REVIEW: Marlen ALEPH

The Marlen Aleph (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is the result of a collaboration between the Italian pen manufacturer Marlen, and Daniel Greco, the moderator of the fountain pen forum Fountainpen.it.

The result of this collaboration is a Flat Top piston filler with and a nib made from what the advertising blurb describes as "fine harmonic steel" (although I couldn't detect any noise coming from the nib). It's promise suggests modern flex and great writing.

I already have a Limited edition from Fountainpen.it, a Delta Fusion, which was spectacular. So my hopes for this pen were high.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Impressive packaging; now let's see inside. Ah-ha. Hmmm.... Interesting. 

Colour a bit dull. Wow, that nib looks different! I wonder how it writes.....
7/10







APPEARANCE AND DESIGN
I was disappointed with the colour. It's a black base with a shimmering acrylic lighter blue (the description gives it more credit than it deserves). Not offensive; just not very exciting.

It's bigger than I expected (longer). The design is simple, a flat top pen with allusions to an earlier time. The blind cap is nicely aligned.

I definitely like the look of the nib (but more on that below).

Mine is #17, but I'm not sure how many of these were made; and I believe they are to be produced in bulk soon enough.

It certainly looks well made. The clip is solid. The side is etched with "Marlen, Italy. Fountainpen.it. Aleph"; and the top of the cap has the Marlen logo in silver and black.

Ideally, the capping and uncapping should really be an action that is so quick you hardly notice it. Unfortunately,

I really noticed it with the Aleph. The number of turns needed to uncap the Aleph is around 5 - too many! And it seems to be around 6 to put the cap back on securely. While not a massive issue, each time I did it, I continued to get annoyed.

6/10

WEIGHT AND DIMENSION
My weight reviews are based entirely on feel (I don't bother with a scale - it's a fountain pen not a bowling ball!). But I can tell you the Aleph feels well-balanced, in the hand posted or unposted.

Capped, my pen measures 14.2cm long and around 1.3cm wide in the body (marginally wider in the cap). Uncapped, I measure 13.3cm from nib tip to base.

Posted the pen measures 17.2cm in length (bloody long!) but comfortable to write with either way.

7/10

NIB AND PERFORMANCE

The nib is a looker! It is a large nib, I love the 'Aleph' symbol etched onto it's steel centre. I love the curves of its taper and volin-like curves to its girth (this may add to its claim of "harmonic" steel). The nib creates anticipation of its performance.

The Aleph's steel nib is a little reminiscent of the Pilot FA, (and therefore promises much). The feed is plastic (hmmm) and transparent (interesting). So when you fill this nib, the feed takes on the hue of your ink. As my first ink was the Marlen brown that came with the pen, guess what? After a clean, it's pretty clear again, but there remains a little browny hue so I'm guessing over time the transparency of the feed may be less revealing.

nib is full here. Note brown hue to feed.

The air-hole in the nib is interesting; as it is quite large and seems to reveal the colour of the ink (novel).

Herbin Violette Pensee inside.

Writing? Certainly smooth out of the box. There is a little flex; but not anything extraordinary.

There is nothing like the flex of a Falcon or even a Noodler's Flex pen. This is very disappointing given the promise of the nib. It doesn't provide much feedback either (another disappointment for me, as I like to feel the nib performing). This pen would be great for someone who is used to a ballpoint and is thinking of getting into fountain pens. It's predictable, but you can coax some line variation out of it. Indeed, if you read the blurb that came with it (after translating it from Italian - which I've done below), that is perhaps what the Aleph is attempting to do. Therefore, not really a fountainpen writer's pen, but a great beginning in a shift from ballpoints.

6/10

FILLING SYSTEMPiston. Works well, holds a reasonable ink supply. I am not a major fan of having a blind cap that covers the piston; for me, that just means more bits to lose. Nevertheless, the piston works well; and there are always extra points for a piston filler.

8/10

COST AND VALUE
At time of purchase, this pen was around US$140. For the price, the Aleph is a reasonable value pen.

7/10

CONCLUSION
The Marlen Aleph was a bit of a disappointment. My last Fountainpen.it pen was so wonderful I anticipated something a lot better than I received. It is not a bad pen. It's just a touch dull.

Maybe the Bet will be Bet - ter!




68/100

0-50 = to be avoided at all costs
51-60 = if it’s cheap and you don’t really care….
61-70 = a nice pen with the makings of something better (just don’t spend too much)
71-80 = A better than average pen with just a few flaws that stop it from being really good
81-90 = A good pen, a keeper only a few minor places off being great
91-95 = Now THIS is a pen! If you can get it: keep it, love it, cherish it, and keep it away from the dog
96-100 = Grail