The Ink Karas Kustoms

[bjcmatthews]

 

Introduction:

 

I would have expected Noodler’s Ink to come up with something like an ink called ‘The Pen’. Instead, Karas Kustoms or KK as I call them (a somewhat misleading acronym that, to the uninformed unobsessed pen collector may seem to resemble 2/3’s of a white supremacist gang) invented the fountain pen called The Ink. It is a complete failure. For starters it’s a solid, not a fluid, and leaves no mark upon the page until you fill it with ink. Imagine ordering “The Lunch” at a restaurant and receiving an empty plate. Just saying.

 

The Ink was borne of a number of men (KK) and the famous/infamous crowd funding website Kickstarter, and is quite a threat to Macbeth as it is of no woman born. Like a number of Kickstarter projects The Ink suffered a number of setbacks and was released a lot later than was initially predicted by KK. However they have delivered an excellent product for the patience of their backers, and their fronters, and siders (really anyone that donated money and turned a facet of their body toward them).

 

First Impression: They butchered it. Completely and utterly butchered the pen. It arrived in a cardboard box, and inside this, the pen was wrapped up tightly in butchers’ paper. For being the first fountain pen packaged like some slices of ham KK receive a 10/10.

 

I usually dread the opening of a fountain pen’s box because of a peculiar phenomenon whereby a pen seems to shrink from the size it seems to be in every photograph you can source on the net. I muttered to myself as I un-butchered the paper “Now it’s gonna be really small” and was pleasantly surprised. The Ink is a fairly large pen. I was surprised again when a smaller package within the former fell out- the copper section and a converter.

 

I opted for the copper because I wanted the heaviest possible combination of metals- the Ink could be ordered with a choice of aluminium, copper or brass sections (the barrel is aluminium) depending on what colour/weight combo suited the owner.

 

 

Appearance: The Ink is cigar shaped, like a red shiny cigar with Allen key screws fixing an enormous metal clip to one end. I would call it a smoking hazard to say the least (and most). KK have modelled the pen, like clothing alteration experts, it seams, on a number of popular pen designs. That which springs to mind, and winters, summers, and autumns to mind also is that it was modelled upon the Edison Pearl.

 

The barrel and cap are anodised aluminium, which is polished to a sleek shine like patent leather boots, with no signs of machine marks on either. There are a few dings, and other ethnic groups on the clip, although this too is highly polished, and the minor marks do not detract or subtract from the pen. The copper section was highly polished too- I like the copper because after a few hours writing the contact of my skin polishes it to a perfect pink-orange. Leave it over night and it is a dull brown with fingerprints seared into it. So whilst it too was polished it is a transient polish.

 

If you have ever desired a pen with a face (if you want a nib with a face see the Pilot Kakuno) this is the pen for you. Allen’s key screws resemble two eyes above a straight edged mouth around the end of the cap. A somewhat robotic face, but a face nonetheless. If you don’t want a pen with a face rotate the pen 180 degrees and you won’t have a problem. Or a pen with a face.

 

Weight and Length: I find the weight of the pen very comfortable. When you find where comfortable lies on a metric scale I’d like to know. Having a heavy section and a light pen is an excellent combination, and I personally wouldn’t have chosen a lighter material than copper. The pen is comfortable to write with unposted- it’s long enough and heavy enough for me. I do prefer large pens though, as I have large hands. I think a lighter version would still be very comfortable for people who prefer to use small hands when writing.

 

Clip: The clip is a large piece of aluminium that I think is spring-loaded. I was excited to see the various stages of the assembly of the pen because I saw in the clip a very decent idea and piece of machine work. However, I expected the clip to be playful and springy like the clip of a Faber-Castell Emotion that IS spring-loaded. When inspected, this clip has very little play- the flex that it does have (relax flex freaks the nib is harder than tungsten-carbide headmaster in a 17^th century boarding school) is dependent upon the flexibility of the aluminium. I wouldn’t clip it to my jeans pockets personally, or impersonally, for fear of permanently stretching the clip away from the body of the pen in the same way that a parker jotter clip tends to be deformed by anyone who borrows mine.

 

Posting: Is when you send an item in the mail. I tried to post the cap- if I forced it it would stay on. But if one has to force it on, does it then not post? I wouldn’t try it unless you want to scratch the barrel.

 

Scent: Like Paco Raban, this pen has a unique scent. I don’t ordinarily wear CRC on a night out on the town, and that is where this pen and I differ. It smelled quite strongly when I first received it two days ago- the smell has largely worn off. To my relief I didn’t find that there was any grease/machine lubricants in the section that interfered with the function of the nib.

 

Threads: Do not clip this pen to your threads. Unless you are the kind of person who enjoys bending clips off pens.

