Bock Titanium Nib Review

Last week, I took a look at the Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen, an excellent Kickstarter pen that's now available to the general public. The Gist comes with Bock nib material options, steel, titanium, and gold, and I thought that it would be fun to try a titanium nib. This is my first titanium nib, and I chose the fine version. Unlike the shiny stainless steel nibs, the titanium has a darker, tarnished color. This pairs well with certain pens and compliments the distressed look of my Gist's copper grip and finial. Bock nibs are etched with the Bock logo and intricate spiral designs. These are beautiful on their own, but the designs really shine when ink smears on the nib and fills them in.

The Bock titanium nib has significantly more flex than a steel nib, resulting in a moderate amount of line variation with different writing pressure. The fine-nib version still functions well as an everyday writer, even though it can be pushed to offer a significant amount of flex. The flex does cause the nib to burn through ink very quickly, which doesn't pair well with smaller-capacity converter-fill pens, such as the Gist. Expect to fill the converter every few days or so, even with only a moderate amount of use.

The titanium nib glides smoothly across the paper, with minimal resistance. Although the nib is smooth, I occasionally experience skipping and hard starts, after longer writing periods. There were several occasions where I even had to unscrew the barrel to push ink through the converter and prime the nib. The issues were frequent enough to break my writing flow and cause annoyance, which makes it difficult to recommend the nib without reservations. This can be alleviated, somewhat, by choosing an ink that flows easily.

The Bock titanium nib is fun for short bursts of stationary writing. Its flex is enough to leave moderate line variation without gushing ink onto the page. The nib falters during long writing sessions, and the soft titanium material makes it a poor choice for an everyday carry pen that may see unstable environments or even the occasional drop. Although I don't plan to fill my pen arsenal with titanium nibs, I'm glad to have one in rotation. Most don't choose fountain pens because they're incredibly convenient and versatile, and there's something to be said for the titanium nib's unique performance and aged appearance. It's certainly worth a try, even if it isn't destined to travel with you on a daily basis.

So this is all well and good, but how do I buy one? Here are a few links to pens that offer Bock titanium nib options. Most offer separate nib purchases, in case you already own the pen itself. This isn't all inclusive, since many pen manufacturers use Bock nibs.

• Karas Customs Ink Fountain Pen - $140 with titanium nib. Great review by Pen Habit.
• Tactile Turn Gist - Starting at $159 with titanium nib.
• Conid Minimalistica - The large capacity is perfect for satiating a titanium nib's ink hunger. Great review from The Gentleman Stationer. Don't look unless you're prepared to drop $400.

Don't forget to check out my original review of the Tactile Turn Gist.

Casual Sunday - July 3, 2016

It's Sunday, which means it's time to pour a cup of coffee, snuggle up next to the pooch, and catch up on current events.

Pen Reviews:

• Lamy Pico Laser Orange Pocket Ballpoint Pen Review — The Pen Addict - Almost picked one of these up in the airport last week. I'm definitely regretting my decision not to.
• Pen Review: Tactile Turn Gist — The Gentleman Stationer - One of my favorite reviewers takes a look at a great EDC Kickstarter pen. Find my review of the Gist here.
• Quillidyllic: THE BLANC ET NOIR on the ROUGE ET NOIR - Like the Hemingway, the Rouge et Noir is delightfully orange and significantly out of my price range. Why must all of the best orange pens be so expensive?

Other Interesting Finds:

• Unordered Thoughts on Life at 35 — Shawn Blanc - I've followed Shawn for years, and his posts only become more thoughtful with time.
• Choosing Pens for the Daily Carry — The Gentleman Stationer
• Zen and the Art of Fountain Pen Maintenance — The Pen Addict - If you don't own a bulb syringe, you should.
• Scription: Scription Chronodex Weekly Planner Jul-Dec 2016 Released - I used the Chronodex planner for a few months, and it's fantastic!

Thanks for checking out this week's issue of Casual Sunday. Check back in on Tuesday morning for a brand new blog post or follow A Better Desk on Twitter or via RSS feed so that you don't have to. Thanks for your support!

Tactile Turn Gist Fountain Pen Review

Kickstarter can be a scary place. In a world full of Scribble Pens and fancy coolers, it's hard to want to plop down $100 or more for a product that may never be. That's why I waited nearly three weeks before backing the Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen. Fast forward more than six months, and I'm happily handwriting this article with one of the best pens in my arsenal, wondering why I had ever given it a second guess.

The pull-sleeve packing for the Gist is pretty slick.

The Tactile Turn Gist is a rugged fountain pen that holds its own against other $100 pens on the market. It's the first foray into fountain pens for Tactile Turn owner Will Hodges, and it's an impressive entry into the market. While its looks are professional enough to carry into a business meeting, its sturdy design makes it an excellent contender for an everyday carry pen.

