If I carry on like this, my speciality will be titanium pens instead of fountain pens!
Today, I'm reviewing the Konstrukter Retract Mk. 1, an extremely solid titanium pen made entirely out of metal. A good ballpoint is a joy to use, and we'll be finding out if the Konstrukter falls into the category of KraftyCats Approved Ballpoints...
The Konstrukter comes in a presentation box, which ticks the packaging requirement. It could, perhaps, be a little more sturdy (it's made of a thick cardstock, I think) and a foam insert would be great, but the box kept it safe on the journey here which is all that really matters.
Inside, you find a note, then the pen and its corresponding Schmidt EasyFLOW 9000 refill.
It took me a few minutes to put it together, as the spring isn't already on the refill. It's hiding inside the pen! Assembly is easy once you know how to do it.
Remove pen and unscrew nose cone.
Tip pen downwards - a spring will fall out. Don't lose it!
Take refill out of the box and remove the long blue casing over the tip.
Place spring on nib end of refill.
Drop refill into pen, nib up.
Screw on nose cone.
Click button at the top and write!
Very simple and easy to do, it can just be confusing if you can't find that spring!
The pen has a nice simple design - all the parts fit together smoothly, and Konstrukter took a minimalistic approach to branding, which I appreciate - their shield logo appears just once, at the top of the pen.
Five rings engraved into the pen form the grip, and the gap between the nose cone and pen barrel is cleverly designed to look like another grip ring. None of the rings are sharp at all, and they are very comfortable to hold.
If you look closely at the pen, you can see small, neat lines spiralling up the barrel, presumeably from the machining process. It gives the whole thing a nice, subtle texture which I often notice on machined pens, and the metal is beautifully shiny. This makes it a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but if you polish it every now and then, it'll be fine.
I like that you can remove the clip if you like by unscrewing the top, lifting it off, then screwing the top back on.
I prefer it with the clip on, and it is a very good clip - extremely tough metal, but springy and shaped so as to be easily slipped on to clothing or a bag easily.
The button mechanism is smooth and reliable. I clicked it repeatedly for a while and the mechaism didn't get stuck once, unlike some other high-end ballpoints I've tried. According to the website, the mechanism is made out of brass. Disassembly confirms that - they're tough little bits of metal!
Even though the Grade 2 titanium is relatively heavy, it's very well balanced. I can write comfortably with it and it doesn't fatigue my hand at all.
To add to the pleasant writing experience, the refill is brilliant. Though I prefer black refills, I can't find fault with this dark blue refill. It glides across the page, producing a consistent dark line without railroading. In fact, I'd say that it's better than a Parker refill as I usually experience quite a lot of railroading with those.
Disassembly is easy, unscrew the nose cone and the top part above the clip and the pen will neatly fall into its constituent pieces. Putting it together is just as simple as it's easy to see where everything should go. Two minor gripes: it's tricky to get the clip back into the exact same position, over the notch. Also, unscrewing the parts was a bit tough but this was completely fixed by rubbing silicone oil into the threads. Now they run smoothly!
I'd recommend the Konstrukter pen to anybody willing to splash out on a quality EDC pen. Yes, the price is a bit steep, but when you consider that this is a pen that has a fair chance of outliving you, the price tag suddenly looks a lot mre reasonable. Refills are the only ongoing cost. Buy the pen once, and you have a brilliant ballpoint for life!
Disclaimer: Konstrukter provided this pen for review purposes. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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