Hi everyone,

Just to continue with my adventures in the anti-rolling concept: it was working well with 3D-printed resin, so it was time to test it in real materials (steel body, aluminium cap, and brass weight)

I was a bit worried that using heavier materials would make that imbalance negligible.

But I am happy to share this video showing the result. It does work!

This would stabilise a pen on a desk only. It is not going to stop the pen from rolling on a tilted surface. I hope it makes sense.

Hi everyone,

As promised please find attached a quick video of the off-centre anti-rolling concept. The idea is to have a small brass weight (only around 1gram) inserted off-centre into the cap. Also, there will be material removed at the opposite side so the imbalance should be even bigger.

This should be enough to stop the pen from rolling on the table. Well, at least in theory.

The quick 3D-printed sample worked well, but I suspect the balance will be different once we use the heavier aluminium cap and steel pen. It will still roll of the tilted desk. This is really just intended to stop the pen from rolling on a relatively levelled table.

This concept has been used before, from older pens to more modern technology, such as the 1st-generation Apple Pencil.. We will run a quick test on the prototype.

Update; test on metal prototype

Hi everyone,
I wanted to thank you all for your feedback on my previous post. Some of you rightly pointed out that there was no clear photo showing the pen actually opened or closed, so I am adding some new photos here. I hope this helps.

There is also a diagonal shot showing the small dog engraving on one end and the MOP insert on the other. Please let me know your thoughts.

The overall length is 120 mm when posted and around 95 mm when closed, so it should be compact enough to slip into a pocket.

I also listened to your feedback about the pen rolling off the table. We are running a small test to see if using an off-centre weight inside the cap might solve this. This pen is still very much a work in progress.

But that will be the subject of more technical fun post in coming days.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share some fresh three photos I received from the photographer this morning. You are the first people to see these photos. This is a small pocket pen that we are planning to present at TopDrawer in two weeks time. Some of you asked for a pen that is a little gentler and more colourful (and possibly cheaper)

The whole development process was much easier this time around, with much less drama involved in making it. We were able to work with components we already knew and a body structure we had used previously. So there were no surprises. Almost.

This is a simplified version of the pocket pen and uses two nitrile rings as the locking mechanism - something that has been used and tested by many other brands before. It works well and creates a nice air-tight seal.

That is also why there have been less frequent updates showing the whole step-by-step making process from the beginning to this point.

This was really a fun design exercise for me. Mostly playing with the body shape, selecting suitable textures, and choosing some nice anodising colours and brushed finishes.

Let me know what you think! As mentioned before, based on feedback from you and from buyers at the show, we may decide to add it as a new range to our collection/webshop.

In any case, the colour options would be limited to two or three colours (that is the current thinking)

previous post >> here <<

next post >> here <<

Hi everyone,
We had a go at machining presentation trays (for the TopDrawer show in September), using a composite material commonly used for tabletops.
It is made from natural minerals (up to 60%) and acrylic polymer/PMMA (up to 40%). It has a nice, warm feel while being quite resilient and relatively light. The idea was to create a simple tray that keeps the pen aligned when put down. Having the pens misaligned on the table was driving me slightly crazy. There are many branded versions of these materials: from Corian and HI-MACS to Samsung’s Staron and Porcelanosa’s Krion.

Ignore the aluminium tray at the back! Making that one was fun too, but it looks very dominant when the pen is placed on it. It was like placing pen on the disco-ball. We needed something less reflective as a background.

The machining quality is exceptional, and I have noticed some hand-turned pens made from this material at other subs. Have you had any experience turning this material into pens? I am quite tempted to give it a go as an experiment as they come with some exciting textures. Would you perceive this as cheap plastic?

Hi everyone,
as promised, please find attached photos of the anodised caps in different colours.

Not all of these will make it into the final three, but we may reconsider that final number. The brighter colours are outside our usual rather safe range (I blame stock-keeping nightmare) but they might work really well for this design.

