Gravitas - Pocket Zirconium Stone Washed | LTD |

The Gravitas Pocket Pen is another answer to a question that I didn't know anybody asked. Before you aim your flamethrower my way, let me explain why I said that. The object "Pocket Pen" is such an oddity to begin with. Most people would not put an object into their pants pocket that has the potential to leak strongly colored fluid into things that should not have their color changed. Pants pockets are at a location on the body that is usually in motion in a variety of ways. The potential for damage of non-flexible items is probably highest in pants pockets out of all possible pocket locations. And yet...here we are. Gravitas Pocket Pens, for the most part, are made out of metals which are more damage resistant than plastics. The materials used have to be thick enough to resist bending and breaking while the owner's body bends and moves in ways that make structural engineers weep. And the pen has to be short enough to not interfere with freedom of movement while being carried in said pants pocket. Ben Walsh's engineering have solved those problems by making Pocket Pens out of a variety of materials that are able to survive the rigors of Pants Pocket Carry without mechanical or material failure. Keep in mind that most pants pockets also contain a variety of other objects besides a pen, and their interaction inside the pocket will lead to scratches, nicks, and marks that probably won't buff out...which is the main reason why I don't want to put a pen with a coating (paint, PVD, Anodize, DLC, etc.) in my pocket. Eventually, the coating is coming off. Some come off in a couple of weeks, some take several years, but sooner or later... So, why buy a zirconium pen that weighs 11 grams less than the stainless steel pen, and 26 grams more than an alumin(i)um pen? Because it's more scratch resistant than titanium, but still workable with industrial tools...barely. The pen is virtually flawless: the nib is smooth, ink flow is wonderful, fit and finish are awesome, the grip diameter is not too skinny, not too wide, and the micro grooves prevent finger slippage. In my opinion, grip size/shape has more influence over how well the pen feels in your hands, and how long you can write with it in one session than the weight. The only thing that couldn't be overcome is the inability to accommodate a full size converter. But there's an Entry, Sentry and Flagship pen that provide the same awesome engineering, same nib sizes, and room for a standard cartridge converter!

Purchased the Gravitas Pocket Zirconium with a medium nib after really enjoying the first generation Quark Zirconium. The medium nib has a great flow and I've never had a dry start, ever. The Pocket Zirconium is quite heavy, but still very enjoyable to write with.

The absolute star of the show is Emy at Pen Venture. Not only did he read and accommodate my order's special request, he handwrote a whole-page note in my order. I heartily recommend ordering from Pen Venture!

This is a pocket pen you can carry in your pants pocket. There is no clip, so you can’t clip it to your shirt pocket (with or without pocket protector). It’s kinda heavy, so you want to make sure it doesn’t fall out of whatever you carry it in. I can’t write with the pen without posting the cap on the back of the barrel, because it’s a pocket pen, designed to be short enough to fit a pants pocket.
The material the barrel and cap are made from Zirconium, known for hardness, high temperature tolerance, and corrosion resistance. This makes it suitable for high temperature applications, such as nuclear reactors, but not necessarily ideal for use as a writing instrument. Raw Zirconium is silvery white, meaning the Zirconium pen probably has a coating of some kind…which will wear off eventually, exposing the silvery metal underneath. However, it’s highly unlikely that you will ever damage this pen to the point of unserviceability through regular use. You’ll wear the stainless steel nib down to a nub before you’ll wear out the body or cap of this pen! And it is pretty cool to have and hold, and rarity of the material and difficulty of machining it into a fountain pen justifies the high price even though it has room for only one standard international cartridge, or the supplied mini-converter.
And here’s where I found an unexpected shortcoming: ink flow, specifically the lack thereof. I’ve used several of my nearly 100 different colors and brands of ink in the mini-converter. Almost all of them started to cause ink starvation sooner or later. I was able to replicate this phenomenon by using the mini-converter in one of my Sentry pens, where I also saw ink starvation, confirming that the mini-converter is somehow part of this “problem”. Similarly, ink cartridges cause ink starvation, so maybe it’s related to the size of the ink reservoir. With the mini-converter, you can at least “push” more ink into the nib unit to continue writing, but squeezing the cartridge may cause the cartridge to split, which allows air to get into the cartridge through the crack, which causes flooding of the nib…
My work around for loss of ink flow with the converter is easy. Remove the barrel from the grip section, pull the piston of the mini-converter all the way out, and with the nib pointing downward, re-install the barrel to the grip section, slowly. The mini-converter is just a little too big for the pen; when the piston is fully extended, the inside of the barrel will push on the mini-converter’s handle just enough to restart ink flow. Repeat as necessary.
Surprisingly, Pelikan 4001 Königsblau has provided the most consistently positive results, regardless of the size of the cartridge or converter. That’s surprising, because that ink is generally not known for superior performance or outstanding characteristics, but I’ve had no ink flow problems with it in any of my pens.
Writing with the Pocket Pen is a very “forgettable” experience, and I mean that in the best way possible. Provided you fix or don’t have any ink flow problems, the Pocket Pen is very smooth and consistent, allowing you to concentrate on what you’re writing rather than constantly fidgeting with your writing instrument to get it to write. The instrument fades into the background, so only your creativity occupies your mind, as it should be.

