Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Other Side of Porsche

Focus today is on another fountain pen outside the circle of names most commonly associated with writing instruments. We all know the name of Porsche; most of us admire the car, many of us would like to own a Porsche car. Both the design and engineering of Porsche cars are highly regarded. With the help of Faber Castell the carmaker has made a bold statement in the field of writing instruments with the Porsche Design P3110 TecFlex Stainless Steel Gold fountain pen.


The barrel of this beautiful pen is woven TecFlex steel with fine gold threads. This TecFlex, woven from stainless steel combines nickel, chromium, molybdenum and tungsten is resistant to corrosion, is hard-wearing and highly elastic. The same material is used to sheath brake lining and electrics in cars and motorcycles driven in high performance environments. In addition, all metal parts are coated with palladium, a silvery-white metal resembling platinum. With these materials is it any surprise that Faber Castell (in partnership with Porsche) offers a lifetime mechanical guarantee?


The nib is Rhodium-plated 18k gold and comes in either F, M or B sizes. The radial ground finish guarantees what Porsche calls ‘optimum stroke.’ Still, some thought is recommended in choosing a nib size, because they tend to be broad. The P3110 fine nib will seem medium by most definitions. The one I am testing has a medium nib, which to my eye looks about right, but I think it has something to do with the Clairefontaine 90g paper. On plain white copy paper the stoke is much broader.


The Porsche P3110 measures 15cm closed and 17.6cm posted. The weight of the pen is a whopping 50 grams, or 1.9 ounces, and might just frighten off most of the ladies, or at least those whose hobby is not throwing a shot put. No question, this is a big, heavy fountain pen, though a handsome one.

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Oak Hill, Florida, United States
A longtime expat relearning the footwork of life in America