(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)
When I received my Gravitas Quark, there was a stowaway in the package. There, nestled in with the expected items, was a leatherette pen sleeve, and inside that was the best hitchhiker ever--a white Delrin pocket fountain pen. I hadn't yet tried any of Gravitas's standard pocket pens, so this was a very welcome addition to the collection.
The most striking thing about the Delrin material is how light it is. The pen hardly weighs anything at only 13g capped or posted. The light weight makes it easy and comfortable to write with, and the Delrin warms in the hand, so there's no fatigue even with very long writing sessions.
The pen is shaped similarly to a Kaweco pocket pen, where the cap covers most of the body. That keeps it compact when closed, and then when posted, the long cap transforms it into a full-sized pen. The end finials are both shaped to a sharp point, and one side of the cap is machined flat to serve as a roll-stop. The grip section is finely textured to prevent slipping, and it has a nice tapered shape that is easy to hold.
The nib it comes with is one of Gravitas's own nibs, which fits Jowo nib units. It also comes with a wee plunger converter, though it also takes short international cartridges. It also comes with two O-rings, one on the grip section threads and one on the cap threads, that add extra security if you want to eyedropper the pen. I haven't tried eyedroppering it yet, but I plan to next fill.
The nib writes very smoothly with good ink flow. The only issue that might annoy some users is that the texture of the grip traps ink when filling from a bottle, so there may be some discoloration between cleanings. Some inks might even cause some staining to the white material there. This doesn't bother me, personally--I like inky grips as much as I like inky fingers--but I know some folks who hate it. Maybe go for the black Delrin, if that's you!
This pen sells for 90 Euros, or around $95. While that's a lot compared to the similar-appearing Kaweco, this Delrin material makes a huge difference in quality that's reflected in that price. This is a tough, workhorse pen. Which is good, because it's inked up for NaNoWriMo, and it's time to put it to work.
(Gravitas Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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