Pens of Note

Momento Zero, Vancouver Pen Club Edition

"I named this pen the Momento Zero, to signify the emergence of a new initiative from its starting point."

Matrone Salvatore

 

The Vancouver Pen Club

The Vancouver Pen Club started in 2006 with a group coming together to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the fountain pen.

The membership of the club is made up of enthusiasts of both vintage and modern pens. Ages run from young to old. Meetings usually have a topic, and always include a "New Acquisitions" time. Expect to see everything from a prized Lamy Safari, a TWSBI, Montegrappa or Leonardo pens shown and discussed.

Information about meetings and events is found on the Club's web page at www.vancouverpenclub.com. Meetings are typically the third Thursday of the month. Locations vary and are noted on the website.

Everyone is always welcome to join. There are no membership fees. From time to time visitors to Vancouver happen to be in the city on the night of one of the meetings and pop in.

 For this particular pen, Momento Zero Vancouver Pen Club, 26 of the members ordered a pen with the option of a gold or steel nib, and nib widths from Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, Stub 1.1, 1.3 (gold) and 1.5. Delivery was relatively quickly and it seemed in no time the pens arrived and were instantly being enjoyed as bottles of ink were opened. Pens were dipped, and the writing experience began.

Working with Salvatore Matrone, of Leonardo Officina Italiana, the details such as the material for the trim (clip, bands), the cap band design and engraving were finalized. Members selected the material (gold or steel), and the with of nib for their pen.

The gold nibs are 14 kt gold, and the steel nibs made by BOCK to Leonardo's specifications. They are some of the smoothest writing steel nibs around.

The pen was delivered in Vancouver just after Christmas. 1999. It was a great way to start 2020, a new decade.

The Momento Zero

The Momento Zero is a well designed pen that nicely fits the hand of a wide range of writers. While the pen is basically the size of the Pelikan M800, the model has the cartridge converter and are therefore lighter to hold. The pen is very well balanced. I know from writing with mine, it nicely sits in the hand for long extended periods of writing.

The cartridge converter is accessible by either removing the cap from the end of the barrel to expose a twist knob to pull up or flush out ink; or, by unscrewing the nib lower section from the body.

The Momento Zero typically has two or three rings at the base of the cap, the Vancouver Pen Club Momento Zero has a single broad band with the name: "Vancouver Pen Club" engraved on the ring. The body of the pen has the company name - Leonardo Officinia Italiana and the number of the pen. There are 26 pens.

There is a ring at the end of the body section, that nicely finishes the pen and defines the end of the cap and the start of the body when the pen is closed. The final ring trim is between the small cap at the end of the barrel that exposes the twist knob of the converter.

The clip of the Momento Zero has gone through redesign since the pen was first issued. The clip on the Vancouver Pen Club pen is sightly narrower from the first of the Momento Zero's produced. Overall, the sleek clip, the limited number of rings and the single band gives this pen a very elegant look.

The cone treatment at the top of the cap and the end of the body nicely finish the pen to create a a very pleasing look.

The cap posts on the end of the body. For me this is important. Sometimes I do write with my pen and not post the cap, but the majority of the time I do. A posted cap also helps to prevent the pen from rolling off my desk.

The Sand Resin

Attractive, subtle and elegant.

The pens are turned from a solid rod of resin. The resin is polished to produce a beautiful shine. The tones of dark and light browns play with the light. I find the pen always has an attractive appeal as I look at it in my hand, as well as when the pen sits on my desk. The pattern of the stripes of colours differs along the rods of resign. Each pen has its own particular look. I have the Sand resign in both the Momento Zero Grande, and the regular size for the Vancouver Pen Club and each looks slightly different. I know when the order arrived from Italy and I was checking for the nib selection for each member, the variations of the pens created something special for each member. There is substantial consistency across the line, but subtle variations in tones for each member.

The cap of the pen screws off the body (my preference from pens where the cap is simply pulled off). It feels like a more formal process to open the pens and commence writing.

The pen measures 5.5 inches in length when closed, and when posted, it extends to 6.5 inches. The diameter of the pen is .6 inches. It is light in the hand with a weight of .8 ounces