Search the Community

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 17th 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