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Modern Fuel make a pen and pencil that exudes hand craftmanship and a quality writing experience. Both the Pen and Pencil come made from a choice of 4 metals and are hewn in one go with a seamless construction that makes them literally feel like they have no seams at all. With a British Royal Air Force engineer heritage this pens have a ‘heirloom’ feel and make the perfect gift for a special occasion or a rare opportunity to spoil yourself.
In Depth Review
I’ve talked about ‘the heft’ before and how unexpected weight gives us an instant sense of quality. Whether its a lush crystal tumbler with a single malt Whisky in or a Rolex Watch there is something about unexpectedly heavy things that feels very satisfying. The Modern Fuel Pen and Pencil range deliver this ‘heft’ with a modern classic design hewn from one solid block of metal. No plastic, no cheap bits just one pure metal in your hands when you write … and it gives such a great writing experience.
4 Metal Options
There are 4 metal options you can choose. The titanium version offers you a lightweight pen made from a metal that’s resistant to scratches and has an attractive blue grey hue. The Stainless steel option gives you a more traditional brushed finished that’s easy to keep clean and shiny. The Brass option has more heft and reminds me of bullet cases or the portholes I’ve seen on diving wrecks but I chose the Copper option because its the heaviest and the warmer copper color combines to feed my ‘heft’ desire.
Patina or Shine?
A lot of pens and items with materials like Brass or Copper will cheat and apply a lacquer finish to the pen to keep it shiny for as long as possible. The Modern fuel pen and pencil comes without this coating so that you have the option to allow your pen to ‘age’ with you. Rather than polish it ( which you can easily do with Brasso from time to time) you can leave it to go darker hues as your sweat and oils from your hand collect and oxidize the surface. Eventually the pen or pencil will reach a dark hue with greens and other colors making your pen very unique to you. I’ve opted to avoid polishing mine and embrace the Patina.
100 Years of Silence
The mechanism to deploy the pen or pencil is completely silent. No click at all. The mechanism is designed to last for 100 years. This is also the second only product I’ve ever reviewed that comes with a 100 year guarantee along with the Vollebak 100 Year Hoodie.
The Pencil
I opted for the medium 0.7mm HB for the pencil.
Verdict
Modern Fuel make a pen and pencil that exudes hand craftmanship and a quality writing experience. Both the Pen and Pencil come made from a choice of 4 metals and are hewn in one go with a seamless construction that makes them literally feel like they have no seams at all. With a British Royal Air Force engineer heritage this pens have a ‘heirloom’ feel and make the perfect gift for a special occasion or a rare opportunity to spoil yourself.
BUY $150Specs and Features
Below are the weights per metal:
Bronze – 48g (1.7 oz)
Copper – 48g (1.7 oz)
Stainless Steel – 44g (1.6 oz)
Titanium – 28g (.99 oz)
Length: 140 mm
Diameter: 9.5 mm
About Modern Fuel
As an Aerospace Engineer, Andrew used a mechanical pencil every day. But, he noticed that universally, mechanical pencils were cheap, disposable items. It bothered him that the tools to his trade were of such obviously poor quality.
After some research, he found that even expensive pencils were cheaply made and relied on stock plastic parts. If he wanted an heirloom-quality, entirely metal pencil, he’d have to make it himself.
Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Modern Fuel founder and lead designer Andrew Sanderson has had a life-long obsession with taking things apart to see how they work. He went on to train as an aircraft engineer specializing in mechanical engineering in the British Royal Air Force, ensuring the optimum flying performance of aircraft. As it turns out, that love for tinkering and engineering experience was the perfect combination for a career in product design.
Having always sketched product ideas in a book he carried in his pocket, creating the perfect pencil for sketching and designing was a natural project for Andrew to tackle. And so began the line of Modern Fuel writing tools, to which he meticulously applies the same pioneering innovation and high functionality and reliability standards he used in his days in aircraft engineering.
Andrew now designs and runs Modern Fuel in Austin, Texas where he lives with his family and continues to fill his idea book with sketches of future products.
