“I love engineered plastics!”
This is one of those phrases us pen fans wouldn’t say in mixed company. But here, among pen friends? Absolutely. And in my case, it is true. Give me all of the weird barrel materials-such as Ultem and Peek-that make for fun and unique fountain pen barrels.
This review is going to focus on the Schon DSGN Full Sized Peek Fountain Pen. What is Peek? Known as Polyether ether ketone, it is a thermoplastic used in applications that require high chemical and/or temperature resistance. For example, bearings, pistons, pumps, and a wide range of medical implants.
Do fountain pens need the high tolerances that those parts require? Not necessarily. But what Peek offers pen makers is a barrel material that is ultra light and exceedingly strong. This pen checks in at around 15 grams, with thin barrel walls that will be able to withstand much more than typical plastic barrel pens in the same weight class.
The Peek features the same o-ring setup as the Ultem, which you can see on the left.
Being a specialty material, you might guess that it comes with a cost. Peek is expensive, and poses different machining challenges than traditional acrylics and metals. That cost, $285 with a steel nib, does come with several Schon DSGN added features, such as internal o-rings throughout the grip section, barrel, and cap, making this a perfect pen to eyedropper fill. It’s quite a piece of work.
If there is one knock on Peek, it’s that many consider the color of the material to be-let’s see how I can be nice here-uninspiring. It’s 1980’s computer tower beige, and that’s it. That’s the color Peek comes in. I dig the weirdness, but it is not for everyone. I always make sure to have a fun ink color loaded up, such as magenta, to bring some excitement to the page. For my latest fill, I decided to go with a classic: Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun.
The Schon DSGN Peek doesn’t have to be eydroppered. It is designed to fit standard international converters, which is what I use most of the time. I don’t need the mass ink capacity that eyedroppers offer, and I’ll admit that using a converter is safer if you think this pen might be banging around in a pocket or purse. It is tailor made to handle that, but I still lean towards converters the majority of the time.
Schon DSGN does offer a few mix-and-match options with the Peek barrel and the two colors, Amber and Black, of Ultem barrels. You can swap in a different grip section color between the three, and even swap into an Amber Ultem grip section to fit larger #8 size nibs. Mine is full Peek, but I did add a bit of uniqueness with the nib itself.
At the San Francisco Pen show this past Summer, I bought one of Schon DSGN’s Full Sized Aluminum Barrel Fountain Pens, and had the option to add a Custom Nib Studio Mini Naginata-togi grind on a Jowo #6 Broad Steel nib. Yes please, I would like that very much! The standard Peek fountain pen is designed around the Jowo #6, so when I bought my pen second-hand I didn’t need a nib, and added this one right in.
This level of mix-and-match and cool materials is why I love stationery so much. Standard pens and paper give me plenty of these options, but fountain pens are the true playground. The Schon DSGN Peek is a perfect example.
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