The Gist comes in hundreds if not thousands of configurations. I chose the makrolon polycarbonate body with copper grip and finial and paired it with a titanium Bock nib. I should note that I'm just covering the Gist in this review and will go into more detail on the titanium nib next week. Makrolon is the same material that's used for the barrel of the Lamy 2000. It's lightweight but durable and will last for decades. The Gist's entire body is ridged, so that it's incredible easy to grip and manipulate in hand. The ridges give the pen a soft matte finish, which is nearly impossible to capture in a photograph. The pen does develop a sheen after significant use, but it doesn't get nearly as shiny as the Lamy 2000.

The copper finial on the Gist provides a teaser of what's under the hood. As the copper develops a patina over time, the finial begins to look like an old penny, a look that's enhanced by the Tactile Turn logo. The finial is machined with the rest of the polycarbonate cap, which results in a flawlessly smooth transition between copper and polycarbonate. The finial holds the clip in place, which sits in a notched slot in the polycarbonate. While the clip is incredibly sturdy, it is easily my least favorite part about the pen. Its look simply doesn't match the rest of the pen design. Fortunately, Kickstarter backers had the option to order a pen without a clip, so hopefully Tactile Turn has extended the same option to new customers.

The Tactile Turn Gist uses Acme threads to securely cap the pen. These threads are much larger than traditional cap threads and provide a secure seal, while requiring minimal twisting to uncap, less than three full turns to be exact. Perhaps there's a reason why more fountain pens don't use this type of threading, but these threads offer a dramatically better uncapping experience than threads on any of my other pens. Uncapping the pen reveals the beautiful copper grip, which is also ridged to prevent slippage. I can't overstate just how much I prefer the ridged grip to traditional smooth grips. The ridges allow for comfort during long writing sessions and prevent slippage caused by sweaty hands. The pen also posts, although it's plenty long enough to use unposted, which I prefer. The copper does leave a faint smell of pennies on my hands. At first, I avoided choosing copper for this very reason, but the smell is so faint that it's hardly noticeable, unless you jam your fingers up your nose, which I certainly don't recommend. The copper grip develops a patina over time, just like the finial.

The Gist includes a converter, which compares to a traditional international converter but is somewhat shorter. Simply unscrew the bottom section of the barrel to access the converter. The barrel, nib, and grip are all threaded, to ensure that the pen fits tightly together and does creak or wobble. Converter capacity is adequate for steel nibs, but I burn through converter fills with the titanium nib. The flex in the nib causes it to use much more ink than the tough-as-nails steel nib. Those who are accustomed to using piston fillers may certainly miss the added capacity.

Here's a closeup of the Acme cap threads and the pen's ridged surface.

As an everyday carry pen, the Tactile Turn Gist fountain pen is sturdy, grippy, and delivers on everything that it promises. This is the pen that I would take onto the machine shop floor, if I had a machine shop that is. There's something special about the copper and the way that it shows its age. It reminds me of all of the writing, scribbling, and sketching that I've done with it. Unlike traditional steel or titanium, the copper holds the history of its owner. Sure, it's easily possible to return the copper to its original glory, but perfection isn't why people purchase copper pens. The Tactile Turn Gist is a testament to Will Hodge's manufacturing prowess. It's not just an excellent Kickstarter fountain pen, it's an excellent fountain pen period.

Don't Wait

I've had a hard time wanting to write about pens lately. Despite all of the new cool stuff that's floating around my messenger bag, I just can't bring myself to do it. I promise that I'll return to posting about the latest and greatest in the pen world, cool notebooks, and pen cases, but not today. Today I want to talk about us. Not just us as members of the pen community, but us as human beings, as brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and lovers.

I met my partner nearly two years ago. I used to hate the term "partner." It felt like a term that people used to be politically correct or safe. This was all before I knew what it meant to truly have a partner. It took 26 years to build up the courage to pursue someone of the same gender, but it got to the point where I could no longer continue to push the painful sense of settling back into the pit of my stomach. Just like with many of you, our relationship began online. From the first day that we started talking, I knew that I had to meet him. And so I did. It was such an awesome first date that I came out to my parents the very next day. I would say that it was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do, but that would be a lie. It was a telephone call. It took a little while, but eventually my parents came to terms and accepted it, because they've always accepted me. It's never something that I've ever had to question about them. There were no laws threatening me with severe punishment or death. I didn't have to deal with religious bigotry that some in many countries, even the U.S., have to contend with. I work for an organization that is on the cutting edge of acceptance. My parents still supported me. I had it easy, yet it took me nearly three decades to take the step.

