Santini Italia Comparison

[@stellad5082]

I am the happy owner of two Santini's and already looking at which one will be my third. Thanks for showing the flexy nib...you just made my decision more difficult ;-)

[@PenultimateDave]

Good choice on getting two and wanting a third!

[@omeryehezkely3096]

They also have a flexy stub nib which sounds unique and interesting.

[@PenFriends]

Just wait till you see what they have cooked up next! A number 5 and 8 sized nib which will be super special

[@TheDireWookie]

I asked Katrina about the #8 nib and it should be making an appearance in January. Very excited to see what they do with it as their acrylic pens are very competitively priced.

[@PenFriends]

@@TheDireWookie not long to go!

[@TheDireWookie]

@@PenFriends Yeah, when I asked I wasn't actually expecting something so definite, more of a "sometime next year" response. Looking forward to what they do, kinda hoping they'll do one in the Laurel acrylic so I can kill 2 birds with one stone. :-)

[@PenFriends]

@@TheDireWookie welcome to Santini :) best customer service in Italy :)

[@carolz5090]

I have a weakness for amber, and have several in that color. But of the ones I’ve seen, the amber in the Libra is the most beautiful. I love it.

[@katjaengelkamp3452]

Thank you for this very useful video, Dave. I am about to purchase my second Santini, and find it hard to decide which nib I should choose (next to the outrageous perfect medium stub on my Nonagon), but I think it will be the fine.

[@13noman1]

Thanks so much. I've only recently heard about Santini pens and have been rather impressed. I have a special 'landmark' year coming up and have been casting about for a pen to commemorate it. I don't know which Santini yet but I'm pretty sure it will be a Santini!

[@ingolf7411]

Dave, as always, a worthy review of those beautiful pens. I own a Santini Libra Ambra and a Santini Nonagon Imperial. Unfortunately the Nonagon dropped from my desk and the nib was damaged. It was my fault. But Santini replaced the nib without any charge. I was happy about such an excellent customer service. Both of my Santinis come with a broad nib and it's great joy to write with them.

[@PenultimateDave]

I'm sorry to hear about the Nonagon nib damage, but that's great customer service from Santini for sure!

[@SwayvillDelgarian]

Goregeous pens ! And thank you for the explanation on why flex or soft nibs are usually 14kt, first time I hear the explanation and I often wondered why it was so.

[@CatherineC.2123]

The pens are beautiful, but your manicure is exquisite. Love the new look.

[@PenultimateDave]

Haha thanks! Well through this COVID period I have finally managed to kick a decades long habit of nail biting. Nothing in the past has ever worked for me, but the one thing that did was applying false nails for a month so I couldn't bite my nails and that's what I was wearing in this video. I've since grown my nails longer and no longer need the false nails but due to the amount of videos I have recorded but not released yet, there will be a mix of bitten nails vs false nails vs longer real nails depending on when I release the videos. If you watch the TWSBI Vac 700R Iris video, those are now what my actual nails look like as that was recorded a week ago where this video was recorded about 6 weeks ago.

[@CatherineC.2123]

I noticed the new look on the Akkerman videos. Congratulations on breaking the bad habit. I know it is difficult.

[@JoelTurrell]

Dave, thanks for a very informative comparison. Your results mirror my own experience. If i may make a suggestion for your own collection, take a look at the Black Diamond line. The body is resin instead of ebonite, and it is faceted, which is just a personal favorite for me. The piston filler works just like the Libra. (Also, it's less expensive than the Michelangelo, but the appearance is - may I say it - majestic.)

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks Joel, I'll take a look. I have recently picked up a couple for myself already but I'll take a look at the Black Diamond line.

[@MrAndrew1953]

I have a Noodlers Boston Safety fountain pen which is made out of Ebonite. A very nice material.

[@ericpye7449]

Hello - been thinking about Santini for a while now and this vid of yours pushed me into actually placing the order, a Libra Olive to pair with my favourite ink - Diamine Razzmatazz.

[@PenultimateDave]

The Libra Olive is lovely, I almost bought it recently!

[@paddymcnamara9147]

Just got a Libra M nib this week in Resin. Wonderful value and a lovely nib to boot. They are a hidden gem and its a pity they don't have access to Arco Celuloid as that would be heavenly!

[@tebitan3780]

I do own a Libra with the flexy nib and ebonite feed, and it is quite a nice pen. If I am nit-picky, I would complain about the wide golden band, which is much much much too wide for my taste.

