And you thought MY rOtring addiction was bad....or good? New Blog: Unofficial rOtring

April 9, 2015

It seems that my own personal rOtring addiction has subsided slightly (probably a good thing) over the past year. The brand is still so fascinating, but my attention span has swayed to other things which has slowed my constant pursuit for all things rOtring.

Now, if you thought my fascination was on the brink of obsession, I was recently contacted by a gentleman named Olivier who, in my opinion, has me pleasantly beat... big time.

He has recently started a blog called Unofficial rOtring which is already filled with a ton of awesome stuff. Some of it I'm not even sure where he would acquire such things! Not only does he also love the 600 series, but the Rapidographs, other unique "art" related rOtring products as well as what would be considered rOtring collectibles.

If you are a fan of rOtring, take a few minutes to check out Olivier's site as I'm certain you'll be intrigued. I hope he someday opens a rOtring museum...

LAMY Copperorange AL-star Fountain Pen Giveaway!

April 6, 2015

A pen that has been met with much enthusiasm lately is the new LAMY Copperorange Limited Edition AL-star...and with good reason!

I picked one of these up for myself and absolutely love the color. Fiery and vibrant and a pen to definitely make a statement.

My Copperorange and cp1 pens in action on Instagram - stubbed... — My Copperorange and cp1 pens in action on Instagram - stubbed...

Ron from Pen Chalet (please check them out) was kind enough to offer one of these beauties up for giveaway to a reader of The Clicky Post. Thanks, Ron!

The giveaway winner will receive one LAMY AL-star Copperorange fountain pen with a fine nib, one blue LAMY ink cartridge and I'm including one of my favorites, a Rhodia dotPad courtesy of my friends at rhodiapads.com

Image courtesy of LAMY (doesn't do it justice in my opinion)

How do you enter the giveaway to possibly win? See below:

CONTEST RULES (the "fine print"):

- Contest will run through Friday, April 10th, 2015 and will end at 11:59pm Arizona Time, USA. I will be announcing the winner the next day so stay tuned...

- To enter, leave a comment about your favorite LAMY pen (or which one you've had your eye on if you don't own one already...) One entry per person!

- I will arrange the entries in numerical order and randomly select a winner. The winner will be announced on the blog on Saturday, April 11th and will need to connect with me within a week to claim their prize.

- This giveaway is open to both US and International readers.

Thanks again to Pen Chalet and good luck everyone!

Titanium Pocket Pen by Schon DSGN Review

April 1, 2015

If you recall a few years ago on Kickstarter a campaign called The Pen Project, this pen will seem familiar to you (as you may actually own one). If not, this should be fun.

If you hadn't seen my previous reviews, for introductions to the pen, it is the brainchild of an engineer out of Massachusetts named Ian Schon. Ian set out to make a pen that was compact, reliable in all conditions, and durable. If you have a minute, take some time to review his original Kickstarter.

The original version of the pen was machined from aluminum, but when I found out that Ian had made a limited run of them in titanium, I was intrigued. Did I buy right away? No I did not, but I took the leap just a few months ago and am excited to give my thoughts on it.

From a feature standpoint, when closed the pen is small when compared to other "normal" sized pens. At about the size of a roll of dimes it is probably one of the best perfectly portable writing instruments I own. It fits in my pocket alongside my phone or keys without me even noticing it most of the time.

With the pen being so small, for writing the cap comes off and threads onto the tail end of the pen extending its length considerably. This makes it long enough to fit into even large hands.

The refill that Ian chose for the pen is the Fisher Space Pen which, for many people, is the pinnacle of an all purpose pen. Rain, snow, heat...the Fisher can handle it. The refill is not the most amazing writer when compared to gels or fountain pens, but fits the purpose perfectly. Personally, I find the refill to be great for jotting down lists and taking notes while on the go and I love it coupled with the size of the pen.

The refill is exchanged by removing a set screw from the end of the pen. (tools not included)

The first noticeable thing that compares the titanium to the aluminum is the weight. There is an added heft that is awesome as the pen comes in at almost 2 oz. I feel the aluminum version will be durable enough over time, but my main draw to the Ti was that I literally want this pen to last forever.

The aluminum version is slightly shiny as it has received a clear anodized finish, but the Ti is raw giving it a bit more of a fresh machined tactile feel which I really enjoy. The Ti is a darker silver color closer to stainless steel.

Now, no bones about it, the "gulp" factor of the titanium version is the price. The aluminum pen runs around $50, but the Ti has a retail of $180. Yes, gulp. That being said, these pens are machined locally for Ian by a small machine shop and was a very small batch. And, grade 5 titanium is expensive and difficult to machine, so I can understand the cost factor.

Is it worth it? To me it is. I think I love everything about this pen. The practicality, the story (small business) and how I know I'll have this pen to use forever. When I need a pen to toss in my jeans pocket, the Schon pen is usually the first to be grabbed.

Is the Ti version right for you this minute? Maybe. Or, your journey may be like mine: buy the Al version, love it, upgrade to Ti. Either way, check out Ian's work as his pen is one of my favorites. It hasn't gotten a lot of press lately, but I've been excited to share this post to try and give it some exposure. Perfectly portable and pocketable.