Incoming! Montegrappa Extra Otto Malachite green

[Formulansx]

Wow this thing looks like the finest marble I've ever seen in person! It's a very rich dark green with all kinds of veins of pearl celluloid through the pen. I had seen several pictures of these pens but didn't believe they would all be so dramatic and detailed in the pattern of the celluloid. It turns out it's every bit as awesome in pics as it is in person! There's one thing that I absolutely don't understand at all. The clip is painted bright red underneath. All of the Extra Ottos do this. The only thing I can guess is that it's for the Chinese market. The pen is limited to 888 pieces and is 8 sided. Maybe I'm way off here but that's all I got right now on that. Chinese culture is pretty excited about red and the number 8. I got both right now so I'm expecting big things!

The pen has a #8 gold nib that is dead smooth in medium. It's basically a soft nail though of which I was not expecting. I would say it's a fraction of an inch away from having baby's bottom and that may present itself as the nib breaks in. It's about a little above medium on wetness I would judge. A slight press and the nib becomes much wetter very fast.

The box is really cool! It's wood with a suede lining. The pen came with a nice bottle of Montegrappa black and a matching earth tone suede patch to rest the pen on. There's also a cleaning cloth included. The whole box has a nice cedar smell to it but I don't think it's cedar. The outside has no smell. It's a veneer and I don't believe the base or veneer is cedar. Not sure what that's all about but I like it. I'll have to consult our resident pen sniffing expert biscuitlips! The box is very plain on the outside. Not a logo of any kind. That was surprising for the Italians. I'll post a pic of it later.

This is a piston filled pen but it's different than all of my other piston fillers. I had seen pics of this pen online where the turning knob and trim facets were not lined up to the body. That concerned me and I didn't understand what was going on. The way this filler works is that the piston filling knob does not lift off the pen body. The knob and faceted silver trim stays flat to the body. There's a small detent that clicks several times while turning the knob. The facets are clocked to the body with the piston all the way open as well as all the way closed. That's impressive to me! Montegrappa nailed this whereas almost all of my Omas pens had been off as received with the filler closed. It was always a nail biter for me the day I was to receive a new Omas! Is it going to be aligned?? Do I need to get out the hot water and shellac?? Have I offended any spiritual pen Gods recently that may want to screw me!? There was the God of Omas nib rotation that I apparently offended on a regular basis. You had the God of facetry that was equally unimpressed with my efforts. Once there was even the God of "this pen doesn't even write because the feed is blocked off with shellac you hoser! Try again next time!" Luckily the Gods on the board of directors at Montegrappa are not so picky.

I've only written a few pages with the Extra Otto but so far I like it. I was expecting more spring from the nib but that doesn't bother me. I can use a harder nib at work much easier so that's good. My other incoming today is a wet noodle so if I want spring I can always go to the dreamtouch Visconti stub. This pen is 786 of 888 so it's possible Montegrappa is getting close to the end of the run on this trim. I'm glad I picked one up while I could even though it was a pretty hard, unexpected, hit to the wallet.

[Formulansx]

Here's the pics!

[1William]

Great pen. You are on an incoming roll with the pens. Congratulations.

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by 1William

Great pen. You are on an incoming roll with the pens. Congratulations.

I've had some good deals come my way lately so I've been picking up territory. I had one outgoing though. The Montegrappa Fortuna Heartwood went back to Montegrappa for missing spots in the section plating. I need to check on that pen. I'm making an effort to relax on the pens for a while

[Bisquitlips]

Beautiful addition to the collection Form!