Tag Archives: Pen

This gold-capped 3D printed pen’s unique design is making sustainability sexy

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There’s a famous Jerry Seinfeld bit from the late 80s that really hits the spot. “They’re manufacturing millions of pens… I must have bought 6000 pens in my life, I’ve used maybe two of them”, the comedian says, ending with the most important question of our time. “Where’s the rest of them??” They’re in landfills, Jerry. They’re either lost under the seat of your car, behind your desk, or in a landfill. The reason this happens is because single-use pens weren’t designed to have a good design or memorable user experience. They’re only made for convenience – a price that the planet finally pays. Deviating from that approach, the ADD-APT pen’s wonderful design gets you to adopt and adapt to the idea of changing for the better. The pen’s form looks nothing like any other pen you’ve seen. It’s elegant and eye-catching, and comes with a replaceable refill design that’ll make you hold onto the ADD-APT for ages. Another little-known detail is the fact that the ADD-APT is made entirely using 3D printing – a process that dramatically reduces the waste created by the pen’s production process!

Designer: Richard Ward

Click Here to Buy Now: $74 $84 (12% off). Hurry, for a limited time only!

The ADD-APT name comes from its unique design, which adapts to every user’s style. The pen’s artistic form factor has a unique teardrop-shaped cross-section that be ergonomically gripped by both left-handed and right-handed users (it even allows neutral and inverted-neutral holding styles), and the notched grip provides the right kind of texture needed to provide a reliable amount of friction without requiring a separate rubber/silicone sleeve for a grip.

Each pen comes 3D printed from tough nylon, and docks a Monteverde D1 ink refill in the hollow top of its otherwise unibody design. The pen’s capped off with perhaps one of the most eye-catching caps ever. Each cap is made from cast brass, coated with either gold or platinum to truly make it the crown jewel of the ADD-APT pen. However, this crown jewel has a functional detail too in the form of a tiny hole that lets you grip the pen’s nib and slide the empty refill out before you put a new one in.

Ultimately, as eye-catching, unique, and ergonomic as the ADD-APT is, its sustainability is designer Richard Ward’s prime focus. Mass-produced single-use pens require expensive molds, large factories, and generate a lot of wasted plastic in the injection molding process. The ADD-APT circumvents it all by relying on 3D printing, which generates far less waste and has a much smaller footprint thanks to the fact that 3D printers are much more compact than industrial injection molding machines.

Moreover, the ADD-APT’s beautiful design, coupled with its infinitely reusable nature instantly makes it the kind of pen you’ll want to keep and constantly write with. It’s designed to look beautiful so you don’t accidentally leave it at the bank after signing papers or forget about it in some lone corner of your home. It’s a sheer masterclass in how emotional design can push a user to love and cherish a pen more, making you use it for decades instead of days, and be more sustainable over its lifespan!

Click Here to Buy Now: $74 $84 (12% off). Hurry, for a limited time only!

The post This gold-capped 3D printed pen’s unique design is making sustainability sexy first appeared on Yanko Design.

SpaceX-inspired pen stands majestically on your desk like a miniature Moon Lander replica

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Named ‘Nominal’, after the term used during launch when everything is running smoothly and according to plan, this space-inspired pen takes the shape of a miniature moon-lander, in celebration of NASA and SpaceX’s renewed efforts to return to the Moon.

Nominal is a space pen with a difference. It isn’t like the space pens from the 90s – now known as gel pens, that can write upside down. This pen literally embodies space, with its launcher-inspired design. Modeled after the Moon Lander that will once again hopefully put humans on our nearest cosmic neighbor, the Nominal Moon Lander pen comes with a sleek, simple design that can rest vertically on any surface.

Designer: Mercator London

Click Here to Buy Now: $68 $75 (10% off with coupon code “YANKO_ML_10”). Hurry, offer ends June 5th.

The pen comes with an immaculate brushed stainless steel finish, made from 18 individually CNC-machined components. It weighs 66 grams, making it heavy enough to feel really great in the hand, without being too heavy to become cumbersome.

Pop the cap open (or detach the module, as they say), and underneath lies the pen’s grip, complete with a hexagonal pattern resembling the lander’s heatshield. That isn’t the only hidden easter egg. Look at the base of the pen and you’ll notice 29 recessed dots, modeled to represent the 29 Raptor Engines on the original Super Heavy Booster.

NOMINAL Moon Lander Platform – Features a fineprint photograph of the Moon’s surface. It also fits an Apple MagSafe Wireless Charger.

NOMINAL Pen – Inspired by SpaceX rocket with retracting mechanical legs and magnetic capsule.

