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Ed’ favourite things - Meet the Ti Arto EDC Pen

GeneralEdward Kiledjian
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*** This is not a sponsored post ***

I love Titanium EDC gear. Now that my obsession with Ti is out of the way, let’s talk about pens. Most people buy the cheapest pen they can find or that their company will provide. I would like to submit that a well-designed pen is as much a tool as it is a work of art.

I bought my Ti Arto EDC pen in 2016 and it has been with me every day ever since.


IT has been around the world multiple times and is still my favourite pen ever (and I have owned very expensive ones).

What makes the Ti Arto EDC Pen great

First, it is machined out of a solid piece of titanium. Second, it accepts 750 different pen refills without having to hack or mod the refills or use (easy to lose) spacers. Third, you can adjust the length of the pen by swirling the back (longer or shorter).

Why is titanium great for everyday carry? Because titanium is a very hard and resistant metal. This pen has travelled in my wallet pocket for 4 years around the world and isn’t dented. Obviously it is created a bit but I find it shows character that way. the scratches aren’t deep and can’t be felt using the pen.

The Ti Arto EDC pen is well balanced (capped or uncapped) which means it is comfortable to use even for someone with smaller hands or for someone that writes a lot. Even after 4 years of daily use (and abuse), the cap stays on the end when desired. It doesn’t slip off because of gaskets on it.

When writing with the cap screwed on, the cap doesn’t rattle.

The Ti Arto also has a wider girth that makes writing for long periods more comfortable (aka less hand strain).

The refills

When you buy the pen, it comes with a Schneider 0.4 mm black gel ink refill installed. Over the years I have tried different refills and have chose the Signo RT as my preferred choice right now (although the fisher space pen refill was also a good choice).

Big Idea Design, the Ti Arto’s designers, have tested 750 different refills and they created a google spreadsheet with the list of supported refills.

Conclusion

I know many of your reading this will consider a $90US pen a frivolous purchase when you can buy a disposable pen for $1.99 or a slightly better quality reusable Pilot pen for $10-20. Your position is perfectly understandable.

I believe in buying fewer items but buying high-quality ones for the products you chose to introduce into your life. Think about how many times you have used a pen in the last 2 weeks. This is something that will last a very long time and that you can be proud to show friends and colleagues,

If this is something you think you would be interested in, here is the link on Big Idea Design’s website (not an affiliate link) : here.

I own other Big Idea Design products that will make it into my favourites list so stay tuned.

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My Everyday Carry Pen (EDC) - TI Arto Review

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

A question I receive regularly is about what makes up my EDC kit. The first article I wanted to publish was about my pen. This is no ordinary pen. It is a magical pen that accepts over 200 different types of ink refills (roller-ball, ballpoint or D1). It is a beautiful pen made from aircraft grade titanium, which makes it super durable, light and incredibly beautiful. 

I have used hundreds of pens from a cheap BIC all  the way to an exclusive Montblanc. After everything is said and done, the TI Arto from Big Idea Designs is the one I chose to carry everyday (at work, during travel or at play). 

Why? First this wonderfully designed and carefully crafted pen accepts over 200 different types of ink refills (without hacking or modification). This means I can buy ink refills anywhere in the world and know it works. It even accepts the Uni-ball Signo DX without any modification. This is a highly prized refill by pen lovers worldwide but it never fits into these pen bodies. It works wonderfully in the TI Arto. How? Because the creative team at Big Idea Designs created a cone head that tightens as you screw it and therefore can securely hold almost any type of pen head in place. This internal compression cone is what makes this pen stand apart and is the secret to how it can accept 200+ ink refills. It is easy to use but will require a little fidgeting as you adjust it (when replacing the ink).

It is built from titanium which means it is extremely light and durable. I carry it in my wallet pocket along with a lighter and aluminium plate wallet and it has held up well. 

Overall I highly recommend the TI Arto. It will be a useful and beautiful part of any EDC kit delivering a lifetime of use.

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you can see how beautifully the pen wears. This is with 1 year of use. Also note the TI symbol on the cap.

You can see the end of the compression cone holding my Uniball Signo 207 ink in place.

Example of Refills accepted by the pen without modification. This is grows every week.