[@JayasuryaKanukurthy]

Thanks for the good review! One question though: Is this the flexy nib or the Superflex nib by Santini?

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks, it was the flexy nib not the super flexy, I’ve released a full review of the Eagles Wings now.

[@bobsaffron8284]

Thanks for the review. (Nice manicure, too!)

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks Bob!

[@MrBerry67]

a brand im not that familiar with- so thanks for this review

[@PenFriends]

Santini is a superb company :) they have a Black Friday sale this weekend :)

[@peteazouz6072]

Nice pens, from a brand I haven't heard too much about, thanks for showing them. That ebonite looks really nice, but then I have a soft spot for faceted pens, super impressed by the amount of flex they get with that nib, especially as they haven't gone for cut outs. Also, dagnabbit what's the ink you used?

[@PenultimateDave]

Hi Pete, I believe the Libra was inked up with KWZ Honey and the Eagles Wings was inked up with Montblanc Toffee Brown.

[@stardust5379]

Are you buying the new Visconti Opera Master Polynesia? It looks fab.

[@PenultimateDave]

Not sure, I haven’t been massively writing with my Opera Masters as much as I used to.

[@0xss]

Hey dave, you said in an earlier video that diamine ochre and akkerman sbrebrown are very similar, could you do a comparison in a future video if possible.

[@PenultimateDave]

If you check out the Brown Inks Comparison #1 video kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooPHYYWaZZaifbc I've shown both inks on the same comparison. The ink swatches look quite different but the writing sample is a lot more similar.

[@0xss]

@@PenultimateDave thank you for sharing, i seem to have missed watching that video!

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Wow, that shiny ebonite!

[@phugoid]

How easy is it to just write normally with that Flexy nib without flexing it around - say, for routine use in the office?

[@PenultimateDave]

It depends really on whether you have a light hand or not, if a light hand then it shouldn't be a problem.

[@TheDireWookie]

Nice review Dave, thanks. I have the Cumberland ebonite Libra in flexy fine, but I fine it a lot stiffer than it appears in your video or in Stephen Brown's review, I suspect it might be because I went with the bronze fittings and solid rose gold nib, could be that the nib is firmer, or I'm just not confident enough to push the nib. Just got a Scribo Write Here 14kt EF and I fine it similar, it will flex but doesn't feel as soft as I was expecting from review. I may have been spoiled by the "semi-flex" nib I got from Pablo at FPnibs.com with a heart breather hole, it flexes from a JoWo fine to about 1.5 mm with almost no pressure so I don't feel comfortable pushing these other nibs. Not that I used the flex much, I just enjoy the bouncy feel when writing and touch of character. I'm still drawn to the Libra Laurel as the green and gold looks great, but after getting the Scribo I need to wait a while and by then the new #8 nibbed Santini should be available.

[@PenultimateDave]

Hi Martin, so I can say a few of my Scribo 14kt Flex nibs started out what seemed quite stiff but the more I started to flex them the more they opened up and became easier to flex. Just like you say, don't over push it. I have a couple of medium Santini Flexy nibs that I'm trying now and they are like you say not as flexy. It could be due to the gold content vs alloy but certainly from my experience with Scribo is that they tend to open up over time and become more flexy the more you write with them.

[@TheDireWookie]

@@PenultimateDave Thanks for the info Dave, I shall continue to write with both and see how they break in. Even if they continue to write as they do now I still have two great pens which I love to use. So it's win-win.

[@meb6667]

Excellent review, as always. The pens are seductive. How would you rate these nibs in terms of smoothness?

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks Mark! I find being fine nibs, they are not as smooth as say what I would expect. I have some fine nibs on my Visconti Homo Sapiens which are smooth nibs, I find these have more feedback and a little crisp. I have tried a couple of mediums recently which are similar.

[@santauxia]

They have Leonardo clips.Are they a branch of Leonardo?

[@PenultimateDave]

No they aren't Leonardo Clips, they are typical Italian style roller clips which Leonardo, Omas and many Italian companie shave used over the last century.

[@peterpuleo2904]

Are there any best sites from which to buy Santini?

[@PenultimateDave]

I believe they only sell direct from their website in Italy at santini-italia.com

[@peterpuleo2904]

@@PenultimateDave Thank you !

[@MrAndrew1953]

Michelangelo for me - darker, richer colours.

[@walterfoster2582]

Both are beautiful pens. Good friend to let you borrow them. Nice nibs.