Help Myke Get To The 2015 Atlanta Pen Show

With the 2015 Atlanta Pen Show only a few months away and all of my talk about preparing for it, my podcasting partner Myke had a brilliant idea: Let's meet at the pen show!

On the surface it's simple, except for that whole Myke lives in the United Kingdom thing. So we brainstormed some ideas and came up with what we think is a great way to fund his trip and give something back to you for helping.

We have launched a Kickstarter campaign where you can get custom Nock Co. Hightower pen case and video recording of the Pen Addict Podcast, including outtakes and bonus footage from the show itself. The Hightower case will be an early release of our new Summer 2015 colorway, Forest Green exterior with Sunshine Yellow interior, and for this project only it will include a custom Union Jack tag to denote you were a backer.

The pen show is looking to be a huge blowout, at least from my perspective. I'm not sure what the rest of the pen show people will think! Both Myke and I are so thankful to be part of this community and we appreciate any support you can offer to make this dream a reality.

The CUBE By Karas Kustoms

Dan Bishop sent me a pre-relase version of The CUBE, the latest Kickstarter collaboration from Karas Kustoms and Mike Dudek, and I am taken aback by how much I like it. I had already backed the project before receiving this from Dan, and while I didn't need to have the product in hand to be happy about backing it, I am ecstatic that I have a second one heading my way.

This is a pen holder I don't want just sitting around the desk. It is so well done and feels so incredible that I want to hold it, play around with it, take it with me in my backpack, all just so I can be around it. I may even ask it to marry me, which I'm sure my wife would not approve of.

I made the point with Dan on this week's podcast that this is not a six-walled hollow center pen holder. This is a solid block of aluminum with 9 holes drilled and filled with Delrin sleeves to keep your pens protected. The CUBE weighs in at 1 lb., 14 oz. An almost two pound block of goodness to sit on your desk and look beautiful.

The Kickstarter project has already met its goal, so you have 20 days to get in on the action and take a CUBE of your own home. And maybe marry it.

My thanks to Dan, Mike, and Karas Kustoms for sending me this CUBE for review.

Airfoil Click Pen Review

The Airfoil Click Pen is not Grant Takara's first Kickstarter rodeo. He has lived the ups and downs of funding with his previous project, the original Airfoil, and is back with a pen design that has already proven to be a winner.

This model differs from its predecessor in two major ways. The first is obvious: This is a click pen instead of a twist pen. It uses the popular Schmidt mechanism that many Kickstarter projects before it have used. It is a solid, simple, attractive, and an excellent choice for any machined pen.

The second major change, and the most important, is the reshaping of the barrel. The original Airfoil had a fin-based barrel, which, while extremely beautiful, was not functional for longer writing sessions. Early reviewers of the original model (I was not one of them) repeatedly made note of how uncomfortable it became and Grant took that feedback to heart when designing the Airfoil Click.

To steal directly from the product page, the barrel has been streamlined. The fins are gone, replaced by a smooth barrel with cutouts on each side that fulfills Grants vision of aircraft geometry as part of the pen, and also serves to reduce the overall weight. My first reaction when I saw this pen was to think of the Uni-ball Jetstream barrel cutout and now I wonder with if that is an aviation based pen too. It is named Jetstream after all.

I'm really impressed with the prototype Grant sent me. If I was forced to pick nits I would like to see the barrel seam connect more flush between the two halves, and the edges on the grip ridges could be softened just a bit, but overall this is a solid product.

The Airfoil Click is available in aluminum (natural or anodized in several striking colors) and titanium. There is even the ability to pick the finish on your clip bolts and push mechanism, which I don't think I have seen anyone offer before.

Thanks again to Grant Takara for sending me this prototype for review and be sure to check out the Airfoil Click Kickstarter project.