Franklin Christoph Model 45 - Cherry Ice - Fine S.I.G. Nib

New pen day after a week of buying new pens - there are a bunch of pens to review, but this one has completely captured my attention. I first bought a Model 20 special edition from Wonderpens, which I will review later and just simply loved it so much that while I put my head on my pillow one night I bought this one with no hesitation. At the 105USD price on as an initial price offering (IPO) on the Franklin Christoph site with free shipping, I was sold. The only objection was my wallet whining that I have spent too much money in the past few weeks.

Cherry Ice

Currently offered are the tiger, amber, and cherry-ice models. I chose cherry ice because I already have an orange pen, and who doesn't love grenadine? This is definitely my Shirley Temple pen which looks and somewhat tastes like that drink whenever I touch it. It's a short pocket pen, and does not have a clip which causes it to roll on my table since my house seems slightly at a slant.

The finial

 What I love so far about Franklin Christoph is that they are a family run company and their pens are manufactured in the United States. Of course, I am Canadian, but I support local business whenever I can, and since there are no Canadian pen manufacturers, I will go with our neighbours down south. The second thing I love about FC is that these pens are iconically FC and yet they are relatively understated. The finial above shows that the Franklin Christoph logo is etched right into the plastic, and there are no gold trims or hardware - just well turned acrylic whose quality seems to definitely surpass the Kaweco Sport, TWSBI, Pelikan, and Pilot pens I've owned. The only other pen whose material seems to be on par with this kind of plastic is the Sailor Professional Gear which I have also reviewed. That material is the same material as what dentures are made of, so it's quite special.



The acrylic of this pen is a demonstrator, but it has some very beautiful fine touches. Note above the mild stippling inside of the pen cap so that the nib is somewhat obscured. This stippling also extends down the barrel (but I've filled it with Kon-Peki)... and when the ink level is low, the stippling make the ink inside glimmer. This is especially apparent in those glass and ice models that Franklin Christoph are so famous for.

Here's another look at the wonderful detail of the manufacturing - around the cap says Franklin Christoph 45, indicating the model number. Low key and tasteful all around.

One of my favourite parts of this pen is the bum end of it - with that solid acrylic part, although it decrease the ink capacity, you can really see what the pen's colour is. It's really very beautiful.

I couldn't find a great angle in which to show the demonstrator, but here it is held up against a light. As you can see, my pen is still full of ink, but it's a gorgeous silhouette.

Siblings

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So what size is this pen exactly? According to the FC website:

Dimensions:
.550" cap diameter
.510"  barrel diameter
4.45" capped length
5.60" cap posted length (including nib)
4.12" barrel only length (including nib)
.383" grip section at thinnest point (curved)

In essence, it is a small pen and most people will need to post it to write. It posts securely! I don't need to because of my tiny tiny tiny hands. Some people may be concerned about cracking in the cap if one should post it, but Franklin-Christoph has a lifetime warranty, so you're covered.

So what about this nib? This is a number 5 JOWO unit, and this particular one is ground to a S.I.G. Fine. It is a specialty nib that stands for Stub Italic Gradient, where depending on the angle that you hold the pen, there is more or less line variation. The writing sample will follow.

When looking at the nib compared to the #6 nib in the Franklin Christoph Model 20, it is sizeably smaller. The FC20 has a recessed nib, so the #5 is even smaller than it appears here in the photograph. However, it has the same scroll work and the same logo.

I bought the "HPS" High performance steel, mainly because these nibs are all tuned to write wet and well, and honestly - didn't want to spend more money. The nibs are also available in 18K for those who are interested, and truthfully I'd be interested to try one in the future - maybe on an antique glass Model 66 that everyone seems to love.

Personally, comparing these 2 nibs (the #6 Medium and the #5 Fine SIG), they write as well, or even better than some of my gold nibs. They are wet, and super super smooth.

Writing sample here to show the amount of line variation possible in the fine SIG. Certainly, if you wanted more, I'd go for a Broad SIG. Franklin Christoph also offers Mike Masuyama ground nibs from the master himself. These are at a price, but this is a great way to get one of his nibs without a long turnaround time!

In summary, this is a fun little pocket sized pen that has an amazing construction to it. It is very light to carry around, but the acrylic feels solid. One could slosh the ink around the barrel all the time and be fascinated by it. In fact, I know of a friend who fills their FCs only half way such to watch the sloshing. Would I buy this pen again? YES YES YES.  You should give this guy a try!