Pen Name / Refill Name

Rollerball Style Refills

•Avant Pen Refills (0.5mm)
•Bic Velocity Gel Refill 0.7mm (Medium)
•Bic Velocity Gel Refill 1.6mm (Bold)
•Cross Gel Rolling Ball Refill 0.7mm
•Cross Porous Point Felt Tip Refills (Fine & Medium)
•Dong-A Fine Tech RT Pen Refill (GRC-43)
•Duke Rollerball Refill (Medium)
•Faber-Castell Ceramic Rollerball Refill 0.5mm
•Foray (Office Depot) Replacement Refills
•Foray (Office Depot) Replacement for Schmidt Rollerball Refills
•Foray (Office Depot) Replacement for Waterman Rollerball Refills
•Lamy M63 Refill
•Moleskine Gel Refills (0.5 and 0.7 mm)
•Mont Blanc Fineliner Refills
•Mont Blanc 163 Rollerball Pen Refills (F) & (M)
•Monteverde Rollerball Refill (Mont Blanc Style Replacements)
•Monteverde Mini Rollerball J22 Refill for Mini Jewelria Pens
•MUJI 0.5mm Refill
•Ohto C-304P Ceramic Rollerball Pen Refill – 0.4mm
•Ohto C-305P Ceramic Rollerball Pen Refill – 0.5mm
•Ohto C-307P Ceramic Rollerball Pen Refill – 0.7mm
•Ohto C-310P Ceramic Rollerball Pen Refill – 1.0mm
•Ohto F-300 Fude Pen Brush Refill
•Pentel EnerGel BLN105 Rollerball Pen Refill – 0.5mm
•Pentel EnerGel LR7 Gel Pen Refill – 0.7 mm
•Pentel EnerGel LR10 Gel Pen Refill – 1.0 mm
•Pentel EnerGel LRN5 Needle-Point Gel Pen Refill – 0.5 mm
•Pentel EnerGel LRN7 Needle-Point Gel Pen Refill – 0.7 mm
•Pentel HyperG Retractable KL257 Series (LR7 & KLR7)
•Pentel Sliccies Gel Multi Pen Refill (XBGRN3A) – 0.3 mm
•Pentel Sliccies Gel Multi Pen Refill (XBGRN4A) – 0.4 mm
•Pentel Sliccies Gel Multi Pen Refill (XBGRN5A) – 0.5 mm
•Pentel Slicci Techo Mini Gel Pen Refill (BG503) – 0.3 mm
•Pilot Ageless Future Gel Pen Refill (BLGS-7) – 0.7 mm (2 Colors)
•Pilot B2P Bottle to Pen Gel Ink Pen Refill – 0.7mm
•Pilot Frixion Ball Gel Multi Pen (LFBTRF refill) – 0.38mm
•Pilot Frixion Ball Gel Multi Pen (LFBTRF refill) – 0.5mm
•Pilot Frixion Ball Gel Multi Pen (LFTRF refill) – 0.38mm
•Pilot FriXion Ball 2 Biz Gel Pen Refill – 0.38 mm
•Pilot Frixion Erasable Gel Pen Refill (LFRF30P4) – 0.4mm
•Pilot Frixion BLS-FR5 (LFBK-23EF-B refill) – 0.5mm
•Pilot G2 Refills (America’s #1 selling ink gel pen, 0.38, 0.5, 0.7, &1.0mm)
•Pilot G2 Pro
•Pilot G6
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Cavalier 0.4mm (Has more ink than the standard Hi-Tec-C refill)
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 0.3mm (LHKRF-10C3) 15 different colors
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 0.4mm (LHKRF-10C4) 15 different colors
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 0.5mm (LHKRF-10C5) 15 different colors
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slim Knock Gel Pen Refill (LHSRF-8C3) – 0.3mm – 3 Colors
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slim Knock Gel Pen Refill (LHSRF-8C4) – 0.4mm – 3 Colors
