Delta Indigenous People – Native Americans
Photographs © Terry Clark 2003

This is the second in a series of Delta Limited Edition pens produced to honor Indigenous Peoples.

With this pen, Delta pays tribute to ancient cultures and those who are most closely related to their land. The Native American Limited Edition is fashioned to represent, through design and colors, the native terra cotta lands and the environment. The greens represent the lush native country and the blues the brilliant skies and rivers running over and through the land. Somehow I think the choice of a solid terra cotta cap contrasted remarkably with the multicolored barrel. The cap top has a nice touch with the barrel material above the top 3/16” cap band, making for a very nice contract with the barrel coloring scheme. The colors are muted and subtle, yet on closer examination the unmistakable reflective shimmer of polished acrylics. Throughout the time I had this pen for evaluation I saw constant change in the colors of the barrel and even the solid color cap. I really do not want to unduly gush about solid bars of hand turned acrylic resins, but the muted blending colors make for a very pleasing impression.

My own personal tastes in fountain pens run from vintage to modern and I favor vintage designs that are simple and smooth, with straight or gentle tapered walls and flat tops, lever or piston fillers and large responsive nibs. These design elements were used from the very start over 100 years ago and will be around for a long time.

With this in mind I am delighted to see that Delta has chosen the Native Americans to apply the very designs I describe above. I used the pen in hand, not posting the cap on the barrel end, which is my usual writing configuration when I use a pen for a longer period of time. Previously my favored vintage pens were much slimmer, such as my one ounce 75s and 51s - specifically for prolonged writing comfort. It was not until later that I discovered that lighter weight acrylics were not the “heavies” as they appear to be. This is the case with the Delta Native Americans LE. With the barrel alone in hand, it is only 3/4oz, 25% lighter than my 75s or 51s. With cap posted we weigh in at 1.5 oz and ever so slightly the weigh is thrown back, yet light enough for the duration. By the way, the cap posts snugly on the barrel end and stays there. This is one of the few larger and almost oversize pens that really falls into my own category of lighter weight prolonged use pens.

The model I tested was the vermeil lever filler. Being a vintage guy at heart, this was a real pleasure. It just seems more natural; perhaps it is the vintage touch I always appreciate. If you have ever operated a vintage lever filler you may recall that some are very thin metal and you use caution to avoid breaking the retaining pins or the box. This lever filler is very well made. Here’s the nitty gritty on this design and function.
There is a strong yet comfortable resistance with the center pinned lever, which tells me this can take a lot of use and bear the stress. Anther good point, the lever sits very flush with the barrel within the lever box. The fingernail tab at the end of the lever actually curves downward to prevent accidental snagging on clothes or pocket.
Well, great point here, depending on your fingernails. To prevent accidental bending or breaking of either fingernail or lever, It is my habit to fingernail depress the other end of the lever to raise the business end slightly. Good design, and to an old fogey pen guy, this scores another big point.

One of the design elements I always favor is the slightly stepped section that makes for a comfortable finger grip. The step from barrel to section is also very slight, and the threads are not so apparent that it is a concern. Finger tips actually rest well below threads, so this is not a problem for me. Even if a user rests fingers higher on the threads, the differential of smooth barrel, thread and taper is still minimal.

The trim design is really interesting. The very fine detailed feather clip almost seems like a natural for a pen clip, or maybe it is just that I am so partial to arrows. The clip is pivoted at the top with a high tension thin band behind the clip, so this makes for a natural finger tip touch to the top to lift clip and allow for a really firm grip on the pocket. This is good. One of my pet peeves are wimpy clips. If a pen is worthy of my pocket I have to know it is going to stay there. This feather design clip has that serious grip so I know I would not worry about losing this pen.

Another subtle touch is the flush cap bands - even with the surface of the cap -which make for a continuous smooth appearance. The fine detailed engraving on the cap band really has me puzzled a bit, it seems to be the interpretation of an Italian designer of Native American symbols or art. Well, close, but not quite, at least my own opinion. Here is another neat consideration, very subtle, but to some collectors who notice minutiae, a big score. The metal trim has a very soft matte finish which makes the design subtle and appealing giving an attractive “aged” appearance such as we have seen on some other vintage models.

One trivial point I’ll mention, I like the three gate threading which allows one to screw on the cap with the lever in alignment with the clip. Then again, in one of two other positions, the lever appears on the opposite side for a “no clip” appearance that some people favor. I know - don’t ask which camp I’m in, it’s wherever the thread falls!

The traditional 18K nib has a beautiful etched design of the Native American dream catcher. As legend goes, the Dream Catcher was used by Woodland Indians and hung in their lodges near windows and used to catch dreams, both good and bad. The captured bad dreams would be burned off by the first morning light, the good dreams would filter down to the feathers to remain and be dreamed again. So, a dream catcher is a good omen to have on a nib, hopefully it will inspire us to write well, and maybe more often. The nib I tested was a fine point with a moderate flex. There is a slight response with minimal pressure, more could easily be coaxed if I wanted, and a consistent wet line of ink. Delta has a wide variety of nibs available, from EEF, EF, F, M. B, BB, OM, OB, OBB, and Stub grades. Now lets look at the sterling silver trim model, which is a cartridge or converter filler rather than a lever filler. Basically it is the same high quality trim and design but the colors has a whole different appeal. I happen to be very partial to sterling, and again like the vermeil gold trim, this sterling finish has a soft matte patina that looks very natural, almost as if it was native made. This matte sterling finish really makes a huge difference, and is gorgeous against the swirling blue resin material. Rivers of brown earth tones and subtle greens give more of an appearance of natural materials than precious resins. This is a wonderful combination of matte sterling and subtle earth tones. It just looks very natural and I believe an excellent choice of materials and colors.

Notice that the cap on the sterling model will screw post on the end of the barrel.
The step down at this end is also very subtle, which makes for a clean overall appearance when posted.

The capless roller ball convertible ballpoint.This has a hefty appearance and yet just under 1 1/2oz. is 5 3/8” long with a 5/8” cap girth, the barrel has a hefty 1/2” diameter. There is a noticeable weight to the back end, more so than on the fountain pen even with cap posted. This is due to the metal mechanism, yet it is balanced very well and I would not call this uncomfortably “top heavy”. I found that the actual balance point is half way above the cap lip towards the top of the cap. This makes for a counterweighted light touch of the pen point, and given the super slick writing of the gel refill, it is easy to manipulate for the duration.

The Fountain pen is limited to 1492 pieces
Length : 5 1/2" overall. (With cap posted to the screw on barrel end, it is 6 1/2" )
Weight : 1.5 oz with cap, 5/8” diameter at the lip
Barrel alone weights in at 3/4oz with the barrel a husky 9/16” diameter

The Celebration fountain pen is limited to 92 pieces in solid 18k trim with six diamonds placed in central ring and is a lever filler.

I have to say that I am very impressed with this pen because of the criteria I place on modern pens having a favor for vintage design elements. This fits into my niche very well. It is vintage and it is modern, it is lightweight and full size yet it is a featherweight in the hand.

This is one beautiful and well-crafted pen. I hope that this very shape, a blend of vintage simplicity and modern materials with subtle design elements will continue.