Pen Gift Guide: Focus on Slimline Variant Pens

Gift-giving season is almost in full swing, and you maybe thought to yourself a handmade pen would make a unique gift, but you're a little lost as to where to start. Enter: the Slimline Variant pen! I affectionately call these little guys Rocket pens, because they remind me of little fireworks in your hand. So what makes these little gems good gifts?

Rocket pens make great gifts for a variety of reasons: they're easy to use; they come in fun colors; the refills are easy to get; and they're not too big. Let's examine a few of their features.

Easy to use: Rocket pens are twist pens, and they twist from the tip of the pen. The transmission (the part that lets the pen twist) is contained inside the body of the pen. The twisting action is nice and smooth. Since the pen twists from the tip, if the pen body has a wild design, the design does not get twisted around or "interrupted" as the refill is extended and retracted. Rocket pens are ballpoint pens, so anyone who has ever used a ballpoint pen can use a Rocket pen (whereas fountain pens may take a little practice).

Fun colors: I like to make Rocket pens in wild color combinations that I may not try on a larger pen or a pen with two bodies. Sometimes I'm trying color combinations or different blank construction methods. Other times I'm just loathe to cut up a cool blank and I want to keep it in one section, so it becomes a crazy Rocket pen!

Easy to get refills: Rocket pens take a standard Cross-style pen refill. This means you can acquire the refills from just about any big-box office store or vendor online (including us!). Cross-style ink refills also are available in a rainbow of colors, so if you want pink ink to go with your pink Rocket pen, you can do that!

Not too big: Slimline variants (Rocket) pens are just a touch shorter than most of our pens on offer. They clock in at about 5 inches in length, which is a shade shorter than a standard Slimline pen. This makes them very portable; they can very easily be tucked into a bag, purse, backpack, briefcase, or a pocket. They also have a slimmer body than say, a Cigar pen, and are lighter weight (but not featherweight - since most of our Rocket pens are made of resin, they still retain some of the heft of a handmade pen). Handmade pens can sometimes be big and bulky, which can be off-putting for someone not familiar with handmade pens. On the other hand, if you or your gift recipient prefer large, heavy writing instruments, a Rocket pen is probably a poor match for your needs!

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One item to note about Rocket pens is how you go about refilling them. The refill is accessed by firmly grasping the writing end of the pen and removing the nib and brass tube containing the transmission. It's not wildly difficult, but it does take a little more finesse than simply unscrewing part of the pen. Once the tube is removed, the refill can be unscrewed and a new refill seated. Since the front portion of the pen body is unsupported by the tube during this process, care must be taken with the pen body until the brass tube is seated again.

If you want to see the process in action, we have a video available on our page here under "Modified Slimline": Pen Refills

Now that you are a Slimline Variant (Rocket) pen expert, you may be wondering how to pick these out of a pen lineup. You can spot these by their slimmer profile, shorter length, single body construction, and most tellingly, the fact that they twist from the tip.

If you want to see what we currently have on offer for Slimline Variant (Rocket) pens, you can view the collection here: Slimline Variant (Rocket) Pens

The big, wide world of handmade pens can be quite confusing. If you have any questions or need help selecting a pen, don't hesitate to contact us. Thanks for reading!