I underestimated what coming out actually meant. I assumed that it meant telling your parents, friends, and maybe a few coworkers and calling it a day. It's actually a set of choices that must be made everyday. It's how you respond when someone asks if you're married or have a girlfriend. It's whether or not you choose to hold your partner's hand in public, or even dare to walk too closely next to him. It's telling your neighbor that you're not actually brothers, even though that's how he continues to refer to you. It may even be as stupid as choosing to watch The Devil Wears Prada, while traveling alone on a plane as a 28 year old man, even though someone else might be able to see the screen. These are daily choices, and I have to admit that I've been pretty terrible at making the right ones.

I could feel my face flush when starting this post. As a naturally anxious person, even the thought of doing something that makes me stick out makes me cringe. It becomes incredibly easy to lie through omission or inaction. There's a fantastic video about the consequences of sneaking, of not being truly ourselves and hiding from those who might be critical or disapproving. I can't help but relate to the main character. Sneaking once or twice may not be such a big deal, but choosing to act in an attempt to solely please others is toxic to the psyche. More importantly, it's unfair. It's unfair to loved ones, but it's also unfair to ourselves. Instead of taking risks or being truly ourselves, we hide, we play it safe, and we lose more and more of what actually makes us worth knowing. I say "we" because I know that I'm not the only one, and it isn't just about sexuality. It happens in almost all walks of life, across gender, races, religions, and even nerdy hobbies.

And the worst part is that there are people out there who will ridicule, judge, or even kill you, for almost anything that makes your somewhat different than the norm. People even deal with harassment in the pen community. Trolls shout the loudest, so it's easy to think that they represent the majority. They don't. It's easy to let them shout you down into a place of deep despair. These people aren't worth your time. Find comfort in those who love you, but don't strive for the approval of those who will only love a certain version of you. And don't wait. Don't wait to pursue what you love or whom you love, and don't wait to be unapologetically yourself.

Times of great tragedy remind us of the incredible power of human compassion. More importantly, they remind us that, despite the trolls of the world, we are constantly surrounded by allies who are willing to step up in times of need. I have to remind myself of this at times, that these allies are always there. Sometimes it can be hard to do, especially at times when the world seems so ugly.

Nock Co. Sinclair Pen Case Review

School supply shopping was always my favorite part of returning to classes. I loved exploring the endless aisles of brightly lit pens, pencils and notebooks. Backpack purchasing decisions were made solely on the number of pen sleeves and pockets that the bag had. While picking pens and pencils was part of the fun, meticulously organizing them in a new backpack provided the real payoff.

Fast forward ten years, and I'm clawing for a cheap pharmaceutical-company Bic at the bottom of my bag, amidst a sea of coins, keys, and paperclips. In my college years, no pen lasted more than a month, which was fine, considering that most were free company swag. I'm happy to say that I'm now a reformed pen abuser, mostly because the quality of my writing tools has increased exponentially. There's no way that I'm throwing a fountain pen, like a Lamy 2000, into a bag full of keys.

Japan introduced me to the concept of a pen case. Sure, I had a plastic box for my pens in elementary school, but this pen-obsessed culture took cases to a new level. There were simple pen cases, which resembled an elementary school recorder case, and fancy leather pen wraps. The simple cases are nice enough, but I'm not a fan of pens rubbing together. The fancier leather wraps made it too difficult to remove a pen quickly, and I wasn't prepared to drop $100 on a pen case. I needed something that was affordable, easy to access, and durable. The Nock Co. Sinclair was the answer to my payers.

The Sinclair is a $35 nylon pen case that holds three pens and a pocket (Field Notes size) notebook. It zips from the top, so it's easy to quickly retrieve a pen and notebook. The case's zipper is very sturdy and has held up well with time, and its high quality stitching hasn't frayed a bit, even after months of use. The nylon case material is even coated with water repellent, to keep even the fanciest of pens safe and dry.

The pen slots are wider than a typical slot in a backpack or messenger bag, so most pens should fit with ease, as long as they aren't much longer than a typical pen. I keep a Nock Co. DotDash Pocket Notebook in the notebook slot, but there's also plenty of room for a stack of index cards as well (I use Nock Co. DotDash 3 x 5 Note Cards).

The Nock Co. Sinclair comes in several color variations. I chose the Mandarin/Blue Jay combo, since it was the only color in stock at the time, but I would love to own a version of this case in the Steel/Mango fabric combo, which doesn't currently exist.

The Sinclair is a fantastic case for the price, and I'm very happy to have it as my first pen case. It fits easily into an existing messenger bag or backpack, and provides extra protection while maintaining ease of access. The case's durable nylon and notebook slot also makes it feasable to carry the case by itself, loose in a purse, or even in a cargo pocket, for those EDC types. This case is a must buy.