Pocket Size Review 49: Schon DSGN Ultem Pen, Colorverse Space Laika

I love keeping an eye on Ian Schon over at Schon DSGN, because he always has something interesting in the works. It’s been over a year and a half since Ian first brought out his Pocket 6, taking a step into the world of fountain pens after spending the previous seven years developing and manufacturing ballpoint pens. In that time he’s iterated on it with some impressive anodized patterns and materials, textured barrel and grip options, and even an inkball version of the Pocket 6. Through it all there have been many calls for Ian to expand his line-up to a second fountain pen model, maybe a full size pen, or even a Pocket 8. The first incarnation of that second pen has started arriving in people’s hands, but there is much more excitement to come…

Ian launched an initial batch of 100 Ultem pens on March 31st, 2021, and they sold out in minutes. There is currently a waitlist available for signup to have a chance to purchase from the next batch of pens. The purpose of these early batches is for Ian to collect feedback and refine his design for future larger scale production of this pen model, which he has said he expects to come at a higher price as well. Part of that high price comes from the material Ultem itself (also known as Polyetherimide or PEI) which is a type of plastic that is incredibly strong and often used in medical equipment and scientific instrumentation because of its various properties. The relative strength of the Ultem material also allowed Ian to machine the walls of this pen incredibly thin, leading to a super light pen. Seriously, it is crazy how delicate this pen feels compared to how strong it actually is.

I mentioned earlier the calls for Ian to make a full sized pen or a Pocket 8, and clearly this pen was an answer to the first call. Ian is personally a fan of smaller pens himself, so this pen seems to be about as small as can possibly be designed, while fitting a universal converter, a size 6 Jowo nib, and four strategically placed o-rings throughout the barrel, section, and cap, in order to allow the user to eye-dropper the pen without having to worry about silicone grease. The o-ring in the cap does double-duty in that in addition to preventing a potential leakage of ink into the cap from getting out onto the barrel of the pen - or worse - out into a pen case or bag containing a pen, it also helps the cap to post snuggly on the back of the barrel if you choose to post (I do, and it posts perfectly for me.)

I found the section to be just slightly slimmer than I would like for extended writing periods, but that happens to be where one of the planned future revisions comes in to play. While Ian has no plans currently of selling the pen with a number 8 nib installed, he has been working on a grip section for these pens designed to fit the Bock 380 nib housing, which is the company’s number 8 nib. These Bock number 8 sections will transform the pen into the Schon DSGN Ultem 8, with the same capped profile, but but a slightly thicker grip section to accommodate the thicker nib unit. I am very much looking forward to seeing Ian’s work on these sections once he has completed them, and in fact I already have a Bock 380 nib sourced to test out an “Ultem 8” for a full review down the road. The Bock 380, for the unfamiliar, is a larger nib than the standard Bock or Jowo number 6 nibs that most pens come with these days, and is available in only titanium or gold - no steel options.

My final thought for today is a thought on the nature of these pocket size reviews, as I approach number 50 in the series. What started as a quick check of my own pockets and a way to force myself to just write something has turned in to more of a way to feature limited edition and out of production pens. Pens that some might consider “unfair” to review, because they aren’t easily available for sale otherwise. That is why I am so happy about this particular edition in the series. Whereas these pens sold out in minutes, if you are reading this around the time that I am writing it then you are not without hope if you’ve fallen in love with this pen. Head over the the Schon DSGN website and sign up for the waitlist to have a chance to purchase an Ultem pen when Ian restocks them. Or if you think they are pretty but don’t care to own one in this material, then just keep your eyes on SchonDSGN.com, because no doubt Ian will have this pen in other materials, and finishes, and textures, and all kinds of other amazing iterations over the years to come.