Pen Review: Montegrappa Miya Fountain Pen

It might surprise you to hear that Montegrappa has become one of my favorite pen brands, and we’re talking top three. While the Italian company attracts a lot of attention for its high-profile, ultra-limited edition brand collaborations such as the Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones releases, the best of what Montegrappa has to offer, in my opinion, lies in their classic, vintage-inspired lineup that includes pens such as the Extra 1930 and Miya, which I’ll review here.

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Put simply, I find the Miya one of the most comfortable pens on the market today. I have written with my two Miyas for hours over the past three weeks. The contoured barrel sits perfectly in my hand, and the tapered end allows the cap to post at what is, for me, the perfect depth. The fact that the Miya uses a cartridge-converter filling system reduces the weight of the pen and creates an exceptionally well-balanced writing instrument.

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The versatility of this design makes the Miya more suitable to “dressing up and down” than other Montegrappa pens. As shown here, Montegrappa has offered the Miya in both the “Miya 450” limited edition celluloid variant, as well as the resin “MIA” limited edition sold by shops in Italy such as Casa della Stilografica. While the underlying pen is the same, featuring an identical shape and cartridge-converter filling system, the Miya 450 features celluloid construction, hand-engraved sterling silver trim, and Montegrappa’s 14k “high flex” nib, which I recently reviewed. The “MIA,” on the other hand, still showcases the unique materials that Montegrappa is known for, but with fewer bells and whistles on the trim that allows them to offer this pen at a (relatively) more accessible price without sacrificing the luxury feel.

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The resin on the Montegrappa MIA “Meteor Shower” is a collection favorite. I’ve had to resist getting the other three in different color striated materials. (Links below)

I’ll conclude my review by noting that Montegrappa has been well-served by the move to JoWo nibs. Both the 14k and stainless steel nibs that have shipped on my Montegrappa pens since the company changed over from Bock have written exceptionally well, with none of the hard-starting and ink starvation issues that I sometimes experienced back when they still sourced their nibs from Bock. While some will quibble that they are “boring,” the fact is that they are far more reliable writers than most anything on the market, and easy to customize should you desire a specialty grind.

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Two Montegrappa 14k JoWo nibs. Note that I swapped the steel nib in my MIA Meteor Shower for the 14k gold nib from my Monte-Grappa. Montegrappa JoWo nibs are interchangeable, but they do not use threaded nib units so you will have to pull them manually. (The EF steel nib that shipped on my Meteor Shower wrote perfectly well, I just swapped them out because I wanted to experiment with interchangeability.)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Personally, I would love to see more Miya/MIA models released in the U.S. The comfortable shape and versatility of the cartridge-converter format makes me think this pen would have wide appeal, and in my opinion, it’s more attractive and more comfortable to use than the Fortuna series. Honestly, if Montegrappa wants to continue to target the $200-300 price point for a steel nib pen, the Miya strikes me as a better fit. This pen feels more substantial than the Fortuna, and with limited edition acrylics thrown into the mix, it presents a better justification for the price point.

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I acquired the Miya 450 featured in this review directly from Kenro Industries, the U.S. Montegrappa distributor, at this year’s Baltimore Pen Show. Though a limited edition, Nibs.com has the pen in stock in all five colors, priced at $796. The “MIA” in “Meteor Shower” resin was purchased from Casa della Stilografica in Florence, Italy, which also sells limited edition steel-nib pens in two other striated materials: “Spicy Explosion” and “Adriatic Sea.” Though still expensive, these pens are priced at a more accessible $280 USD (subject to exchange rate fluctuations). I do not believe there is a steel-nib version of this pen currently available in the United States.

Disclaimer: I acquired the Montegrappa Miya 450 from Kenro Industries, the U.S. Montegrappa distributor, at a discount, as part of their sponsorship of this blog. I acquired the “Meteor Shower” MIA from Casa della Stilografica at standard retail using my own funds. This post does not contain affiliate links.

First Look: Introducing Caran d'Ache Claim Your Style, Edition 2

Building on last year’s sleeper hit, Caran d’Ache has released six follow-up pens in their latest limited edition series, “Claim Your Style, Edition 2.” All of these are stunners. The new colors are “Bluish Pale,” “Burgundy,” “Canary Yellow,” “Cobalt Blue”, “Hibiscus Pink,” and “Veronese Green.” I expected to like the burgundy the best, but honestly the Hibiscus Pink and “Bluish Pale” might be my favorites. The hallmark of this series remains the “mix and match” styling between pen bodies, clips, and nocks. Choose your favorite color combination, or I suppose you could even take parts from multiple pens and create the pen of your dreams (though I could never officially recommend that).

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Caran d’Ache Claim Your Style Edition 2 is currently available for sale in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, priced at $40. The shop also carries multiple other special and limited editions Caran d’Ache 849 pens, such as this year’s Paul Smith collaboration in Paul Smith’s signature stripes, the stealth “Black Code” edition, and more.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of Caran d’Ache via the T.G.S. Curated Shop.