 

The threads of the barrel and cap are cleanly cut- it takes 3 full revolutions of the cap to unscrew it completely. There is a little friction between the lower most threads just before it screws home on the barrel-, which it does so with a satisfying stop. Only a weightlifter, Guinness world record holder for unscrewing jars, or a nefarious person like the aforementioned clip benders would over tighten these threads. This is an excellent quality of all the Karas Kustoms pens- the threads are so cleanly cut and the metal is strong enough that I’ve never accidentally cross threaded them.

 

The threads of the copper section and the barrel were different. It was clear that they were not assembled together. When I first tried to screw the section into the barrel I turned the section ¾ and it got stuck. Hard.

I unscrewed it, tried again, and at the ¾ mark it got stuck. After trying this 10 times I realized I wasn’t cross threading the threads, they were just sticking. So, like a marathon runner, I pushed through the wall. The section spun another ¾ and got stuck again. Here a marathon runner would have given up. It felt as healthy as screwing a wax light bulb into an electric light socket. I pushed through the first, second, and third wall before the section snugly screwed home. I then unscrewed the section and examined the threads- they were cleanly cut. A little silicone grease and viola, they string together nicely.

 

Step: There is a step between the barrel and the section that I scarcely notice, however others may say it’s big enough to roll an ankle on. I would counter with why are you stepping on your fountain pen? If you keep your finger tips on the section you won’t feel the step or threads, and the pen is long enough that you can comfortably write with it by holding the lower most portion of the barrel before the step, completely avoiding the threads.

 

Nib: A point of contention with The Ink was that to make things easier on the KK guys the default nib was an F- it didn’t do well academically. If you wanted another size you had to order one additionally. For me to do this living in Australia it would cost an extra 30 bucks even with the discount provided by KK. The nib is steel, and is as hard as a smooth nail. I would call it a popular radio frequency, F-M, rather than a strict F, and as someone with a preference for B nibs I still find it very pleasant to write with.

 

Price: The pen cost me 90 USD- the price ranges for ordinary people (not Kickstarter backers) is from 95-105 USD depending on what material you choose for the section. I would choose a metal section over a material section because when you dip it into ink it will get stained and soggy. I think what I paid was very reasonable for what I received.

 

In summary this is an interesting pen. It’s very comfortable to write with for long periods of time, and is solid. I would like to buy another if KK make it a little more customisable. For example if they made a matte black barrel and cap with brass section and a brass clip, and Allen screws they could call the pen The Ink Steam punk (and make a limited edition). I would buy one and complain that there was no steam, punk, or ink. As a first for KK in manufacturing a machined fountain pen I think they have done very well, and I would recommend this pen to beginners and collectors alike. I think it’s an excellent beginning for many more fountain pens by Karas Kustoms.

 

Photos courtesy of KarasKustoms.com

 

[Notgatherox]

I throughly enjoyed your humourous review there! Keep them coming!

 

Enjoy the new pen!

 

 

~Epic

[Turtlegeuse]

I'm guessing the butcher paper might be something like this stuff http://green-vci.com/products/vci-paper/ used to keep tools and parts corrosion free in storage and transport. Or maybe it is just plain butcher's paper, who knows. And this item is now at the top of my wish list. Excellent review.

Also: Am I the last person in the entire world who isn't a kickstarter or whatever ? (kicker-starter ?)

[greensparcs]

Kick Startist?

you have .....Googles more past tense versions of kick other than kicked...really its only kicked? lame I will make one up Kack start

[Finalist]

Great review!

 

My Karas Ink quickly jumped to favorite status after a quick fine grit smoothing of the broad Schmidt nib. There's a podcast around that did a quick review and they mentioned the sounds the Ink can make. The clip can be flicked like a tuning fork, the metal threading on and off of the cap sounds crisp and strong, and my favorite is the squeeky-squeegee sound the broad, wet nib makes when writing.

 

It's like a Naka-ai mated with a Lamy 2000 while on vacation in the USA.

[Finalist]

Also, I'm not sure I give the nib nail status. IMO, TWSBI mini nibs are nails. The Schmidt is about the same size and it has some movement compared to the TWSBI mini's.

[Finalist]

.... Why do pens always look smaller in person than online... With two exceptions- nakayas and Indian made FPs

[Finalist]

 

Nice. You managed to insult and spit on both Nakaya and Lamy in one sentence.

Lame. What a rude little thing to say.

I guess you don't like the Ink? I love mine. I also love my Nakaya and L2K.

How's that an insult?

 

Here's a picture of the love child of a Nakaya and L2K vacationing on an American made FC case just for RNHC

 

 

Edited December 22, 2014 by Finalist

[Finalist]

Dang! Merry Christmas friend. My boat is sinking. Some pirates came by and shot it up.

