Jean Pierre Lepine

A bit of a mini-review today - Jean Pierre Lepine is a French manufacturer I don't see much written about, perhaps because they make other items such as watches as well as writing instruments, and their designs are quite modern, and wouldn't appeal to everyone. (Such as the strange 'Cactus' series.)

I have a Indigo Murano Fountain Pen and a Attila Classic Rollerball - two pens which are more than excellent in my opinion. The pens are constructed from bright resins with chrome trim. Many colour choices and styles are available.

A couple of nice touches - The inside thread of the caps are metal - my Montegrappa Micra, at double the price, has plastic threads inside the cap. The Lepine's also have a small rubber gasket inside the barrel - the resin is protected from cracking and being screwed too tight around the barrel, and no leaking can occur around the threads.

The pens are small in length - the Indigo is just shy of 4", while the Attila is just over 4". I dislike long pens, so for me, these are perfect. With the cap posted, the Indigo is just over 5", and the Attila is 5 1/2". The Indigo fountain pen nib is superb and smooth. There is immediate flow when the pen is put to paper, with no skipping or scratchiness. The nib is stainless steel, nicely engraved, and a No 4 width, which is roughly equivalent to a Medium.

The Attila is a much thicker pen - beautifully weighted and nice to hold in the hand. I desperately want an Attila fountain pen, but they are hard to find. While I don't love rollerballs, the Lepine is very good - smooth and non-skipping.

Overall, two very pleasing pens, and I'm on the lookout for more.