Napkin - Pininfarina Aero

[Susanna]

Napkin, despite its name, is an Italian company that produce innovative objects, among which the Forever pens, so called because they will write forever, with no ink or refills or leads - or other consumable parts.

 

AERO Pininfarina - just awarded with the Red Dot Award 2017 for the Product Design category - is a strange pen, light and futuristic.
Its body features a twisted hole that evokes the infinity symbol, made with satin aluminium and electric blue lacquer.

 

 

And its basement, on the contrary, is not light at all: it's raw concrete.

 

It's not a ballpen, nor a pencil (nor a fountain pen, of course!). It writes almost like a pencil, makes a grey line only on paper, and not on fabric or other materials.

[Zookie]

Do you know how it works?

By the way, it's a beautiful pen!

[Susanna]

I paste here the same description you read on my website:
The ETHERGRAF® tip microscopically "scratches" paper, oxidising it and leaving a light but indelible stretch.

Due to its porosity, the common paper - that is the cellulose not treated paper (formed by vegetable fibres bonded through a process that is called "felting") - is in fact a material which perfectly reacts to the passage of the metal tip.

 

Sorry I cannot put the link here, because it's a sale page... but if you click my signature link, you'll easily find it

[MYU]

I have the earlier Napkin model.... with the wooden sides and wood burl stand. The tip would be the same.

 

It's a very hardened graphite of some kind. It does write, but requires a lot more pressure than when using a standard pencil, and the line is rather light. It's more of a novelty than a conventional writing instrument.

Edited May 18, 2017 by MYU

[EclecticCollector]

To follow on from Myu, there's no oxidation happening at all. It's just a hard graphite that wears down slowly and so will last a long time. I've heard that it works very well on stone papers.

[Susanna]

I have the earlier Napkin model.... with the wooden sides and wood burl stand. The tip would be the same.

 

This one? Cambiano Pininfarina. It's still available.

 

http://www.giardino.it/pens/napkin/IMMAGINI/PininCambianoPoggiap.jpg

 

To follow on from Myu, there's no oxidation happening at all. It's just a hard graphite that wears down slowly and so will last a long time. I've heard that it works very well on stone papers.

 

It's not graphite, it's a metal alloy.

Leonardo da Vinci invented a similar way for writing without ink, 5 centuries ago (the so-called silverpoint technique)

[MYU]

 

This one? Cambiano Pininfarina. It's still available.

 

http://www.giardino.it/pens/napkin/IMMAGINI/PininCambianoPoggiap.jpg

 

 

It's not graphite, it's a metal alloy.

Leonardo da Vinci invented a similar way for writing without ink, 5 centuries ago (the so-called silverpoint technique)

 

Yes, you're right. I meant to say hardened alloy.

 

I bought mine for a very low price on eBay, because the tip was broken off. I figured because of the seam, there must be a way to replace it. Sure enough, it unscrewed with enough force. I contacted Yafa, the parent company, and asked if I could purchase a replacement. They sent me a replacement tip... for free!

 

[TranquilTrout]

Are there any real examples of writing with this pen? I'd like to see how it looks.