Ink Review: Sailor Ink Studio 140

In Japan, Sailor holds "Studio” ink events, where you can have their master ink blenders custom blend a bottle of ink tailored to your preferences. Looking to further capitalize on the ink collecting craze, Sailor released 100 of these blends into the global market, and they hit U.S. retailers in 2019. I confess that I’m not as much of an ink obsessive as I used to be. Don’t get me wrong - I still have more ink than I will ever be able to use in my lifetime, but at some point when I see companies like Sailor and Colorverse releasing dozens of inks at a time, much less hundreds, I sort of throw up my hands and stop trying to keep track.

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Some people are frustrated that Sailor moved to a smaller 20ml bottle while keeping the same pricing. Honestly, after thinking on it, the shift doesn’t bother me all that much. I’ve used maybe 3 or 4 full bottles of ink in my lifetime, and it’s probably less wasteful to purchase smaller bottles. Bringing this many different colors to market also increases production costs.

That said, the more pictures I saw of some of these Sailor Studio inks, the more they intrigued me, particularly the “double shaders,” a term that refers to inks that exhibit not just shading in terms of different tones of the same color, but different colors entirely. For example, Sailor Ink Studio 140 shown here has lavender undertones that emerge in a swab and when you write with a wetter nib.

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You can see the shading, but the double-shading on this particular ink is more subtle and it didn’t photograph well. In person, you will see hints of light purple/lavender (even pink, maybe?) in the darker areas of the swab and handwriting sample.

The best thing about the Ink Studio lineup is that it’s reliable Sailor ink. Adding special properties such as sheen and shading (particularly sheen) can sometimes cause problems with ink failing to dry quickly and smearing. Not so much with Sailor, as I’ve had uniform success using any ink released by the company, and it has long been one of my favorite brands of ink to use in any pen.

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The paper used for this ink review is Write Notepads Dot Grid Paper, which holds up beautifully to a wet ink swab and really shows off ink colors well.

Sailor Ink Studio 140, which is the ink pictured in this review, is a sky blue similar to Souten from the Jentle series, but perhaps a touch lighter. I had heard others remarking that some of the double-shading Studio inks can be very light, so I had some concerns that this one would be unusable for me. As it turns out, while No. 140 is light, it’s quite legible, and I had no issues using this for everyday writing, especially in a slightly wet Franklin-Christoph steel flex nib.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

As long as you’re not an “ink completionist” who feels compelled to sample every ink in a lineup, you can have a lot of fun with the Sailor Ink Studio lineup. Personally, I want to try a lot more of these “double shaders” like No. 140. The Studio Inks are sold in Sailor’s smaller, 20ml bottles priced at $18 each, and are available at site sponsor Goldspot, who provided this ink for review. Many thanks to Goldspot for making this review possible!

Disclaimer: This post contains links to paid sponsors and affiliates. Goldspot provided the bottle of ink featured in this review free of charge, for review purposes.

T.G.S. Exclusive Penwell Now Available!

I’m proud to announce that my collaboration with Good Made Better is now available for purchase! This T.G.S.-exclusive edition Penwell features a unique “Aged Red” finish that draws its inspiration from the T.G.S. blog colors, burgundy and black. While these Penwells are powder-coated aluminum, as opposed to Urushi, I wanted to pick a finish that complements the look and depth of the dark red finish on my Nakaya Decapod. The subtle black and red grain on the Aged Red came out absolutely gorgeous.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Penwell, it’s one of my favorite fountain pen accessories that allows you to turn any pen into a desk pen. I have one on my desk at all times, and you can read my full write-up here.

These special edition Penwells are available in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, priced at $75. T.G.S. Patreon Supporters will receive special pricing, so if you are a Patreon member, please check your messages. All purchasers of the Penwell will receive a complimentary T.G.S. Bookmark from Good Made Better, and since these orders automatically qualify for free shipping, you can combine your order with other items from the Curated Shop. Since I just received a huge Write Notepads restock, you may want to stock up!

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Essential Office Supplies and Accessories for the Home Office

I’ve spent a lot of time (and I mean a LOT of time) thinking about optimizing my workspace now that I’m 97% remote, and it appears that things will remain that way even post-Covid. Previously, my home office basically served as dumping ground for household mail, hobby supplies, and whatever the dogs had dragged upstairs while I was at work. Now? It’s arguably a much more pleasant and productive place than my “real office” ever was. Most of this has involved basic decluttering and purchasing more functional shelving and storage, but I’ve also consolidated a lot of my desk accessories and office supplies, clearing some out and purchasing more functional replacements. I’m still working on bigger issues (such as choosing a better chair and hardwiring my home Wifi to ensure better speeds through the house), but I’m pleased with where things stand.

