Fountain Pen Review: Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero Positano Blue

In 2018, the fountain pen world welcomed a new name from Italy, one that continues a family tradition that was handed down from father to son. Leonardo Officina Italiana launched their brand with a pen model that defines the moment their existence began and which symbolizes new beginnings. They named it Momento Zero. The Momento Zero Collection became a global phenomenon and I joined many fountain pen users in getting a Momento Zero in my bucket list of fountain pens.

The Momento Zero is the famous and outstanding first pen model of Leonardo Officina Italiana launched in 2018, inspired by the design of vintage Italian pens. This pen model is the product of a father and son team whose family tradition includes 45 years of craftsmanship. There are five colors in the regular production of Momento Zero, including this ocean wave-inspired Positano Blue.

The outer box of the Momento Zero Collection says "Fatto a mano in Italia" which translates to "Handmade in Italy."

The Momento Zero Positano Blue in its presentation box. Not in this image, but included in the package is a certificate of authenticity and warranty card as Leonardo's product guarantee for life against any manufacturing defect.

The Momento Zero is a full-sized fountain pen that was hand-turned from a single solid bar of high-quality resin with a vintage shape and tapered grip section designed for comfortable writing. A well-balanced fountain pen, it can be used for comfortable writing whether posted or unposted. 

This model is not a limited Leonardo production, but it is an open numbered series, with each pen number engraved on the barrel together with the Leonardo name. This is pen N°5753 and it's a very unique pen with its own identification.

Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero Positano Blue N°5753

The Leonardo Momento Zero Positano Blue fountain pen has the following measurements and specifications:

• Length, capped: 5.6 in | 14.2 cm
• Length, uncapped: 5 in | 12.7 cm
• Length, cap posted: 6.6 in | 16.7 cm
• Length, barrel only: 3.3 in | 8.4 cm
• Length, section to nib: 1.6 in | 4 cm
• Length, cap: 2.6 inches | 6.6 cm
• Full pen weight: 25 g | 0.9 oz
• Body material: Resin
• Trim: Rhodium
• Cap: Screw on, postable
• Clip material: Stainless steel 
• Nib: Steel in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, or Stub (1.5mm)
• Filling mechanism: Cartridge or screw-on Leonardo converter (supplied with purchase)

This pen's blue color perfectly matches the polished chrome accents. The chrome accents complement the pen's color so well. The two slim cap rings are smooth and highly polished, as well as the two rings on the pen's barrel.

Momento Zero fountain pens can be filled with ink using international standard cartridges or the supplied customized screw-on Leonardo converter with a metal knob. Unlike most converters, Leonardo's converters screw to the pen's section for a secure fit and avoid ink spills. The screw-on converter also allows for a piston-like filling mechanism by removing the blind cap at the end of the barrel.

The Momento Zero's three major parts, from top: barrel, section + converter, and cap.

The Momento Zero's blind cap allows for piston-like ink filling through the converter. This is possible as the converter is screwed on to the section, so it stays in place as the piston knob is turned while filling ink.

The Leonardo signature clip was first used in the Momento Zero. It's a polished chrome clip with a small roller at the end so it can be easily posted to a shirt pocket or pen loop.

Momento Zero pens are numbered, though not limited in production. The Positano Blue barrel is engraved with "Leonardo Officina Italiana" and the pen's number/identity.

The Momento Zero is available with either steel or 14k gold #6 nibs in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, or Stub (1.5mm) widths. My fountain pen is fitted with a Fine nib engraved with the Leonardo logo and it looks elegant. But I have a confession to make. I'm extremely scared of Extra Fine and Fine nibs. Writing with them has never been a pleasurable experience and I prefer writing bold, big strokes using wet, juicy, and wide nibs. So when I received the two pens that Leonardo sent for review and saw that the Positano Blue has a Fine nib, I put off trying the pen until last week when I was testing it for this review. This pen's polished steel Fine nib surprised me. It wrote so well out of the box, and it was smooth and wet without any priming or modification. The Momento Zero's Fine nib is one of the smoothest nibs that I have ever tried, and writing with it is a wonderful experience.

The Momento Zero's Fine nib is smooth and comfortable to use. Writing with it is such an enjoyable experience.

The Momento Zero is Leonardo's first pen model, followed shortly by the Furore. The two pens are very similar in their length, shape, and trims, although the Momento Zero has flat ends and the Furore has pointed ones. The Furore is also a bit longer than the Momento Zero by almost a quarter of an inch.

Leonardo Officina Italiana's finest: Momento Zero and Furore.

Momento Zero, a full-sized fountain pen, shares approximately the same length as Lamy 2000 and Lamy Al-star. Laban 325 and Esterbrook Estie are longer than the Momento Zero when are they are capped. Uncapped, the Momento Zero is the same length as the Lamy 2000 and Esterbrook Estie. 

