Pens of Note - Leonardo Supernova, Star Light Pink

 

Supernova is a new model released by Leonardo Pen at the end of 2022. Designed by Mariafrancesca and Salvatore Matrone, the pen nicely fits between the Momento Zero and the Momento Zero Grande, in terms of overall size. The model has its own style characteristics and for me, it sits in the hand very nicely.

The Leonardo Journey Continues

Leonardo Pen started with the Momento Zero model and shortly after that, the more rounded Furore. They also issued a colourful line, the Messenger. Larger pens were released that include the Momento Zero and Furore Grande, The Momento Magico was their first "regular size" pen to use the in-house designed piston fill mechanisms. Then the Momento Zero Grande was updated with version 2.0 and now the Supernova. The design of the various lines of pens is impressive.

The Supernova is larger than the regular size Momento Zero, and slightly small than the Grande line. The pen uses the La Fenice (Phoenix) JoWo nib which is made in Germany and completed at the Leonardo workshop in Italy. Nibs for the pen are available in EF, F, M, B, Stub 1.5, Elastic EF, F, Fude, Architect, CSI Medium and CSI Broad. At the time I purchased my pen (February 2023), only available with steel nibs. That is fine with me, as the Fenice Steel in a Stub 1.5 is a very smooth writing nib.

The Cap & Body

The cap and body of the Supernova line has a classic look. It is the same general shape as the Momento Zero. Although it is a larger pen than the Momento Zero Regular and smaller than the Momento Zero Grande.

There are different design aspects in addition to the larger size.

This is a pen with flat ends, giving it a more minimalistic look. No cone shaped effect as found with the Momento Zero Regular. There is also a metal disc, kin the tone of the trim selected to finish off the end of the pen body.

The cap of the Supernova smoothly matches to the size of the pen body. There is no step down in size from the base of the cap to the body of the pen. The cap sits totally smooth with the body. Fountain pens are such a tactile experience, this is a nice touch.

The cap has a single broad band with a narrow ring band at the above and below the broader band. The band is engraved with a diamond shape and bears the name ITALY engraved. Other than that, there is no engraving of the company name or number of the pen engraved on the cap or the body.

At the end of the pen body there is a plate of metal, matching the trip colour for that pen. The pens are available with Ruthenium (black) or Palladium (silver tone) trim.

The clip is what is now the traditional Leonardo clip, a single band of metal that tapers to the end where a small ball helps with clipping the pen to a shirt or jacket pocket.

The Resin

The body and cap are made from rods of resin called Star Light Pink. The colour has a unique tone to it. It is not a true red, and not a true pink. I would call it a dusty rose - the colour has a rich look. In my colour search on design sites it comes close to a colour known as deep Blush Pink. Don't expect this to be a red pen, despite the colours is sometimes appears on web pages.

The surprise to the Star Light Pink resin is the fine sparkles of gold in the resin that has been very very lightly blended in the resin. They catch light as the pen moves in your hand, and so the reference to Star Light is very appropriate. When I saw the gold sparkle, delicate as it is, I wished the pen had come with gold tone trim, and that would help to accent the beautify gold sparkle in the resin.

The Nib

The pen is fitted with a number six size nib in steel. Available nib sizes are available in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Double Broad and Stub 1.4 widths. The gold nib sits on an in-house manufactured ebonite feed. The flow is excellent. This is a wet writing pen. Writing with the pen for over a week has been a pleasure. Ink flows the moment the pen touches the paper. Notes on writing with the pen follow.

Ink Filling System

The pen uses Leonardo's in-house designed piston to draw up and hold the ink. I have found the Leonardo piston to be very dependable and it holds a generous 1.5 ml of ink.

Weight and Balance

The pen is relatively light in weight and it pen can be posted.