I first came across Ian Schon and his beautifully designed pens during what was then called The Pen Project on Kickstarter. For a reason that escapes me now, I didn’t back it. Now that I have had the #01S Tumbled Stainless Steel model in my hands for a while I am regretting not getting on board sooner. Sorry Ian!
What Schon DSGN brings to the table is a portable, pocketable pen will a full-sized writing experience. The body of the pen is made from your choice of metals, including aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel, and titanium. Stainless is the most recent addition to the lineup, and the pen Ian graciously sent me to review.
Stainless steel is known for its strength and durability. Those features also come with a price: Weight. This is a heavy pen. In fact, it is too heavy for me when posted. That said, with my writing grip and the design of the pen, it is long enough to write with comfortably unposted, which I do about 95% of the time. The other 5% I pretend like I can write comfortably with the barrel posted on the back of the pen, but I just can’t.
I carried the 01S daily for a couple of weeks and found myself reaching for it constantly. If I wore nylon shorts I did notice the wight of the pen in my pocket, and it did bounce around a bit. With cotton or other heavier fabrics I found it settled in nicely. This pen would be the ideal pocket pen for jeans.
Another hangup may be the fact that to access the refill you need to remove the set screw in the end of the barrel. This is a non-issue honestly. The Fisher Space Pen refill it uses will last for months with regular use, meaning you will rarely need to get into the barrel. And when you do, the screw removes easily with a screwdriver, coin, or back of a knife blade as I did.
If you are interested in this pen and were asking me to make a recommendation, I would say try the aluminum barrel models first, likely the black one. The weight won’t come as a shock, and you still get the same high-quality pen. If you are a stainless steel fan, or are looking for a heavier pen, I would absolutely recommend this model, or either of the brass or bronze models if you like to see wear and patina on your pocket pen.
You can’t go wrong with small batch, American made manufacturing in my book, and that is what Ian Schon has brought to the table with his Schon DSGN pens. My thanks to Ian for sending this pen to me at no charge for purposes of this review.
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