{"id":7628,"date":"2022-05-31T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=7628"},"modified":"2022-05-30T19:39:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T23:39:50","slug":"big-dropper-skull-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/big-dropper-skull-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Dropper Skull Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

When Ben<\/a> introduced his polycarbonate, laser-engraved pens<\/a>, I knew I had to have one. While I adore the appearance of my metal Gravitas pen, there is just enough of the metal-on-metal scraping sound that, over time, I’ve decided to let it go. Now that I have the polycarbonate pen, I don’t feel as bad about that decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the time being, the polycarbonate pens are only available in the “Member’s Area” \u2014 available to those who have already purchased from Gravitas Pens<\/a>. Hopefully they will be available to everyone at some point in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The “Not-As-Good”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Per usual, I’m starting with the with the “bad” \u2014 although in this case, it’s the “not-as-good” \u2014 so that I can end my post on a high note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My biggest issue is that the pattern doesn’t have a seamless pattern from cap finial to barrel finial like the metal one has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"comparing<\/a>
When the pattern is aligned, you can see how a full section is missing between the cap and barrel.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This dovetails into my second issue: I’d love for the Gravitas patterned pens to have a single start to make it easier to align the pattern. Then I wouldn’t have to memorize where to align the pen when I start to close it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a truly nitpicky side note, the placement of the Gravitas Pens logo made me think there was a significant engraving issue for a while. It wasn’t until I was taking photos that I realized what I was actually looking at. There probably isn’t a better place to put the logo, but I wonder if there is a way to actually engrave it into the polycarbonate so it doesn’t interact as much with the pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"showing<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My last issue may be a case of getting an early edition of this pen. I noticed several engraving issues in the pattern. I’m not entirely sure what caused them, as my knowledge of laser engraving on polycarbonate is nonexistent. It’s entirely possible that it’s just something you deal with when using lasers on polycarbonate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"showing<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"showing<\/a><\/figure>\n
Note the vertical line down the center of the skull in the first image and the “blob” on the center-left of the bottom jaw in the second photo. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Surprising<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was expecting the pen to be smooth. Instead, there is a significant texture to all engraved portions, although, thankfully, it isn’t uncomfortable when writing. I find it interesting that there is a raised texture when the polycarbonate was laser engraved.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"macro<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"macro<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"macro<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Good<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And now for the good. To begin with, this pen looks pretty awesome. Who doesn’t like skulls?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The metal section gives the pen a good weight, compensating for the lightness of the polycarbonate. And, with the section as the heaviest component, it’s well-balanced for comfortable writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, still on the section, the micro ridges will help those who have difficulty with metal sections. The ridges are comfortable to hold. I’d compare them to the rides on the TWSBI 580 ALR, but slightly more pronounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"showing<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I’m happy with the Big Dropper Skull. I can have the skull pattern without the metal scrape, for which I’m thankful. I definitely recommend picking one up if you like it. Or, wait until the colored polycarbonate models are more readily available with engraving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed my post. What do you think of the Big Dropper Skull? Do you have one? If not, do you want one? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure to subscribe to my blog<\/a> or follow me on Instagram<\/a> so you don’t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having received my Big Dropper Skull polycarbonate pen from Gravitas Pens, I had to review it and give you some pen porn. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingBig Dropper Skull Review<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[137,266,198],"class_list":["post-7628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fountain-pens","tag-fountain-pen-reviews","tag-gravitas-pens","tag-pen-porn","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/skull-IGSm.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-1Z2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9863,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/pen-porn-gravitas-universe\/","url_meta":{"origin":7628,"position":0},"title":"Pen Porn: Gravitas Pens Universe","author":"Rachel","date":"March 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As one with a serious weakness for rainbows, I couldn't resist the holographic brilliance of the Gravitas Pens Universe. 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Each pen gets a mini review and there's plenty of pen porn to go around. 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