Two Spokes Diverged: The Icon & The Axle S
I really love the design language that Spoke has developed as a company. Spoke started with upgraded replacement barrels for Pentel mechanical pencils, evolving over time to include gel pens, ballpoints, and now fountain pens in their line-up (not to mention the not-quite-Spoke, but closely related Baux Pen Co., which makes upgraded barrels for Bic pen refills). The whole way through they have kept a consistent design language of anodized aluminum offered in a variety of fun colors, grips offered in additional materials such as titanium and brass, and where there is space for it, cut outs in the barrels to reduce weight a little bit and give some visual distinction and nuance. When it came time to design a Fountain there were a couple of different ways that Brian and Brad, the minds behind the designs at Spoke could have gone, and they decided to go with both of them. Before we dig into that, here’s a quick look over some of the Spoke Design pens and pencils available out there.
The first fountain pen that we are looking at today is the Spoke Icon. As the name suggests, this is a pen that was designed to be the flagship of a brand; to have a look that immediately sticks out in your mind. The Icon is also a pen that it is possible to customize in a way far beyond any commercially released pen I have ever seen before. There are 32 color combinations of Spoke Icon available at launch, with four barrel colors to choose from and eight choices for your grip and sleeve color. As you can see, it is possible to mix and match different grip and sleeve combos as well, bumping the total number of possible permutations at this time to 256 different colorways (and that’s not even counting the four different nib toppings that Spoke offers: EF, F, M, or B on a #6 Jowo nib.) There is an additional charge to get an extra set of grip and internal sleeve in an additional color, or you can pay a few dollars more on top of that and your set will include the Spoke branded tool to swap the sleeves as well (although if you were comfortable doing without you could use the right size flat head screw driver) but still, for under $150 total you can have your own personal three tone colorway out of the 256 options that you feel suits you best. That’s a pretty impressive thing to offer. After much deliberation, I settled on a black pen (this was a surprise to me, but the grips and sleeves really pop with the black) with a red grip and a cyan sleeve, to match my Icee colored Spoke Roady ballpoint.
Swapping the inner sleeve of the barrel is super simple. I did a little unboxing and demonstration video when mine first arrived, but all it involves is slotting the proprietary tool (or a flathead screwdriver) into the slots in the tops of the sleeve, and unscrewing them. Then screw back in the next sleeve. You could technically leave the sleeve empty as well, but your ink converter might rattle a bit.
The rest of the pen is complete with nice little touches. The cap finial has a pressed Spoke logo in silver. The cap threads on the barrel have an O-ring to make for a better seal. And the barrel itself is just long enough to fit a universal converter. The cap does not post on this pen when writing, and that combined with the slightly thinner than usual grip section may make this pen a less than ideal choice for some writers with large hands, but it is also nice to see a company some out with a flagship that isn’t necessarily just the big possible pen that they could think of.
The next fountain pen that we are looking at today is technically one of two fountain pen which share its name, but we will be looking specifically at the Spoke Axle S. The Axle S (as opposed to the Axle with no modifier) is Spoke’s pocket fountain pen, and at once it both looks very different from the Icon, but also caries much of the same design language. The Axle S comes in your choice of black, red, or blue barrels (and the full-sized Axle comes in black, blue, or storm gray) as well as a choice of either a black aluminum grip and cap, or else a gray titanium grip and cap. While the Axle S has far fewer possible color meats here, with only six possible looks compared to the Icon’s 256, it is still a decent launch offering for the product, and Spoke has said that they plan on offering both more barrel colors and more grip and cap materials over time. For the Axle S I chose a red barrel and titanium grip and cap to match my red and titanium Spoke Pen (it turns out that dreams do come true.)
The Axle S also features a #6 Jowo nib in all of the same tipping options, and also has an O-ring seal at the base of the cap when it screws down.. Interestingly enough, because the cap of the pen goes over just the nib, and the grip section is exposed and flush with the barrel, it actually has a wider grip than the Icon and I found it to be more comfortable. The Spoke logo is printed on the bottom of the barrel, where you find threads to post your cap for a bit of extra length. Because of the type of finish on this pen, these threads look like the color will wear away from them over time, but I think that’s part of the charm of this design; it is made to look like an item that gets use. And of course, the Axel S lives up to its name by being an incredibly short pen, just barely long enough to fit a short international cartridge (the full-sized Axel can fit an international converter as well.) Interestingly, a posted Axel S is just barely longer than an uncapped Icon.
