The inside is satin-lined, the pen held in place on a felt bed with a satin loop. It comes with the pen, a converter, cartridges so you can ink up right away, along with some Franklin-Christoph cards. Nice, simple packaging. No wasted space. I like that.

APPEARANCE

The Model 40P fountain pen is gorgeous. This is really a compact version of the Model 02 Intrinsic Smoke & Ice. The cap appears full-sized and threads deeply on to the barrel. The cap and barrel have the icy motif body. It looks like...well...ice. The top of the cap has a coloured acrylic plug: both deeply shimmery and pearlescent; I love it. I have one of each cap: the fire and the smoke. The fire is swirly and hot red, and the smoke is sultry and deep grey.

The end of the barrel tapers to accommodate being posted and is a polished clear acrylic. The threads are located at the top of the section, unlike the Model 02 Intrinsic.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is aesthetically pleasing; a good size for the pen and the colour scheme all matches. It seems to be a

5 stainless steel, although you can also upgrade to a gold nib should you wish. Honestly though, get a Masuyama grind and you'll never think about a gold nib again.

I had heard that Mike Masuyama is a master at nib grinding, so I was really looking forward to giving this broad stub Masuyama grind a run. I didn't flush the pen, just inked it up immediately. ... And I picked one of the sludgiest, driest inks I have: J. Herbin's Rouge Hematite. I must admit I was a little surprised to find this nib so smooth and so juicy that it handled Rouge Hematite, usually a dry and clumpy ink, with ease. The nib puts down a wet line of ink that shades beautifully, shows off the ink's sheen easily, and the nib's line variation is easy to enjoy. Excellent performance.

While the nib was very smooth and handled the ink well, I was expecting a more stubby grind though. I have also used a Masuyama medium cursive italic and I think I was hoping for that kind of variation from it. I'm not disappointed by the performance, it just wasn't what I was expecting. If you're looking for a sharper grind with more crisp and precise variation, go for a medium or broad cursive italic grind. A stub will be softer and smoother though, if you are new to this world.

IN HAND

The threads are located quite high up the section, so although they are a little sharp, they shouldn't get in the way of your writing. The pen is light and comfortable for me to hold, and I can actually write without it posted, though when it's posted, it is more comfy, although it must be posted deeply because the lid can wiggle off. As it is light and well-balanced, there's no need to death grip the whole thing, so the threads really shouldn't be an issue.

I’ve had several Franklin-Christoph pens over the past couple of years. Most have moved on to other owners as my tastes have changed. One exception to this was the Franklin-Christoph 02 Intrinsic Anderson Pens Special Edition (black body with bright pearlescent blue section and final). But when I saw the F-C 02 Emerald & Ice version I knew I wanted it in my collection. With one notable exception, I’m not the kind of person to have multiples of the same pen, so I sold my Anderson F-C 02, and bought the Emerald & Ice.

Appearance: 8/10

I really think this pen is beautiful. And more importantly, the “ice” effect—done by applying some sort of texturing treatment to the interior of the cap and barrel—is something unique to my collection. The Emerald final—made of a slightly pearlescent darkish green material—provided a nice contrast to the Ice body. The pen tapers dramatically from the section, back toward the end, which results in a silhouette that is odd, but not unpleasant.

I think I would have preferred if the section was also the Emerald material. I usually write unposted, and this would have given the pen body just a bit of flair. However, I know from reading reviews of the Smoke & Ice version many people suggested wanting the section to be clear—so it’s really sort of a personal preference.

Construction: 9/10

This is an uncommonly well-made pen. The shape was very well thought out—the taper ensures that the pen is only 3mm longer when posted than when capped. Where the Clear material is untreated—at the ends—the pen is crystal clear. A few reviews have mentioned that the clips feel flimsy, or cheap. I don’t know if I agree, but I also really don’t care about clips, as long as they keep the pen where it should be.

The construction highlight of this pen is the threads that seal the pen to the cap. They are all the way down at the end of the section. Not only are they so forward that you won’t touch the threads unless you hold your pen uncommonly close to the nib. But even if you do, F-C used block threads so there are no sharp ridges.

Filling: 8/10

It’s a C/C. I like C/Cs. The threads are at the very end of the section, so they will get inky; but since they’re block threads they’re just as easy to wipe off as any smooth part of the pen.

It’s also made to work as an eyedropper. In fact, as other reviews have touched on, the “ice” effect seems to be enhanced when using the pen as an eyedropper. But I hate eyedroppers. My hands are always a little warm, and no matter what I do I wind up with globs of ink on the page. So I’ll never get to see this pen in all its glory.

Nib: 8/10

I got the Steel Extra Fine nib. While there’s nothing special about the nib, it came in perfect condition. Smooth, and had obviously been tuned—wet but not too wet. No spring to it—at least not yet. IN the near future this one will be headed off to Art of Art’s Nibs for the Tomahawk treatment.

Test Drive: 9/10

This pen feels great in my hand—which I already knew from my previous experience with the F-C 02. Of all the F-C pens I have tried (02, 19, 25, 27, 29) this is my favorite. They’re all great writers but this one feels the best—it just fits my hand and my writing.

What stops it from being a 10 is that the cap is not particularly secure when posted. After a couple of minutes of writing the cap loosens a little, and while it’s never fallen off it will loosen enough that it will rattle a little, until I either take it off the pen or re-secure it.

Overall: 8.4/10

The Franklin-Christoph 02 Intrinsic Emerald & Ice. Beautiful, well-built and a great writer, it’s a great everyday pen.