Pocket Size Review 34: Spoke Pen, Uni-ball Signo 0.38mm Blue Black
After recently completing fulfillment of their Kickstarter campaign from earlier this year, Spoke Design has announced that they will soon be releasing their Spoke Pen for public sale. As an early backer of their pen I’ve had mine in hand since July, and I’m happy to share some thoughts about it with you.
For a pen that I’ve only had for a few months, it’s actually been pretty well traveled. My Spoke Pen arrived the day that I was leaving for a family trip to Europe, and wound up accompanying me to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway. It also came with me to Game 5 of the 2019 World Series as a part of my all red stationery carry in support of the Washington Nationals (alongside a red Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrator and a red Pentel Sharp Kerry mechanical pencil.) It was very handy to have with me, as the magnetic slip-cap makes for a great “quick draw” pen when jotting a note quickly while traveling. The fact that it doesn’t post was the only thing I found wanting, just because it meant always remembering to juggle the cap in my hand while writing. However, I have many other pens I love that I can’t post; that has never been a deal breaker for me.
As you can see, I went with the red and titanium model. I really liked the idea of the limited edition colors, but orange and green just aren’t my things (I do love the shade of purple that Spoke uses, though. It was a difficult decision between red and purple for me.) I have zero inside information about future limited editions, but if I were to hazard a guess based on common Nock Co. colorways (one of the partners behind Nock Co., Brad Dowdy, is also one of the partners behind the Spoke Pen) as well as what I happen to know looks good based on swapping parts with my father’s blue Spoke Pen, I can at least suggest what I hope to see in the future...
I find myself using broader and broader nibs in my fountain pens, as I collect a wider range of inks and want to see their characteristics better. There are times, though, when a finer point is really needed. That’s why I like this 0.38mm Uni-ball Signo refill. I actually had this before I ever ordered the Spoke Pen (I ordered a set of “off-black” Signo DX pens from JetPens a while ago) but the Spoke Pen turned out to be a perfect body for the refill. I considered other colors that match the pen body better, but there’s just something about this shade of blue-black that speaks to me, so I suspect it won’t be coming out of the pen again until it’s fully depleted.
I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next from Spoke Design, both in terms of limited edition colorways, as well as maybe, just maybe, a matching fountain pen someday (I can dream, right?)