The Momento Zero is a postable pen, but I love writing with it unposted. Posting makes this pen long and affects my writing speed and comfort. However, posting provides balance in writing to some people, so it helps that this is a postable pen.

Loving this lineup of excellent, well-crafted fountain pens. Capped, the Momento Zero is the same length as the Lamy 200 and Lamy Al-star, and a bit shorter than a Laban 325 and Esterbrook Estie.

Uncapped, the Momento Zero is the same length as the Lamy 2000 and Esterbrook Estie.

I always try to fill my pens with matching ink colors, and I chose this blue Robert Oster ink for the Positano Blue. I ink my pens by filling the converter first then putting it back to the section. I noticed that ink flow to the feed was faster, and the Fine nib wrote smoothly out of the box without the need for adjustments or tuning. Oh, and it matched Robert Oster Marine ink so perfectly.

Positano Blue filled with Robert Oster Marine. This set is a match from the sea!

The Momento Zero is an exceptional and well-designed fountain pen. It's fully handmade in Italy, using high-quality, lovely resin. Like its pen cousin, the Furore, this blue pen is a delight to look at, wonderful to use, and great to keep. Get one for your collection!

These days, Leonardo Officina Italiana is one of the most active and talked about pen brands. Anyone into pens who is on Instagram knows this. Leonardo also has the fastest workshops with their current pen line up getting new additions almost every quarter. From the initial series of Momento Zero and Furore, they now have the Cuspide, Speranza, Messenger, and quite a number of limited edition pens in various materials in between. The Momento Zero and Furore have also gotten an upgrade: they now have their "Grande" versions with piston filling mechanism and ebonite feeds. I'm excited to see new pens coming from the Leonardo workshop this year.

Rants of The Archer thanks Leonardo Officina Italiana for providing the Momento Zero Positano Blue fountain pen for review purposes. To learn more about these beautiful, colorful, well-crafted pens, follow Leonardo Officina Italiana on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/leonardopenss/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/leonardo_pens/).

In Europe, Leonardo pens are widely available from retailers such as Fontoplumo, Appelboom, and Fontanna Penna.

In the United States, Leonardo pens are available from Goldspot Pens, Truphae, and Pen Chalet.

In the Philippines, Leonardo pens are available exclusively at Pengrafik (https://www.facebook.com/PenGrafik). 

Fountain Pen Review: Stanford Wood Studio Ghost's Breath

I have used fountain pens for almost thirteen years now, and these writing tools have brought me so much — friends from different parts of the world, art and calligraphy, and this blog that I have been working on ever since. Writing reviews for this blog have become educational and entertaining for me. I meet many people, I receive products from different countries, and with them, I learn about their culture and design preferences. 

Through one of my Instagram posts, I came across an interesting pen maker from an equally interesting country. Stanford Wood Studio, based in Stanford, South Africa are makers of canoes and kayaks. But they also make pens. They make fountain pens, solid wood pens, silk pens, and wood and resin pens and pencils. One of their fountain pens, a three-color clipless Unique caught my eye. This fountain pen is unique as it has three distinct barrel colors, its material has an unexpected addition, and it has a very intriguing name: Ghost's Breath.

Stanford Wood Studio Ghost's Breath Unique fountain pen

Di and Dave, the wonderful team at Stanford Wood Studio called the new pen in their Unique series Spookasem, after the Afrikaan name for cotton candy or candy floss. However, in South Africa, Spookasem translates to ghost's breath. The Unique pen, appearing like a sweet mix of fine cotton candy strands, also has the spectral, ethereal feel of a ghost blowing a kiss. A fun ghost, Di said, not the baddie. One that rolls around with kittens in balls of soft wool, and splashes the dawn clouds with watercolors. So they kept the name Ghost's Breath for this one-of-a-kind, only-one-in-the-world fountain pen. 

Ghost's Breath has an interesting name, but its story is even more captivating, one that I love telling people. This fountain pen has a special ingredient embedded in the blank it was made from—wood shavings from a double canoe that Dave was working on! According to Di, when Dave made the blanks, he was also finishing a double canoe in ash. As he completed the canoe's gunnel, he shaved the finest paper-thin curlicues. The canoe was very special to them both as they have spent many, many months to finish it, and they thought the shavings could be a memento of the canoe and be given a new life in a pen. Ghost's Breath contains the ash shavings from Dave's double canoe, and as long as this pen is with me, I will always remember how special it is to Di and Dave, and that somewhere out there is a double canoe waiting to reunite with its playful ghost sibling.

Ghost's Breath has three sides with unique colors. This side has a combination of blue and pink and some purple swirls. The yellow or golden swirls are the ash shavings from Dave's double canoe. 

This side has more blue swirls.

This dominantly pink side is my favorite because it shows more of the ash shavings.