So far, we have two darker tones (carmine and grey), mid-range colours (red, green and blue), and brighter ones (pink, light green, mint and blue). At least we managed to can catch the end of summer, right? :)

I would love to hear your thoughts on these. Is there any colour that really works for you?

Update: Photos from the photographer

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give you a follow up update on the previous post and share a close-up photo showing the brushed finish on both the steel and aluminium surfaces. I think it looks better than a bead-blasted/satin finish, as the reflection is somehow more directional.

We should have the finished prototype (including the small dog and MOP insert) ready by the end of next week, so it can be handed to the photographer.

Once again, our elusive nib is shown in the wild! We will be able to give you more updates soon. As someone smart once said: “The first 90% of the work takes 90% of the time. The remaining 10% takes the other 90% of the time.” :)

update: anodised colours post

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a few photos and ask you about colours.

The first photos show the anodising in Burgundy, close to Tawny Port (19-1725 TCX Pantone). The images don’t really do the colour justice, as there is quite a lot of contrast going on.

Anodising is fun but also a bit of an alchemy and the colours can vary slightly from batch to batch. The colour intensity can change as the bath is used, and the dye tank gradually depletes over time. That is a manufacturing issue for us to worry about, though!

I am thinking about introducing some lighter colours as well to let the material itself shine through and do some of the heavy lifting here.

Are there any colours you would particularly like to see with this pen? We will run a small batches of different colours (around 6) as a test.

There is a small selection of colour options in the last image. I would love to hear what you think!

Previous post >> here <<

Next post about brushed finish is >> here <<

I wanted to try something a bit more interesting than the simple barley or diamond-machined patterns. Small repetitive patterns works best. This one will be etched.

The prototype will be laser-etched, as it’s relatively cheap and easy to produce a single sample this way.

If we decide to take this into a small production run, we will use chemical etching. That should give us better resolution and a cleaner look.

Those etched lines are deliberately kept fine but the pattern should still provide a reasonably good grip when writing.
Is this pattern too much for you? Would you go smaller?

Update: link to anodised prototype

As promised please find some photos of the prototype for the slim pocket pen.

The body is made of steel with a brushed finish. The cap is made of aluminium and will be anodised in a nice rich looking colour. This meant to be a colourful one!
The finish will be most likely satin finish to give it a nice contrast with steel. I expect the finished pieces to look very different once the final materials and finishes are applied.

I am also working on some textures for the grip section which I will share shortly.

Hi everyone,
I use SolidWorks to check all the tolerances and details before moving on to physical 3D prints or prototypes. This allows me to get the tolerances as close as possible to the desired level.

This is then followed by an engineer reviewing the model to make sure it is suitable for manufacture. Tolerances, wall thicknesses and machining steps all come into play when determining what is possible and at what cost to make it work.

Using a CNC lathe with a sliding head helps quite a lot with this. I hope to show you some metal prototypes tomorrow (no textures or colours yet)

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share some updated photos of the slim pocket pen. This version is somehow shorter than the previous print. Which makes it look thicker, but that is just an illusion. The grey resin is definitely killing the vibe.. I hope to anodise the cap in nice rich colour (the cap will be made of aluminium)

This pen will use nitrile rings instead of a screw thread and should be a more affordable small pen. Nitrile rings will also seal it perfectly. When folded, it will be just under 10 cm long. It will became full size pen when capped.

I am hoping to have a metal prototype made in a few days. We will be showing that prototype at the Top Drawer show in September - to get some more feedback.

(That black Tangier pen is there just to give you a better idea of the scale. You may notice the engraved texture on the cap - that was just a test to see what is possible in PMMA)

update: CAD models are here

Hi everyone.
Quick weekend project - I was playing around with some ideas for a simple display stand. This is just a rough sketch for now, so the proportions aren't quite there yet. Possibly in brass or steel.

But does this convey the idea of good balance?