Franklin Christoph Model 20 Marietta Antique Glass

I’ve reviewed Franklin Christoph pens before and you will now know that I’m a big fan of their fountain pens in general. The Model 20 Marietta, is their only slip top fountain pen that’s available in their range and comes in a standard sized fountain pen, as well as a pocket sized pen.

The one I have here is the standard size in the Antique Glass (or coke bottle) material. Its an aqua/turquoise acrylic which is smooth on the outside, but has a slightly textured finish on the inside which makes it look reminiscent of the Coke Bottle glass from way back when. It’s a beautiful material, but keep in mind that the texture means that it can be prone to staining, if you choose to eyedropper the pen.

The Slip cap is unique for turned pens like this and is a bit more convenient than your usual screw cap. I was really attracted to this feature when it first came out, but I’m not confident that it really works well in practise. The friction fit on the acrylic makes it feel like its easy to snap the cap on the pen – I’ve not heard that this is an issue at all mind you, it just feels this way to me. On top of this, I think the friction fit creates a slight vacuum effect in the cap – when pulling the cap off I find that there’s ink all over the nib. On a good day, this ends up giving me a wet writer (which I don’t mind) or all over my hands, on a bad day, ink gets everywhere – including all over my brand new couch.

The nib sits tucked into the nib section, which creates an additional pocket for the excess ink to hide in. Its easier to spot in this Antique Glass edition to clean before you turn your hands blue (or whatever colour you’re using) but the black edition I also own is impossible to see. This leaking nib issue is not something I’ve seen in any of my other non slip cap fountain pens, Franklin Christoph or not, but is something that is consistent in all 3 off my Model 20 Mariettas.

Like all Franklin Christophs, this pen is a good workhorse writer. The pen is well balanced, either posted or unposted, and is light enough to use for extended periods. It comes with a converter, which I use, but you can eyedropper it if you want more ink capacity – just keep in mind the texture of the acrylic may mean it can stain more easily.

All in all, I think the Marietta is an exceptionally pretty pen, especially in this antique glass edition. It has a pretty significant quirk that for me limits its use in my arsenal – as a result of the ink issue, I now only use this pen at my desk only. Its just too “dangerous” to use on soft furnishing that can be permanently damaged.