The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 270 - I Am A Lefty Over-Hooker

Myke and I covered a backlog of topics this week, including our unpopular fountain pen opinions and how important Made in the USA branding is when considering a purchase. We also discuss what we both have currently inked, which for me is less than I have had in a long time.

Show Notes & Download Links

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Posted on August 16, 2017 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Inventery Mechanical Pen Review

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

Machined pens have always captured my interest, so I was pretty excited to open up the Mechanical Pen by Inventery. Minimal packaging, minimal pen, and big impact. That was my impression after opening the package, and it hasn't really changed since.

Inventery is a design house located in Los Angeles. I wasn't able to find much about the company, but based on their website, it looks like they design and sell unique lifestyle items to fit their aesthetic vision. Unlike other machined pens we've come to love, it doesn't look like these pens are manufactured in-house. Either way, the end result is a very nice pen.

So, what is the Mechanical Pen? It's machined from a single rod of brass and then coated with another thin layer of metal to achieve different colors. Today, they offer a brass, chrome, brushed chrome, and onyx (black) finish for their pens. While I enjoy a good brass or copper pen, I'm not overly fond of the smell of the metal or the oxidation that inevitably takes over the surface of the metal. Sure, they can be cleaned and polished to original luster, but I don't find much enjoyment in that activity. The model I have is brushed chrome, and I'm a big fan of the color and finish. Since it's brushed, it isn't as shiny as the polished chrome cousin. This dials down the shine factor a bit, making it look very similar to polished aluminum.

Inside, the Mechanical Pen is rocking a Schmidt P8126, aka the refill found in the Retro 51 Tornado. This is a fantastic refill, and another great design decision on the part of Inventery. You probably recognize the click mechanism as well, which is also made by Schmidt and found in many, many other retractable machined pens. It's a smooth, quiet, reliable mechanism, and another solid choice in design.

Being made of brass, this pen has a noticeable heft. After owning and handling many metal pens over the years, this isn't really a surprise anymore. Based on my own tastes, I know before buying a pen that I almost never prefer brass over a lighter metal. For me, brass is just too heavy for comfortable use. The same is true of the Mechanical Pen, but it's small enough to be comfortable for short writing sessions, notes, and scribbles. One thing is for sure — you can tell when this pen is sitting in your pocket, but it always falls to the bottom of a bag/purse due to the weight. The smooth metal finish doesn't have any texture, but it's still easy to handle when writing. My fingers haven't slid while using this pen. It's also a great size for writing, with a slightly larger than normal barrel diameter. It's actually exactly the same length as another favorite of mine: the Karas Kustoms EDK, which also uses the popular Schmidt P8126 refill.

The shape of the pen is simple, but it does feature a nice design detail to keep it from rolling away easily. There's a ~2mm flat edge that runs down the length of the pen barrel that acts as a great stabilizer when this pen is sitting on a flat surface. It's not as sturdy as a clip, but it definitely helps in keeping the pen in place.

Branding is extremely minimal on this pen. There are two markings on the body of the pen, and they are easy to miss if you aren't looking for them. Both markings are on the top of the pen barrel close to the click mechanism, and they are on opposite sides of the barrel from each other. On one side, there's a serial number. The other side features a small Inventery logo, which is an upper-case I in a circle. Like I said, minimal and easy to miss. Compared to other machined pens, this is 100% more branding than usual, but it doesn't stand out.

While I like the Mechanical Pen, there are some things that I wish were different or expanded on. First of all, I really like pens to have pocket clips. I don't always use the clip, but I feel like it should be there. Unfortunately, the Mechanical Pen doesn't have one, and that's a design choice that isn't easy to retrofit. I love the simplistic design, but I miss that clip.

I've also noticed that some of the chrome finish is missing around the tip of the pen where the cone meets the pen barrel, allowing some of the brass to show through. This is really hard to see without magnification (like a camera lens), but it's definitely there. I don't mind it all, but it does make me wonder if more of the chrome finish will wear or chip away over time and with use. This observation probably translates to the regular chrome and onyx finishes as well.

This is more of a "wishlist" item, but it would be nice if there were options outside of brass for this pen. I would love an aluminum version of this pen due to the simple weight reduction. It would also be fun to see a titanium or stainless steel version, as well as other colors and finishes. This would also provide different price points since brass tends to drive cost up compared to cheaper metals. More material (and cost) options would attract more buyers.

Overall, the Mechanical Pen by Inventery is a solid pen. It's minimal, elegant, sturdy, and features a dependable, well-performing refill that will satisfy pen enthusiasts and likely delight buyers who are new to the arena. The Mechanical Pen is $90 and available in chrome, brushed chrome, brass, and onyx finishes.

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

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Posted on August 16, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Inventery, Pen Reviews.

Craft Design Technology A5 Notepad Review

It’s a rare day when I miss a cool Japanese stationery product, but the Craft Design Technology A5 Notepad escaped my field of view until Caroline Weaver of C.W. Pencil Enterprises mentioned it to Myke and I on Episode 252 of The Pen Addict Podcast.

I’ve reviewed other Craft Design Technology (CDT for short) products in the past, and I refer to them as a design firm in the stationery business. They don’t manufacture their own goods, but partner with existing brands to reimagine products with the CDT aesthetic. Most of that aesthetic involves mint green.

For this notepad, CDT partnered with Life Notebooks. It is a desk pad with top-perforated sheets in an A5 size. The paper is Life’s standard cream colored offering with a mint green grid - aka the CDT touch.

The quality of this notepad - as expected - is top notch. The construction is solid, and the paper performance with nearly any pen and pencil is perfect. The grid pattern is even printed on both sides, which is not something you always see when a plain border is used around the edge of the page.

What surprised me the most about the paper was how it handled pencil. With a cream colored background I thought graphite would blend in and be hard to see, but the opposite took place. It practically jumps off the page with HB and 2B grades and looks great. I see why Caroline likes this pad so much.

If you are waiting for the hammer to drop on this product, here it is. It’s $12 for a 50 page notepad. This is Craft Design’s modus operandi. They collaborate with other brands and put the CDT twist on existing products. That comes at a cost. A simple example is the Camel HB pencil. The standard model from Camel is $1.50. The CDT Camel HB is $2.00. The internals are the same, only the color and stamping on the pencil are different.

A 50 cent increase on a pencil isn’t a large sum of money, but you see where this is headed as you climb the ladder. I’m not opposed to this business model by any stretch - I own several CDT products that I enjoy. I just want you to be aware that you are paying for minty freshness, not added performance. But sometimes all it takes is a fresh coat of paint for me to open my wallet.

(I paid full price for these goods with my own money.)

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