@HermanKnivesOfficial new Epika pen is both stunningly beautiful and mechanically brilliant! Its new "Herman Ceramic Rotary Locking System (HCRLS)" moves unlike any pen I've experienced, and yet is so fun and fidgety! And just look at that engraving! This is by far one of the most compelling high-end pens on the market today. You can find currently available Epika pens at: polishcustomknives.com/product/search?query=epika ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you're interested in the tools I use and recommend for disassembly, maintenance, repair, or just nerding out, check out: amazon.com/shop/KnifeNerdery You can get 15% off my favorite minimalist utility blade knife (and a bunch of other cool products) by using code "knifenerdery" over at Aerocrafted: bit.ly/4aaVo1D Gil-Tek makes some of the other best EDC utility knives out there, and you can use code "knifenerdery" to save 15% off! gil-tek.com/shop/ Shop at Urban EDC and want to help support my channel? You can use my affiliate link! It doesn't cost you anything, and I'll make a small commission off your order that'll help fund the channel. bit.ly/3qO6lTh If you shop at White Mountain Knives and want to save 10% on basically everything on the site, you can use code "nerd10" at checkout! whitemountainknives.com/ #edc #knifenerd #knifenut #pocketknife #edcknife
Ha nice! Been excited to see this review and what a pleasant surprise I didn't realize pen #0110 would be included, thanks for the kind and generous shoutout!
Haha, of course! #110 was gonna feature either way, but the moment I realized the texture on the clip rings were different, yeah, definitely needed to throw 'em both under the scope!
It really is indeed a great looking pen! And I'm glad you enjoyed all the little details in this one! It was fun getting to incorporate some microscope footage in this one to highlight the _really_ little details! 😅🔬
Thank you so much again for letting me check this gorgeous engraved one out! One of the coolest things I've been able to throw under the scope for a video! And I'm glad we're pen neighbors! When's the next block party? I hear it's gonna be a potluck this year.
Ooo, tough question. Even limiting to bolt action pens exclusively, it'll still depend on what feature/use case you prioritize the most. - Fit/finish/style (and my personal favorite): Confounded Machine's bolt action pen. Curt's pens are absolutely flawless. His attention to detail is second to none. Smoothest bolt travel out of the box, and one of my absolute favorite clips in the business. - Travel/short notes: Oz - Lil' John. It's *so* compact and I appreciate the short throw. Wouldn't want to write a full page with it, but it's perfect for jotting down quick notes. - Utility: Big Idea Design - Slim Bolt Action. It doesn't feel as fancy as some, but it's just overflowing with utility features -- fits any refill, auto-adjusting collet around the tip, super deep-carry, high-placed bolt with a short throw and a smooth bronze tube. It's basically everything you want a pen to do in a nice, slimmer form factor. And the slim version uses a tool to adjust the refill depth, so it no longer can accidentally change just by twisting the pen wrong while trying to operate the bolt. Overall, it's the pen I recommend the most to people if they want functionality above all else. There's a few out there that I still really want to try. Q3D's is high on that list.
There's a metal pen I had in the 90's and one of the cool things is when I pushed the ballpen clicker, the pocket clip disappeared into the body so it was perfectly smooth when in use. It also meant there was no way to clip it on my shirt or pocket with it open. I can't seem to find it anywhere any longer as Google searches are failing me.
Yes, thank you! I could have sworn I remembered seeing a pen that did that, but nobody knew what I was talking about any time I've brought it up. Googling again for it now, closest I can find is the Tumi High Performance line from the very early 2000's? But I remember it being a push button click, not a twist like these seem to be. But in general this is something I've been thinking about recently -- even sketched up a few ideas for how to implement such a clip. It's something I'd love to see one of the high end makers pull off!
Ah, I think I found the one I had seen back in the day -- the Lamy Swift. There's a modern version with an updated machined clip design, but it still retracts into the pen. The oldschool version with the loop-over bent metal hiding clip is the one I remember. The Lamy Dialog 3 has a *slightly* retracting clip, too -- it subtly sinks into the handle as you twist to extend the fountain nib. Apparently Oxo put out one a while ago too? Can't find the model name yet. This has been a fun rabbit hole to go down again.
Aaaaaannnnd I just bought one of those modern Lamy Swifts! 😅 Couldn't resist the "Black Forest" green color that they put out a couple years ago that I found still in stock somewhere.