NOMINAL Pen – In brushed steel or dark gunmetal.

This isn’t Nominal’s first pen. Their debut pen (image above) was a 2020 Kickstarter success and was modeled on the Falcon 9 rocket. It even came with retractable legs that gave the pen authenticity and undeniable coolness. The Moon Lander pen is the company’s sophomore writing instrument, modeled for our future space expeditions. It comes with a detachable base that lets you swap out and replace the Schmidt P950M Medium Black pressurized refill on the inside, and is packaged in a slick, black case that makes for a great gift for the space-enthusiast… although I do recommend pairing it along with the Nominal Moon Lander Platform that has a stunning crater-ridden surface that makes the stage base for your pen. Oh, the platform also lets you hook in an Apple MagSafe charger, turning the moon’s surface into a wireless iPhone charger!

Click Here to Buy Now: $68 $75 (10% off with coupon code “YANKO_ML_10”). Hurry, offer ends June 5th.

The post SpaceX-inspired pen stands majestically on your desk like a miniature Moon Lander replica first appeared on Yanko Design.

Shapeshifting EDC Pen + Stylus is easily the most versatile writing instrument you can own

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Whether you’re writing on physical or digital surfaces, the Transforming Pen & Stylus has you sorted. Its compact, magnetic design lets you immediately shift between pen and capacitive stylus modes, simply by separating the writing module from its body, flipping it around, and snapping it back in place. For added appeal, the entire device is made from a hefty, weighty stainless steel that feels great to hold onto, while a Titanium Nitride coating on the entire pen gives it a protective layer that not only prevents scratches but also makes it anti-bacterial.

Designer: Smart & Savior Designs

Click here to Buy Now: $59. Hurry, for a limited time only.

A uniquely versatile writing tool, the Transforming Pen & Stylus can be used and carried in a variety of ways. In its smallest avatar, the entire instrument measures just 75mm or under 3-inches in length, and when expanded, becomes a 115mm-long instrument that you can comfortably and effectively write with. The entire Transforming Pen & Stylus is made up of 3 machined metal parts that can easily be disassembled for maintenance, along with a replaceable ballpoint refill and a fiber tip stylus that can be replaced too. On the other end of the writing instrument is a nifty hole that lets you hook your transforming pen to a keychain or a carabiner, giving it true EDC status by allowing you to carry it anywhere simply by hooking it onto your backpack or fixing it into your keychain.

To retain its compact form factor, the Transforming Pen houses a small D1 refill on the inside and accepts a variety of brands including Lamy, Scrikss, Shneider, Steel Pen, and Kaweco. The stylus, on the other hand, works on almost all modern touchscreens, letting you do everything from write notes on your phone, annotate documents on your tablet, sign on POS systems, and even use on ATM displays so you don’t have to touch foreign surfaces with your fingers.

An internal magnetic system lets you easily alternate between pen and stylus modes. To make the switch, just gently pull the writing module out of its housing and flip it over. The magnetic interaction allows it to snap back in place with a satisfying click, eliminating the need for screw-type fixtures, clipping mechanisms, or press-fit rubber gaskets. The interaction is simple and frankly has a wonderful tactile joy to it that’s comparable to a fidget toy!

The Transforming Pen & Stylus come together as a 2-in-1 EDC writing device, although you can buy just the Transforming Pen without the stylus module if you’re more of a ‘penthusiast’. You’ve got color options too, including silver, gold, rose gold, and black, and an optional color-matching carabiner that lets you carry your shape-shifting EDC wherever you go! The Transforming Pen & Stylus starts at $59 (you can grab just the pen for $49) and begins shipping in April 2022.

Click here to Buy Now: $59. Hurry, for a limited time only.

The post Shapeshifting EDC Pen + Stylus is easily the most versatile writing instrument you can own first appeared on Yanko Design.

How an engineering detail from 1892 became this fidget pen’s most exciting feature

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You probably don’t need me to remind you of the phrase “Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey”. Chances are, it automatically plays in your head whenever you’re turning a faucet, screwing a bolt, or just about working with pretty much anything that has threading on it… but there is a marvel of engineering that defies this notion – it’s called the dual-threaded screw. Discovered and popularized in 1892, the dual-threaded screw is famous for the fact that it supports both clockwise and anti-clockwise nuts.

Designer: MetMo Design

Click Here to Buy Now: $99. Hurry, less than 72 hours left!