 

Alright, I'll play the argue an oppinion on an internet forum game.

 

The Nakai-ai has a flared section that leads into the threading with a tapered barrel design that finishes into a small point... So does the Ink. And, I believe Dan Bishop, the Ink's designer studied a Nakaya for the inspiration - may have been Ed Jelley's Nakaya IIRC. The L2K has a gradual taper design with a flat, minimalist clip design, featuring metal parts, so does the Ink. The Ink is made in America.

 

Is this conversation really happing on a pen forum - pens, lol? Seriously, I state my opinion in a whimsical manner and you attack it?

 

 

[JemC]

Dang! Merry Christmas friend. My boat is sinking. Some pirates came by and shot it up.

 

Alright, I'll play the argue an oppinion on an internet forum game.

 

The Nakai-ai has a flared section that leads into the threading with a tapered barrel design that finishes into a small point... So does the Ink. And, I believe Dan Bishop, the Ink's designer studied a Nakaya for the inspiration - may have been Ed Jelley's Nakaya IIRC. The L2K has a gradual taper design with a flat, minimalist clip design, featuring metal parts, so does the Ink. The Ink is made in America.

 

Is this conversation really happing on a pen forum - pens, lol? Seriously, I state my opinion in a whimsical manner and you attack it?

 

image.jpg

 

With all the negative comments deleted, this thread looks humorously different.

 

Finalist, very agreed on the aesthetic comparison. Seeing it next to your Naka-ai should help illustrate. Obviously the exterior finishes are completely different, but the shapes. The shapes.

Dan talked on his blog about using the Nakaya Piccolo as the reference point. I'm not sure if he got to borrow someone's, but I trust he was able to reverse-engineer one well enough from online documentation/photos.

[jebib111]

The clip was a major drawback for me. It didn't touch the barrel which meant it could not hold the pen on my shirt pocket. I wrote Karas to see if I had a bad clip but they advised me it was designed that way. As nice as the pen was otherwise, I sent it back.

[Karas Kustoms]

I know this review is a few months old, but it is fantastic! Not only was the feedback good, it was funny too. Now I need to go look for other reviews from the OP.

[amberleadavis]

Well, I've been using my Inks daily. We now have three at my house... I would say that I have three, but the 3 pens are the most likely to be stolen by my children. They are well made and durable which means that I don't panic when the teenager borrows the pen. Thanks for the review!!

[schrammr53]

I sat next to Dan at the Atlanta Pen Show this weekend and ended up buying one of these - the only pen I bought at the show. I almost didn't bother to put ink in it since I bought it for the great design and appearance. But today I actually filled it and wrote a bit. The little broad Schmidt 5 nib was just awesome out of the box. The pen writes extremely smooth and flow is just perfect (= a little wet). The pen is all the good things written above and more as I have added. YMMV, but I was completely impressed.

[amberleadavis]

You will love it. I am acquiring more.

[inkstainedruth]

Somehow I missed this thread when it started. Ended up reading the initial review out loud to the husband after he asked me why I was laughing....

Feeling a little poor at the moment, between the new roof and some pricy car repairs. But I may have to check these out at some point, because I love the bright colors.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Gregjam]

My INK is one of two sourced from Kickstarter, the other a Nexus and I like both. My INK is used daily and writes beautifully. Always starts without a problem regardless of the ink being used (currently Hero 232 Blue-Black). It is a big pen and heavy certainly when compared to the Nexus or my MB146, all of which get daily use. Despite it's size it feels very comfortable in my hand (medium to big hands). On the visual front it is catches attention (mine is Green) and positive comments. The size and colour make it less likely to be left behind without noticing you had not put it back in your pocket. It's chunky clip is reassuring and more likely to rip your pocket than get bent when you remove it for use. Overall I am very happy with the pen and would recommend it to anyone.

[amberleadavis]

I totally forgot to respond to the Paco Raban comment.... I loved the PR ads and considering I personally call this pen the K-Kink, I am still laughing.

[Venator]

As Massdrop are running the Render K at the moment I am hoping they will bring back the Ink soon as well. Hopefully some time soon I will be a soon to be Ink owner. Thanks for the amusing review!

[Karas Kustoms]

We are in the process of finishing a run of INKs right now.

 

@jebib111 - I apologize for the issues with your clip. We have made some minor adjustments to our clip retaining screws and our clips now fit flush against the cap.

 

I am not sure about future Massdrops with the INK, they would need to come to us and ask us for the INKs again. So I would suggest you set up a survey on their site specifically requesting the INK be returned, that would get their attention fastest.

 

Besides that Dan and Bill are hard at work on some new products. All I can say is it's more than one and less than five. More to come in the weeks ahead. They aren't ALL fountain pens but they are all pen related.