$300 definitely falls in the rare territory of pens. It's definitely out of reach for most, including me (hopefully just for now). However, the price-points of both Herman's and Grimsmo's pens are very impressive, especially when the mechanisms and tolerances are compared to luxury fountain pens at much higher price points, which are plenty. I'm not even sure that outsourcing any components of these pens to cheaper manufacturing locations would result in lower priced final product, considering the required tolerances of these mechanisms.
Agreed -- the complexity of some of these pen designs makes their price points not only make a lot more sense, but can even make them seem impressive. And the tolerances needed to make these tiny components work together perfectly would make it very hard to shop parts out to other producers. Meanwhile the price of luxury fountain pens can make anything (outside of luxury watches) feel reasonable. 😅 The luxury fountain pen space in general has always felt divorced from reality to me. I absolutely believe that there is significant cost that goes into making the wafer-thin, perfectly-shaped nibs, but everything else feels like it has to be based purely on "luxury pricing" logic (brand, prestige, manufactured scarcity, because-we-said-so). And their descriptions of what makes their pens so special feels chock full of magical thinking rather than anything grounded in material science or manufacturing realities. I'm sure there is a lot I just don't understand (and I fully acknowledge I am speaking form a place of relative naivety), but every time I've attempted to dial down into what makes a particular pen worth its price, I find myself nope-ing out pretty fast. 😝
@@KnifeNerdery I think the logic behind the price of fountain pen nibs is that only a few manufacturers in the world know how to make them. In my opinion, that is a baffling explanation since you can only describe things like a 3nm transistor with that explanation. Nibs are made with sheet metals and processes like punching, cutting, forming, polishing, stamping (not in this order); which were perfected decades ago for almost any metal. The bottle neck might be the needed equipment, which mostly exists for mass production, and not a small batch production. And even with all that, the price of a perfectly crafted, hand-finished replacement gold nib rarely exceeds $150, which is much lower than the price of the luxury fountain pens.
@HermanKnivesOfficial new Epika pen is both stunningly beautiful and mechanically brilliant! Its new "Herman Ceramic Rotary Locking System (HCRLS)" moves unlike any pen I've experienced, and yet is so fun and fidgety! And just look at that engraving! This is by far one of the most compelling high-end pens on the market today.
You can find currently available Epika pens at:
polishcustomknives.com/product/search?query=epika
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If you're interested in the tools I use and recommend for disassembly, maintenance, repair, or just nerding out, check out:
amazon.com/shop/KnifeNerdery
You can get 15% off my favorite minimalist utility blade knife (and a bunch of other cool products) by using code "knifenerdery" over at Aerocrafted: bit.ly/4aaVo1D
Gil-Tek makes some of the other best EDC utility knives out there, and you can use code "knifenerdery" to save 15% off! gil-tek.com/shop/
Shop at Urban EDC and want to help support my channel? You can use my affiliate link! It doesn't cost you anything, and I'll make a small commission off your order that'll help fund the channel.
bit.ly/3qO6lTh
If you shop at White Mountain Knives and want to save 10% on basically everything on the site, you can use code "nerd10" at checkout! whitemountainknives.com/
#edc #knifenerd #knifenut #pocketknife #edcknife
Ha nice! Been excited to see this review and what a pleasant surprise I didn't realize pen #0110 would be included, thanks for the kind and generous shoutout!
Haha, of course! #110 was gonna feature either way, but the moment I realized the texture on the clip rings were different, yeah, definitely needed to throw 'em both under the scope!
Great looking pen. I really appreciate your attention to and discussing all of the little details about it.
It really is indeed a great looking pen! And I'm glad you enjoyed all the little details in this one! It was fun getting to incorporate some microscope footage in this one to highlight the _really_ little details! 😅🔬
Sweet so happy to see this! Glad you enjoyed it, neighbor!
Thank you so much again for letting me check this gorgeous engraved one out! One of the coolest things I've been able to throw under the scope for a video! And I'm glad we're pen neighbors! When's the next block party? I hear it's gonna be a potluck this year.
@@KnifeNerdery we don't have the date nailed down yet but I'm bringing the brownies!
Im not a pen guy, but thats the first Herman ive seen that I'd actually buy! Super impressive.
It's such an impressive pen, in general, but it's even more impressive considering this is their first entry into the pen space!
Excellent review and sufficiently nerdy!
Haha, I'm glad this one met the sufficient nerd quota! 🤓🔬
Very cool pen and loved the breakdown. 3 plain jane exact copies on the site at the time of this comment!
Haha, yet they're all gone now. They never last long, but he restocks a few more every week or so. He announces them via his IG!
Love the vids! What is your favorite EDC bolt pen?
Ooo, tough question. Even limiting to bolt action pens exclusively, it'll still depend on what feature/use case you prioritize the most.