Challenging the notion of ‘righty tighty lefty loosey’, dual-threaded screws let you use nuts that tighten in either direction. You could ask an engineer what the practical application of such a screw is, although from my own personal experience of watching mechanical videos on YouTube, it’s definitely interesting and baffling to see how you can tighten this unique screw in practically any direction you want. If you’re having trouble visualizing it, the MetMo pen brings that unique engineering detail to your office stationery set.

The MetMo Pen (short for Metal in Motion) is a metal pen with a machined outer body, featuring the unique dual-thread design. Created for the fidget-enthusiast and the curious-at-heart, the pen comes with two nuts that screw onto it, and lets you experience the quirky joy of watching how this crazy little concept works.

With its machined metal body (featuring the diamond-shaped dual thread design), the MetMo pen is as visually beautiful as it’s tactile. Equipped with a Parker-style refill on the inside, the pen is a sheer pleasure to write with, but its highlight is definitely its unique fidget-feature.

Each MetMo comes with two nuts (that rotate in reverse directions). Made entirely from metal with carefully considered tolerances, these nuts turn the MetMo into the ultimate fidget toy, allowing you to slide them around, move them up and down, flick them with your thumb, and watch them as they rotate in opposite directions, but travel up or down the pen in the same direction.

The MetMo even comes with its own threaded case that lets you easily rotate to either conceal or reveal the entire pen. I’m realizing more and more that words don’t do justice to exactly how bonkers fun the MetMo is, so just go ahead and look at the pictures below or the video above!

The pen comes in two variants – machined either from solid aluminum or solid brass. Both are equally well-balanced (and are a pleasure to hold and write with) although the aluminum weighs a mere 31.5g (1.1 ounces) while the brass variant is much heavier at 92.7g (3.2 ounces) for a more premium, weighted writing experience.

The pen measures 150mm in length and fits all standard parker-type refills. The tip of the pen retracts in too (by rotating the base), and paired along with the two nuts, makes for an incredibly addictive tactile experience that’ll keep you occupied for hours! The aluminum Metmo pen costs $104 while the brass pen has a price tag of $142 – they ARE made from solid metal, after all, with no glue or plastic parts (which means they’re designed to last longer too). For an additional $34, you can even get yourself the add-on brass case for the MetMo!

Click Here to Buy Now: $99. Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $200,000.

Made from silver and metal alloy, this ergonomic pen surpasses the regular wooden pencil with its ink-less design!

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Inspired by ancient writing instruments, ZAI is an inkless pen with a silver point composed of a metal alloy and silver designed by a team at BAH International that hopes to cut the cost burden and environmental impact of conventional wooden pencil production.

Few things are more exciting than unique stationery designs–even fewer are more exciting than an inkless pen. In use since ancient times, silverpoint pens, whose cores are constructed from silver and alloy, have been trusted by scribes, illustrators, and architects alike. Merging its traditional use with a modern, ergonomic build, ZAI is an inkless pen designed by a team at BAH International Co. that aims to reduce the conventional pencil’s cost burden and environmental impact.

The designers at BAH International created the ZAI Pencil to last a lifetime. Even following consistent wear and tear, the silverpoint of ZAI remains sharp with each use. Since a lot of wood is needed to construct conventional wooden pencils, the designers at BAH International hope to reduce the environmental impact of pencil production with ZAI.

Carrying a silverpoint composed of a silver and alloy mixture, users can choose between a colorful aluminum barrel or a rustic wooden one, the only difference being that ZAI’s aluminum barrel is slightly shorter. Compared to conventional wooden pencils and ink pens, ZAI writes and feels just the same for a familiar tactile experience.

Additionally, ZAI only draws and writes on paper surfaces, so it will not bleed through clothes or leak onto your palms while writing. Waterproof by design, ZAI is built for extreme conditions where writing and drawing with traditional instruments might not work.

Reaching a maximum height between 100 and 112mm, ZAI is portable for even the smallest of pockets and features a round barrel for an ergonomic grip. Users can also easily adjust the contrast of ZAI’s imprint by pressing down harder or softer on the piece of paper to reach a writing pressure similar to that of a 2B pencil.

Designer: BAH International Co.

Depending on the pressure applied, like any pen, the contrast of ZAI’s ‘ink’ flow will vary.

Made from silver and alloy metal, ZAI is waterproof by design. 

Users have the choice between a wooden barrel and an aluminum one, the only difference being that the aluminum barrel is slightly shorter.

ZAI pens only write on paper, so they will never bleed through your clothes.

Designed to last a lifetime, ZAI was created to replace wooden pencils.

Silverpoint pens have been trusted by illustrators, painters, architects, and scribes for centuries.

When put on paper, the ‘ink’ of ZAI is waterproof so, rest assured, spills can happen.

