I’ve been eyeballing Schon DSGN pens for a while now. In the past I haven’t been able to get to an east coast pen show, so I haven’t seen them in person and then there haven’t been shows because of the pandemic, but I’ve been keeping an eye on Dromgoole’s. Last week I finally took the plunge and bought a Pocket Six in “Purple Potion” ($135).
Schon DSGN is owned by Ian Schon, a man with a passion for machining pens. He uses a variety of metals and machines them all here in the U.S. His products would be 100% American made save for using Jowo Nibs manufactured in Germany.
The Pocket Six is a wee little pen, designed to be small but act like a full size pen in writing. The pen is a mere 3.5″/19cm when capped, which makes it even tinier than my Kaweco Lilliput, and significantly shorter than Kaweco Sport and the Franklin Christoph Pocket 45. It weighs in at only 15g.
L to R: Vanness Limited Edition Franklin Christoph Pocket 45, Kaweco x Hello Kitty AL Sport, Kaweco Liliput in Fire Blue, Schon DSN Pocket Six
However, when posted it stands up against the bigger guys. The cap is a screw cap, and the back end of the body is threaded so that the cap can screw on for a nice stable fit. Posted, the pen is 5.25″/13.5cm in length. And they didn’t go small on the nib on this one – the “Six” in Pocket Six is because there’s a Jowo #6 nib on this baby.
This pen makes me smile. It’s small even in my small hands, but it writes like a much bigger pen. It took mine a few seconds to start, but after that it was a really pleasant writing experience. The aluminum body is lightweight and warmed up a little in my hand, making it comfortable to hold. Even though it’s a stock nib, I can’t complain. This one writes super smoothly.
Honestly the only slight drawback I see to the Pocket Six is that it’s small enough that it has to be a cartridge only pen. However if you’re handy with a syringe and ink, even that isn’t a problem for those with large ink collections!
I think I’m really going to enjoy this one.
- Papers: Write Notepads Dot Grid Steno ($14)
- Pen: Pocket Six in “Purple Potion” ($135)
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This pen looks gorgeous. I like small pens that fit my (small) hand, so I think that would be nice to try!
Great little pen. I got one at the last Los Angeles Pen Show held in person whenever that was! Sure do miss them since they’ve been gone.
Laura,
What's that lovely blue ink?I have one of Ian's pens, too, and I like it very much. As you say, it's a smooth writer. I gave one to a friend and she loved it. I'm trying to decide which one I would get for a second pen — you know, as a back-up. Just in case.
And Ian is lovely. He even let me pick my pen in a virtual visit to his shop.
Ruth
Ruth – I wish I knew! It’s the cartridge that came in the box with the new pen. You might check out the Monteverde Cartridges – they have one called California Teal and this reminds me of it.
I’m eyeing one of these and I’d like to know if anyone tried any of the mini converters in them? I know I can refill cartridges but I am too lazy!
There is very little space in the pen. I’ve only used Cartridges. Its where I put all those random cartridges I find in my ink drawer.