"(...) when Bristol introduced the Avon safety wheel (designed to keep a deflated tyre on the rim) during the currency of the 411 model, the managing director himself (Mr Antony Crook) drove the car at 144mph down a runway at RAF Keeble and, steering with one hand, pressed a switch with the other to detonate a charge which ruptured one of the front tyres. He then braked heavily, threw the car into a slalom which left black marks on the tarmac from all four tyres, came to a halt and pronounced himself satisfied."
L.J.K. Setright
Developing a fountain pen involves many pages of testing ink flow. Problems are identified and adjustments, nib assembly and ink channel modifications are made. Many more pages of testing follow. Etcetera. The Pontifex Maximus and its Japanese eyedropper filling system with shut-off valve were developed in collaboration with fountain pen expert Francis Goossens, known to many as the inventor of the Bulkfiller as implemented in the Conid fountain pens.
