I’ve posted about the Spoke Design Roady XL, over HERE. But I just wanted to do a “shout out” for this model in this particular topic, since it’s about favorite pens.
When you buy a pen from a small “indie” pen/pencil shop, it used to be that quality would be hit-or-miss. But these days with the advent of such shops having access to CNC machinery, or even in-house, you’re talking about professional grade quality being much more likely. In general with mass produced pens made of metal, I always gravitated to vintage Japanese brands like PILOT, Pentel, Platinum, Mitsubishi, Sakura, Tombow, rOtring (Germany/Japan), and OHTO. They were just so passionate about quality assurance but also timeless and artful designs. In more modern days, the premise of high efficiency, lower costs, and faster production, some quality has been sacrificed… unless it’s more of a high-end line that demands a much higher price tag.
Anyway, I’m preaching to the choir here. Most of you here already know this! (At least those who aren’t exclusively pencil collectors / users). Spoke Design feels like an old-school Japanese writing instrument company, IMHO. They really are a great maker and I enjoy their designs a great deal. Not everything appeals to me, but a few have definitely struck a cord. The Roady XL in particular is my favorite from their offerings. They have a multitude of options and colorways.
The blue/black model was my first. And even after I first got the all titanium version, it remained my favorite. I just love the weight of it and how the cap is so well machined to fit capped and posted on the body. The titanium model is a little heavier than the aluminum bodied blue/black pen (which has a titanium grip and steel nose cone, end piece). I preferred the slightly lighter weight. But then I forced myself to use the all titanium one and I discovered I like it. The XL is superior due to it being able to take larger refills, including the Pentel Energel XLRN. The smaller Roady 2 takes Parker G2 style refills. While it will accept the front end of an Energel XLRN, the body is too wide to fit into the body despite being length capable after cutting off some of it. The plastic is thick enough that it might be possible to strip off some of it to fit, though.