Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Tactile Turn Mover Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I missed out on the first generation of the Tactile Turn Mover--it was FoMo come to life. The pen world was all abuzz and I wasn't in on the action. Well, I've caught up. And now I see just how much I was missing out on. This is a cool pen!

Since I missed the first version, I can't speak much to how this one has improved on the earlier design, but I can definitely tell that this is a well-thought-out pen.

It takes the G2 refill and any other refill that can be adjusted to fit those specs. I love the G2, so I'm very happy with that, but I'm tempted, now, to pick up the smaller Shaker pen that takes Parker style refills. And considering how many pretty colors there are available, it's totally reasonable to pick up multiples. Totally. And the price is fair at $69 for an aluminum Mover or Shaker.

The pen I have is anodized aluminum in a bright purple color. It's a warm magenta purple, not a cool blue one. It almost seems like it's glowing. The body is covered in a fine ridged texture. It's not rough to the touch, but it does have grit to it. It provides excellent grip, but be careful when placing it next to other objects and NEVER put it next to a fancy-finished pen like maki-e or urushi. It's like coarse-grit sandpaper against other pens. You can actually file your nails with it. On the plus side, it's tough and doesn't show wear itself. It's a great edc pen and can clearly take a beating. I dropped it right on its nose the other day and was afraid it would be bent--nope. Not even a scratch.

Despite being metal, it doesn't feel heavy. It's well balanced with thicker walls toward the front of the pen, so it supports itself as you write.

The clip is stainless steel and very sturdy. It flexes enough to clip onto things, and then it stays put. The clip also has a hidden, subtle branding on the underside, which was fun to discover. I love the clever minimalism of that. The click mechanism--if you can even call it that, since it is totally silent and doesn't click--is made of titanium. It depresses smoothly and quietly, and the titanium is sure to give it a longer lifetime than other machined clicks that wear out far too quickly. It also has a long stroke length, which recesses the tip further in the barrel so there's less chance of leaking or staining. The click isn't quite flawless. Mine does occasionally misalign somehow and get stuck or meet an odd resistance. Sometimes the pen gets stuck overextended and I have to click a few times to get it lined up correctly. It's possible this could be caused by purse debris getting into the parts. I have not gone easy on this pen and it has followed me around work for a few weeks.

Overall, the pen has insanely good precision. It was a while before I could even find the spot to unscrew the nose cone to access the refill--the seam blended in so well it was practically invisible. And everything fits together with perfect alignment and no rattling or awkwardness. It feels like it was built by NASA, not in a one-man shop in Texas. But Will Hodges is clearly good at what he does. This will definitely not be my last Tactile Turn pen. Just opening the web page to get the pen specs was an exercise of willpower. If you're in the market for a retractable metal pen, this one easily tops the list.

(Tactile Turn provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on July 12, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Tactile Turn, Pen Reviews.

Karas Kustoms Starliner Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Karas Kustoms are at it again, this time with a newly designed fountain pen called the Starliner. If you aren't already familiar with Karas Kustoms, they've been around for a few years making high-quality machined pens of various styles. My personal favorite is the Ink, which debuted back in 2013. In my mind, quality is synonymous with the Karas Kustoms brand, and I always enjoy seeing the new designs they come up with.

The Starliner fountain pens are small pocket pens that are part of a larger "Reaktor" series of pens that Karas is working on. While I don't have exact dates on availability, you can expect these to drop sometime mid-year, so keep an eye on Twitter and the Karas Kustoms site for timing.

These pocket pens have a classic design that reminds me of The Great Gatsby and the golden age of stationery. But, your grandparents didn't have fountain pens made from solid pieces of aluminum. Because of this material choice, the Starliner pens are incredibly light and durable. The material is still thick enough to make it incredibly strong and resilient for pocket and bag use. When I pick these pens up, they remind me of the feel that the Kaweco AL Sport has. Light but solid, short but useful.

There are four color options available in the Starliner group. The one that sticks out the most is the black anodized aluminum. This is a sleek pen with a durable finish. Under the cap, the grip section is also black. I'd love to swap out the stock Bock nib with something black as well, to complete the blacked-out aesthetic.

There's also a rugged tumbled aluminum finish available, which also covers the pen from top to bottom and everything in between. Despite being tumbled, the pen still has a sleek and smooth feel in the hand. It just lacks the same amount of luster as its shiny counterparts. One of my favorite features of this finish is the fact that the grooves that are cut into the cap and lower body of the pen retain their polished shine. It gives this pen a classy feel.

There are two polished aluminum models available: one with a blue section and one with a red section. Both models feature polished aluminum caps and barrels. Like all of the anodized options Karas has provided in the past, the colors on these pens are incredible and here to last. The red section might be my favorite, as it has a slight burned orange hue in certain light. Likewise, the blue section also has some green dancing around under the surface. These are anything but basic colors — they're delightful.

