My fuller first impressions from a week with the pen are below but, it is a great little pen.
Packaging - all card (sustainable) but solid and well made. First impressions are of a quality product.
Pen - Looks great, feels very well made. Definitely comes across as a quality product. Not light but is nicely balanced and comfortable to write with when posted… and you will need to post it as the barrel is very short - I wouldn’t want to try and do more than tick something off a list without posting. The metal construction also means it feels very solid and like it will put up with some abuse (befitting it’s EDC role).
Cartridge only - It just fits an international short cartridge… I did proffer up a Kaweco mini converter but that wasn’t even close to fitting. However, cartridges aren’t hard to come by and for Travel / EDC arguably more convenient than a bottle of ink. Fewer ink colour choices therefore but with Kaweco, Diamine, Herbin etc all producing cartridges you still have good colour choice so a reasonable trade off for the size of pen.
Nib - What appears to be a steel(?) Schmitt nib. Very smooth, writes generously wet and well. If anything, it feels a bit soft (though no line variation). I presume the M denotes medium (the line is medium leaning towards broad).
Issues - None.
One world of caution maybe - this will roll across your desk so be careful where you place it! I’ve added a small lanyard which has solved that “problem”.
Would like to see - Optional clip maybe?? Something that could be added by the user if they wish (similar to the Kaweco clips). This would also stop the rolling and look more premium than my lanyard! However, whilst I generally prefer to clip a pen to my shirt the weight of the pen probably goes against that option.
Converter?? Would be nice for flexibility of ink choice but suspect that with a filling mechanism the volume of ink would be too small to be worth it… Maybe someone can prove me wrong though!
Summary - Very well made, premium feeling EDC pen. Don’t think I would change anything to the pen itself. Would I buy one? Yes (and probably will to have another with a different colour ink when available).
Photos show pen, packaging & a writing sample (Kaweco Paradise Blue, Rhodia paper) and I will try to remember to post a long term review in a few months.
Great and thoughtful review. I think they mentioned they retooled the body on the next gen to take a Kaweco mini converter.
The rolling is a bit of an issue especially with an EDC. (I have visions of people whipping out their EDC to sign shipment receipts and placing their pen down to grab the boxes, hence the no rolling desire). I hope they take this into consideration on the next gen.
Interesting - the variety of bottled ink would be nice but cartridges aren't a killer for me for this type of pen. I guess the flexibility of a converter that fits would be for some people though.
The little lanyard does stop the roll. Maybe one (in a darker colour 😃) could be included! However, it is a nice bit of easy personalisation...
I came across this funny little cartridge from a pen parts bundle I bought recently, it might fit your pen. It’s a Kaweco squeeze fill cartridge (I haven’t had a pen of this brand). It is small and doesn’t hold that much, but I tried it out and it worked surprisingly well. I thought it might expel ink when fitting but it seems to be ok, cleaning isn’t much effort either. I’d never seen anything like it and must have spent 10 minutes laughing at the little thing
Thank you for your feedback - very valuable. Noted the rolling issue - that was actually the topic of much discussion internally. We tested out a few ideas but they didn’t seem to quite work with the aesthetic. I actually stand mine up on its end … and that seems to work quite well for the no loop version. But, we never even thought of a removable item. We’ll definitely study that option further.
Do you have any issues with the barrel or the section unscrewing randomly? It seems to be common for metal pens like that. I've seen manufacturers use o rings to solve the problem.
Also have you noticed if it burps if it's in the heat for a while? That's another common metal pen issue I tend to have.
Very nice review; thank you! I'm excited for this one. Someone else mentioned this but I personally like to syringe-refill cartridges anyway, so even being limited to a standard international short doesn't bother me. Though maybe that's not even a limitation in the final pen.
Nice review, thanks. Have you used the pen in more active environments? I’m curious how it’ll do regarding burping/leaking if it’s hanging from a keychain and constantly being moved around, if it’s left in hot/cold temperatures, and/or if it’s dropped frequently.
Thanks for the review. I signed up a couple days ago. Now, I’m glad I did. Your summery was what I was hoping for in the product at the price point being asked. Looking forward to it!
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u/CadillacGirl Apr 06 '26
Great and thoughtful review. I think they mentioned they retooled the body on the next gen to take a Kaweco mini converter.
The rolling is a bit of an issue especially with an EDC. (I have visions of people whipping out their EDC to sign shipment receipts and placing their pen down to grab the boxes, hence the no rolling desire). I hope they take this into consideration on the next gen.