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Schon DSGN Pocket Six


brokenclay

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I've had this Schon DSGN Pocket Six for a couple of days now, and I'm really enjoying it.

 

First, some background on the P6 options. This pen is available with wild multicolored anodized patterns with matching patterned sections; with colored anodizing (usually older color patterns) with plain colored or ridged sections under the "Configure/Build Your Own Pocket Six" listing, and with a variety of faceted metals (copper, brass, aluminum). The one I purchased is a "Build Your Own". These are somewhat less expensive than the fully matching pens. Ian Schon is now also making pocket pens out of "ultem" (polyetherimide, a thermoplastic). The Ultem material doesn't appeal to me aesthetically at all, so I've paid no attention to it.

 

There's a lot of talk about how wonderful these pens are because they are built around a #6 nib, a bigger nib than those provided with most other pocket pens. For me, bigness of nib is not particularly a factor.

 

I was surprised at how very small this pen is when capped. Here's a size comparison photo (Jinhao 599, Pelikan 400NN, Kaweco AL-Sport, Pocket Six):

large.0543F940-C18A-4824-BECC-A66875263EC9.jpeg.7e5641f5f51b8aaac624aad167164933.jpeg

 

The barrel is bigger in diameter than the AL-Sport, and therefore more compatible with the larger #6 nib.

 

Once uncapped and posted, though, the Pocket Six is miraculously (slightly) longer than the AL-Sport:

large.5A0E1AA5-E612-4FAD-827F-D1B09092BA40.jpeg.224245c1e817f4931b17c8aee0661416.jpeg

 

The secret sauce here is the threads on the pen end of the Pocket Six:

 

large.683AC0BC-68A1-4C59-BC35-46BA31077D0F.jpeg.21c12455b8c9f0fcc94acbd1c6c83636.jpeg

 

While the Kaweco has an extra-long cap in order to provide length when posted, a lot of the cap is overlapping the barrel. On the P6, the cap is short, but threads right on to the end of the barrel, maximising the length of the posted pen. The flip side, of course, is that while you might write (at least for a short while) with a Kaweco Sport unposted, the P6 is ridiculously stubby without the cap on it.

 

Some might find the exposed threads on the pen end of the closed pen annoying, but they haven't bothered me yet, and they make it easy to tell which end of the pen you've grabbed in order to open and post it for use. I'm not real sure how people measure the number of turns to open or close a pen, but it's about a turn and a half to remove the cap and another turn and a half to post it. I think there may be an O-ring or a gasket inside the cap because when you screw the cap back on the pen to close it it's got that satisfying soft shove at the end that signifies a good seal.

 

Here it is disassembled:

 

large.491D3D30-9563-4244-B886-1E52B35AD4EC.jpeg.f20204b12527a7fdb2aec35e54588829.jpeg

 

It is slightly lighter than the AL-Sport (17g vs 19g uninked), but due to its larger girth and stubbiness I find it slightly easier to locate and fish out from a bag by touch than the Sport.

 

The Jowo 1.1 stub nib was lovely right out of the box. It came with a green Monteverde short cartridge inside the pen (apparently the color selection is random), and a box of 6 Monteverde black cartridges.

 

My only (very minor) disappointments: the brass section doesn't match the brassy/orangy color on the barrel very well, and I would have loved to have had a gold-tone nib instead of silver. I suspect my next Pocket Six will be silver themed rather than gold/brass themed.

 

My understanding is that Ian Schon invents and retires color patterns very freely, so I'm checking on what's available frequently. I signed up for his email newsletter but have never gotten one, so either he doesn't spam customers very often or mine are somehow getting lost in the intertubes.

 

TL;DR: great pen, tiny when closed, big enough when open, very attractive, wonderful nib. I'm glad I impulsively bought it.

 

large.906806E2-0919-47FC-83CC-211F17AD9FEC.jpeg.ab4b69a0610aa35a305ddeaa773d5947.jpeg

 

 

 

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Great review! I love mine too (though I went for the matchy matchy version with a silver nib). I have a lot of pocket pens, and after my beloved vintage Kawecos, this is probably my favourite - which is quite something as I don't generally like metal pens, and especially metal sections, at all.

 

large.Purple_depths_2048x.jpg.7979b3c1f8dc6b1156420c5d52db384a.jpg

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Great review! Thanks for the detailed comparisons.

 

Does anyone happen to have both this pen (Schon DSGN Pocket Six) and a Kaweco Supra, and are you willing to do a comparison?

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My first thought is, why? Why put a huge  #6 on a tiny little pocket pen? I'm genuinely curious.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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I find big nibs are more fun to write with, just like big wheels are more comfortable to ride on. On the other hand a pocket pen should be small. So the combination of tiny pen with big nib is a consummation devoutly to be wished. 

S.T. Dupont Ellipsis 18kt M nib

Opus 88 Flow steel M nib

Waterman Man 100 Patrician Coral Red 18kt factory stub nib

Franklin-Christoph Model 19 with Masuyama 0.7mm steel cursive italic nib

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12 minutes ago, Detman101 said:

Ooooh...a pocket pen with a #6 nib!? :o
I think I sense a replacement for my apocalypse-proof brass pen coming...

