By Bill Riepl
The
Porsche Design pens have enough going for them to make me overlook the
fact that they are affiliated with the "other German car maker".
As you know if you've listened to me blather on about why BMW makes the
best auto in the world, this is really saying something about the Porsche
Design pens!
To get the bad news out of the way up front, let's begin with the fact that these are metal pens. So, no feather weights here. They are also very modern looking. If you're into the classic, retro look, seek your pen elsewhere. If you have trouble with anything heavier than an OMAS Paragon or the Pelikan M600, these are not for you.
Now, the bad news out of the way, I can get to the good stuff. The Porsche Design pens are, above all else, cool. How much weight this will have with you is your call. Obviously, a pen has to write well if it is to have any real interest for us. After all, however nice it may look, if it doesn't work...
But
that aside, (and we'll get to that in a minute), the looks of a pen are
pretty important. If they weren't, we'd all be writing with a Bic, or
at best, maybe a Parker Vector. In terms of working, these pens have a
very rigid 18K nib, it's either white gold, or plated to match the silver
colour scheme of the pens. They're cartridge converter fill, if that detail
matters to you. And, last but most assuredly not least, they're
made by Faber Castel.
That's the bit that has me breathing a sigh of relief. Faber Castel makes a pretty darn good pen. They're not much talked about, and I have no idea why. They offer great pens, with interesting designs. But I digress a bit... To get back on topic, I'm much less worried about the long term performance of these pens knowing that they're being made by a company with a good long term track record, even if they do operate a bit below the radar for most pen lovers!
Nibs
are offered in fine, medium and broad. Keep in mind though, that these
are good German pens. So that broad nib is not your ordinary, boring old
hunk of rounded off tipping material! No, instead it's an exciting, carefully
shaped chunk of tipping material.
Well OK, I don't know how exciting it is, really, but it is cut in a nice, squared off fashion. Almost a stub shape. So you get a bit of line width variation when using the broad nib, not just a thick line. As I mentioned, the nibs are rigid, but at least on the medium and broad tips we tried, very smooth.
The section is a nicely shaped piece of metal, it narrows down considerably, and has a matte finish to it. There is enough of a flared section at the lower end to keep your fingers from slipping down off the pen when in use.
That's
the fountain pen. Now, the ballpen is a different story! This is the pen
that really makes the collection. Sure, I'd buy the fountain pen first,
but I think this is a case where really, only the set of the two would
do for me. The ballpen is that neat...
All of these pens are made of a unique braided metal material for the barrel, with the other fittings being done in a matte finished metal, light silver gray in colour. On the fountain pen and rollerball, the braided material is really just there for looks, it doesn't really "do" anything.
But on the ballpen, the braided material serves a function. It compresses enough to allow the pen to be actuated by pressing down on the top of the pen. The braided material squeezes together a bit and the tip comes out.
Press
down again, and the tip retracts. Perhaps I'm making too much out of this
feature, but it does seem to be the first thing people notice about the
pen. They pick up the ballpen and begin to play with it, the tip goes
out, the tip goes in. Maybe we're all just far too easily entertained?
In any case, the Porsche Design ballpen is a real winner in and of itself. Paired up with the fountain pen, it's a great set. Although, aside from it's inherent "neatness", the ballpen might be redundant, given the fact that the fountain pen has a nib that seems more than rigid enough to get through most all tasks in a normal day's use. Multiple part carbons are not going to be a problem for this nib.
But, if you do need a ballpen to go along with your "real pen", this is the one to get!
The
Porsche Design pens are available in two different versions, one is a
plain steel, the other has a gold and steel pattern in the woven material
of the barrel. Which one is better looking? It's a tough call. I prefer
the plain steel version, but I may be in the minority. I'm told that the
gold and steel weave looks "classier". They're both very nice,
and neither of these pens are going to be called tasteless by any stretch
of the imagination/
The Porsche Design pens are made in fountain pens, rollerball, ballpen, and .07 mechanical pencil versions, in both colour schemes. With a retail price of $270 for the fountain pen, and lower on the rollerball, ballpen, and pencil versions, they're priced squarely in the "nice pen" price range.
