Chris Williams' Minimalist Brass Hi-Tec-C - Pen Review

Chris has officially launched his Kickstarter campaign for his pen and leather products as of September 17th, 2014!

I was recently contacted by another local Phoenician and reader named Chris Williams.  His email contained a very intriguing message and idea; he asked me to provide thoughts on a pen he designed and had machined in a local shop.  He provided me some pictures and I knew that I was instantly thrilled to see what he'd come up with.

He conveyed the story of how his pen came to be: he had made a leather notebook he wanted a brass pen to go with of certain size requirements and couldn't find anything on the market to fit the need.  So, he decided to make one.  Needless to say, I'm incredibly impressed by his ambition.  Chris is actually moving in the direction of starting his own line of goods so I'll be sure to keep tabs on where he's at and what new stuff is coming our way from him.  Small Business Showcase candidate?  You bet.

Chris was interested in my Groove, so we actually made a little trade and he was kind enough to send me a pic of him using it to showcase his pens at a local show.  Thanks Chris and I hope you enjoy it!    

Photo provided by Chris Williams - Photographed by Adolfo Solorio

Now, the pen: wow.  I knew I'd be excited about it, but when it came to the weight, feel, and finish of this thing it surprised me in a good way.  The pen is thin, so the added weight of the brass actually feels great.  I was a bit worried with the hi-tec-c refill that it would be a bother, but not in the least.

The pen does not currently have an official name which is why I'm calling it the "Chris Williams" at the moment.

Chris said he made a small batch of these and I wouldn't necessarily call them prototypes, but mass production may still be in the works.  Let's just say these are in very limited supply and super cool. 

The design Chris put into it is very simple and minimal, yet elegant.  It is kind of a blend between a couple of Kickstarter pens: the Pen Type-A and the P1 by Premier Pen but out of brass and done well.  There is no clip, but one is not necessary for the purpose he intended.  He made it to be carried in a leather notebook sleeve.  The barrel is sleek and straight without any taper and the ends are rounded, but more of a flat rounded.

The cap is small and doesn't post anywhere other than the closed position, so you'd have to make sure not to lose it...

The refill is held in place by a very small section that also acts as the threaded piece to hold the cap when closed.  The threaded section has two flat sides which are used to facilitate the removal and exchange of the refill.  As it sits, this requires a wrench of some kind to open and close it.  Now, if there is one design element that might cause people some trouble, it's this one.  I say that because I got myself into a pickle because I didn't follow the proper order of operations...  

  1. Use wrench to unscrew tip section
  2. Remove refill
  3. Replace refill
  4. Use wrench to secure tip tightly back on the barrel
  5. Place cap back on pen

Upon receiving it I couldn't help myself but to take it apart to see how all the pieces worked and I neglected to do step 4 properly and ended up getting the tip stuck in the cap when I threaded it back on.  When this happens, the only thing exposed are the threads that go into the barrel.  (See image below)  This is a problem as you can't grip the threads easily to separate the cap and tip.  I ended up using a piece of leather and some pliers (very gently as not to mar the brass) to get them apart.  Another concern is the need to use a wrench to get the tip off.  In general as most people have only metal tools...  The threads in the tip are very small and what I would consider fragile, so clamping down on this section incorrectly could damage the part.  If that happens, the cap may not thread properly or even at all.  This would be in my "suggestions" section for the pen.

Stuck...

If Chris wants to mass produce these at some point, my recommendation would be to develop a small tool for people to use possibly made of a dense plastic and include it.  I'm thinking of making something out of a piece of wood in my shop to try.

The refill, the hi-tec-c, is a favorite among artists, engineers, and pen people that like to be able to write really small.  Needless to say, it is pretty popular and does great in this pen.  Again, the thin barrel doesn't make the needle tip of the hi-tec-c awkward.

All in all, Chris did a fantastic job on this piece and I commend him for his efforts to create what he couldn't find and I'm so glad he reached to me to make an exchange for a Groove and to share his pen!

This kind of creativity and determination is inspiring; thanks again Chris.

