Description
Modal Week Release
We’ve officially dubbed this week Modal Week around the shop because this week will feature the final five Modal Special Releases for the year. Every single one of these was a scramble to get done, we had to adjust the 2024 production release which will be pushed back slightly into the end of January or the beginning of February. But in doing so, we were able to increase the size of these Modal Special Releases a bit. On Modal Monday, we released the Olive Modal Special Release, Tuesday saw the release of the Matte Brown and Brass Modal, and on Wednesday we put the Matte Red and Brass Modal on the site. Today we’re launching the Modal in one of the most popular colorways we’ve ever released, Prospector. If you’re unfamiliar with the Prospector pens, they feature a matte blue, usually a rather dusty matte blue, paired with tumbled brass hardware. This release was one of our first special release colorways WAY back in the day. We’ve released nearly every writing instrument in this colorway to great success, and we wanted to end 2023 with a bang; what better way to do that than to release a small batch special release Prospector Modal. Don’t sleep on these, they likely won’t last!
The long wait is over, our latest pen is here. The Modal is our latest everyday carry, retractable pen that features several new design and functionality elements. This pen has been the most requested design in the history of our company. From the day our Bolt Kickstarter launched, we were asked if we would ever add a traditional side-actuated bolt-style pen. Our response was always, “Only if we can find a reason to make one in our style because the market is saturated with that style of pen.” It’s been over ten years since the Bolt was released, and we finally found our reasons. Initially, we wanted to create a pen that was roughly the length of the EDK but accepted the Pilot G2 or other 110mm refills. A five-inch length pen is about the shortest pen that is comfortable to the average pen user. Our second reason was that most bolt-style pens on the market use a side button that sticks pretty far out from the body of the pen. The button is uncomfortable and often gets caught on clothing or jabs into your hip if you’re pocket-carrying the pen. Also, for some reason, most of the current bolt-style pens feature a backward J-slot, requiring the user’s thumb to move in a weird motion bringing the button down and back towards the heel of the palm. We designed a button that is oval shaped, with a slightly convex face that is raised just enough off of the body of the pen to be functional but doesn’t interfere with clothing and won’t jab you in the hip. Our J-slot is more of a modified checkmark, and requires the user to simply push their thumb down in a swift motion before the action “catches”. The button is easily retracted with a swift upward motion of the thumb, but the catch on the slot is positive enough that the refill won’t retract during use. Finally, we developed a deep pocket carry clip somewhat resembling the INK clip but fastens via an internal thread that isn’t visible. The internal slider mechanism is machined from Delrin which provides a perfect smooth action. The body, clip, slider, and button are designed and manufactured in our facility in Mesa, Arizona. The standard Modal ships with the Pilot G2 refill, and will accept most 110mm/Euro style refills.
Specifications
Length – 130.17mm / 5.125″
Body Width – 11.11 mm / 0.437”
Width w/Clip – 14.73mm / 0.577″
Weight – 24.0g / 0.84 oz
Limited Availability
“Many G codes and M codes cause the machine to change from one mode to another, and the mode stays active until some other command changes it implicitly or explicitly. Such commands are called “modal”.” – Dynomotion.com
The Modal is made from 6061-T aluminum on our CNC lathes and Swiss machining centers, in Mesa, Arizona. Pilot refills are manufactured in Japan.
