Launching new handmade pens in 2011? Yes it possible with this new small french manufacturer: Fred Faggionato
All our team enjoy his pens but we have asked to Jean Buscher, a famous french collector to test them, and here are the results:

 

“Fred FAGGIONATO installed his workshop in the garden of his own home, at the foot of the Pyrenées mountains.

His work consists of acquiring documentation, to understand the secrets of the pens of olden ages, and he puts his competence as a cabinetmaker to good achievement by his knowledge of different materials, so as to conceive, assemble and manufacture, his pens.

Fred FAGGIONATO has chosen to baptize his first creations by the name of Pétrarque, a famous Italian man of the 14th century, very well given to literature, who spent part of his life in France in the Vaucluse area.

His pen is what one could call « flat top » – of medium size, with a very pure line, gold plated and satin varnished, which gives it just that touch of modernism; an object that did not disappear in the collection of the 20’s, especially because of its “ebonite” (hard rubber) finishing touch in “woodgrain hard rubber wood-grain finishing touch.

Fred FAGGIONATO made a choice, and a fortunate one, in abstaining from all sorts of “luxurious ornaments”. Therefore, his pen is quite an authentic one. The cap is not garnished: no useless golden touch. He understood the essential, which is that a pen is not that which glistens, but that which is soberly esthetic and writes well!

There are different finishing touches available: several colors of ebony, grained or not, and galalithe (gala lithic) (pierre de lait) of an ivory color, different resins of different tones, bright, gleaming, transparent – or opaque.

As for the Pétrarque, this material comes from Germany where they still make it (in the best way)…
It’s based on volcanized rubber, (which smells like sulfur when rubbed) – and it was the one and only material used in the manufacture of pens until 1923, when Scheaffer’s turned to celluloid.

One must remember, that ebony has characteristics very well suited to the usage intended: that the ebonite (ebony) possesses characteristics which are quite adapted to the usage: for instance, resisting ink corrosion, made of the best wood, can be tainted or not, is very pleasant to the touch, and holds up excellently when exposed to thermic exchange between hot and cold.

Fred FAGGIONATO had the most excellent of ideas of giving his pen a section of ebony (ebonite) that works just perfectly with the barrel and the cap.

The cap is a twisting one, therefore more reliable than one that clicks.

The whole of it is quite light, which suits ebony pens so well, and might surprise those who are amateurs and used to something heavier; however they will quickly give way to the comfort that comes with it! The balance in the hand is perfect, as is the size of the handhold, allied with its lightweight – thus avoiding any crisping of the fingers even through long periods of writing.

It takes international cartridges.

The choice of conversion permits usage of various inks and it’s easy to get the pen flowing, once the barrel is filled and the nib imbibed.

The nib is of a large size: n° 6 at BOCK, German specialist producing nibs of the finest quality and furnishing many prestigious clients.

Most BOCK clients engrave their nib with their logo.

Fred FAGGIONATO has class. His elegance is in not letting on that he himself manufactures the nibs. Those of BOCK, are so renowned, that he is quite right in submitting ipso facto his request to them, unequalled in their specialty.

The BOCK nib slides perfectly and offers just the right suppleness– so rare in contemporary pens of our day.

For those made of resin:  :

The pen is available in transparent resin, but also, grained (with a grain of bright yellow or red) in bright yellow or red.

Thus, it suddenly becomes something of an object not just deliciously vintage, but young and audacious. Yet, it’s the same product, the same quality. The nib is still BOCK and always of polished steel, while the clip is of nice looking plated metal.

The section is also in resin – a very good thing, as I’ve emphasized for the ébonite Pétrarque.

The BOCK nib is really a true success, whichever metal is used. The one for Pétrarque is no exception. It’s a bit less supple than the 14-karat nib of the other models, but nonetheless, it glides over the paper swiftly and easily.
You can find Fred Faggionato’s pen on our site ( we will add this week all the pens ) as well as on Fred’s site

 

 

 

Mots-clefs : Faggionato, Fred Faggionato, Fred Faggionato pens

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 17th, 2011 at 18 h 45 min and is filed under Non classé. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.