(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
The Monteverde Giant Sequoia fountain pen is a large resin pen with a stainless steel nib. It comes packaged in a substantial clamshell box with two cartridges as well as a converter.
The green Sequoia has sheeny turquoise, black, and silver stripes. It’s a really beautiful resin.
The pen itself is cylindrical in shape with a flat top and barrel bottom. The cap has an unadorned silver clip and a band engraved with “Monteverde USA Sequoia.” The cap screws on, and although it is postable, doing so throws the balance off considerably.
The Sequoia is a large pen both in length and girth. It is 5.7 inches (145mm) capped, 5 inches (127mm) uncapped, and 6.7 inches (170mm) posted. The grip is 10.8mm in diameter and the barrel is 15.4mm. In spite of its size, the pen itself is not heavy, weighing 33 grams capped and 19 grams uncapped.
William Hannah Notebook
The pen fills by cartridge or converter. Since it is made of resin and there are no metal parts on the barrel, you could probably eyedropper the pen if you wished.
The Sequoia comes with a #6 stainless steel nib. My review pen has a fine nib width. The nib is engraved with the Monteverde logo, and the Monteverde name appears twice, once near the base of the nib and once along the perimeter near the tip.
Unfortunately, this nib is scratchy, hard, and dry. Writing with it is not a pleasurable experience. It skips occasionally on downstrokes, and if you stop writing for any length of time, you have to re-wet the nib to continue.
You can see where the nib skipped on the downstroke
My macro photos of the nib don’t reveal any obvious problems, such as misaligned tines or tipping issues. I think the nib is just scratchy and ink-stingy. A nibmeister could probably get it writing better, but that’s an added expense.
The Sequoia is a beautiful pen, and I really like its size. My middle-aged hands prefer pens with a larger girth, especially for long writing sessions. But, the nib is a deal-breaker for me. If a pen doesn’t write well, no amount of beauty will make up for it.
You can purchase the Monteverde Giant Sequoia in green, blue, or brown from Vanness Pens. It costs $90.00 and comes in fine, medium, broad, and stub nib sizes.
Pros
- The Monteverde Sequoia is a beautiful, large-sized pen that is light and comfortable in the hand.
- The pen offers at least two filling methods (cartridge and converter), and it probably can be eyedroppered as well.
- I really like the resin on this pen. It reminds me of the ao-tamenuri color Nakaya used to offer.
Cons
- Unfortunately, the nib on this pen is scratchy and unyielding. It is also stingy with ink.
(Vanness Pens loaned this product to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
