Pens of Note - Stipula

Pens of Note are those pens of my collection that rank as something special.

About the Company

The company's name, Stipula, was the name of the small straw ancient Romans used to split in sign of acceptance of a commitment.

In 2007 I had the opportunity to visit with Stipula and tour their factory.

Stipula Etruria

I purchased my first Stipula fountain pen, the Etruria, in September 2001 at Novelli Pens in Rome. Marco Parascenzo helped me view the various models and my immediate first choice was the elegant Etruria. It is one of my pens of choice ever since.

Made from Stipula's cellulose acetate. Each pen is hand-turned from a solid black of cellulose. The pen has a soft appearance because of the oval shape to the cap. The body is a rich amber-brown tone and the light catches silver, gold and red undertones. The pen is quite large but sits in my hand with ease.

The gold band on the cap reminds you of Tuscany because of the Florentine-look to the gold ring around the cap barrel and the workmanship of the clip.

The pen is piston-filled and holds a reasonable amount of ink. I can go almost over an hour in a meeting with solid nonstop writing.

The pen is available in a variety of nib styles and I was able to select a 1.3 oblique nib. This was a real treat for me.

Renzo Salvadori, President
Stipula

Stipula Etruria 991

My 2001 Christmas was exceptionally rewarding this year! Thanks to Todd and the staff at World Pen (now Worldlux) for helping my wife buy for me the superb Stipula Etruria 991 fountain pen for an Christmas Gift. The good news is that Karen was so impressed at how easy it was to order the pen and for it to arrive the next day she says if she knew shopping was this easy.... well I can only hope!

I had first viewed the pen while visiting Simply the Best in Victoria. Jim has the pen as part of the roller ball and fountain pen set. The first 391 pens produced included a matching roller ball pen. The pen caught my eye at that time. It was quite a surprise to see it turn up in December.

The pen is stunning with its brown celluloid, streaked with dark and light tones of brown and mother-of-pearl highlights. Todd was able to arrange for a broad nib, it is a smooth-writer.

The Stipula Etruria 991 is made by Stipula, and pen company based in Florence, Italy. The Etruria 991 is a special edition of the Etruria, a fountain pen the company first commenced production in 1991 and still produces.

The pen is available in a variety of nibs, and the nib for this pen is the same as used on the Etruria, Iris or Duetto models. It is a smooth writer. Ink just flows from the pen. As I passed the pen around, amongst the "don't you have enough pens already comments" there was an unanimous response: this is a great writing pen.

The Stipula Etruria 991 is inspired from the polychromatic art of the Etruscans. The soft, rounded lines are based on the typical shape of Etruscan amphora. The decorative work of finely tooled silver leaves made using the lost-wax casting process will bring memories of any trip to Tuscany!

The rounded oval end and top of the pen make it very comfortable to hold. Light catches the pearl highlights so the pen is an eye catcher without being one that you feel needs covering up in a business meeting.

The filling mechanism for the fountain pen is interesting. It has converter system that uses either Stipula's classic large-capacity piston filler or an ink cartridge - the small international size. Not being a cartridge fan I can't see using one, but I guess it is nice to know I could!

The pen is limited to 991 fountain pens and I am the proud owner of number 503!

Stipula Ventidue 22

I was looking forward to having the Stipula Ventidue. The nib has varied depending on the actual line being produced by Stipula, ranging from 14 kt gold to titanium nib, and the large visible ink chamber. I was concerned that the pen would be too small for my hand but I have found that as long as I write with the cap posted, then the size is okay.

The pen, when closed as visual of of three seperate sections. The cap with the clip, the over-sized ink chamber, and the body section with a sterling silver end.

The body of the pen is made from Cellocride, a material that is noted by Stipula to be made with the craftmanship of celluloid. The blue and white/grey toned body looks crisp and has a different look - just what I wanted for my colletion.

My pen has the 14 kt gold nib, rhodium treated, and I have found it to be a very smooth writing pen. I wanted a broad, and I am thankful I did not take the medium as the board is not to wide of a line by any standard. The pens that have the titatnium nibs look very different. The titatinum nib, as pictured to the left, has a flat appearance with the number "22" in gold shows ontop of the nib.

The pen features a piston-operated filling system and a high-capacity ink reservoir. The ink reservoir so I always know how much ink is left in the pen. In using this pen, once filled, it carried a fair amount of ink and I can head off to a meeting and never worry about running dry with this pen!

My only reservation with this pen is that it is a bit short for me. The body, where my fingers hold the pen has a good width, about 110 mm, but without the pen capped, it would not be a comfortable pen to hold.

The nib on the left is the 14K gold nib, the nib on the right is the titaniuim.

Etruria Alter Ego Collection

A new pen for 2009, all I can say is that it is stunning. I receive a fair number of comments when I show up at work with this pen. One of the Etruria models, the pen has classic style and shape. I purchased this pen through melpens.com - I have been doing business with Mel for a number of years and have found him to be very good. In fact, when I had a problem with the pen, Mel quickly took charge and a replacement pen arrived.

The piston system used in the Alter Ego is different from other Stipula pens. It has what Stipula calls the Self Cleaning System (SCS). That means the mechanism cleans the reservoir every time it is filled. This is due to a spinning of the piston head. Becareful, the Self Cleaning Piston operates differently from others. For example, to fill the pen the top know is turned counterclockwise and to empty the knob is turned clockwise.

I have the pen with the 1.1 Italic nib. The 18kt gold rhodium-tipped nib is large and writes smoothly - this pen is a real pleasure to write with.

The pen is a good size for my hand. When the cap is on the pen, and it is closed, the pen is about 5.6 inches long; Capped, the pen is about 5.25 inches in length and it has a great balance.

The body is of celluloid and is in rich orange/tan colours with veins of darker tones running through the celluloid. The trim on the pen is sterling silver. The pen has more weight than the Etruria Amber,

So this is the newest if the Eutruria line to be added to my collection, and a welcome member it is.