Following up on the pens

And, just a few days later, all the new toys are in my hands...

I had gotten 'round to writing with the MB George Solti.  It has a wonderfully smooth medium nib that simply glides across even the roughest paper.  I filled it with Diamine Sapphire ink (thing a very purplish blue), and writes great.  People will say what they will, but Montblanc makes a good pen.

The Parker Vermeil 75, S.T. Dupont Orpheo, and Visconti Divine Proportion bp all arrived today.  Due to work, I didn't get to them till this evening...

The Vermeil 75 is indeed a handsome pen, though that's true of the entire Parker 75 line.  I haven't yet filled the pen, as I'm not sure I want to go carrying it around just yet.  Might set it aside for a bit, maybe put it to use around the holidays.  (I'm still using my "old standard" 75, which is a standard sterling silver ciselé model.)

However, I did fill the BIG S.T. Dupont Orpheo fountain pen.  It is a large pen, heavy, as the barrel is black lacquer over brass.  However, when the heavy chromed cap is posted on the back of the pen, it's exceptionally well-balanced.  Dupont nibs then to be some of the most graceful looking on any pen.  This was is a 18 kt gold medium nib, though this medium is a good bit finer than the MB mediums.  The pen has a very classy, in someway futuristic look.

And the Visconti ballpen...  It's very handsome.  And far better balanced than I expected.  I like the twist mechanism, which is quite solid.  And I do like the system where the spiral silver strips on the barrel are aligned only when the pen is retracted.  You can glance at the pen, and know it's safe to stick in your shirt pocket, without worrying that the pen will be open, and thus leak in your pocket.  (As a side note, the pen came with a gel refill, which writes very smoothly, but which would be dangerous to stick in your pocket open.)  Like the bulk of international ballpens, this one takes a Parker-style refill.

And, yes, I do know that I put way too much attention to what I'm writing with.  Most people are more than happy with a 29¢ BIC Cristal.  But, hey, you have to obsess about something...