When all is said and done, writing with a pen and weightlifting ought not have too much in common.

A while ago, probably thanks to Massdrop, I bought a pen that looks awesome but is too heavy to use comfortably.

The pen is the brass version of the Karas Kustoms Bolt. The Brass Bolt (as I like to call it) looks a lot like an old school syringe. It is made of machined brass and holds a Pilot G2 refill–in this case a black .38. Like all Karas Kustoms pens it is well designed and perfectly machined. The worst I can say about the looks is that I can see the line where the two sections join.

This is the Karas Kustoms Brass Bolt not a syringe. You can see the joining line in the middle. 

Rather than simply pressing the nock on the pen to deploy the tip, you have to press and twist. This, in theory, prevents the pen from deploying in your pocket or your bag and thus making a mess. Unfortunately, it also adds an inch or so (2-3 centimeters) to the length of the pen and throws off its balance.

I’ve written several sets of morning pages and my daily 10 ideas and each time I’ve found the pen awkward to use. The brass makes it 2.85 ounces (81 grams) which means it weighs more than my both my Tactile Turn Mover and Shaker pens combined (they are 2.4 ounces or 69 grams.) It also weighs almost as much as my Karas Kustoms Ink fountain pen and roller ball with the caps posted (3.6 ounces or 102 grams).

(Note: I never use them posted.)

The Ink Roller ball (top); the Brass Bolt (middle) and the Ink fountain pen (bottom). All the weight is in the middle.

Because the Brass Bolt is so long and heavy I find I have to choke back on the pen. If you look at the picture above, I have to grip the Bolt next to the threads on the other two pens in order to get it to balance right. I also find that extended writing makes my hand and wrist sore. It’s also a thick pen, which changes my grip.

Once again, all the weight is in the middle.

Also, although the bolt mechanism is an interesting conversation piece, it seems to solve a problem that isn’t that much of a problem. In all the years I’ve used and carried ball point pens–which, yes, I still often do–I never once had one deploy in my pocket. In fact, the only mess that ever came from a ballpoint pen is when I accidentally stuck one back in my jeans pocket without un-nocking it. (It left an interesting star pattern on my jeans and my leg.)

Although it’s a beautiful pen, and I wish I liked it more, the brass Bolt is not long for my collection. If I’m not comfortable using it, I won’t keep it. I’ve heard that the aluminum versions are much lighter and much more comfortable to use. I may try one of them some day and do a little more writing and a lot less weight lifting.

Pelikan 4001 Blue Black ink is so bad I’m actually kind of hoping I somehow got a fake bottle of it.

The ink comes with a certain mystique as it has been banned in the USA for reasons involving a Chemical That Is Never Named (probably not its real name). For this reason everyone interested in fountain pens and blue black ink is trying to get a bottle. I’ve also read reviews praising it on many websites and thought I’d give it a try.

The box and the bottle. Neither can be trusted.

I started out using it in my aluminum Nexus Minimal with a steel M nib. As part of my pen and ink testing process I usually sit down and write two pages of morning pages. This lets me test the comfort of a pen and the flow and color of the ink on cheap copy paper. Later I try the pen and ink on a higher quality paper.

I was immediately struck by how poorly the ink flowed. It felt dry and it left a grey line that darkened a bit over time but still seemed very pale. I cleaned out the pen and made sure it was completely dry. I shook the bottle to mix the ink and tried inking the Nexus again.

I got the same result.

I thought it might be the nib, which needed to be adjusted, and decided to try it in a different pen. The next day inked up my Levenger Sunset, which is one of the juiciest pens I own.

The line was slightly darker but not much. Even with the gold nib on the Sunset I felt as if I was writing with a dying ballpoint pen. I had to resist the urge to press harder to make the ink flow and to refrain from breathing on the end to help the ink flow. In the way some inks change color as they dry and age, the ink does eventually darken but it never has that satisfying color from the label and that many reviews praise.

A sample on Tomoe River paper. You can see how pale it is.

In the end, Pelikan 4001 Blue Black is a good example of what fountain pen types call a “dry ink”. It’s helpful when you’re confronted with the question “What do you mean that ink is dry?” (As if any normal person would ever ask that question.)

I left the ink in until the converter was used up and it’s officially been banned from my pen and rotation. Now I just have to find a place to store the bottle until I finally decide to throw it out or give it away.