By Phillip Tucker
We've
looked at the pens of Ferrari de Varese before, and were pretty impressed.
This time proved to be no exception to our past experiences. These Italian
pens have a lot of design flair, they're not for the faint of heart. But
if you like something a bit out of the ordinary, you should be more than
happy with the Ferrari de Varese Swan!
This is a very fluid design, it's got a pronounced taper towards the center of the barrel. The cap top on both versions, the ballpoint and the fountain pen, taper down to a triangular cross section. In terms of just shape, it's one of the most interesting pens I've seen in a while. The combination of rounded and triangular forms is very well managed, and while it sounds a bit busy, it works nicely "in person".
The
Swan is made of sterling silver, so it's not a lightweight pen.
But fairly thin through the section, and that taper at the center of the
barrel does take some weight off. It's not uncomfortable to use, although
the cap doesn't post. This is probably just as well, since adding the
wider cap to the end of the barrel would probably unbalance the pen in
the hand.
As it is, I like the feel of the tapering barrel. This is one of those pens that has a definite tactile element to it, it's not just a matter of looks, it's the way it feels that counts. In addition to the tapering design, there are a number of rings engraved into the cap and barrel. The clip is a simple ball ended design that blends well with the form of the cap and barrel. So, in terms of it's looks I can recommend the Swan without hesitation. It's a good looking pen!
But,
how does it write? Pretty well. The 18K nib is small, but actually has
a nice feel to it. A bit of give, and a smooth medium tip on the sample
I was given to try out. It looks like one of the "German nibs",
with a nice two tone plating pattern, and an engraved border.
The Swan is a cartridge/converter filler, and so in terms of ink capacity it's right in line with every other pen using this system. Should be plenty of ink on board for any reasonable amount of writing.
As I mentioned, the fit and finish are excellent. This can be seen in the way in which the cap fits onto the barrel. It's a click on cap, and fits down onto the barrel very tightly. The threads for the section are nicely machined. All in all, a very well made pen!
There
is also a ballpoint version of the Swan, with the same tapered design
to the barrel. The top of this pen transforms from the rounded cross section
of the barrel to a triangular cross section, and again, the clip is a
simple ball ended affair. This is a twist style actuated ballpoint, turning
the upper half of the barrel extends the tip for writing. The ball-point
version would make a nice accompaniment to the fountain pen, or more likely,
a great pen on it's own for those who aren't into "real pens".
Ferrari de Varese has proven capable of making very nice pens. Although still a "small company" in comparison to some of the big names, they seem to be committed to producing well made pens with dramatic designs.