The Ghost's Breath fountain pen has the following measurements:

• Length, capped: 5.5 in | 14 cm | 140 mm
• Length, uncapped: 5.2 in | 13.2 cm | 132 mm
• Length, barrel only: 3.5 in | 8.9 cm | 89 mm
• Length, section to nib: 2.2 in | 5.6 cm | 55.9 mm
• Length, cap: 2.25 inches | 5.7 cm | 57 mm
• Diameter, barrel: 0.6 in | 1.7 cm | 17 mm
• Cap thread: 0.5 in | 1.4 cm | 14 mm

The Ghost's Breath is a well-balanced fountain pen. It has a nice heft that's just right for writing. I also like the diameter of this pen's section and how I can comfortably grip it as I write. This pen's cap doesn't post, but that's okay with me as I do not usually write with my pens posted.

This beautiful fountain pen can be filled with ink using cartridges or converters. It's a standard-sized pen that can be filled with short and long international standard ink cartridges. However, Stanford Wood Studio provides a Beaufort converter for every pen purchase, and the Ghost's Breath came with one.

The Ghost's Breath's cap, section + converter, and barrel. That's Robert Oster Signature Dusky Pink in the converter.

The Ghost's Breath cap has a small breather hole to prevent messy ink burps. Screwing an airtight cap onto the pen usually causes air to be pushed into the ink reservoir (cartridge or converter) through the nib/feed. When the cap is unscrewed, the trapped air is released and the nib usually "burps" ink. A breather hole prevents inky accidents such as these from happening.

The Ghost's Breath's cap has a small breather hole to prevent ink burps. 

Most of my fountain pens have clips, so when I got the clipless Ghosts' Breath, it was a new experience. I realized I always needed to check which end I was holding so I don't put it nib down in my pen wrap. However, the makers of the Ghost's Breath are a thoughtful bunch, they provided these simple design tweaks to remind the user of the pen's ends—the cap has a flat top, while the barrel has a pointed end.  Thoughtful, wise, brilliant design!

Thoughtful, wise, brilliant design: this clipless pen has a flat cap top and pointed barrel end, a very helpful design feature. 

Up close: the beautiful ash shavings.

Ghost's Breath is fitted with a #6 bi-color steel and gold Bock nib in my favorite width, broad (B), but it can also be fitted with either a fine or medium nib. This Bock nib is my first Bock, and it wrote smoothly out of the box. It is soft and springy, and such a joy to write with.

The #6 steel and gold Bock nib in Ghost's Breath is such a joy to write with.

The Ghost's Breath is a full-length fountain pen, sharing almost the same length as a Lamy Safari or TWSBI ECO, but it has more heft. It's a litter shorter than the Esterbrook Estie and Laban Wisteria, but it's comfortable to use for long periods of writing. 

Capped, Ghost's Breath is almost the same size as Lamy Safari or TWSBI ECO and shorter than Esterbrook Estie and Laban Wisteria.

Uncapped, Ghost's Breath has the same length as the other four pens. 

To test this beautiful Ghost's Breath's broad Bock nib, I first filled it with J. Herbin Rouille d'Ancre, but it was too wet and dark to be a match. I also filled it with Laban Greek Mythology Aphrodite, but the pen wrote dry. A search in my ink box revealed the perfect ink color with just the right wetness, Robert Oster Signature Dusky Pink. The Bock nib wrote smoothly, and I did not experience any hard starts, skips, or inky blobs. I had no trouble writing at all. And I am so happy I can use this beautiful ghost to write my own compositions and do some colorful doodles. 

Here is a piece I wrote last summer. The broad Bock nib is a wet and smooth writer and I'm glad I can use it for long periods of writing.

And I can use it for ink art, too!

I am very happy with this unique Ghost's Breath, and I am mesmerized with it still. I feel honored that Stanford Wood Studio trusted me to write the first full review of one of their fountain pens. Ghost's Breath is a well-balanced, built for long-term use, and a stunning and beautiful pen. It's not only a work of art, but it's also art that works!

For now, this is the only Ghost's Breath fountain pen that exists. However, if anyone wants to own one, do visit Stanford Wood Studio's website or send Di and Dave a message at info@stanfordwoodstudio.com. There are also many interesting fountain pens in their shop! Get one for your collection!

To learn more about Stanford Wood Studio, how to buy their kayaks, canoes, and pens, and for other details about their wonderful work, visit their website at https://www.stanfordwoodstudio.com/ or follow them on social media:

• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/StanfordWoodStudio)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordwoodstudio/)

My deepest gratitude to Stanford Wood Studio for sending this fountain pen to Rants of The Archer all the way from Stanford, Western Cape, South Africa to Laguna in the Philippines. It's a fountain pen full of many interesting stories and it will write more significant ones in the days to come.