Pens of Note

Momento Zero Grande Girasole

The new Momento Zero line for 2020 include the Girasole, Sunflower. A unique resin, not used in other pens to-date.

Momento Zero Grande Girasole

This pen was my wedding anniversary celebration purchase. Needed a distinctive pen to celebrate the event. I contacted Marco at Novelli Pen in Rome and ordered the pen. I know the size of the Momento Zero Grande is great in my hand, and I ordered the pen with the 1.1 Stub nib, a nib I have in a number of pens and is a very smooth well performing nib.

I selected this particular pen as the resin has not been used in other pens, this is its first entry into the market. In the end, I needed to exchange the pen and because of delays with shortages of the resin, it took time before my final pen, pen #41, arrived. I understand Leonardo now has the resin back in stock. Through all the dedicated work of Marco, Salvatore and Ciro the pen arrived and I am very much enjoying owning and writing with the pen.

Of course opening the pen is a great experience. The pen is inside a box, that fits in a dark colour sleeve, and that fits within an external sleeve. I think they did this on purpose as it makes the opening experience more than a 10 second event! Nah, it is probably for overall protection. Inside the box the pen is in a cello covering sits fitted in the box tray, and along with the pen is a bottle of Leonardo ink. That certainly gets you off to a very positive start.

Momento Zero Grande

The Momento Zero line came out in 2019. As a result, the Momento Zero pen comes in the original size, regular, or now the Grande size. The larger Grande has a wider barrel width and overall length to the pen. The Grande is about 152 mm or 5.9" when closed and 135" or 5.3" when sitting uncapped. That is a good sized pen. For general reference, this is larger than the Montblanc 149. But the pen still feels very appropriate in my hand.

The clip on the cap is thinner than some of the original Momento Zero pens. I remember talking to Salvatore about the clip when me met last year. He made a purposeful design change and I like the narrower width. It is still strong and fully functional. The narrow lines of the clip help the glide the eye along the cap along the pen.

The 2020 Momento Zero

The 2020 line which comes in four colours (Blue Fiordacqua, Blue Marina Capri, Caraibre, Luna Rossa). It looks very similar to the previous Momento Zero Grande pens issued last year, with a few differences.

To the eye you would not see the difference in the cap, but the cap is every so thinner when it joins the body, and is smoother when the finger travels along the body and crosses over to the cap. Not that I found the transition difficult with my other Momento Zero Grande, but the new 2020 is a bit smoother.

The new line also has a piston filled mechanism that was designed by Ciro Matrone, and produced in the Leonardo Officina Italiana workshop. My Momento Zero Grande Sand, which I acquired in 2020, uses a dedicated captured converter fill mechanism. While the captured converter in the Grande Sand held a good supply of ink (1.2 ml) the piston in the Grande Girasole holds even more, 1.5 ml. This is a real good supply of ink. For example, the piston fills of the Pelikan M800 hold 1.35 ml. Captured converter just means it is captured by the pen. Fixed. It does not come out of the pen like a standard converter. So don't try to take it out!

The resin and the rhodium plated trim are beautiful.

Ink Flow

The ebonite feed is made by Leonardo at the workshop in Italy. Ebonite feeds support a very smooth ink flow. The ink flow is smooth, my pen writes without any hesitation. I have been using a variety of inks, include the beautiful Leonardo Blue.

From the moment the nib touches the paper, it just glides across creating a beautiful line of ink. The nib is the #6 size, and my nib is harmonic steel stub 1.1 - this is my favorite size of the nibs available from Leonardo. If find this an extremely smooth writing nib. Every time I use this nib I do question myself about the difference between this and a gold nib. (Although, when I write with my pens fitted with gold nibs, they are different. My point is, you get a top notch smooth writing experience with the Leonardo Steel nib and you never think your compromised.

The nib sits on an ebonite ink feed that is cut and finished in the Leonardo workshop. Ebonite feeds are main by hand, while plastic feeds are mass produced. The fit of the feed to the nib is important. Ebonite feeds, when heated, are flexible, and the fitting process can be more exact and result in a more superior ink flow. Yes there are many pens with plastic feeds that are great writers. Montblanc uses plastic feeds in some of their pens. Ebonite feeds, however, have more options, are handmade and final product the best fit possible for the pen.

The nib on my pen is harmonic steel, size 6.

Using the pen is a great experience. The pen is very light, the piston uses aluminum, and I believe that contributes to the light weight of the pen. The entire pen is smooth and silky to the fingers, I believe your can hold the pen for extended periods of time. You won't have any hand cramping because of eight of poor balance. The nib section has a nicely tapered design, so the pen is well designed for your hand.

The pen is large enough that I do not need to post the the pen while I am writing, although I do find myself posting on a regular basis. The pen is round, and I have more than my share of pens that have rolled off my desk, do as a normal habit, I post my pens once they are open