I picked this one up with a medium nib to pair alongside a Quark Zirconium with a fine nib, and I'm very glad I did. There's a cool smooth nature to the finish on the Pocket Zirconium which I am a big fan of. I'm also very pleased with the weight of the pen, as it gives it a distinct hand feel while writing. The nib is splendid, as I'm coming to expect from Gravitas.

Between the cap threads and oring it also seems to seal quite well, which is always important in any fountain pen. The all blacked out look is also very sleek. All in all, a splendid pocket pen that you won't forget is in your pocket.

I purchased a nib for this pen so I would not burn through ink. This is one of the BEST nibs I own and write with! Pen venture did amazing tuning and making sure this nib was perfect before shipping out.

The material of the pen is smooth but not enough to not worry about dropping it. The machining of Gravitas is one of the best I've seen. I cannot wait to get a other Gravitas pen. The uncapping experience is fabulous and very satisfying with the Delrin insert and ACME threads. The roll stop on the pen is great with the perfect weight of this pen. 10/10 pen and one of my favorites in my collection.

If you're looking for a great "dark mode" addition to your collection in a very unique and special material, this is a great pen to add to your collection!

A good writing pen, well built. The only downside is the weight, since it feels a bit heavy. Other than that, everything is perfect.

This is a great solid pen. It is definitely hefty but not uncomfortable on the hand.

I have many good things to say about this pen. Most would expect a perfect pen at the price, but often this isn't the case. However with this pen, I would say it is definitely at least near perfect.

Let's start with the unique part about this pen, as there are many Gravitas Pocket variants. The material this pen is made with is simply amazing. Zirconium is supposedly very durable and scratch resistant. From my testing, it deals with light scratches quite well. However from my understanding, deep scratches could cause the silver metal underneath to show. I do not want to test this due to the limited nature of the pen, but you must remember the black is an oxide layer formed from heating Zirconium, the metal itself is naturally silver-grey. If you are really worried about heavy scratches, use a pen pouch, or get the gravitas pocket stainless steel. If you want a black metal pen, you will have to accept scratches will always be a concern.

In terms of the nib, I think the inclusion of a black nib was nice. It wrote well out of the box, which is not a given at this price unfortunately, however Pen Venture make sure to test the pen nibs before they send them out. You can also swap the nib out for a Jowo nib which is a nice to have.

The capping, uncapping and posting is all very smooth thanks to the Delrin insert in the new pocket pens. I also possess an alu-bronze gravitas pocket, and the posting isn't nearly as nice. It is certainly very satisfying to use this pen.

The pen comes with a converter which is very appreciated, as it can be quite challenging to get a converter that works with pocket pens. However I find that the converter cannot be used to its full capacity. It might be a user error cause by me, but it could also be the pen barrel, is just simply too short.

If you are curious about the material, and are willing to take good care of the pen, then I can recommend it, it is a great pen to use and I personally enjoy the "stealth" aesthetic. If you want a more throw around pocket pen, I recommend the new stainless steel pocket, or the alu-bronze pocket.