I’d be remiss if I reviewed a machined metal pocket pen with a #6 Jowo nib and didn’t mention the Schon DSGN Pocket 6, which I’ve actually looked at a couple of times before. The Schon DSGN pen has a more minimalist design compared to the Spoke pen, and that also translates into a more compact pen that posts longer. The Spoke pen has a thicker section, however, and of course the full-length Axle model posts even longer than the Schon Pocket 6 does., if what you are looking for is length. The Axle S edges the Schon Pocket 6 out on price, with the Axles S starting at $79, whereas the P6 starts at $118. I really like both of these pens, and I’m glad to have them both in my collection. They are very similar functionally, I’ll admit, but I think stylistically they are different enough that if you can get only, one you should get the one that speaks more to your aesthetic (and the people behind each of these pens are all good people who are worth supporting and who I believe would want you to enjoy a pen that speaks to your aesthetic as well.)
When Brad Dowdy, the Pen Addict himself, announced that he was getting involved with Spoke Design back in early 2019, a Spoke fountain pen seemed like a pipe dream., but if I had to make a wishlist of everything I would have wanted to see in that pen, the Spoke Icon would have checked almost all of those boxes. That first Spoke pen also features a two-piece barrel with an internal sleeve, assembled prior to shipping by Brian and Brad, and there was always a notion that over time some fun special edition color combinations would continue to come out making use of this. Being able to buy spare sleeves and change them out yourself is everything I loved about stationery in the 90s when I was growing up. Playing with the Icon makes me feel like I’m back in the old Bertram’s Inkwell location at White Flint Mall, barely tall enough to see over the counters, enamored by the latest brightly colored modular designed pen while my father haggles over a price. It’s a good feeling. This pen feels like home.
I just wish it felt a little larger as well. Between the lack of posting forcing the Icon into having a stunted length, and the concave section feeling rather thin at its narrowest point, the Icon feel undersized to me. As I mentioned earlier, there is something to be said for a flagship that isn’t a foot and a half long and weighs three pounds, but a slightly thicker section or the ability to post would have been nice. That said, I have larger than average hands, so if you have average hands or smaller, you may have no issue. Also, I have heard Brad say that there are new sections potentially in the works for these pens exploring both new materials and a thicker, textured shape to improve gripability and comfort, so even if you have massive hands like me, that is worth keeping an eye on. I am excited to see everything and anything that Brian and Brad have planned for the Icon, because even if it doesn’t fit my hand like a glove, it’s still a pen straight out of my dreams.
Even though the length is essentially the same, for a pocket pen I find the Axel S to be plenty long enough. I’m not using a pocket pen to write out essays, after all, but to jot quick notes while I’m on the go. I’ve enjoyed having the Axel S in my pocket for the last couple of weeks, and I have to say that It’d wider, textured titanium grip is one of my favorite grips on any pocket petn I own. The style of the barrel is a lot of fun as well, and reminds me of why Brian Conti’s original Spoke Pencils caught my eye in the first place. I see a lot of potential in this pen, too. My brother saw this pen and wished that there was an identical model, but with a rollerball or ballpoint refill instead of a fountain pen nib. I could see that and more with this form factor in the future.
Ultimately, I think my favorite Spoke fountain pen is likely to be the one that I did not yet buy. The more that I think of the full-sized Spoke Axle, the more excited I get. When Spoke announced their launch colors I made a decision that I would be waiting on the full-sized Axle, and I don’t regret that. My current plan is to get one when they are eventually released with both a purple anodized barrel and brass cap and grip, to match my Spoke Pencil Model 4. I have a hunch, whenever that day finally comes and that pen arrives at my door, that the combination of Spoke design, the width and feel of that grip section, the weight of the machined metal, the posted length of that full-sized pen, and just everything else are going to combine to give me an amazing Spoke experience. Until then, it gives me something to dream about.
The pens reviewed above were purchased at retail price from Spoke Design.
