As I explained in the first post of this blog, I don’t see materialism the way that most people do. Rather than focusing on the quantity of my possessions, I’ve come to value their quality. As such, many of the things that I have and cherish and carry with me every day have been tirelessly researched with one goal in mind: I want to love this thing, and I only want one. Be it a backpack or a wallet or a pair of jeans, I try to seek out the “best” in each scenario. And that’s not to suggest that there is an objectively “best” pair of jeans or backpack somewhere out there. What I mean is that I want to find the best thing for me.
Well, enough philosophizing. The point is, I’ve been writing avidly since I was 13 and, as such, an outlandish number of pens have come and gone from my life. Some have been cheap-o disposables, and some have been a little nicer. Last fall I decided to seek out the best (for me) pen that I could own. Something solid and beautiful and well made enough that it would truly last the test of time. So, after scouring kickstarter projects and website upon website, product review upon product review, I finally took a risk and ordered a pen that I thought might fit my needs. And I have to say…I hit the jackpot. Enter: The Render K Pen.
Karas Kustoms is a small shop located in Mesa, Arizona, where they make (among other things) machined metal pens. They currently have three models available: the Bolt Action, the Retrakt (click pen), and the Render K (screw cap). Additionally, each model is available in three different metals (aluminum, brass and copper).
I went with the Render K model in brass (tied with copper for the heavies option) because I wanted something almost too heavy. I wasn’t let down!
Weighing in at 3.3 ounces (when capped), this thing doesn’t mess around. The typical response when handing it to someone is “holy shit”, usually followed by “what’s this thing made of?”. Just to give you an idea, a roll of dimes weighs 4 ounces.
But to say that this is a heavy pen and nothing else would be criminal. This thing is designed and built to near perfection. Machined out of a solid piece of brass, the shape and subtle details really make this pen what it is: The knurling on the cap, the heavy duty stainless steel clip, and (perhaps best of all), the ability to take a huge variety of ink refills using the included spring and plastic spacer. I use a Fisher Space Pen refill in, which writes through anything.
Knurling detail
Stainless steel clip
Space pen ink refill with included fitting hardware
The cap screws on and off, which I thought might be annoying to have to do every time I wanted to write something down. What I’ve found, however, is that I love this ceremonial unsheathing. In fact, the brass pen sliding out of the brass cap sounds like a movie sound effect of a sword being drawn (pretty awesome). The cap doesn’t post on the back of the pen, but this doesn’t bother me. It either sits on my desk next to my notebook, or ends up clipped to my clothing for safe keeping.
Uncapped
I’ve never had any problems with the cap unscrewing, either. This was something that I was actually pretty worried about: that the cap would loosen on its own and I’d lose a piece of the pen. I wasn't sure, being that it’s metal on metal, how tight of a seal the machined threads would make. This concern disappeared the second I opened the package. This thing tightens up incredibly well, and I’ve never had it loosen when I didn’t want it to. Not only that, but the these are “triple start” threads, meaning that you don’t have to fiddle around lining them up.
Threading
This pen has served its purpose incredibly well. Perhaps the biggest thing that I wanted in my pen was a kind of companion. Something that was with me every single day, and something that feels like it will never break or fail on me. I look forward to, one day, being able to pass this along to a son or daughter. That’s how confidence inspiring this beauty is.
If you want to peruse their pen selection, or take a look at their phone cases or tops or other machined metal goods, head over to karaskustoms.com.
Thank for reading, and I’ll see you next time.
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