How an engineering detail from 1892 became this fidget pen’s most exciting feature

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You probably don’t need me to remind you of the phrase “Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey”. Chances are, it automatically plays in your head whenever you’re turning a faucet, screwing a bolt, or just about working with pretty much anything that has threading on it… but there is a marvel of engineering that defies this notion – it’s called the dual-threaded screw. Discovered and popularized in 1892, the dual-threaded screw is famous for the fact that it supports both clockwise and anti-clockwise nuts.

Designer: MetMo Design

Click Here to Buy Now: $104. Hurry, only 44/300 left!

Challenging the notion of ‘righty tighty lefty loosey’, dual-threaded screws let you use nuts that tighten in either direction. You could ask an engineer what the practical application of such a screw is, although from my own personal experience of watching mechanical videos on YouTube, it’s definitely interesting and baffling to see how you can tighten this unique screw in practically any direction you want. If you’re having trouble visualizing it, the MetMo pen brings that unique engineering detail to your office stationery set.

The MetMo Pen (short for Metal in Motion) is a metal pen with a machined outer body, featuring the unique dual-thread design. Created for the fidget-enthusiast and the curious-at-heart, the pen comes with two nuts that screw onto it, and lets you experience the quirky joy of watching how this crazy little concept works.

With its machined metal body (featuring the diamond-shaped dual thread design), the MetMo pen is as visually beautiful as it’s tactile. Equipped with a Parker-style refill on the inside, the pen is a sheer pleasure to write with, but its highlight is definitely its unique fidget-feature. Each MetMo comes with two nuts (that rotate in reverse directions). Made entirely from metal with carefully considered tolerances, these nuts turn the MetMo into the ultimate fidget toy, allowing you to slide them around, move them up and down, flick them with your thumb, and watch them as they rotate in opposite directions, but travel up or down the pen in the same direction. The MetMo even comes with its own threaded case that lets you easily rotate to either conceal or reveal the entire pen. I’m realizing more and more that words don’t do justice to exactly how bonkers fun the MetMo is, so just go ahead and look at the pictures below or the video above!

The pen comes in two variants – machined either from solid aluminum or solid brass. Both are equally well-balanced (and are a pleasure to hold and write with) although the aluminum weighs a mere 31.5g (1.1 ounces) while the brass variant is much heavier at 92.7g (3.2 ounces) for a more premium, weighted writing experience. The pen measures 150mm in length and fits all standard parker-type refills. The tip of the pen retracts in too (by rotating the base), and paired along with the two nuts, makes for an incredibly addictive tactile experience that’ll keep you occupied for hours! The aluminum Metmo pen costs $104 while the brass pen has a price tag of $142 – they ARE made from solid metal, after all, with no glue or plastic parts (which means they’re designed to last longer too). For an additional $34, you can even get yourself the add-on brass case for the MetMo!

Click Here to Buy Now: $104. Hurry, only 44/300 left!

This drill bit-inspired pen might easily be the most fascinating piece of stationery I’ve seen this year

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A cross between a brush, a pen, and a quill, the DRILLOG is stationery at its absolute finest. Designed and made in Japan, the dip-pen features a drill-inspired nib that catches ink in its different hollow grooves when you dip it in ink, and the ink gradually travels down to the tip by virtue of gravity, giving you a new, elevated writing experience that doesn’t just translate to great penmanship on paper, it’s also a sheer pleasure to look at as the ink gathers in the nib’s finely machined spiral grooves, and travels down as you write.

Designers: Shion & Haft Design

Click Here to Buy now: $189 $275 (30% off). Raised over $140,000.

I like to think of the DRILLOG as a rather steampunk approach to stationery – in that it combines old styles with new technologies, resulting in a fusion of past and future. The DRILLOG dip-pen shifts the idea of an internal refill to the outside, using multiple channels in its metal nib to hold ‘rivers’ of ink that travel to the pen’s metal tip.

The uniquely engineered nib has both vertical as well as spiral grooves for maximum ink retention, allowing you to write a significant number strokes before needing to dip your pen back in ink again. The DRILLOG works with practically any kind of ink or pigment (you could use it with runny paints too), giving you the ability and freedom to work with different inks and colors.

The DRILLOG pen comes made entirely from metal and features an acid-resistant stainless steel nib that screws into the front of the pen’s body. The durable metal used in the nib allows you to use slightly acidic or even alkaline inks, without worrying about your writing instrument getting damaged, while a special plasma treatment makes the nib hydrophilic, allowing it to hold onto the ink when you’re dipping the nib in the inkpot.

