Karas Kustoms "Special" Render K - GIVEAWAY!

Boy, oh boy is this going to be fun. 

Since I laid eyes on my first Karas Kustoms pen, I knew I was going to be hooked; big time.  Being local to the shop, I get to hang out and spend time with the fellas and often get to see (and receive) some pretty special stuff.  In talking to Bill Karas recently we discussed doing a giveaway on the blog and he was more than happy to oblige, so thanks, Bill, for sponsoring the giveaway!  

Up for grabs this time is something a bit unique and special.  Let's just say it is more of a "one of a kind" type pen that will likely never see the light of day any other time. 

What we have is a Render K, but not quite how you normally know it.  This Render K has a smooth cap (although you know how much I love knurling) which gives it a sleek finish that I absolutely love.  They only made a few of these caps so this is a pretty neat piece.  

It also has hex head bolts instead of the standard slotted screws, and we opted to make it a two-tone silver and blue to give it more of that vintage look.  Let's just say nobody else in the world is going to have a Render K quite like this one... 

This Render K takes the Hi Tec C or the Parker style refills, and I'll be throwing in a Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 to go with it as it is my go-to ballpoint refill these days. 

The Fine Print (sort of):

This giveaway is open to US and International readers (woohoo!) and will run through this coming Sunday, October 20th, until 11:59pm PST (Arizona). 

To enter, complete the form below with your name and email address.  

I will arrange the names in order as received and use a random number generator to pick the winner.  

Upon picking the winner, I will announce it on the blog, email them, and they will have one week to reply with their address information.  After a week goes by if there is no response, I'll pick a new winner. 

Good luck! 

Mike

Lamy Econ Ballpoint - Pen Review

There are just sometimes that a pen seems to draw you into wanting to buy it.  Ok, this happens a lot, but with the Lamy Econ this was the case nonetheless. 

The sleek stainless steel barrel design, subtle clip with the nicely stamped LAMY logo, and the metal tip and knock look great.  Its a sharp looking pen and is pleasant aesthetically.  Fits in really well if you like minimalist styles and design. 

The Econ isn't a crazy expensive pen coming in at around $30 or so.  Is it worth $30?  Meh.  And that is really my honest opinion.  It is a Lamy which adds a bit of price to it, but the pen is nothing overly amazing in my eyes.  

It feels good and is weighty enough (although a bit more front heavy) to be considered a nice enough pen.  The stainless steel barrel and metal hardware make it shiny and more standout-ish. 

Now, about the barrel.  It isn't really "all metal".  From the knock section you can even see that some of the guts of the pen are actually a black plastic.  The tip section is the heaviest part of the pen which brings the weight forward, but it doesn't seem overly unbalanced.  

What is kind of unfortunate is that I would probably put the build quality and feel of this thing on par with the Zebra F-701.  The Zebra is $7 (at most) and the Lamy is retailed at $30+.  Granted, its a Lamy and does have some unique design and maybe a bit of a name brand upcharge as mentioned before.  I like Lamy as a brand enough to be ok with that I suppose.  Their Safari line probably costs them like $3 per pen particularly in the ABS plastic designs, but they are phenomenal pens with a cool design that is worth every bit of $30.   I'm probably totally off, but you get what I mean.

One thing that I really love about the Econ is how tight the tip of the pen is in the barrel.  There are some pens that the tip just wobbles all over the place and is super distracting to use.  This pen holds the refill so nicely and it doesn't even move a stitch.  It feels incredibly solid while writing, and if anything, this is a reason to buy it.  Overall, even with the plastic guts, the pen feels really substantial and coupled with the sturdy tip makes it a comfortable writer. 

The knock isn't really a clicker, but what I would more describe as a squisher.  It is smooth, but just kind of mushes into place and stays.  No "click" like the mechanism is engaging with some other moving parts.  There is kind of a thwack sort of sound.  I wouldn't say it is a "fun" clicker.  

I don't know, its weird trying to describe a pen knock sometimes.  For me, the audible aspect of the knock is almost as important as the feel.  Anyone else in this camp with me? 

Part of the design are three slits just below the tip that are sort of out of place I think.  I'm not sure if these are so you know where to put your fingers and thumb while writing?  This is kind of a Lamy think after all with the three sided grip on the Safari to train how to properly hold a pen.  They provide grip as your fingers and thumb press into the space just enough to not slip around.  Clever...

Lamy ballpoints take their proprietary M16 refill which gets mixed reviews.  Mary Collis over at From the Pen Cup did a nice write up of her Lamy 2000 ballpoint recently that takes this refill and she gives it pretty high marks.  She used to hate the M16 and nearly swore off using her Lamy ballpoints unless it had a Monteverde, but was pleasantly surprised.  Give her review a read if you haven't already.  I hope to review my Lamy 2000 ballpoint sometime soon and hope I can do it justice in comparison to hers!   

Synopsis on the Econ; a good pen but maybe a bit over priced.  Not like an out of the park home run I'd say, but still a solid and good writer that is as sleek as it is functional. 

 

 

With Each Groove, a Doane Paper Utility Notebook...

If you've been following the blog for awhile, you know that I have a pretty strong liking of Doane Paper Goods (if we're honest, probably an obsession).  In a review I did over the past few months I discussed some of the reasons why I like it so much and please feel free to refer back to it. 

Now, Doane Paper Goods does not ship internationally.  Honestly, I can't blame Chad as there are a ton of things to deal with for international packages and paper is heavy.  This makes it expensive to ship even without tracking.  Maybe someday things will change in that arena, but for now I completely understand the rationale. 

Nonetheless, I've decided for fun that I want to send a Garage Series Utility Notebook with each Groove that I sell for no additional cost.   The color will be random from the a three pack that I've purchased, but they all are pretty awesome and I hope you all enjoy them.  For those that have purchased before, I'll see if there is something I can do...

Recent Instagram post of the different options for the Groove shown with DP Garage Series Utility Notebooks

The Groove is a pen holder that I hand make in my shop that holds up to nine of your favorite writing instruments as well as has a "groove" for you to store or display some of your favorite pocket notebooks like the DP Utility Notebooks.  The Groove can be found in The Clicky "Trading" Post here on the blog. 

Thanks again, Chad, for producing such a great product!