Ajoto Pen in 18ct Rose Gold Plate

Ajoto is a company that was founded on Kickstarter in 2011, based in the UK. I missed their launch in 2011, and stumbled onto their website a few years ago when a pen instagrammer showed off her new acquisition. Ajoto make pens and associated leather goods, such as pen pouches. I think they used to have a bigger leather line, but that now seems to be slimmed down to just the pouch.

I was in a rose gold phase at the time, along with everyone else, so I picked up the rose gold plated pen without much thought put into it. The pen is stunningly beautiful and minimalistic – right up my alley. It also uses the Schmidt P8126/7 refill that is found in the Retro 51 which is a favourite of mine, so the writing experience is reliable and enjoyable.

Onto the pen itself. Being made of solid brass, it is incredibly heavy. At 55 gms, it is nearly too heavy for me except for occasional notes. I might have weakling hands, but it was tiring to write the short review for this pen shown below (but then capitalising printed letters is more tiring for me than writing normally, as I tend to death grip my pens when I do so). I think the fact that the pen is super slippery as well makes it more tiring as I am gripping it harder than usual. Ajoto also makes this pen in aluminium and ebonite, which are lighter options than brass and may be more usable for longer writing sessions.  

I had initially purchased this as an EDC pen but its not overly practical for that either. Being clipless and completely smooth it slips out of every pouch and EDC case I’ve ever used it in. Luckily I’ve not yet scratched or dented it, since its quite a pricey pen! It may work better with the Ajoto leather pen pouch, but I just carry it in a Franklin Christoph zippered pen pouch now, or leave it on my desk – I don’t really use it as an EDC pen much these days.

The pen uses a twist mechanism to extend the tip, also made of solid brass and the mechanism works smoothly with no issues. The knurled end of the mechanism makes it easy to twist in this otherwise slippery pen.

Its not been the most practical pen I’ve owned and I no longer use it for the purpose for which I bought it (as an EDC) but it is so stunningly beautiful that I couldn’t bear to part with it or pass it on. As such, it will sit on my desk, when in rotation, to be used as a desk pen.