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C “Standard” – 0.25mm (BLS-HC25)
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C “Standard”- 0.3mm (BLS-HC3)
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C “Standard”- 0.4mm (BLS-HC4)
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C “Standard”- 0.5mm (BLS-HC5)
•Pilot Juice Gel Ink Series Refill 0.38, 0.5, 0.7mm (LP2RF) – (3 Colors)
•Pilot Precise V5 RT/V7 RT, named Hi-tecpoint V5 RT/V7 RT in Europe
•Pilot Q7 Needle Point Refill 0.7mm (BLS-GCK-7 / LHKRF-8C7)
•Pilot V ball RT (BLS-VB5RT)
•Pelikan Roller Refill 338 Rollerball
•Platinum Gel Pen Refill (BSP-60S) 0.5mm
•Platinum Gel Ball Pen Refill (GSP-80N) – 0.5 mm
•Roting TIKKY Liner Refill – 0.5mm
•Sakura R-GBH Ballsign Gel Multi Pen Refill – 0.4 mm (4 Colors)
•Sakura R-GBP Ballsign Knock Gel Pen Refill – 0.4 mm (3 Colors)
•Schmidt Safety ceramic roller 888 Fine
•Schneider Topball 850
•Staples Classic Grip Pen 0.7mm Gel (#31581)
•TUL GL1 Gel Pen Retractable Needle Point Fine 0.5mm
•Uniball Signo DX 0.28mm Refill (UMR-1-28)
•Uniball Signo DX 0.38mm Refill (UM-151)
•Uniball Signo DX 0.5mm Refill (UMR-1-05)
•Uniball Fanthom Erasable Gel Pen Refill (UFR-122) – 0.5 mm (3 Colors)
•Uniball Impact RT 1.0mm Bold (Signo UMR-80)
•Uniball Style Fit Gel Multi Pen Refill (UMR-109) – 0.28, 0.38, 0.5mm (16 Colors)
•Uniball Signo RT Gel 0.38mm & 0.5mm (UMN-138)
•Uniball Signo (UMN-152)
•Uniball Signo 0.28mm (UMN-82)
•Uniball Signo 0.38mm (UMN-83)
•Uniball Signo 207 Gel Refill 0.7mm (UMR-87, UMR-85)
•Uniball Jetstream 0.38 (SXR-38)
•Uniball Jetstream 0.5mm (SXR-5)
•Uniball Jetstream 0.7mm (SXR-7)
•Uniball Jetstream 1.0mm (SXR-7)
•Uniball Jetstream 1mm (SXR-10)
•Uniball Mitsubishi Liquid Ink Rollerball Pen Refill(UBR-300)- 0.5 mm
•Visconti Rolling Ceramic 0.7mm (AA40)
•Waterman Rollerball Refill
•Zebra Sarasa Clip Pen Refill – 0.7mm (JF-Refills for Sarasa, Sarasa SE, Sarasa Clip)
•Zebra JF-0.4 Sarasa Gel Pen Refill – 0.4 mm (4 Colors)
•Zebra JF-0.5 Sarasa Gel Pen Refill – 0.5 mm (4 Colors)
•Zebra JJ2 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra J15 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra JJZ15 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra JJ21 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra Sarasa Dry Gel Ink Rollerball Refill (JLV-0.4) – 0.4 mm (3 Colors)
•Zebra Sarasa Dry Gel Ink Rollerball Refill (JLV-0.5) – 0.5 mm (3 Colors)
•Zebra Gel Ink Rollerball Refills (RBJF5) – 0.5mm (3 Colors)
•Zebra JT-0.4 Sarasa Gel Pen Refill (RJT4-BK)- 0.4 mm
•Zebra RJF3 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra RJF4 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra RJF5 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra RJF10 Gel Ink Refill
•Zebra Sarasa (NJK-0.4) – 0.4mm
•Zebra Sarasa (NJK-0.5) – 0.5mm

