Basic Info:
- Name: Unnamed Pen
- Manufacturer: William Shakour
- Price: 165 GBP, shipped (approx $215 USD at time of writing)
- Nib: #8 Titanium "F"
- Ink Used: KWZ Grey Plum
- Size: HUGE.
- It's bigger than a Conid Kingsize and a only slightly smaller than a Namiki Emperor
- It's gigantic, but without the price tag often associated with oversize pens
- It's made in a novel way: 3D printing
- It has a huge ink capacity
- It's a piston filler pen, which I find doubly impressive given how the pen is manufactured. My guess is that it would've been much easier to make a cartridge/converter pen.
- There are options when purchasing the pen (e.g. the color, whether or not the pen is polished, whether or not the pen is round or faceted, etc).
- The nib (#8 titanium "F") is smooth with just a hint of feedback, which happens to be just how I like my titanium nibs. I haven't had any issues with hard starts.
- I like how I can see the ink in the body of the pen even though it isn't a demonstrator. The ink windows (6 "slits") are well implemented.
- Mr. Shakour was a pleasure to work with, from the customization of my pen to payment and shipping. For being a (presumably) one-man shop, I found him very responsive to direct messages.
- The size won't be everyone's cup of tea. The size also means that no pen case I own is big enough to hold it, so I have resorted to carting it around in the plastic tube it was shipped in.
- The cap is fiddly to get on and off, even after practice. I've always been able to get it back on with patience and a gentle touch, but it's not something I think about with any other pen in my collection.
- I also worry that the capping process may damage the nib. This is likely unfounded, as I have had not issues thus-far, but the possibility always crosses my mind when I can't quite cap the pen.
- The piston filling mechanism arrived so tight I was worried that it was broken (or that I would break it trying to get it moving). This ceased to be a problem after I got it moving for the first time.
- I can't help but wonder how durable the pen is, as it already has numerous small scratches. I'm especially worried about exposing the pen to heat, as I hear 3D printed objects do not do well in hot conditions (melting).
- Then again, I do my best to baby my pens, so only time will tell if this is a reasonable concern.
- Mr. Shakour is a one-man operation (as far as I know), so it may take 1-2 weeks or more to get your pen shipped out.
- (nit-pick) Each of the pieces of the pen are a slightly different shade of purple. The section is the worst offender, and appears to be a noticeably lighter shade.
- I don't mind the color shift as the plastic used to print the pen was advertised as "multicolor," but I was expecting the variation to either be more subtle, or more consistent across the body of the pen (i.e. the section not looking quite as different, or the color of the body transitioning more gradually into the color of the section).
- (nit-pick) The pen doesn't post. Given it's size, I can't imagine why you'd want to post it, though.
I really enjoy this pen, even despite my concerns and complaints. The size and manufacture drew me in initially. The nib and ink capacity are helping to keep the pen in my hand. The pen has issues, to be sure (the cap, the difficulty of EDC'ing the pen due to the size, and possible durability problems), but the "size to cost" ratio can't be beat, even after importing it from the UK. The customer service, ability to get a custom order, and unique nature of the pen make it an easy recommendation, especially for those who like their pens on the big side of the spectrum.
Score:
8.5/10
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