The nibs come in two variants, with a slimmer 0.5mm tip, or a slightly thicker 0.8mm tip (similar to the standards found on dot pens or mechanical pencils), and are sold separately along with the pen’s body/barrel.

0.5mm character width (equals to Extra Fine fountain pen tip size)

0.8mm character width equals to Medium fountain pen tip size.

As far as the barrels or the actual bodies of the pen go, DRILLOG offers a variety to choose from, including plain cylindrical aluminum barrels in a variety of anodized colors, or even textured bodies including spiral and square-wave designs in either aluminum or stainless steel. For artists or calligraphers, DRILLOG even offers dual-sided barrels that can fit nibs on either end, allowing you to work with different tip-widths, or even different colors as you write/sketch/draw.

 

Once you’re done, the tips can easily be rinsed under running water, or in a water-based ultrasonic cleaner (if you’ve got one honestly). The DRILLOG dip-pen makes a perfect gift for designers, calligraphers, artists, and stationery enthusiasts of all kinds.

Horizontal Pen-stand

Color Puddle

It comes with its own set of accessories too, including a horizontal pen-stand and an all-metal color puddle/palette, and DRILLOG’s manufacturer Shion says they’re working on even more accessories/attachments down the road.

Click Here to Buy now: $189 $275 (30% off). Raised over $140,000.

Minimalist 3D-printed pen comes with a literal ‘twist’ that acts as its eye-catching detail!

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Kairi Eguchi’s 3D-printed pen has a pretty unique way of balancing minimalism along with an expressive design. It’s rather simple if you break it down by its cross-section – The pen’s basically square-shaped, but it isn’t just a simple extruded square. Somewhere down the middle, the square profile makes a gradual 180° twist, creating a form that’s wonderful to look at and has a tactile appeal!

Designer: Kairi Eguchi

The pens come with a rather rough stone-ish texture as a result of the sandstone FDM printing. This adds to the pen’s unique appearance and its tactile appeal. It looks like stone, but feels surprisingly light, while that rough surface is also great to grip. The twist in the pen’s design is right above where one would normally grip it, so it ideally rests in the web of your hand rather than being difficult to hold. The twisted surface also allows the pen to roll, which seems rather unusual for something that’s originally square-shaped.

Titled the Serpentina (for ‘serpentine’), the pen takes on a snake-like quality with its long, twisting, dynamic-looking body. The pen’s showcased in 3 colors, a concrete grey, charcoal black, and a rather unusual resin-like transparent yellow.

The Serpentina Pen is a Silver Winner of the Design For Asia Awards for the year 2020.

The KRMA EVO Pen is made from the same grade 5 Titanium used inside airplane engines

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They say the pen is mightier than the sword… if it’s made from titanium it probably is quite literally too! Meet the KRMA EVO, a pen crafted from solid Grade 5 Titanium – the same kind used in high-performance airplane engines. Designed to be incredibly lightweight for its size – weighing just 25 grams (.9 ounces) with the refill) – the KRMA EVO is incredibly resilient too, and can last practically forever.

The KRMA EVO features a two-piece design machined to perfection with incredibly tight tolerances. The two halves twist along their common axis to reveal or conceal the pen’s nib, eliminating the need for a cap. There’s a pocket clip built-in, making the KRMA EVO easy to carry around as EDC. The pen fits a variety of refills on the inside, working with Schmidt Easy Flow 9000s, Space Pen Refills, as well as any of Parker’s refills. Just slip your favorite refill in and you’ve got yourself an invincible pen for your invincible thoughts! The pen comes in a variety of finishes, including a polished, stone-tumbled, anodized black, PVD gun metal, and a pretty cool champagne variant too! The pen ships in October and is available on Kickstarter for a discounted price of $69. Grab it now, use it forever!

Designer: Red Launch Pad

Click Here to Buy Now: $69 $100 (30% Off). Hurry, only 3 days left!

Click Here to Buy Now: $69 $100 (30% Off). Hurry, only 3 days left!

These minimal bamboo-inspired pens come with a magnetic base to keep them self-organized!

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All designers can relate to the frustration of not being able to find that specific nib for their own. And maybe it’s Murphy’s Law but the case of the missing nib always happens when you are ready to start sketching. Keeping this in mind, Kim Minsu created ‘Organize’ – a pen and stand set that (yes, you guessed it) organizes your stationery. Just like a self-rigging toy, when left on the flat base it will return to the upright position thanks to the rounded and weighted bottom.

The minimal form has been inspired by bamboos, specifically those little ones we keep in our homes for good luck. So when not in use Organize looks like an aesthetic piece in your interior setup.

Designer: Kim Minsu

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