleedthrough (My Visconti Homo Sapiens and Pelikan M600 are 2 pens that are too wet.) The nib size is accurate, lying down a Fine line similar to the line laid down by my Visconti HS’s EF nib. I am not a huge fan of buttery smooth nibs because I tend to lose control of my writings. Brian has managed to hit that thin balance of smoothness and feedback so that I’m able to write with a nib that feels buttery smooth except that I don’t lose control like I usually do. It’s impossible for me to heap more praise on the nib.
I requested a one tone silver nib but Brian forgot and shipped my pen with a 2 tone nib. When informed, he immediately shipped me a one tone silver nib and told me to keep the 2 tone nib. This way, I’ll be able to choose the better nib of the 2. Just like other Edison Pen customers, I was blown away from the level of customer service that Brian provides.
5. Filling System & Maintenance (10/10) – The pen uses a piston converter with the “Schmidt” words written on it. I could have chosen to have the pen as a bulb filler but I had come to appreciate the convenience of a converter pen. Like all Edison pens, this pen can be converted to an eyedropper with the addition of an o-ring and silicon grease on the threads.
6. Cost & Value (10/10) – I bought this pen for $210 shipped and this is a huge amount to pay for a pen with a steel nib. For example, my Sailor Professional Gear with a 21K gold nib costs me just under $200 shipped. However, if you factor in how well the pen writes, and the amount of customization that you can choose to personalize your pen, $210 seems like a fairly reasonable price to pay for a one-of-a-kind pen. You can choose to change the dimensions of the pen to fit your hand better or to have some kind of logo or words engraved onto the pen to further personalize it for a small additional cost. Essentially, I paid $210 for a pen that wrote PERFECTLY, and in the design that I want.
7. Conclusion (Final score, 68/70) – I’ll like to thank Brian for being ever so patient with me as I design my pen. This pen took about 3 to 4 weeks from payment to landing in my hands but I bought this pen just after the launch of the Stilwell and the Philly Show. Normally, the pen should take only 2 weeks. For those looking to try out their 1st Edison pen, the Mina or Extended Mina is a good way to start and it has been a while since I was so happy with a pen (I think the last time is the Pilot M90).
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