Our Wonder Pens Exclusive Franklin-Christoph Model 20

It's finally here! After what seems like an eternity of dreaming and waiting and keeping it all together, we're finally presenting to you our Franklin-Christoph exclusive - the Model 20 in a translucent dark grey finish. If you're on Instagram or you read pen blogs or you're just kind of a pen person, you've probably stumbled across a Franklin-Christoph pen or two. Franklin-Christoph is a family business based out of North Carolina in the US, and they've been making some beautiful pens for a while now. They're known not only for the design of the pens themselves, but also for some pretty unique finishes. There are a lot of really beautiful resins and acrylics out there, but F-C's material finishes are in a league of their own - they have different types of clear finishes and translucent and opaque colours that you just can't find anywhere else. They're also known for being really great people, which is not exactly uncommon in this industry, but is just another reminder of how great it is to work in the business that we're in. This truly has to be one of the most exciting things we've ever done as a business, and we've had no shortage of excitement over the last three years, especially this last year. When we first got in touch with Scott at Franklin-Christoph, he offered to do us up an exclusive pen that we would be able to call our own. After I finished mentally imploding, I knew right away that I wanted a Model 20 because I had been dreaming of it for a while, and I was hoping for a translucent finish because, you know me, I just love a good eye-dropper pen. Scott and the fine folks at Franklin-Christoph did not disappoint. They sent over this gorgeous Model 20 in a translucent grey finish, a vintage grey brown tone, officially called Translucent Bronze, and we were done for. The finish is really something else - it's a hint of something dark, while still being translucent, and allows you to see the ink inside, in a cartridge or converter, or of course as an eyedropper. There's kind of a vintage look to it, not something too flashy, but something that makes you stop to take a closer look. It's available either with or without a clip, and it's also a snap cap! Because it's a snap cap, the grip is smooth without threads to get in the way. It's pretty hard to find a snap cap on these small run pens, acrylic or resin pens that aren't injection-mold ABS plastic. You can find more info on the Model 20 in particular here in a video F-C created, where Scott also says it's one of his favourite FC designs to date - great minds think alike!! (I'm referring to me, if you didn't get that, because I also really like this model...)   The finish on the pen is just beautiful. I love the mix of the super smooth and clear grey glassy finial ends and on the cap, with the grey gravel on the inside of the barrel. My favourite part about the pen has got to be the inside of the barrel. While it comes with a standard international converter, and takes cartridges as well, one of the reasons I really wanted a translucent pen is of course, for an eyedropper.  I just love the finish F-C gives on the inside of their translucent pens - a gravelly sort of texture inside the barrel. It's absolutely stunning, and completely unique to Franklin-Christoph.   The nib is super smooth, one of the smoothest nibs I've written with out of the box, and nice and wet as well. I have a medium on mine, and the flow is perfect, a bit on the wet side, which is just how I like it. We've also got a few of Franklin-Christoph 1.9 mm music nibs! These nibs are lookers - real show stoppers. I can't wait to do a review of how the F-C nibs write, including this one here. We're loving having these pens here - I love seeing them on our trays in the shop. We've only got a small quantity of these, especially if you're interested in the clipless. Just today, Saturday, we've already had a few walk out the door before we even got to post them online! (They're online here now!) If you're in the US or international, and you're interested in this pen, just send us an e-mail for a quote on the shipping - info@wonderpens.ca. We've priced the pen at $230 CAD due to the exchange, which is $165 USD, F-C's price for their Model 20s. Shipping to the continental US for the pen should be something like $25 CAD ($18.50 USD), which comes with insurance and tracking. (Actually, for those of you that have been interested in Plains of Abraham but were a bit scared off with the shipping cost, you can get the ink with pen for the same shipping price, since the weight and size of the two items combined is still in the first weight tier for Canada Post. Unfortunately the bottle is still plastic right now.) One of the most incredible things about being in this business and industry is that it's really a community - people come back over and over and get to know each other and relationships form. Franklin-Christoph has not only become well-known for their beautiful pens and innovative designs, but also for the workmanship and craftsmanship that goes behind every pen. Their nibs are all individually inspected and hand-tuned before going out the door, and they stand behind their pens with a life-time warranty. It's truly amazing that we get to work with people like Scott at F-C, another family business, and know that our customers and people in our community who are buying these gorgeous pens are not only getting gorgeous pens, but, in doing so, are supporting two family businesses.