A fountain pen with a 23 carat palladium nib was unveiled at this year's Philadelphia Pen Show.

The Homo Sapiens range was created by Visconti Pens of Florence and the company's founder Dante Del Vecchio believes users will find the pens "unlike any other".

According to Mr Del Vecchio, metals traditionally used to stiffen pure gold-nibbed fountain pens are vulnerable to corrosion.

However, the use of palladium solves this problem, with the added benefit that the fountain pens are 200 to 300 per cent more flexible.

This significantly improves performance, and Mr Del Vecchio likens the use of the pen to "writing on air".

"As a result, fountain pen users will have the capability to add calligraphic flair to their writing with a soft dream touch and with not need to have any pressure while writing as required from other nibs and is unavailable from a ballpoint," he confirmed.

Crucially, the use of palladium in the nib has been made possible by the development of techniques which enable the tipping material to be added at palladium's higher melting point.

As well as palladium, the Homo Sapiens fountain pens are also made of lava from Mount Etna, making them extremely resistant.

Source:

Visconti Pens Introduces Fountain Pen Made of Lava With Virtually Pure 23 Karat Dreamtouch(TM) Palladium Nib (20/01/10)

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