My newest pocket pen (ensso Piuma pocket) also has a #6 nib - though Bock rather than JoWo. Both of these are decent size pens once they're posted, and the big nib is curiously satisfying. 

 

They do make a Kaweco sport nib look very small indeed though ;)

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16 hours ago, chromantic said:

My first thought is, why? Why put a huge  #6 on a tiny little pocket pen? I'm genuinely curious.

 

1 hour ago, ParkerBeta said:

I find big nibs are more fun to write with, just like big wheels are more comfortable to ride on. On the other hand a pocket pen should be small. So the combination of tiny pen with big nib is a consummation devoutly to be wished. 

 

1 hour ago, Detman101 said:

Ooooh...a pocket pen with a #6 nib!? :o
I think I sense a replacement for my apocalypse-proof brass pen coming...

 

1 hour ago, mizgeorge said:

My newest pocket pen (ensso Piuma pocket) also has a #6 nib - though Bock rather than JoWo. Both of these are decent size pens once they're posted, and the big nib is curiously satisfying. 

 

They do make a Kaweco sport nib look very small indeed though ;)

 

All of these things.

 

I also prefer a bigger nib for whatever reason. I think that is one reason why I chose the Kaweco Supra over the Brass Sport.

 

That said, I do have exceptions to the big-nib rule. One of my favorite pen/nibs of all time is lovely Montblanc Noblesse with one of the smoothest, juiciest, most pleasant nibs I have, and it is quite small.

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Thanks for explaining it's appeal. For myself, proportion is important. My Opus 88 Demonstrator has a #6 but it's a large pen so the nib is in keeping. I bought a Duragraph where the combination of a #6 with a relatively short body just looked freakish to my eye. Posted, it might have been ok but I don't post so back it went.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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6 hours ago, chromantic said:

Thanks for explaining it's appeal. For myself, proportion is important. My Opus 88 Demonstrator has a #6 but it's a large pen so the nib is in keeping. I bought a Duragraph where the combination of a #6 with a relatively short body just looked freakish to my eye. Posted, it might have been ok but I don't post so back it went.


Unposted, such a pocket pen (I have a very similarly-designed Supra, thus my curiosity for a comparison with the Schon DSGN) with a large nib is virtually unusable. Posted, the pens are a nice useable size, and, I would argue the pictures above posted by @brokenclayand @mizgeorge indicate the #6 nib is a reasonable size for the pen.

 

I suspect reasons of ability to use 1.) a standard long cartridge or converter and/or 2.) the pen unposted, are why Kaweco designed the Supra with am extra (removable) middle section, so that the user can also choose between a pocket pen with dimensions and performance very similar to the Pocket Six, as well as a more conventionally-sized pen with a #6 nib.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have one of these in the same colours with a medium nib. Its a great looking pen, feels good in the hand and very easy to write with, but, and there are a couple of buts, if it is left uncapped it dries out. This is a problem for me as I take notes while I work, but not continuously, so the pen gets held in the hand, but not used for a while. When it's time for the next note, it won't write. My pens are generally stored, upright, in a small glass until needed and this pen always needs coaxing along to get the ink feed going. The majority of my other pens (Moonman M2, Waterman Carene, Caran D'Ache Ecridor, Parker 25 etc) don't have this problem. The other thing I don't like is that the brass section tarnishes very quickly. I need to get some Brasso. Having said that, I would buy another if the colours piqued my interest.

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3 hours ago, Zubzubadoodle said:

The other thing I don't like is that the brass section tarnishes very quickly.

 

If it wasn't clear, the anodized aluminum pens are also available with anodized aluminum sections, sometimes matching, or else solid colors like silver or black. I think you can buy a replacement section if you want.

 

I can see your point about the note-taking. I've never tried using it that way. It's funny, I really don't have any use for a pocket pen, since I never use fountain pens away from home, but I love mine just for the engineering and execution. 

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On 9/21/2021 at 5:58 PM, Detman101 said:

Ooooh...a pocket pen with a #6 nib!? :o
I think I sense a replacement for my apocalypse-proof brass pen coming...

I have this pen in brass and I absolutely love it.  Picked it up at last year's Baltimore pen show.  Not only is it a great pen, but Ian Schon is just a great guy and I don't mind giving him my money!

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14 hours ago, Tripletrouble said:

I have this pen in brass and I absolutely love it.  Picked it up at last year's Baltimore pen show.  Not only is it a great pen, but Ian Schon is just a great guy and I don't mind giving him my money!

Waitaminute...Baltimore pen show?
That never took place. 🤔

Or was I lied to...?

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

That is a fun pen!  I was considering ordering a Schon "Build-Your-Own" Pocket Six with a brass or copper section and the anodized aluminum body like the one you received.  That raised a couple questions in my mind.  The Schon Dsgn website states that the all aluminum Pocket Six weighs 19g and the brass weighs 48g.  I am hoping that, if I ordered a configuration like yours, it might be slightly heavier than the all aluminum but not as heavy as the all copper.  Do you have any idea what yours weighs?  (Your review said 17g... Is that correct?)  Does it feel a little front weighted with the brass section?  

 

John

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