Pens are dope. I get that we’ve gone digital and that notebooks are an age signifier as much as they are a work tool, but pens are still important and I firmly believe ones that glide Just Right should be immortalized through song or something. And to escalate things further, I fundamentally don’t understand people who are ambivalent toward writing utensils, and pretty much assume they’ll also wear Arizona’s in a blizzard or some wool pants to the beach if no one checks them* on their behavior. Anyways, this Machine Era Pen in Original Brass is an elite-level pen that will 1000% keep working long after any electronic item I own** and firmly falls into the “Good Pen” category.
(*Two things… 1) no need to defend either of these things as not weird, we won’t find a middle ground. 2) I understand that there’s probably not a neat 1:1 between people who don’t obsess over pens and people who don’t understand how to dress for weather, but we also can’t rule it out. **Except for this PS3 I’ve had since 2007. That thing is a fighter.)
Made entirely in the USA and preloaded with a Pilot G2 cartridge— you know it even if you don’t know it, like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours but office supplies — this no-frills, durably-designed, perfectly compact piece was machined from a patina-primed solid brass and features a threaded cap and ridges for grip. But what’s important, perhaps, is what they’ve left out: finicky moving parts, flimsy rubber O-rings, and other unnecessary chaos agents, making this one particularly sturdy.
So, while I suspect that a $38 pen isn’t on everyone’s (anyone’s?) radar, I ride for this one. It’s like buying a super nice crewneck sweatshirt—if you buy the right one, you’ll never be mad you own it.
Available for $38 at American Trench