Ballpoint Style Refills

•Ballograf Original Ballpoint Pen Refill (4 Colors)
•Ballograf Pocket Ballpoint Pen Refill (2 Colors)
•Bic Pro+ 1.0mm Pen Refill
•Diplomat EasyFLOW Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Caran D’ache Goliath Refill
•Faber-Castell Ballpoint Pen Refill (Medium)
•Faber-Castell Scribero Gel Ink Roller Refill
•Fisher Space Pen “PR” Series Refills – 15 Different Refills
•Fisher Space Pen “U” Series Refills (UF1, UF2, UF4) – 3 Colors
•Foray (Office Depot) Ballpoint Refill for Parker Refills
•Foray (Office Depot) Replacement For Mont Blanc Ballpoint Refills
•Foray (Office Depot) Ballpoint Refill for Waterman Refills
•Kaweco Soul G2 Refill 1.0mm
•Kaweco Sport Roller Ball Pen Refill (This is a smooth Rollerball gel ink)
•Kokuyo FitCurve Ballpoint Pen Refill (PRR-SJ7D) – 0.7 mm (3 Colors)
•Lamy M22F Refill – Fine, Med, Broad
•Metaphys Locus 3Way Multi Pen Refill – 0.5mm
•Midori Brass Bullet Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.5 mm
•Moleskine Ballpoint Refill
•Mont Blanc Ballpoint Refills (F) & (M)
•Monteverde Needle Point Refill (Fine)
•Monteverde Soft Roll P13 – Colored inks
•Monteverde Soft Roll P15- (Superbroad, Medium, Ultrafine)
•Ohto P80-05NP Needlepoint Ballpoint Pen Refill 0.5mm
•Ohto P80-07NP Needlepoint Ballpoint Pen Refill 0.7mm (writing width is 0.35mm)
•OhtoPS-205NP Extra-Fine Ballpoint Pen Refill 0.5mm (writing width is 0.35mm)
•Ohto PS-207NP Extra-Fine Ballpoint Pen Refill 0.7mm
•Ohto 893NP Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.3 mm
•Ohto 895NP Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.5 mm
•Ohto 897NP Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm
•Parafernalia Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Parker Ballpoint Pen Refill (Broad, Medium, Fine)
•Parker GEL Ballpoint Pen Refill (Medium)
•Parker Quinkflow Ballpoint Pen Refill (Medium, Fine)
•Pelikan Giant Ballpoint Pen Refill 337 (Broad, Fine, Medium)
•Pentel Rolly C4 Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill (BKSS7) – 0.7 mm (4 Colors)
•Pentel (KFLT8) Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Pentel Selfit Ballpoint Pen Refill (BKS7H-AD)- 0.7 mm
•Pentel Vicuna XBXST5-A Refill – 0.5mm
•Pentel Vicuna BXM5H Refill – 0.5mm
•Pentel Vicuna BXM7H Refill – 0.7mm
•Pilot BRFV-8EF Acro Ink Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.5 mm (3 Colors)
•Pilot BRFV-8F Acro Ink Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm (3 Colors)
•Pilot BRFN-30F Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm
•Pilot BRFN-30M Ballpoint Pen Refill – 1.0 mm
•Pilot BTRF-6F Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm (3 Colors)
•Platignum Standard Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Sailor Pica Kirei Anti-Bacterial Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill – 0.7 mm(3 Colors)
•Sailor Pica Kirei Anti-Bacterial “Mini” Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill – 0.7 mm (3 Colors)
•Sakura R-NOB Ballpoint Pen Refill ( SAKURA R-NOB#49) – 0.7 mm
•Schmidt P900 B Ballpoint Pen Refill (Broad, Medium, Fine)
•Schmidt P950M MegaLine Pressurized Ballpoint Pen Refill (Medium)
•Schmidt 4889 MegaLine Pressurized Pen Refill
•Schmidt 9000M EasyFlow Pen Refill
•Schmidt P8900 Super Bowl Refill (Fine)
•Schneider Express 735 Pen Refill (Broad, Medium, Fine)
•Schneider Slider 755 Pen Refill (Extra-Broad, Medium)
•Sheaffer Ballpoint Refill II (Medium)
•Sheaffer K Ballpoint Refill
•Sheaffer T Ballpoint Refill
•Stabilo Ballpoint Refill
•Stabilo EASYgel Refill
•Tombow BR-ZLM Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Uni SXR-80-05 Jetstream Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill – 0.5 mm (4 Colors)
•Uni SXR-80-07 Jetstream Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill – 0.7 mm (4 Colors)
•Uni Power Tank High Grade Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm
•Visconti Ballpoint Pen Refill AA49 1.4 (Broad)
•Visconti Gel Refill AA38 (Broad, Medium, Fine)
•Zebra F-Refill Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm (2 Colors)
•Zebra G-301 JK-Refill Gel Pen Refills – 0.7 mm (2 Colors)
•Zebra SK-0.4 Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.4 mm (2 Colors)
•Zebra SK-0.7 Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.7 mm (4 Colors)
•Zebra Stylus Pen LV-Refills – 1.0mm
•Zebra Zmulsion Ink Pen Refill – 1.0 mm (EQ-1.0)

