Search the Community

Design is not a one dimensional step in product creation. Good design takes into account form and function. It’s not just the planning and the purpose but also the presence of the product. Without all elements, a design will not connect with the user. The more personal the product, the more this holds true. Sometimes the design is constrained by outside influences, like material and overall function. Sometimes outside influences are molded to the specifics of the design. Knowing all of these fundamentals made our design journey for the Decograph that much smoother. We knew going in that our design would need to be tailored to specific materials. That it would draw upon Art Deco features but be realized through modern machining. That it would be a representation of a simple, yet complex design motif. Ultimately this knowledge allowed us to move through the design and prototype phases quickly and smoothly with no outward changes to our original concept; a classically inspired pen utilizing modern material and machining techniques. History was a major influence in the Decograph from the first moment we sat down plan out the project. We paged through books and online resources taking in pen features from the past, but also the processes used by the pen manufacturers of yesteryear. The Decograph pays homage to classic pens from the 1930’s through the 1950’s but does so with nuance when taken in as a whole. Gentle curves combined with sharp angles give the design a feeling of movement often seen in the classic pens of the fountain pen heyday. Our goal was to make the pen familiar in both look and feel without making it directly resemble any current or former pen. History was part of every step of the design process even down to the name Decograph. Combining two words to make a new word was a common naming process in mid-century American product development. We chose to come back to Art Deco and take the Deco portion and combine it with graph, a word from the Greek graphos that means “written, writing”. We find it a fitting name that captures everything about the pen. Two of our greatest assets are technology and experience. The advanced machinery we employ on a daily basis as a machine shop has benefited us greatly in the production of writing instruments. Decades of experience with complex programming and machining can be seen in every product we manufacture. CNC lathes and mills allow for precise tolerances, unique design elements, and more direct product control. The Decograph and its packaging feature eight separate machined parts. The main features of body, cap, and grip are turned on advanced CNC lathes, as are the upper and lower metal finials. The clip is machined in custom made fixtures in a CNC mill. Our unique pen tub package uses both lathe work and milling in its creation. All told, the Decograph has more machining than any of our current pens. The Deocgraph Signature Fountain Pen combines thermoplastic and metal machined parts in a classically inspired form. It features a smooth writing Bock #6 nib in polished steel, with upgrades in nib material including Titanium and 14k Gold. It utilizes a Schmidt standard international cartridge converter, and ships with the converter as well as five black Monteverde ink cartridges with ink sourced from Austria. The pen is packaged in one of our unique, fully machined pen tubes. The tube is made from 6061 aluminum, the same grade of aluminum we use in our other pens. The package features our K Shield logo that has been milled into the upper portion of the pen tube. The amount of protection provided by the Decograph packaging might be considered overkill, but we wanted the package to be elegant and reliable while being an homage to our manufacturing past. The standard Decograph Signature Fountain Pen will retail for $165.00 and will be added live to our website on September 15th, 2017. It will be available in standard Deco Black and Deco Green

Hi All, I am new to this forum, so I might need your guidance. I am from India (kolkata). I came to know about a shop in central kolkata, the Pen Hospital. I visited the shop yesterday and the shopkeeper handed me a Parker Frontier Steel body FP, made in USA. He said that its a vintage and Parker stoppped manufacturing these in US in 1980's. The pen costed me 23 USD (1400 INR). I am really baffled now, whether my purchase was profitable or not? Regards Rajeev

