Tuesday, November 10, 2015

METALSHOP TWIST BULLET PENCIL REVIEW

Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
For many years, I tried to stay away from woodcased pencils. I've always had a thing for leadholders and mechanical pencils, but my interest in woodcased pencils never lasted much longer than a few days/weeks at best. However, during the past five or six months, many pen bloggers seem to have found their way back to 'the essence of writing' that is the pencil, me included. It started with the typical blackwings. I did a review about those, and it didn't take long before I got the hang of it. There's something oddly satisfying about the simplicity of a woodcased pencil. Sharpen, write, repeat. So simple, yet so rewarding.

But there's one thing that has, and will always annoy me: the logical consequence of sharpening away the wood one bit at a time: the pencil will eventually wear down to an unusable, annoyingly short stub! What to do with those pesky stubs? Well, there's a couple of solutions available actually.
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
One of them being the bullet pencil. Again a pretty simple concept, that arised in the late 1800's: take a spent bullet casing, make a 'bullet-like' metal part that fits a pencil, et voilĂ , a perfect souvenir from the battlefield! In the years to come, they were mass-produced -no longer from actual bullets-, and distributed as company gifts. Many of these survived the test of time, and can still be bought on ebay. So the actual bullet is no longer used, but since they still look awfully similar, the name stayed. In fact, I've carried this specific Twist bullet pencil around for a few weeks, and I've had numerous people ask why I was writing with a bullet. Hah, quite an appropriate name apparently! (BTW:  If you would like to read up on the history of the bullet pencil, I suggest reading this post, at 'The Jungle Is Neutral')
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
Nowadays, there's a couple of different modern reinterpretations of the bullet pencil. The one by Midori seems to be closest to the promotional ones from the 50's. Then there's also two kickstarter versions, of which I'm holding one in my hand right now: the Twist Bullet pencil by Metalshop.

The Twist is a fully machined metal bullet pencil, either made out of aluminium, brass, or a combination of both. The first thing that came to mind when I opened the box was that they look and feel incredibly solid, which would probably become an issue with balance and comfort later on. Now the first part has proven to be correct, they are indeed very solid, built to last a lifetime I'm sure. Yet I was wrong thinking that they would be annoying to use...
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
It really isn't that strange to think that a solid metal extension on top of a lightweight wood pencil would throw off the balance. Yet in practice it sits very comfortable in your hand. Of course there's a difference between the aluminium version, and the much heavier all-brass model. Yet when it came to balance, both were surprisingly pleasant to use, and I cannot say which one is better. There's also the option of getting a brass bullet and an aluminium sleeve 'shell', which I tried a few times by simply swapping out the parts. It gives slightly more heft to the aluminium model, but because most weight is situated fairly low, it remains well-balanced. The other way around, with a brass sleeve and an aluminium bullet, wasn't as ideal, and felt surprisingly more back-heavy compared to the all-brass model.
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
Sizewise, I couldn't find anything better than to compare it to a Kaweco sport fountain pen. When closed, it is fairly similar in length, and slightly narrower. Open, it's a bit longer than the Kaweco, and closer to a full-sized woodcased pencil, at about 15cm (6 inches), of course the length depends on the stub you put in it, but 15 centimeters is close to the maximum, which translates into a pencil nub that should be aproximately 8cm (just over 3 inches) long (you won't be able to close the pencil if the nub is any longer).
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
One of the aspects that is unique to the Twist bullet pencil, is that the bullet has threads. All other versions are just friction fit, so this obviously feels more solid and thought through. Also, it won't accidentally open in your shirt or pants pocket. I didn't expect too much from the build quality and attention to detail, but both appeared to be excellent. I thought the walls of the sleeve would be made as thin as possible, to help with the balance, but that was not at all the case, as the widest part is more than a millimeter thick. Yet as I said earlier, this doesn't seem to be a problem when it comes to balance. Another cool feature, is that not only the bullet, but also the pencil nub and eraser, are held securely in place by threaded sections. There's no way that the pencil or the eraser will fall out.
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
When it comes to build quality, the only possible minor 'issue' I could find, is that the sleeve on the raw brass model has slight imperfections from the machining (Both the raw brass and raw aluminium have this, hence the name: 'raw'). These imperfections are part of the appeal though, and I'm sure they will add to the character once the brass starts to develop patina. Yet for others it might seem imperfect. The annodized versions don't have this, as they receive an acid treatment to smooth out the surface before annodizing. So if you like your pens and pencils in pristine condition, the normal aluminium version is the way to go. Other than this, they really are rock-solid EDC products, that I'm sure will live happily in your pants pocket or backpack for many years to come, I've carried both the brass and aluminium around, and they have held up perfectly so far, not even a scratch!
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
Designwise, the Twist, or any modern bullet pencil for that matter, is either hit or miss. If you like metal, machined products that look rugged and have a certain 'coolness' factor about them, you'll probably enjoy this pencil extender. It's definitely an intriguing design object. It doesn't look like a pen or pencil. It looks rather odd, and it will certainly turn heads. Yet at the same time, it's incredibly practical, as it allows you to take full advantage of every last bit of pencil, in a comfortable, cool way. There's a load of different color and material options to choose from. There are the annodized versions with either brass or aluminium bullet, the raw brass or aluminium version, or one of the four special editions, of which the all-black one in this review -named the 'blackout'- is one.
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil
Yes there are other pencil extenders available, and they might cost less than the Twist (unless you go for a Graf von Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil...). But as far as I can think of, none of them has the cool and practical design of the Twist bullet pencil. You can pick up a Twist Bullet Pencil for anywhere between 37.5 and 43.5 USD, depending on material and color choice. Given the excellent quality, this is already a very reasonable price to begin with, but readers of The Pencilcase Blog get a special deal! Read below for the details...

In for a Discount? Jon from MetalShop kindly offered readers of The Pencilcase blog 15% off on any bullet pencil! Use the code 'pencilcase' at checkout to get your discount!

Note: MetalShop Supports this blog. I received this product free of charge, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared here are completely my own! This review does not contain any affilate links.
Metalshop Twist Bullet pencil

3 comments:

  1. They look interesting. Thanks for the review. I never bought one so far. One reason is the price (the Midori is expensive here and the American ones might come with a hefty import duty attached). The other reason is the fact that they have quite a martial look to them (says the guy who is still wearing his boots from National Service, twenty years later, but they are just so comfy).

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  2. Interesting, but not really my style. I would prefer if there was a version without the eraser on top.

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  3. I have several of these and I LOVE them. In addition, Jon is incredibly helpful and timely. A pleasure doing business with this company. BTW, I also collect the vintage ones and they are great fun.

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