My Kaweco Liliput Fireblue has been a true delight these past fifty days. There’s something about it that just works, just feels right in the hand. The steampunk aesthetic doesn’t hurt one bit, either.
The only problem is that you can’t fly with it — and I’m on a plane fifty days a year or more. So let’s try something else: a machined-brass ballpoint, made in the United States, with an stout aluminum clip.
The No. 2 pen by Machine Era is hugely stout and very heavy in the hand. I have to think it could be used as a weapon in a pinch, or possibly to pop a motorcycle tire off its bead. Yet perhaps we should not ask too much from it; brass is not as strong as steel. Sensibly, Machine Era elected to use the superb Pilot G2 ink cartridge instead of reinventing the wheel.
The nice people at Machine Era will also sell you their original pen, which can be had in brass or stainless steel. After some thought, I’ve come to believe that the original pen is superior to the No 2. Although it has no clip, it can be “posted”, which is to say that the cap can be screwed on the top of the pen when you’re writing with it. The No. 2 pen cannot be posted; when the cap is off, you just have to keep track of it. This is suboptimal.
Or perhaps I’m just spoiled by the Kaweco, which posts very nicely into a perfectly usable instrument. You can do what I do; use the Kaweco at home, and the Machine Era on the road. You’ll enjoy it. We should have more brass instruments in our lives. Brass, steel, copper, iron. More of that. Less plastic. There’s something unreal about all plastics, with perhaps the exception of the original Bakelite. Unreal, disposable. Worthless from the moment it’s created. The perfect analogue of modern society.
The advantage of a non-posting pen is people are less likely to walk off with your pen when you lend it for a signature or to jot a quick note. Even if you can post the cap on a pen, hold the cap in your hand when lending it as a tangible reminder that you want your pen back. Jack, you travel much more frequently than I do but my Namiki vanishing point has yet to leak in the air. Cheapest G2 refills are the 20 packs of pens at Costco aka CramCo.
PS: your pen is a good value compared to this following link for a comparable pen because the G2 refills are more affordable than pressurized Fisher cartridges: http://www.countycomm.com/brasspen.html
Zebra F701.https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Stainless-Ballpoint-Retractable-29411/dp/B002L6RB80
My go to. I’ve got tons of them. I fly with them with no problem. They’re cheap and a handy striking weapon if need be. Certainly doesn’t look as cool though.
I love that it’s metal. Agree with you about plastic. It does feel artificial.
You have problems flying with steel pens?
Not made in USA but I like the Zebras. I’m slowly switching to Parker Jotters.
“You have problems flying with steel pens?”
I think it’s the tip. looks too stabby.
Yeah.. I later reread what I was responding to and came to the same conclusion.
I’ve used the collapsible Zebras for a long time.
TSA hates my guts. Even when I have PreCheck they search me. No lie.
You are terroristy… I have never been physically searched. The invasive “looks at your blurred genitals machine” always seems to find me completely non-threatening. My wife however, every single time we go through security, she’s held up for additional scrutiny.
The collapsible zebra always catches on something and the pocket clip gets bent beyond repair, I’ve stopped using them.
Completely random, but I’m stuck in Columbus for work for the next 8 days, any ideas on what to do there?
The brass casing will likely still last a few generations. Stainless is over rated in my opinion for a pen. It seems much too sterile and doesn’t develop any character much like cheap plastic
That’s true — if there’s “patina” on stainless steel you’re really abusing it.
15 years ago I engaged in an object lesson via HTML chatroom with a kid who thought “stainless steel” truly meant “no corrosion happens.” Telling them to wet the base of a simple Campbell’s soup can, then place it in the sink for a few minutes, we returned to chatting for a couple more hours - at which point I remembered the wet can sitting in the sink for a couple hours longer than the lesson was to run. The obligatory “OMG it’s rusting!” was followed shortly after by “it’s not all coming out; there’s a big shiny ring in the sink now!” Fortunately his mother was a chemist, and while she wasn’t very happy with my example suggestion, she did enjoy teaching her son a few basics about kitchen and cleaning chemistry that day.
I use one ( actually have a couple ) of these…they write underwater, upside down, on wet material, and I believe they are also made in the USA?
http://www.spacepen.com/
I have a couple of the Inifinium Fisher Space Pens, they’re great!
At the risk of making a redneck comment, you can fit Mont Blanc refills where you can fit G2s.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Mont-Black-Mont-Blanc-Hack-fitting-the-new-Mon/?ALLSTEPS
Isn’t that an anti-redneck comment? Like — “You could easily mount a McLaren twin-turbo V8 in that Camaro?”
and yeah, I know the Pilot refills are actually better than the Montblanc ones…
I’ll begrudgingly accept your analogy the day I see a Kaweco Liliput Fireblue wrapped around a utility pole.
Stick around. There’s a chance.
I love the sudden switch from admiration to hostility when some off-roading buff learns it’s not possible to “shove a small-block” into the Pinzgauer’s integrated torque tube and engine/transmission assembly. Suddenly that hi-po air cooled 2.5 liter engine isn’t all that impressive - never mind its dual Zeniths already make it more valuable than 90% of all street-driven SBCs out there - and the air is filled with fabricated justifications regarding occupant protection when the engine “explodes” should the driver over-rev its glacial 4500 RPM max speed.
Wait a minute. Somebody out there is disrespecting a Pinzgauer?
90% of the time the attitude switching happens when I’m chatting with a K5 Blazer owner, although the greatest and most naked hostility has come from 3 Toyota drivers, all of them in late-80s SR5s. From deliberately holding up traffic at a long light when I’m stopped behind one, to shouting “fuck you and your military vehicle too!” by some mooks hauling around their motorcycles in the bed, I am still puzzled by just what I did to ruin their world view by buying a very nimble but slow former military radio wagon.
Oh yeah, while I haven’t test driven any of the later TD models, I love the performance of the petrol-powered Pinzes, and wholeheartedly recommend purchasing one of the K-series models for those who want to create an outstanding backcountry camper. A native 24VDC electrical system means you don’t need to engage in excessive hacking in order to install a decent RV fridge or microwave oven. I like ARB’s swing-piston compressor units, and you can integrate a nice tie-down mount in the rear cargo area with the Pinzgauer’s stepped well. Once I finish the garage project (pulled the trigger on a 25’x40’x20′ structure last week!) I’m going to see about fitting my 710K with a pull-out utility chest, so I can fill the rear with cargo yet still access whatever I need for any roadside emergencies.
Ping or Unimog — either one would satisfy my need for a rig when the zombies come.
The K model is a good recommendation, Felis. It would be the simplest to convert into my mobile fortress (you know, for when the zombies come, and they ARE coming).
Now if someone would just give me the $35k to buy it, I promise I’ll do the mods myself.