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Is there a doctor in the house?
 

Hippocratica fountain pen    $525.00    $420.00

See the ballpoint version here

Here's what Delta has to say about it:

"The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians, physician assistants' and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically and honestly. It is widely believed to have been written by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine. It requires a new physician to swear upon a number of healing gods that he will uphold a number of professional ethical standards. 

Why HIPPOCRATICA?
To remember Hippocrates, the father of western medicine

Considered the founder of medical science, he revolutionized the concept of medicine as distinct from other fields, thus establishing medicine as a profession.

Hippocrates invented the medical record, theorized the need to rationally observe patients, taking notes and transcribing their appearance and symptoms, and introduced for the first time, the concepts of diagnosis and prognosis.

It is under these theories that the Medical School of Salerno was founded, the first major medical institution in Europe during the Middle Ages (eleventh century), regarded by many as the forerunner of the modern university."

As is the case with many Delta pens, both the fountain pen and ballpoint are oversized writing instruments. The fountain pen measures 5-3/4" capped, 6-1/2" posted and 5" with cap held aside.

Although Delta refers to "red and blue resins" as being turned by hand from solid bars, I find the 'red' to be more of a rich burgundy or maroon, while the 'blue' varies from a deep black to a shimmering, pearlescent blue/gray under direct light. It's hard to capture in a photo, but very alluring in person. It also makes each individual pen quite unique in appearance.

I think it's pretty obvious that the first thing one notices about the pen is the clip! It portrays the Rod of Asclepius -- a wooden staff encircled by a serpent. Asclepius was an ancient Greek physician (circa 1200 B.C.) who was deified as the god of healing and medicine. Many of us are more familiar with the staff and twinned serpents of the Caduceus to represent the medical...but that is actually a link with Hermes (Mercury to the Romans) and the alchemists of the 7th Century A.D. Here's an interesting article (one of many that can be found), discussing the differences.

The cap 'jewel' or insert references the medical school of the University of Salerno, mentioned in the Delta quote above. It's a carving which portrays the first recognized diploma of medicine, although Salerno and its surrounds was known for its physicians dating back to Greek and Roman times.

'Hippocratica' is boldly rendered on the widest of the cap bands. This cap band, along with the staff of the clip, is textured as if made from tree bark. In all cases...clip, cap band and cap jewel...the underlying metal is plated with precious rhodium.

The pearlescent sheen of the barrel and cap nicely compliment the solid blocks of burgundy resin. The barrel of each pen is engraved with 'DELTA Italy', 'Hippocratica Collection', the Delta twin nib logo, and the pen's individual production number.

Unscrewing the cap of the fountain pen -- which also screws onto the barrel end for posting -- displays the beautiful new Fusion nib. This new Delta nib, designed and produced in-house by Delta. fuses steel and 18K gold into one of the best nibs I've come across. It's available in 5 sizes: EF, F, M, B and stub (a large 1.5mm).           

Each nib is marked with the Delta two-nib logo, 'DELTA', '18Kt - 750' and the nib size.

Unscrewing the section and barrel reveals the screw-in piston converter for bottled ink. It will also take International-style cartridges, such as those from Private Reserve. As with all new pens, I recommend to run a dilute solution of dishwashing soap (two or three drops to a small bowl of water) through a new pen a few times, followed by water only. Step one is effective at removing manufacturing oils that can tend to make the ink less than enthusiastic in heading from the converter/filler to the nib, and step two removes the traces of the detergent you've used...which tends to have the opposite, diuretic effect.

 

                                               
                                     Ballpoint

Hippocratica ballpoint pen    $375.00    $300.00

The ballpoint is a thing of beauty, measuring 5-1/2", and is very well balanced in the hand. I say ballpoint, but due to the Parker-style refills used, this can easily become a gel pen or capless rollerball, just by inserting the desired refill. The pen uses a twist action for point extension and retraction.

               Either pen comes in a large gift box. The outer sleeve is shown below (click on the photo to enlarge).

   The gift box holds Delta's unique display box, bottled ink or refill (depending upon which pen is selected),

                                 warranty and paperwork describing the Hippocratica and Fusion nib.

                                                         So, will there be a doctor in your house?

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 25th, 2013

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