First Look: The Gist By Tactile Turn

If you couldn't tell by last weeks podcast or my Instagram feed this weekend, I am pretty excited by what Will Hodges has created with the Tactile Turn Gist. The design is extremely appealing to me, and the choice of materials available in the Kickstarter project has me drooling over the possibilities. I know many of you have reached out to me with questions about The Gist, and Will was kind enough to loan me a few prototypes to help out with answering those questions.

If you aren't familiar with this project prior to reading this post and are interested at all, you need to read the project page and watch the video before continuing. It looks very involved from an outsiders perspective, but Will does a nice job of breaking everything down into bite-sized chunks. There is also far more detail on the project page than I will get into here, so head there for additional information and the final say.

My intent with this post is break down a few components of the Gist models that I received, and help you make an informed decision if you are considering purchasing this pen. I say purchase because the project has met its funding goal already, so you know these pens are getting made.

The base model of the Gist is made from polycarbonate, which is a lightweight plastic reinforced with fiberglass. It is designed to take a beating without breaking, which is perfect for an EDC fountain pen. I was struck with just how light it is honestly. I like to write with the cap unposted, but the lightness of the pen made posting the cap the more comfortable option. The model I have on loan is finished with a Damascus steel finial.

The second model I received uses the same polycarbonate barrel, but adds a brass section and finial. The addition of a metal section gives this pen a great balance and feel, while still keeping it lightweight and portable. I think combinations with the poly barrel and metal section will be the biggest sellers as it give you the best of both worlds. In fact, the combination I backed prior to receiving these prototypes was the polycarbonate barrel with damascus steel section and finial. Using this brass combo solidified my thoughts on my original choice.

The last model Will sent me was the full titanium Gist. Titanium body, titanium section, titanium finial, titanium nib. Everything titanium except the clip. After using this pen I am convinced that this is the Gist model that all others will be compared to. I was worried about this actually, because now I have to back two pens instead of one! The full titanium is just that nice. This is the perfect EDC pocket, backpack, trousers, truck pen. It is perfectly weighted without being too heavy, like brass and copper pens can be. The one kicker is the cap does not post on any of the metal pens if that is a requirement for you. (Update: I talked to Will and the cap DOES post on the metal barrels, I just didn't try hard enough. The inside of the cap is machined smooth so as not to damage the pen barrel when posted.)

Each model comes with a choice of nib from steel, gold, or titanium. All nibs are made by Bock, and are interchangeable between pens. I have one of each to test with and they are all dead smooth right out of the gate. No tweaks to be made and no issues at all. The steel nib is the firmest, and my favorite. The gold is the smoothest and softest of the three, but my preference is not an all yellow gold nib. The titanium nib is great and well worth it if you don't have one already. It is right in between the steel and gold nibs in firmness, allowing for just a little softness when writing.

The last component that is worthy of a mention is the clip. It is a coated stainless steel clip, and is strong as hell. Like nuclear strength. The flange allows it to clip on easily, and there is a clear snap when removing even from the thinnest of shirt pockets. I want a strong clip on all my pens, but especially an EDC type pen like the Gist. Like the rest of the pen, Will nailed it here.

So, if you are interested in the Gist, how do you choose which one is right for you? Here are a few bullet points that may help:

• The full polycarbonate barrel is as light as a Kaweco Classic or Sport. I don't have the exact weights, but on feel alone that is the first thing that popped in my head. If you like those models of Kaweco and like to post the cap then you will like the full poly Gist.
• The metal section/poly barrel models are going to be the primary mainstream option. I think they offer the best combination of weight, balance, style, and design. Going full metal barrel is a tough choice if you've never used something similar, but adding a metal grip section gives the pen a great look and feel.
• The full metal barrels are the exact same shape as the poly barrels, but compared to other metal pens by other manufacturers, the are more compact. The titanium looks somewhat like a mash up of the Pilot Murex and Pilot MYU/M90, two of my personal favorites. I'm sure all of the metal barrels would evoke the same reaction by me.
• You cannot go wrong with any nib choice. I'm choosing steel for both of mine because I already have a Bock titanium I can swap in, and I don't like yellow gold with the barrel choices I made. Regardless of my preferences, they all write wonderfully.

The best thing I can tell you if you are interested in the Gist is to not overthink it. I read through all of the options Will has available, and I was dead solid on my choice of poly/Damascus once I went through everything. The only issue I had was that I was lucky enough to be able to test out the full titanium barrel and now I back the two most expensive options on offer!