- Fit/finish/style (and my personal favorite): Confounded Machine's bolt action pen. Curt's pens are absolutely flawless. His attention to detail is second to none. Smoothest bolt travel out of the box, and one of my absolute favorite clips in the business.
- Travel/short notes: Oz - Lil' John. It's *so* compact and I appreciate the short throw. Wouldn't want to write a full page with it, but it's perfect for jotting down quick notes.
- Utility: Big Idea Design - Slim Bolt Action. It doesn't feel as fancy as some, but it's just overflowing with utility features -- fits any refill, auto-adjusting collet around the tip, super deep-carry, high-placed bolt with a short throw and a smooth bronze tube. It's basically everything you want a pen to do in a nice, slimmer form factor. And the slim version uses a tool to adjust the refill depth, so it no longer can accidentally change just by twisting the pen wrong while trying to operate the bolt. Overall, it's the pen I recommend the most to people if they want functionality above all else.
There's a few out there that I still really want to try. Q3D's is high on that list.
There's a metal pen I had in the 90's and one of the cool things is when I pushed the ballpen clicker, the pocket clip disappeared into the body so it was perfectly smooth when in use. It also meant there was no way to clip it on my shirt or pocket with it open. I can't seem to find it anywhere any longer as Google searches are failing me.
Yes, thank you! I could have sworn I remembered seeing a pen that did that, but nobody knew what I was talking about any time I've brought it up. Googling again for it now, closest I can find is the Tumi High Performance line from the very early 2000's? But I remember it being a push button click, not a twist like these seem to be.
But in general this is something I've been thinking about recently -- even sketched up a few ideas for how to implement such a clip. It's something I'd love to see one of the high end makers pull off!
amzn.to/41cCNAK
I also just came across these! They're obviously quite modern, but this is closer to how I remember the pen working.
Ah, I think I found the one I had seen back in the day -- the Lamy Swift. There's a modern version with an updated machined clip design, but it still retracts into the pen. The oldschool version with the loop-over bent metal hiding clip is the one I remember.
The Lamy Dialog 3 has a *slightly* retracting clip, too -- it subtly sinks into the handle as you twist to extend the fountain nib.
Apparently Oxo put out one a while ago too? Can't find the model name yet.
This has been a fun rabbit hole to go down again.
Aaaaaannnnd I just bought one of those modern Lamy Swifts! 😅 Couldn't resist the "Black Forest" green color that they put out a couple years ago that I found still in stock somewhere.
$300 definitely falls in the rare territory of pens. It's definitely out of reach for most, including me (hopefully just for now). However, the price-points of both Herman's and Grimsmo's pens are very impressive, especially when the mechanisms and tolerances are compared to luxury fountain pens at much higher price points, which are plenty. I'm not even sure that outsourcing any components of these pens to cheaper manufacturing locations would result in lower priced final product, considering the required tolerances of these mechanisms.
Agreed -- the complexity of some of these pen designs makes their price points not only make a lot more sense, but can even make them seem impressive. And the tolerances needed to make these tiny components work together perfectly would make it very hard to shop parts out to other producers.
Meanwhile the price of luxury fountain pens can make anything (outside of luxury watches) feel reasonable. 😅 The luxury fountain pen space in general has always felt divorced from reality to me. I absolutely believe that there is significant cost that goes into making the wafer-thin, perfectly-shaped nibs, but everything else feels like it has to be based purely on "luxury pricing" logic (brand, prestige, manufactured scarcity, because-we-said-so). And their descriptions of what makes their pens so special feels chock full of magical thinking rather than anything grounded in material science or manufacturing realities. I'm sure there is a lot I just don't understand (and I fully acknowledge I am speaking form a place of relative naivety), but every time I've attempted to dial down into what makes a particular pen worth its price, I find myself nope-ing out pretty fast. 😝
@@KnifeNerdery I think the logic behind the price of fountain pen nibs is that only a few manufacturers in the world know how to make them. In my opinion, that is a baffling explanation since you can only describe things like a 3nm transistor with that explanation. Nibs are made with sheet metals and processes like punching, cutting, forming, polishing, stamping (not in this order); which were perfected decades ago for almost any metal. The bottle neck might be the needed equipment, which mostly exists for mass production, and not a small batch production. And even with all that, the price of a perfectly crafted, hand-finished replacement gold nib rarely exceeds $150, which is much lower than the price of the luxury fountain pens.
Can't buy them. Waiting for a Saga instead.
None in stock you mean? He does periodic drops, usually about once a week, which he announces via his Instagram.