Time flies when you’re having fun! Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Tombow launch its highly successful MONOgraph series. I remember thinking that the original design with its clear grip being kinda like a ‘me too’ follow-the-leader moment as the whole Japanese MP industry seemed to be under the techno-peek-a-boo thrall of the Uni Kuru Toga.
Anyways… here we are.
Tombow has opted for an evolutionary approach, giving the main body a gorgeous semi-matte metallic blue sheen, paired with a energetic clear blue grip and borrowing a chromed metal sheathed actuator clip previously seen only on the ‘rubber grip’ models. It is a handsome specimen and I am definitely keeping a spare boxed set for posterity.
The ‘bigger problem’ for me, of course, is the challenge of finding a suitable match in terms of a pen. As in the beginning, I thought of the Lamy AL-star ballpoint, but the clear smoke grip simply won’t do.
Luckily, Lamy just recently released a limited series of the AL-star with clear tinted grips, and I picked out the ‘Aquatic’ model for its deep clear ultramarine grip. I then combined the new grip with my older Ocean Blue AL-star.
How did I do? Not too shabby, I hope!
