Leonardo
Silver Checks
& Black Lacquer

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  Now with Chinese calligraphy nib

"Norman, I received my order and the pens are fabulous. The Leonardo Silver Checks fountain pen looks great and feels beautiful in my hands."
N. S., Van Nuys, CA

"The Leonardo became my favorite immediately. Soft and  flowing, my pen is producing the right shade of Noodler's Lexington Gray, which my other pen did not. Thank you for quick, personalized service. I still have not received a Lamy converter ordered from another vendor a few days before placing the Leonardo order."
Bob Helvey, Louisville KY
 

Leonardo Black Lacquer    $20.00    Sold out

Although the Silver Checks version of this model, with the conventional western nib has not been available recently, the new Black Lacquer model is a worthy replacement. Click here to jump to a description of the conventional nib version.

Leonardo Silver Checks western nib    $20.00    Sold out

Leonardo Silver Checks Chinese calligraphy nib    $20.00

This new version of the Silver Checks comes with a Chinese calligraphy nib, or 'art' nib. As can be seen from the upward sweep of it profile, this type of nib bears no relationship to a western-style calligraphy nib. This nib should be thought of more as a 'metal brush', designed to approximate the brushstrokes used in traditional Chinese calligraphy. Although words can indeed be written with this style of nib, it should in no way be considered a regular writing pen, and works best when held more like a traditional Chinese calligraphy brush, as illustrated below. Even to describe the point as a 'light-medium' doesn't really mean too much in a conventional fountain pen sense. I certainly can't say that I've mastered writing or drawing with the pen, but it's been fun trying .

Here's a company that almost guarantees that you'll add several I.Q. points just from writing with their pens. I mean, with da Vinci staring at you from both the clip and the nib, who wouldn't be inspired?

This is another full-sized pen, measuring 5-1/2" capped and 6" posted. It's all-metal construction is surprisingly light. Consequently, this is a pen that can serve for extended writing sessions without tiring out the writer.

The Silver Checks has a very sleek design, and the da Vinci portrait in black and the name Leonardo in white on the arcing clip are subsumed, at any distance,  by the gold -- and silver -- colors that surround them. It's only when one gets quite close to the cap of the pen that they become obvious.

The silver, gold and texture afforded by the checkered body make for quite an attractive look. The thick and thin cap rings (actually, the thinner ring is on the barrel), are separated -- and surrounded -- by non-textured silver rings, which offset them nicely. The silver ball at the top of the clip is a neat design element.

Removing the slip cap -- which snaps back into place -- reveals a lovely, two-toned steel nib that reprises the da Vinci portrait, as well as being engraved with 'Leonardo'. I judge these nibs to be light-medium by western standards (meaning, between a typical fine and a medium).

Unscrewing the all-metal fittings of the barrel and section brings into view the included piston converter. The pen will also take international-style cartridges, such as those from Private Reserve.

Altogether, a lovely pen at a lovely price.

IMPORTANT SERVICE NOTE: Every nib that ships from His Nibs is closely examined under high magnification and tuned or adjusted if needed. About 85% of modern nibs need some adjustment out-of-the-box from the manufacturer for an optimal writing experience. Most commonly, the tines of the nib are misaligned -- which would cause scratchiness at the minimum; the slit between the tines is partially or fully closed -- which would starve the nib of ink and at best cause skipping; or the slit between the tines is too wide -- which will either again cause skipping, or conversely, flooding. There are other factors  -- such as separation of the nib from the feed -- that are inspected and repaired before any pen leaves the Palace.

The only 100% guarantee of course comes when the pen is actually filled with ink and written with for the first time, but our pre-shipping inspections and tunings have eliminated 99.99999 (my finger is getting tired) of the frustrations that a customer experiences when first using a new fountain pen. Although this can be time-consuming on occasion, it affords our customers a much more pleasant experience when receiving a fountain pen from His Nibs -- and saves us the frustration of dealing with returns!

Ordering Procedures & Returns

International customers, please note, we will not falsify shipping documents

Please send your order and shipping address (along with any questions) to:

orders@hisnibs.com
(on PayPal transactions, the email address may also display as stonebri@verizon.net)

We will email you back with your order total (PA residents please add 6% sales tax)

Credit cards, for the quickest fulfillment of your order, are accepted through PayPal, a secure site allowing you to use your credit card without us even seeing the information. If you'd like to make use of this credit card service, please let us know when you email your order and address, and we'll email you the appropriate Request for Payment, and instructions for the simple payment procedure (you don't need to join PayPal to use it).

If you would like us process your credit card directly instead, then please email us:

1. Card # (dividing this number in two, between two emails, will ensure security)
2. Expiration date
3. Name on card
4. Address for billing statement
5. Card verification # (3-digit number printed on the back of your card. It appears after and to the right of your card number, or 4-digit number on the front of your AMEX card).
 

If you'd rather pay by money order or check, kindly make payable to:

His Nibs.com
  2540 W. Union Street
  Allentown, PA 18104

We ship via insured Priority Mail
(email for cost)

Warranties and returns

If an item proves to be defective, in most cases the manufacturer's warranty will apply. However, please email us first so that we can determine the easiest way to resolve the problem to your satisfaction. In the case of fountain pens -- which are a bit more individualistic than other writing instruments -- what may at first appear to be a defect (hard starting or poor flow for example), can in almost all cases be resolved with a few simple 'tweaks' to the nib, which we'll be happy to guide you through or perhaps suggest returning to us for adjustment.

Should you wish to return a non-defective item within 3 days of receipt because it doesn't suit you for some reason, again please email us and we'll arrange an exchange, credit or refund (minus any shipping/insurance charges), if the item is returned in an 'as new' condition. If you've dipped a fountain pen to try its writing characteristics, kindly clean off any ink residue prior to shipping -- to save us both a nasty surprise .

We want you to be happy with your purchase from HisNibs.com and hope to have you join the ranks of our many long-term, repeat customers!

Revised: May 23rd, 2012

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