Continuing my prior discussions of home-based work, today’s post contains a mix of “gear recommendations” and discussion of general office layout choices that have worked for me. By way of background, my job involves approximately 80% writing, so my setup focuses on creating spaces conducive to reading, writing, and research, and having the tools I need for that readily at hand. Since everyone has different job requirements, these recommendations may or may not be on-point for you, but I do hope you find them helpful. So, with that in mind, what do I consider “essential”?

1. WASD “Code” Mechanical Keyboard. Even though I work extensively by hand, the keyboard is still my primary input device. A mechanical keyboard, which features a mechanical switch for each key rather than a rubber dome or membrane, increases my typing accuracy and is much easier on my hands and wrists over longer sessions in front of a screen. Though I’ve owned multiple mechanical keyboards over the years, I’ve sold nearly all of them off in favor of WASD’s “Code” Keyboard, which combines understated basic black design with rock-solid durability. Since I prefer stiff, clicky keys, I use the version with Cherry MX Green switches.

2. Landscape-Style Desk Pad. For years now, I’ve used a landscape-style desk pad or notebook on my desk beneath my keyboard for impromptu checklists, quick calculations, and drafting by hand. Typically, for notes that don’t get saved, I love the Baron Fig Mastermind desk pad. Lately, I’ve also used the Write Notepads lndscape-orientation spiral notebook, which is lined and therefore nice for drafting.

3. Compact Pen or Tool Holder. Who would’ve thought that it’s distracting to have dozens of pens and pencils scattered all over your desk? I’ve tested out lots of pen holders, and my favorite remains my “Divide” from Dudek Modern goods, which holds a dozen pens and pencils in addition to pocket notebooks. That said, Mike only makes these in occasional batches, so you should also consider Galen Leather’s ToolComb, which I recently reviewed. I currently use both.

4. Notepad or Tablet Stand. As a proponent of handwriting your first draft of pretty much anything, I do a lot of typing from hardcopy. While I’ve used more expensive aluminum tablet stands to hold notebooks and legal pads upright while I transcribe handwritten drafts, I discovered these simple and inexpensive folding metal book stands that are not only adjustable but fold flat for storage if you need to temporarily reclaim the desk space.

5. Standing Desk. Moving around during the day is key to my own personal productivity (and it’s also healthier). My primary workspace is an extremely large, 1970s-era wooden desk (referred to in our house as “the battleship”) that I inherited from my grandfather, which allows me to spread out but will never win any awards for ergonomics or design. When I need a break, I use a podium-style adjustable desk from Levenger that is big enough to pull triple duty as a writing desk, laptop stand, and even a shipping station when I’m packing orders for the store. I love this thing so much that I’ve actually purchased two of them over the years, with a second currently sitting unused at my downtown office.

6. Lap Desk or Clipboard. Another thing I’ve learned about myself is that I can’t go an entire day without going outside, though it’s easy to find yourself in that situation working from home if you don’t need to leave to get lunch, etc. I make an effort to go out on the porch or patio and work for at least an hour to get some air. I’ve experimented with a variety of lap desks, but I keep coming back to clipboards. I have a black canvas version I picked up years ago at Papier Plus in Paris, which I don’t believe they sell anymore. I recently found these Penco fiberboard versions in A4 size that also make a great mobile work surface.

7. Dedicated Work/Personal Notebooks. Prior to 2020, I had started using a single large notebook for all of my notes to reduce the weight and bulk of what I had to carry back and forth between home and office. Now, I’m back to using three to four different notebooks to better separate my work life from my personal life (which is hard to do when worlds collide).

8. Desktop Pencil Sharpener. I’ve found myself using more and more graphite for work purposes. While I still use my fountain pens to journal and when I’m otherwise writing for my own enjoyment, pencil can be less distracting since I find myself focusing on the actual work as opposed to the ink, paper, nib, etc. My go-to all-purpose pencil sharpener remains the Carl Angel-5/Classroom Friendly pencil sharpener, with the handheld M+R Brass Bullet taking on an increasingly prominent role when I’m working on the porch.

9. Whiteboard/Chalkboard. For planning and sketching out ideas free-form, and for making running lists of tasks in a place where I can see them, sometimes there’s nothing better than a wall board. I say “wall board” because I’m seriously considering moving away from a whiteboard to a traditional chalkboard. It can be hard to clean a whiteboard, and even the “low odor” markers give me a headache. Plus, if I really want to go all “mad scientist,” I could paint an entire wall of my office in chalkboard paint and…. well, you get the idea.

10. Annotation/Highlighter Pencils. I dislike liquid ink highlighters, especially for marking up handwritten notes. They smear everything from ink to pencils. I much prefer highlighter pencils, and for years I’ve used these Caran d’Ache Graphicolor highlighter/graphite combination pencils. I also enjoy the Graphicolor red/graphite annotation pencils, which form a key part of my reading and journaling kit.

What home office items do you find indispensable to your daily work? I’m interested to hear! Please feel free to leave a comment or message me directly using the “Contact” link!

This post contains no affiliate links, thought it may contain links to past reviews on the blog and a handful of items in The T.G.S. Curated Shop.