http://i68.tinypic.com/o0xmyo.jpg BARSTOCK CLEARANCE! After much deliberation, we are discontinuing the Barstock K Series. The Barstock pens were something we added to our line when we were asked for a true "beat around" pen. Something that a person could carry around in a rough environment and would hold up to any and all abuse. We didn't do anything special to the outside of the pen, leaving it unturned in its raw form. The caps are smooth caps, something we've never offered on a pen before. Outside of the clip there aren't any changes to the outside of the pen, the idea was the pen would look like a raw piece of material that we use to make our K Series pens. We are out of stock on the white Delrin and phenolic bodies, and have decided discontinue and sell through the raw aluminum and black Delrin rather than make more of these pens. We have some design ideas in a replacement bang around pen that we'll be prototyping this year. The Barstock pens have the following new Closeout Pricing: Barstock Render K - $40.00 USD Barstock Fountain K - $55.00 USD Decograph - Design. History. Technology. http://i63.tinypic.com/rmtxeh.jpg A streamlined, classically-influenced pen with a modern look and feel. The Decograph is a design and material hybrid that brings together elements of our metal writing instruments with fully machined thermoplastics into a quality writing experience. We've spent time looking at our particular influences in art and design along with our desire to produce high quality writing instruments and crafted a pen we feel fits our aesthetic and speaks to where we have been going as a company. Drawing on Art Deco influences of the early 20th Century and using 21st Century CNC Machining technology, we're translating our ideas into a pen that blends aircraft grade aluminum and stainless steel with modern high-strength thermoplastics fully machined in Mesa, Arizona. For more information on this pen, check out are pre-release video. Available August 2017. KARAS PEN CLUB COIN http://i63.tinypic.com/20sauqp.jpg The wait is over! The Karas Pen Club Coin is available for purchase on our website. If you haven't heard of our custom coin, I'm not sure where you've been, but on the off chance you missed some of our other videos or social media posts, here's a briefing on it. Or you could just watch the video linked HERE. The 2017 Karas Pen Club Coin features custom graphics minted on an all copper coin that we partnered with Shire Post Mint to have done specifically for the Karas Pen Club. Purchasing the coin doesn't just get you this sweet coin, but brings with it membership into the Karas Pen Club and a list of benefits for members. Some of those benefits are: Exclusive early access to new releases, limited edition items, and special editions sets.Introductory, members only pricing on select limited edition items and special edition sets.Access to free Karas Pen Club swag when you flash your coin to a Karas Pen Co employee or official representative.Access to product and focus group surveys and feedback forms.Prototype sketchbook images, early stage updates on forthcoming products, and random artwork we're adapting to future pen or logos.The coin and subsequent Club membership runs from July 2017 through July 2018, when we'll release the 2018-2019 coin, likely a new design and material. So it's kind of like a subscription service but our own spin on it. If you have any questions or concerns hit us up by responding to this email, filling out a contact form on our website, or contacting us via any of our social media accounts. http://i67.tinypic.com/wl7x8h.jpg The July Pen Meetup was a rousing success. We saw a lot of new faces. Got some great interaction. Had some pen related discussions that were quite entertaining. It was a great time had by all that attended. We're not about to slow down, below you can find the dates for the Pen Meetups for the rest of 2017. We hope to see you if you have a chance to stop by whether you're an Arizona native or just happen to be in Arizona when we host one, come spend a few hours with us on a Saturday afternoon. The August meet up will take place on August 12th from 4pm - 7pm at Karas Kustoms (126 S. Country Club Drive, Mesa, AZ 85210). We'll have snacks and sodas, the shop will be open for walk throughs and mini-tours. Dan and Paul will be available for questions concerning design and pen features. Bill Karas might even stop by and join in the conversation. We always suggest that folks bring their own pens and inks if they want to show them off or trade with each other. We try to keep it low key and family friendly. If you can't make it this, below are tentative dates for the rest of 2017. Can't wait to see you on the 12th! August 12th, 2017 September 9th, 2017 October 21st, 2017 November 18th, 2017 December 9th, 2017

Ladies and gentlemen I am a newbie when it comes to this, so please anything helps. What I know: I believe it is a century series It is a mechanical pencil It had above the clip, "1/20 gold filled" and "made in USA" words It has a little plastic piece attached to clip that says "18 karat gold filled" The cross logo is in italic letters on the clip The owners book had a few references to a SelecTip Any help in regards to date, or any other information would be greatly appreciated

Ladies and gentlemen I am a newbie when it comes to this, so please anything helps. What I know: I believe it is a century series It is a mechanical pencil It had above the clip, "1/20 gold filled" and "made in USA" words It has a little plastic piece attached to clip that says "18 karat gold filled" The cross logo is in italic letters on the clip The owners book had a few references to a SelecTip Any help in regards to date, or any other information would be greatly appreciated.

I have a Cross 18 karat gold filled pencil, photos attached. I do know that Cross is in cursive on the clip. It says made in USA at top of pencil, and it also has 1/20 gold filled engraved across the top as well. Could anyone please help me identify the model, year, and anything else. Your knowledge is greatly appreciated guys and gals.

I have a Cross 18 karat gold filled pencil, photos attached. I do know that Cross is in cursive on the clip. It says made in USA at top of pencil, and it also has 1/20 gold filled engraved across the top as well. Could anyone please help me identify the model, year, and anything else. Your knowledge is greatly appreciated guys and gals.

I got a few weeks ago a C/F cos it was made in USA , and I thought it was a very rare C/F cos that model came out on 1953 and on 1954 waterman usa shout dwon and became a French company. Am I right? There is some one who can bring some light over this matter.

An acquaintance of mine purchased an Espey fountain pen recently in a box lot. He or I haven't been able to find out much about the pen. I see where there have been a few listed and sold on eBay, as well as a few mentions here on FPN. Does anyone know anything about the history of this brand or where we might find some information concerning it? I've included two photos. One is a bit blurry, but the other is decent. Any help would be appreciated. - Grayling