New (to me) Fountain Pen Design

[henry1164]

Has anyone seen this? New one for me - Kickstarter fountain pen where the pen body is shorter and threaded on the end opposite the nib. Makes for a shorter pen when stored. Price starts around $70.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1516711080/lumink-ti-pen-pocket-to-full-size-transforming-in-seconds?ref=bnhonw&utm_medium=paid&utm_source=fb&utm_id=120239751079260766&utm_content=120239884193840766&utm_term=120239877059570766&utm_campaign=120239751079260766

 

[darrin1200]

Pocket pens a quite popular. But a lot is determined by the comfort in the hand when posted.

This is my version.

 

[duncsuss]

Has anyone seen this? New one for me - Kickstarter fountain pen where the pen body is shorter and threaded on the end opposite the nib. Makes for a shorter pen when stored. Price starts around $70.

A couple of things leap out at me:

1. I like pens with clips, but I don't see the point of making a short pen with a clip. My shirt pocket and jacket pocket are plenty deep enough to take a normal length pen that has a clip on the cap. These short pens are very well-suited to go in a purse/handbag/pocketbook, where a clip would likely interfere with other contents - so Darrin's design without a clip is better IMO.

2. The short barrel length rules out normal length cartridge/converters - so you'd either be limited to buying ink cartridges or use a syringe to refill a cartridge with bottled ink when it runs empty. A lot of people are okay with that, but some aren't.

3. "Innovative no-scratch clip" - what the heck does that mean? It looks just like any other milled clip that attaches with two screws. (I've made one myself, it isn't rocket science and I didn't come up with the idea - pretty sure I copied one I'd seen a friend make.) Any clip that scratches or tears the cloth of a shirt pocket is a design fail.

 

[darrin1200]

When I first designed these pens, I was using standard acrylic pen blanks. My pen design was driven by the fact that I wanted to make the whole pen from one 5-1/2" blank. It is just big enough to hold a standard intl. cartridge. Screwing the barrel and section together, will actually help seat the cartridge.
But I am planning to redesign it, to fit a kaweco mini folding converter. Have to make the body about 2-3mm longer.

 

[BHuij]

It's a fairly standard approach to making a pocket pen - a body too short to work on its own, with the expectation that you'll post the cap when writing with it to get the overall length to a comfortable place. My Kaweco Brass Sport is my pocket pen and largely the same design (in broad strokes) as this one. I also have a Hongdian M2 that works the same way. And Thomas Slim is about to release their own Kickstarter for a really well-thought-out stainless steel version here.

If this was a new kit, that would be very cool. The closest fountain pen kit I've found to a proper pocket pen design is the Wood River Arete, and it appears to be discontinued. This looks like just another entry in the category of "premium-ish pocket fountain pens" on Kickstarter. Perhaps a really good one, I don't know. But it's hardly a groundbreaking new design.