Do I like this Franklin-Christoph 02? Let me count the ways.

2012 was a big pen year. I found the online pen community and started to engage. I went to the Baltimore show, the DC show and the Ohio show and started to meet pen people. Many of them are dear friends now.

The DC show was especially big. I was sitting at a table in the Sheraton with some pen guys when the plan for FPG’s Bad Cartoons feature hatched, and that became my contribution to FPG for the next couple years. That show was Ryan Krusac’s first show. I met him at his table and had a feeling he’d make a big impact if he stuck with it.

DC2012 was also the first time I broke the $100 barrier buying a single pen. I had a few fistfuls of pens already and I decided this was the show where I’d break that barrier. I was thinking about grabbing a Lamy 2000.

That is not what happened. This is what happened: I found the Franklin-Christoph table.

Now I actually have 2 of these. The first one I picked up at the DC Supershow in 2012. I saw another one in DC in 2016 and nearly leapt across the table to buy it. You never see this pen.

These are examples of the first iteration of the 02, with fine cap threads located on the barrel, not the block threads at the end of the section. The new design is really good, and I have and love a new-style 02 in Italian Ice. I like the older design a lot too. It’s less likely the section will unscrew from the barrel when I uncap it.

Did I mention this is may favorite material of all time? It’s a deep, dark, chatoyant green that I’ve only seen on a few FCs and Edisons (I’ve got Edisons in this material too!)

Old design or new, the 02 is one of the coolest pens ever. I love the tapered shape of the pen’s body, which facilitates a very deep post. For some reason the 02 looks like a small pen, but compared to other pens, it’s actually (secretly) fairly large.

In 2013, I handed my 02 to my just born daughter for a photo op:

About six months later, she grabbed the same pen out of my shirt pocket and dropped it on the floor. The cap finial shattered. I didn’t get mad. Why get mad at a zero-year-old? Why get mad when you can talk to somebody?

I worked with Scott, who offered to make a new finial for me. As it turned out, that wasn’t necessary. I got a replacement within days of talking to Scott and I’ve been happy as a whatsit ever since. Freaking Scott Franklin, that man takes care of his customers.

So I don’t know how many 02s there are in the old-style design- I believe they changed the design within a few years of introducing the model. If you see one for sale, consider snapping it up, it’s a piece of history.

I like:

• The design: the 02 ranks with the Pelikan 100N for its big/small dynamic.
• The material. I can’t resist this olive swirl material. Shiny and Green, it’s a dream.
• How deeply it posts: it’s awesome.

I don’t care for:

• The dearth of other pens in this material.

Bang for the buck: can’t get it.

Special out of the box: hell yeah

Looks: like a useful jewel

Writes: Masuyam-esque