My thanks to Will Hodges for sending me out these prototypes so quickly. Check out the project and feel free to reach out to Will via the backer page if you have any additional questions.

Machined Beauty: The Tactile Turn Mover

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

Machined pens are quite a thing over on Kickstarter. They're a fascinating genre of pen because they're created by small shops from pieces of metal and eventually shipped to your door. While Tactile Turn now has a shop that you can buy from anytime, the didn't start off that way. Brad took a look at their pens a year ago and came away impressed. I joined the second round of their Kickstarter that featured new materials, and I'm really happy I did.

I have to be honest — it was extremely difficult to pick a style of pen. It was equally as difficult to select a metal and color. They all look good and if money were not object, I'd own one of each. But, money is certainly a consideration, so I went with a black aluminum Mover.

Let's back up a little. There are two main styles of these pens: The Mover and the Shaker. The only real difference is the length of the pen. The Mover is designed to accept anything similar to a Pilot G2 refill, while the Shaker is designed for a Parker style refill. It boils down to choosing the body that supports your favorite refills. Being a huge fan of the Pilot Juice, I went with the Mover.

Apart from the choice between the Mover and the Shaker, you then have a chioce of several metals, of which the aluminum can be had in different colors. Here are your options: titanium, polished bronze, polished copper, polished brass, raw aluminum, and anodized aluminum. The latter comes in the following colors: dark red, black, teal, dark blue, and olive drab.

I really liked the looks of the olive drab pen, but eventually decided to stick with black for now. I'm slowly convincing myself that I need an olive drab Shaker.

The pen you purchase comes with a refill. The Mover comes with a blue Pilot G2 0.38mm refill, and the Shaker comes with a Schmidt Easy Flow 9000.

So, how does this look and feel in person? Like a high-quality piece of art that can withstand abuse and write like a champ.

I've used other machined aluminum pens, and none of them have the right balance for me. They're usually significantly heavier on the nock end, which makes them feel top-heavy when writing. Not so in the case of the Mover. It has a wonderful balance. Another feature that I love about this particular machined pen's design? The textured grip. This is the first one I've tried that has one, and I love it. An alumnium barrel can get slick, and that makes it difficult to control. With the Mover, I haven't had this problem.

The nock used in this pen is the same one that was used in the Retrakt before it. It's a high-quality, smooth, silent mechanism that works like a charm. Personally, I think it looks really nice, too.

The clip is strong, but easily slides on and off when attaching it to my jeans pocket or in a Nock case. Other machined pens I've used have clips that are a bit tight and sometimes require two hands to operate.

The thickness of the barrel is another thing that I love about the design. It's the perfect width for writing. The diameter is really close to my Lamy 2000, which is a pen that I enjoy writing with more than most.

The build quality of this pen is superior, but that's something that you should expect from a machined pen. These make great EDC pens given their simple, excellent design and strength. They also make excellent gifts — they look fantastic and they accept "normal" refills that non-addicts understand.

Prices for these pens range by material. Aluminum bodies are $69, and prices range up to $139 for the titanium model.

All in all, if you're looking for a high-quality machined pen that accepts a wide range of refills and also looks and feels great doing it, the Mover and/or Shaker are a perfect choice. I can't wait to make my collection a pair.

Tactile Turn Mover and Shaker New Materials

I am a big fan of what Will Hodges did with the original Tactile Turn Mover in aluminum, and now with his latest Kickstarter he upped his materials game by adding brass, copper, and titanium into the mix.

In talking to Will about what changes he made (besides materials) from the previous project one interesting item came up. A new machine is in place to manufacture the brass and copper parts, giving those pen bodies a smooth to the touch finish. I can easily tell the difference between these and my aluminum Movers. It's not something I would have ever known, noticed, or cared about before because the original pens are so nice, but now that I have all these pens side by side I can say how good this change really is.

An ancillary result of the machine upgrade is the seam in the barrel is almost invisible. It already was barely noticeable in the first place but these are really hidden. In the prototypes I got you can see the seam in the titanium model but Will assures me that is not how the final version will appear. The brass and copper look flawless, even in this early stage of manufacturing.

The new materials Kickstarter project has already eclipsed the original aluminum barrel project, and having these pens in hand I can certainly see why. There are five days left to get in on the action - don't miss out!