It's Alive.

It's alive. (Insert roar/monstrous laugh here.)

Oh yes, it is. My Frankenthein (photo above) has finally made it to me. Created by our dearest friend Tom Overfield, Frankenthein, or Thein as I love to call him, is a frankenpen. Um, okay, don't freak out. It's not as bad as it sounds. It's actually very simple. For pen collectors and enthusiasts, a frankenpen, or a franky, is a pen that has been created from parts of different pens. These parts may come from the same pen model, or from other pen models, but the idea is for the final product to work like a new, working pen. See? No big deal here. I've done this on some of my gel pens, using Uni-Ball or Zebra refills in my Pilot G2 retractables. Woo-hoo.

Frankenthein's medium 14k gold Triumph nib. The Sheaffers logo is embossed on the clip.

Here's the underside of Thein's nib and feed.

Now, Thein is a Sheaffer Thin Model (TM) with the Touchdown filling system. What I love the most with Thein is that he's got a medium Triumph nib, made from 14k gold. Of course, with most frankys, Thein's burgundy cap, green barrel, amber section, feed, and 14k gold nib came from various Sheaffer TMs, but I don't mind. Not at all.

Thein is a true-blue franky. From Tom's box of fountain parts, he was given a new life. And then he was christened Frankenthein by Leigh Reyes, a fellow fountain pen collector and a franky owner herself. In fact, Frankensnork, Leigh's franky, is the eldest among Tom's creations. (More about Frankensnork here.) After Frankensork, Tom made and sent other frankys to Filipino fountain pen collectors. They are: Son of Frankensnork, Bride of Frankensnork, Thinenstein (a Sheaffer Thin Model), Tuckenstein (Sheaffer Tuckaway), and Demistein (a Parker 51 Demi). See some members of the Frankenfamily here.

Here is a writing sample of Frankenthein after filling it with Waterman South Sea Blue. I wrote in an old Starbucks diary. And oh, wow. Thein is a wet writer, and writes vey smoothly, too! (Click on photo for a larger view.)

Lifetime companions: Frankenthein and Franentom.

After a long journey, my very own frankenpen is with me. Oh no, don't frown. It's been a long journey for them. Here's why: Tom sent Thein from Virginia (USA), together with some of the other frankys including Frannie in a package he sent to Leigh in Manila. Leigh sent it to me through our Makati Office, and finally the envelope traveled all the way to Los Baños. Phew!

But the long wait is over. Thein is here with me now, and together we will embark on a new journey where we will be joined by other pens who welcome him with warm hearts and open minds. Thanks to Tom's brilliance, these frankenpens are given new lives, and now in the hands of people who love and cherish them dearly. And oh, Thein is my first Sheaffer pen. Isn't it great?