Something that I believe is entirely unique in this lineup is the fact that they employ a slip cap design instead of a threaded cap system. All Karas Kustoms pens in the past have used some sort of retractable mechanism (for gel refills) or a threaded cap. So, how does the slip cap system work on the Starliner? Pretty well. I noticed that there were some rough edges out of the box, but they quickly smoothed out. Simply pull the cap off and post it, and then snap it back on when you're done. In practice, they need just the right amount of pressure to operate, and I have no concern that it will uncap on accident. When posting the cap, however, the cap can sometimes wiggle loose due to the short length of the pen and how it rests on your hand. The cap has never completely come unposted while writing, but it does wiggle. To get around this, I've been using the pen without the cap posted. While the pens are short, they aren't short enough to be uncomfortable to use unposted.

You might have also noticed that there are no clips on these pens. This is a deliberate design choice, as the clips are only available on the larger sibling (Starliner XL). These pens do roll around on flat surfaces, so beware. In practice, it hasn't been a big deal for me. They also fit snugly in pen pockets and cases provided there's something to tuck them into. I think the main use case for these pens is to be thrown into pockets and bags with other loose items.

The Starliner comes with a Bock nib out of the box, and I've been fairly pleased with them. Nibs can often need minor tuning when you receive them from the factory, and these nibs are no different. While all four nibs write perfectly well, there is some tuning I'd like to do to increase the flow and smooth out the feel of the nib on paper. The nib is also a great size compared to the body of the pen. Not too small, but not too large either. They compliment each other. Since these are standard Bock nibs, they're also fairly easy to swap out.

One of the downsides of every pocket pen is the lack of refill and converter options. Alas, the same is true for the Starliner. Given the short body, the only options available are short international cartridges. You could probably use one of the short cartridge converters that Kaweco or other companies sell, but there's also a massive market for this size cartridge.

In my time with these new pens from Karas Kustoms, I loved the aesthetic as soon as I saw them, but the writing experience is also fantastic. Every new product is always a blank slate, but I'm glad to see that Karas Kustoms have come up with another excellent product that should open up possibilities in the $50 price range.

Keep your eyes open for these pens to become available!

(Karas Kustoms provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on July 11, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pen Reviews, Karas Kustoms, Fountain Pens.

Zebra Zensations 0.6mm Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Zebra Zensations fountain pen is a recent addition to the disposable fountain pens category at JetPens, and one that I'm happy to recommend. It's been a while since I experimented with the disposable fountain pens category, and the Zensations pen just solidifies my opinion that just because a pen costs less than $5 does not mean it performs poorly.

Similar to the Pilot Varsity, the Zensations fountain pen is a disposable, non-refillable fountain pen that costs only $3. This is the same price as the Varsity and I would say they are perfectly comparable. The Platinum Preppy is another popular choice in the disposable category, but they are different from the Varsity and Zensations pens because they feature a cartridge system. When the ink runs out, you can simply replace the cartridge with a color of your choice.

The Zensations pen features a slip cap design and an all-plastic body (except for the nib, of course). Despite the materials, this pen is rugged and can take normal bag and transit abuse just fine. The clip isn't the strongest clip I've encountered, but it does the job well. The plastic clip is a tad springy, but it provides plenty of gripping power on clothing, bags, cases, and other objects. If you like to post the cap while writing, the Zensations pen will handle that well. The cap posts securely and adds very little weight to the end of the pen while writing.

As an added bonus, there's a convenient ink window on the side of the barrel so you can easily see how much ink is left in the reservoir. The pen barrel is mostly black, but there's a lot of accent color thrown in, as well as a gray/silver trim for the clip. The ink feed section is visible through the grip, which can also be helpful when the ink is close to running out.

The nib on the Zensations pen is fantastic considering the cost. It's smooth, dependable, and has excellent flow. Straight out of the box, it wrote well and without any hiccups. This is important with any fountain pen, but it delights me to see this level of performance with a three-dollar pen. In a lot of cases, this pen may be someone's first exposure to a fountain pen, and I expect that to be a good representation of the nib and feed mechanism. These are perfect to hand out as a "try it" challenge to friends, coworkers, etc.

The steel nib is fairly stiff, and you won't notice much line variation as a result. The 0.6mm sizing roughly equates to a Japanese medium or European fine. It's a great size that most people are familiar with if they're coming from a bold ballpoint or 0.7mm gel pen.

The unit I have is the blue variation, which corresponds to the ink color inside. Where most pens seem to favor the darker blue hues in the standard lineups, the Zensations pen has a beautiful lighter blue that I absolutely love. It's more of a medium turquoise than a standard blue, and that makes me incredibly happy. Although, if you're expecting a darker blue or even a blue-black, I'd recommend looking at the other color options.

Speaking of which, there are seven total colors to pick from, and you can also pick up a pack that includes one of each color. At $3 per pen, and $17 for the seven pack, these pens are a fantastic deal. Throw some in your cart next time, and enjoy this newest player in the entry-level experience that give fountain pens a good name.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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