Good evening, I apologize in advance if this request for recs is in the wrong forum. If so, please direct me and I will move the thread.
I want to purchase a couple of knifemaker pens for an intern of mine that is graduating college this winter. I am looking for the following and would love any/all recs. Thank you in advance!
-Cost: up to $250 per pen
-Type: no fountain, but ones that would take Fisher space pen refills
-Color/Style: appropriate for a professional office culture. No loud colors, skulls, flames, etc…
-Time: readily available so that I can deliver in person late December at graduation.
-Condition: new
Sorry for the nitpicking, but I am clueless here and would love your insight and experience with any knifemaker 🖊.
I appreciate your time!
But what
kind of pen? Retractable or with a screw-on cap? If retractable, would you prefer a clicky, twist, or bolt action? Are you looking for something that's basically a really nice version of a regular pen that you'd find at anyone's desk or by the phone, or something more elegant that someone in a suit would use to sign contracts or that someone would do journaling with?
The Darrell Ralph (DDR) Go Pens (there's a couple pictured above) are good candidates for a high-quality clicky style pens. I have a couple, both titanium, one with a titanium tip one with a copper. The copper tip one I did have to ream out a bit to get a Fisher fine refill to fit through. I personally feel like the titanium ones have a very good balance and weight; if you have a Zebra F-701, it's pretty close to the same diameter and weight. You can get them in stainless steel too, if you want something heavier, or even full copper. The clip is very strong and won't over-bend easily (you can bend it back if you need to), and replacements are available. The click mechanism is a Schmidt SKM-88 (very commonly used for this type of semi-custom pen), which is smooth, relatively quiet, reliable, and very inexpensive to replace should the unlikely need ever arise.
I can also heartily recommend Matthew Martin (RJ's son) pens, but his selection is limited at the moment. I have a carbon fiber/titanium 375 that's fantastic, although I swapped the Tuff Writer mechanism with a Schmidt SKM-88, which extends a tiny bit more and doesn't grind against the inside of the pen when clicking like the Tuff Writer can.
The Combat Beads click pens are very similar to the DDR - basically just different aesthetics. Same Schmidt SKM-88 click mechanism. The aesthetics might be a bit less "professional" than you wish, with the knobby grip and more prominent pocket clip.
For bolt pens, it'd be hard to beat Tactile Turn or TiScribe. The Tactile Turns might be the nicest looking ones out there, but I feel that the mechanism should go the other way - in fact it's backwards compared to all the other (several) bolt pens I have (except a couple that go both ways). Tactile Turn also makes a click pen, although it has a different release mechanism (a button on the side).
Regardless of what pen you get, you'll want to look at ones that use Parker G2 style refills (not to be confused with Pilot G2 gel pen refills). The commonly found Schmidt Easy Flow 9000, Ohto needle point, Itoya Aquaroller, and Schneider Gelion are all Parker G2 style. Any pen that uses these should also work just fine with Fisher Space Pen refills with the included adapter. Few pens are made specifically to use
only the Space Pen refill (without the adapter), and usually those will also be very compact, mini pens. Custom/semi-custom pens that use Parker G2 are quite common, and there's a huge number of compatible refills if your intern wants to try something different than the Space Pen.
I like the Space Pen refills for the pressurized ink that can write on nearly anything. I prefer the fine over the medium, as I find the medium can occasionally glob a bit (particularly if not used for a while), and I prefer a finer tip in general, although but for general use or extended writing the medium is definitely smoother. But for regular use the Space Pens are not my favorite. For smooth writing on regular paper I really like the Monteverde gel needle point, which writes a lot like a Pentel Energel. For glossy paper (like credit card receipts), I prefer a ballpoint, and the Ohto needle point and the Monteverde fine point write smoothly and precisely. I
do not like Schmidt Easy Flow 9000. They gloop and glob like crazy and often don't write immediately (ya gotta scribble a bit to get the ink flowing). After reading so much how great they were, I was severely disappointed in them. If you want a hybrid ink, I suggest the Itoya Aquaroller or Uni Jetstream instead (the Jetstream is only available in black, but it might just be the best writing refill out there).
I'm less knowledgeable about other types of pens.
) Ti, but tasteful, and there are also more subdued options. Anyhow, you said any all recs, so