D1 Style Refills

•Acme Black 4FP Four-Function Pen Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Acme Highlighter 4FP Four-Function Pen Multi Functional Pen Refill
•Aurora Mini Medium Point Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Caran D’ache Ecridor XS Mini Refill
•Cross Matrix Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Cross Micro Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Kaweco D1 Soul Ballpoint Refill
•Lamy M21 Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Lamy M55 Tripen Marker Refill (Orange Highlighter)
•Monteverde Soft Roll Ballpoint Pen Refill – D1 (628)
•Ohto R-4C5NP Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen Refill – 0.5 mm
•Ohto R-4C7NP Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen Refill -0.7mm
•Parker Mini Ballpoint Refills
•Parker Vector 3-in-1 Ballpoint Refills
•Pelikan 38 Ballpoint Refills
•Pentel XBXS5-A (0.5mm)
•Pentel XBXS7-A (0.7mm)
•Pentel Vicuna XKBXES7 Ballpoint Pen Refill – D1 – 0.7 mm
•Pilot BRF-8M & BRF-8F-B 0.7mm Refills
•Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slims (LHRF-20C3-B 0.3mm)
•Platinum BSP-60 Series
•Platinum BSP-100
•Platinum SBSP-120S Hybrid Ink Ballpoint Refill
•Retro 1951 D-1 Ballpoint Refill
•Rotring Tikky 3-in-1 Ballpoint Refills – 0.7mm (2-Colors)
•Staedtler Multi Pen Ballpoint Refill (92RE-09)- D1 – 0.7 mm
•S.T. Dupont Mini Olympio Ballpoint Pen Refill
•Tombow Outdoor Pen Refill (BR-VMP)
•Tombow VS Ballpoint Pen Refill (BR-VS) – D1
•Uni SXR-200 Jetstream Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill (0.5 and 0.7mm)
•Zebra Tele-scopic Slide Ballpoint Pen Refill – 4C – 0.7mm
•Zebra ESB-0.7 Emulsion Ink Ballpoint Pen Refill – D1 – 0.7 mm
•Zebra JSB-0.4 (RJSB4-BK)
•Zebra JSB-0.5 (RJSB5-BK)
•Zebra Sharbo X Ballpoint Multi Pen Refill Component – D1
•Zebra Sharbo X Gel Ink Multi Pen Refill Component – D1

EVER Pininfarina Cambiano Inkless Pen

GeneralEdward Kiledjian
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Pininfarina is synonymous with beautifully functional desire that plays with peoples emotions. They are best known for designing cars like Ferrari but they have also produced buildings and consumer products. 

Now they bring their magical design skills to a pen, the Pininfarina Cambiano Inkless Pen (link). Looking at the above picture, you can see how simple, clean and beautiful the pen is. The tip is made with ethergraph which is designed to write forever without having to replace ink cartridges.

No price yet but you can rest assured most of us won't be able to afford it.

A Bic pen for your tablet

technologyEdward Kiledjian
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I come from a generation where cheap Bic pens were plentiful and the go to tool anytime you wanted to write something. There is something nostalgic about using one of this pens these days. 

Imagine my surprise when I learned that Bic was releasing the above Bic Cristal Stylus pen. It looks exactly like the Bics I remembered except this one has a nib at the end for your tablet or smartphone. These pens sure bring back a lot of memories.

Unfortunately this bringer of old memories is the european version (link). The North American version looks like this (link):

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Sure its cool but its nothing like the Bic I remember... Too bad... I would love to get my hands on the old school european version. 

All Amazon links provided in this article are for convenience only. I do not get any financial benefit from them.

Pilot Frixion Erasable Pen

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Nothing says hi-tech like a pen but I wanted to let you know about a cool new pen I have been playing with called the Pilot Frixion erasable pen.  Unlike other erasable pens, this one actually works very well because of its thermo-sensitive ink that erases clean. 

The Frixion series comes in ballpoint and fine point. 

 

You can see a sample above where I erased a section of my solid line.