Posts filed under Retro 51

Tuesday Toolset, Retro Remembrance Edition

With all of the reminiscing about the Retro 51 news last week, I began to think about all the Retro’s I own, and maybe more importantly, the ones I missed out on. Even the standard releases - the ones directly from Retro 51 - passed me by over the past few years as I was making and using my own pens. Here are some of the ones I missed, that I wish I didn’t:

— Bouquet (2016): Talk about a pen that jumped off the screen the moment I saw it. How I didn’t pull the trigger on this one I’ll never know, but Bouquet continues to be one of the more sought after Tornado's with its stunning floral pattern and colors.

— Dinosauria (2016): I’ve tended to shy away from from the metal barrel Retro’s in the past, and that cost me the opportunity to pick up this archeological dig awesomeness. It’s a great design, capped off by a mosquito in amber finial.

— Tiki Kona (2017): I’m pretty sure I had this in my hand at a pen show and placed it back down for some unknown reason. Or maybe I bought it and gave it away. Who knows! I do know Tiki Kona would be the perfect match to Vintage Surf, which I do own, and is an all-time favorite of mine.

— Creepy Scrawlers (2019): I love fun patterns and unique designs, and Creepy Scrawlers certainly fits that bill. And it glows in the dark! This is the type of pen I’m going to miss the most when Retro 51 (R.I.P.) are no longer around. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

I use Retro 51 pens all the time, but this past week they have been in heavier rotation than usual. I think that is going to be the case around here for quite some time.

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Tuesday Toolset, Retro 51.

Announcing The Pen Addict + Mintlodica Retro 51 Pastel Shiba

Get it right here.

I first met Susan Lin at the 2014 XOXO Festival in Portland, Oregon, and have been following her work ever since. Not only is she an artist and designer, she is a tech leader and champion of Women in Tech. In short, she is awesome.

In following her for as long as I have, I was very familiar with her style and aesthetic. It is right up my alley, and I knew as soon as I saw this image that it would be perfect for a Retro 51. Now, I just had to ask her if she was interested in collaborating with me. Thankfully, she said yes!

Working on this project with Susan, and in conjunction with Retro 51, has gone as smoothly as I could have hoped. We are thrilled at the outcome, and cannot wait to get the Pastel Shiba into your hands.

This year, I am not only selling a pen and supporting art, I am adding a charity component as well. Starting now, I will be donating $1000 during each Retro 51 project to a charity of the artists choosing. Susan has chosen the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and I am happy to donate to their excellent cause.

I hope you enjoy The Pen Addict + Mintlodica Retro 51 Pastel Shiba as much as we enjoyed making it!

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Posted on October 7, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Retro 51, Pen Addict Shop.

Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen New Model Review

Retro 51 makes some of the best - and most popular - rollerball and ballpoint pens on the market. In fact, they have made their own market by creating pens that are of a high quality, and are as fun as they are functional.

They make fountain pens too, but those take a backseat to their other offerings. I reviewed the previous version of the Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen in 2014, and while it was fine, it wasn’t compelling enough to recommend in it’s price bracket.

At the time, its clear flaw was the grip section. It was slick, and had a straight taper. It was just asking your fingers to slide right off. It wrote well enough, but the balance was a bit off, even unposted. In short, Retro 51 had some work to do to make their fountain pen a product worth standing next to the rest of their product lineup.

They did it with newly updated Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen.

Retro 51 took the universal feedback they received on the old version of the pen and fixed all of it. First off, the grip section is enjoyable! It is concave, and has a different finish that eliminates the majority of the slippage the previous version had. Secondly, the balance of the pen unposted is right on the money. When writing, you don’t necessarily want to feel the pen in your hand when doing so. You just want it to exist, and be enjoyable. This one is.

When posted, it is still going to be top-heavy, but that is because this is a metal barrel pen, and any posted metal barrel pen will have the same issue.

With those two main issues out of the way, Retro 51 went ahead and upgraded the nib. They went from a good one in Schmidt, to a great one in Jowo. And it is stamped with their logo too, which is something I personally enjoy.

If you couldn’t tell by my handwriting on the page, this EF steel nib was perfect right out of the box. I inked it up with Rohrer & Klingner Aubergine, broke out my Yoseka notebook, and enjoyed the writing experience.

That’s what I want every time I pick up a product. To enjoy the experience. In the past, the Retro 51 Tornado Fountain Pen didn’t give me that. It does now.

At it’s price point ($52 on Goldspot for the base level Tornado) it is now a compelling product versus the competition, such as TWSBI and Faber-Castell. And I think that is a good place to be.

(Retro 51 provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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