Left Hook Pens

When I was researching this pen, looking for reviews, I could only find ones written for the original iteration of this model. Franklin Christoph changed their design of this pen since then, so I’d like to review the Model 25 in its current, sleek form.

The Franklin Christoph Model 25 Eclipse is one of the most unique pen designs I’ve ever seen. The clip is on the body of the pen, head side, so that the nib is always facing downward when the pen is clipped to a pocket. The cap is short and seals up the nib very nicely. To post the cap, you just slip it under the clip. This makes a very satisfying click, and then an audibly satisfying click when you remove the cap. The cap threads are close to the nib and out of the way of your grip, which means that the rest of the body is one smooth surface. The clip is engraved with a diamond pattern, and the finial is engraved with the Franklin Christoph logo.

When I ordered this pen in mid-December, the color available was vintage green. This resin is slightly translucent, you can see the threads inside and a little bit of the converter. The green is warm and sophisticated, and the build quality is superb. The threads on the body are engineered so that the clip and nib are always aligned. The nib is semi-hooded and cannot be easily removed. If you want to swap out the nib, FC recommends that you send it to them. If you like to live dangerously, you can contact FC for instructions on how to remove the nib.

The Model 25 is my first Franklin Christoph pen, and it lived up to my expectations. I ordered my pen with a high performance steel fine nib. The FC website says that the high performance steel “is more like gold today than most nibs you’ll find through pen history.” This nib definitely feels different than a standard stainless steel nib, it’s delightfully smooth. When I first inked up this pen, I used a Pelikan Aquamarine cartridge. I wanted to make clean-up as easy as possible, since the nib can’t be easily removed. Unfortunately that ink is pretty dry, and the pen kept hard-starting. I took out the cartridge, cleaned the pen and inked up with TWSBI Midnight Blue. Midnight Blue is much wetter, and the Model 25 hard-started much less, but didn’t like writing in short bursts. Next, I tried Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. Kon-Peki is just right, it flows very well. I had hard-starting issues with Midnight Blue before, and wanted to see if maybe that ink would work better in a different pen, but it’s a finicky ink.

The cap thread placement that I mentioned earlier makes the Model 25 very comfortable for those who grip their pen high on the section, like me. The diameter of this pen is wide enough that my thumb doesn’t dig into my index finger while writing, which has been a problem for me with narrower pens. Overall, I really enjoy this pen and feel that it’s worth the investment for those looking to dip their toes in the Franklin Christoph waters. FC releases this pen as a special edition model periodically throughout the year, one color at a time. At this time of my writing this post, the vintage green model is sold out. The Model 25 is $155.00 USD (with a steel nib and no special grinds) on the Franklin Christoph website.

Here is a video of me writing with this pen: