Write On! – The Right Pen pt. 2

What is the right pen for you? How does someone even know where to start when trying to identify the right pen? Is it personal? Is it task specific? We get asked so many questions like this fairly often. This is especially true when a non-pen person decides to splurge on a nice pen and ends up on our website or even when they stop by the shop. It's not cut and dried. There's a decent amount of knowledge you need to possess about the differences in pens, and when you're looking at spending more than five or ten dollars on a writing instrument, you want to be informed. Finding the right pen isn't as straightforward as it should be. In an attempt to make it easier for potential customers, we're going to do a series of blogs explaining our pens, and pulling from our historic sales data, we'll try to identify the type of new pen customer each pen fits best. Let's talk about the obvious choice, the Retrakt.

It wasn't long after the Bolt Kickstarter when we started getting questions about making a "more traditional" retractable pen. Something that looked like a normal, everyday rollerball or ballpoint pen but was made out of metal and would hold up to a lot of abuse. The process of creating a "normal" retractable pen turned out to be a little harder than we thought it would, partly because it had become evident people wanted refill modularity with their pens, and partly because we needed to source a mechanism that would do a lot of the "heavy lifting". After months of research, there was only one real option, the SKM-88 mechanism from Schmidt in Germany. We'd already tested out other mechanisms from Schmidt as well as their refills, and liked the overall durability of their parts. The thread-in aspect of the mechanism combined with the all-metal design was also attractive. That just left the pen itself, where would we draw inspiration, what would it look like, and what elements of our design language would translate best to a "normal" pen.

If you've followed us long enough, you know our designs draw from mid-century product design languages. We frequently design logos that reference the heyday of American marketing and product. The Retrakt directly references one of the most iconic ballpoint pens of all time, the Parker Jotter, specifically the two-tone color combinations used on the Jotter that are still recognizable. For the overall design, we moved the knurling on the cap of the Render K to the top of the Retrakt and kept the stamped steel clip, but made changes to the upper and lower bodies that felt more natural for the pen. Rather than keep the same upper body length as the Bolt, we shortened it, extending it just past the clip which provided a more uniform look. This necessitated the need for a longer lower body which would be anodized in one of a variety of colors, and the asymmetry of this two-tone design is far more attractive than a two-tone design with similar part lengths. The shape of the lower body was also changed, we landed on design that tapers as it approaches the pen tip and then a flat sloping tip rather than a rounded tip like the style of the Bolt. The final design feels very Karas while at the same time falling into the "normal" pen category.

Over a decade has passed since we launched the Retrakt, and not much has changed, unlike some of our other pens. We tested out non-knurled upper bodies to see if they'd be more popular. We added a few different grip profiles at the request of Retrakt fans for the same reason. The biggest change came when we asked Schmidt to change their mechanism construction to increase longevity. The initial SKM-88 mechanisms were made out of nickel-plated brass that used a very small stainless steel ball bearing in a machined "path" to actuate the refill. Over time, the ball bearing would wear on the brass and the mechanism would fail, and it became evident that we needed a better option for a pen that was meant to last lifetimes. We approached Schmidt with a request for a version of the mechanism made primarily out of stainless steel. The housing, button, and ball bearing would be the same material, while the post for actuating the refill could remain brass because it would not wear on the more durable metal. This change significantly increased the life of the mechanism, and the stainless steel matches our pens a little better than nickel-plating.

The Retrakt isn't our most popular rollerball pen, it's not even our second most popular rollerball option, but it is our most popular option for a gift pen. It is the "right" pen for almost every large corporation that wants to give pens to customers, clients, or employees. We've customized more Retrakts for big corporations, retailers, hospitals, universities, and even municipalities than almost all of our other pens combined. It was so popular as the "gifting" pen that we created a pencil based on it rather than designing a pencil with a new look. The brass Retrakt is one of our best selling pen options even though the Retrakt itself isn't as popular as the Bolt or Modal. The brass Retrakt was our biggest seller between January 2020 and December 2022, we could barely keep them in stock.

The Retrakt is the right pen for the person who carries a pen for a living and might have a more professional job. It's the right pen for someone who needs to sign contracts, but doesn't want to have the same Montblanc as everyone else. The Retrakt is the right pen if you're giving a nice pen to the high school graduate in your life, or the right pen for a gift when someone gets a promotion. It's the right pen for someone who enjoys a more traditional look rather than something that will call attention to them. It's not overly "everyday carry", and while it can seem a bit industrial with the knurling it blends in with a lot of standard rollerball pens. The Retrakt is the right pen for someone who takes notes in class and doesn't want to futz around with a cap or some weird mechanism. It's the right pen for someone who wants a straight-forward pen that works every time. The Retrakt will see a few more changes in the future in terms of colors, and minor designs, but will remain our standard-sized, "click" retractable rollerball pen.

Let us know if the Retrakt was the right pen for you.