 

Karas Kustoms 15% off Holiday Promo and Retrakt

If you hadn't heard yet, one of my favorite outfits Karas Kustoms is offering a great holiday promo for 15% off your orders through December 31st.  This is a great savings and I thought I'd pass on the good word.

At checkout, use the promo code HOLIDAY2013 to claim your discount.

Also, if you didn't happen to get on board during the Kickstarter campaign for their recent Retrakt pen, they are now available for order in their online store.

If you're still looking for some last minute gifts for someone (or yourself), give their selection a look.  If you've been waiting to pull the trigger on picking up a pen from them, now is a great time with the promo.

 

Kaweco Special Ballpoint - Pen Review

Round two of my Kaweco sponsored reviews lands on a pen that I've actually been looking at for quite some time: the Kaweco Special BP (ballpoint).  I received this pen from Kaweco to review and want to say thanks for the opportunity to check it out.

The Special series comes in a variety of types: ballpoint, mechanical pencil, and fountain pen.  They all share a faceted black aluminum barrel although there are certain models (the pencil only I believe) that comes in a silver finish.  Tempting...

First things first: the look and feel.  The pen feels good.  Well weighted, not too heavy, and the metal barrel is nice and sturdy.  The pen also looks sharp in my opinion, but is a unique look.  The nock extending out from the barrel in the way it does is interesting.  I enjoy the way the silver Kaweco emblem at the end stands out against the rest of the dark color of the pen.

The nock is very responsive and there doesn't appear to be anything catching inside when clicked.  With retractable pens, sometimes when you click them it feels like there may be some resistance or parts rubbing together, but the nock on the Special has a stiffness in pressing but moves the tip with a force and determination it seems.  One noticeable rattle happens when the tip is extended.  It takes some movement of either shaking the pen or twirling it in your fingers, but the refill rattles around slightly inside.  Kind of annoying, but bearable.  Oddly enough, it doesn't impact the tip from being sturdy on the page.  When I first felt/heard it I expected the writing to be all loosy goosy, but it was spot on which is a good thing.  

In addition to the weirdness is that when you retract the tip, the looseness moves back up to the nock of the pen where the nock itself then starts to rattle.  There must be a release of tension somewhere inside the pen that gets transferred from one end to the other.

Now, the nock appears to be plastic, but I'm not certain as the black grip section of the same finish is made of brass.  I really enjoy the reeded edge as it ads some visual texture to the overall look and feel.   

One feature is that it doesn't come with a clip.  This is similar to other Kaweco models like the Sport series, but you can buy a clip separate similar to the Sport line that is a slip on, spring loaded type.  I will be buying one of these to see if it helps me to get this pen out an about more. 

The barrel does have 8 sides similar to the Sport caps, so my thoughts are that it is a definite artistic move on Kaweco's part to eliminate the clip.  I can dig that I think.  My personal appeal to the Special line wasn't necessarily function based, but more for the unique look and experience (and metal faceted barrel).  Kaweco has seemed to do things outside of the common mold for nearly a century; why stop now?

That all being said, the lack of an integrated clip in a full length pen does limit your options of where to use it.  Since it is a long pen or at least what one could consider to be more of a normal size, I wouldn't call it very pocketable (not like the Sport series).   

The pen came loaded with the Kaweco Soul 1.0 ballpoint refill which is a Parker style.  It is a smooth writer, but I don't think this particular refill has a wow factor for me.  It is a good ballpoint and works well but is on par with any decent offering on the market.  It writes well enough to where I don't feel like I'm itching to swap it out as soon as I can.  Out of the box it is a good writer.  Although, it being a Parker style means that you can swap it out with literally dozens of refill options.  Can you say Schmidt EasyFlow?...

I like this pen.  There are some design choices that could be seen as a bit quirky, but the pen feels and looks great.  Again, without having a clip will limit your utility and convenience of the pen, but it is a fun experience to use it.  The unique design that Kaweco is known for shines through well in this model and is something to be appreciated all its own.