The Gravitas Quark fountain pen has been out for a while and as I have heard good things about it, when this Ultem® one unexpectedly arrived with my Dinkey who was I to object. It is presently it is the smallest pen (capped) in the Gravitas range, though for how long we shall see as we know Ben Walsh likes a design challenge.

NEWSFLASH – updated model now being released – see end of article for more information.

Caveat time. I was given this pen by Ben Walsh at Gravitas for review at the same time as the Dinkey (cheers Ben). At the time of writing Gravitas is entering a partnership with Pen Venture who are presently taking over sales and support, so any nervousness about Ben’s self confessed lack of communications and poor turn around should soon be a thing of the past.

First impressions are this pen is small. Smaller than a Schon DSGN Pocket6 (or the same sized PenTitan I compared the Pocket6 with) which is impressive. Being a semi-opaque cap you can see just how little spare space there is for the nib. Also in this form the Quark looks deceptively fragile, something it is not due to the Ultem® resin. I am not sure you can make any material much thinner and still retain strength and do wonder if the cap of the metal Quark is slightly wider or if the edge of that version is razor like. The only branding, aside from on the nib, is the Gravitas logo on the cap finial.

As can be seen the cap overlaps the body, but only by a very small amount. There is a rubber ring on the barrel which I assume is there to help seal the nib area and it does this well. I’ve observed virtually no movement in the ink even with use. It unscrews in just one turn and takes about a turn and a half to post at the back.

I did try a Kaweco Sport clip on the Quark but it was too large. I do not have a Lilliput so no clip from that to try. If I can borrow one I will test and update this paragraph on whether it worked or not.

Posting is a simple case of screwing the cap on to the back of the body. The rear barrel threads are visible but are not obtrusive and work with this design. There is a catch though. I found that about a third of the time I could not get the pair of threads to catch. When this happened I found the trick was to counter wind gently until you feel a click, then reverse. Would be interesting to hear if others have encountered this same problem and what material those pens are made of.

The section is comparatively long and the standard Gravitas pepper mill/rook type shape with the gently curve down towards the nib then curving back out over the last ~8th. Here it is brushed matt in colour and textured with the usual fine subtle rings found on most Gravitas pens.

In the hand it is a comfortable pen, assuming you have posted the cap. Due to design it is on the thin side and some may find this to be a bit of an issue, especially if you prefer your fountain pens to have more girth. For me it is fine, though I am not sure if I could write with a Quark for more than around 5 to 10 minutes. Still it must be remembered that many a pocket pen will only be used for short periods of note taking. Unsurprisingly without the cap at the back the Quark is just to short to comfortably hold and you will struggle to pull it in to the crook of the hand for support. We are talking very quick notes only if unposted.

The capping threads are subtle and barely noticeable, in fact the rubber gasket ring is the one thing you slightly feel. My natural hold of this pen is towards the rear of the section, with my thumb just catching the gasket.

The nib, as already mentioned, is a Gravitas branded #6 sized Jowo compatible unit, here in a fine. As expected it was smooth ‘out of the box’.

The filling system is either short international cartridge, or eye dropper filled. There is a rubber gasket ring at the top of the inner barrel threads to help with sealing though I would still suggest using silicone grease. Ben himself recommends only half filling if you are going to eye dropper as this is a pen which will be moving around in a bag or pocket. The Quark is too small to take a mini converter, with the possible exception of a Kaweco squeeze bulb, but then those do not have a great reputation plus a poor ink capacity.

How the pen is packaged I could not say as I received a padded envelope containing a couple of pens, a pad, a cleaning cloth, a small pouch with strap, the gravitas branded emergency cartridge case (containing two carts), replacement rings for my Ultimate Vac (the piston ring had come off) and a branded keychain/lanyard case with the Quark inside it. The case did have a large Gravitas wrist strap attached, however I personally feel a neck lanyard would be far more suitable for this style of carry. If someone with a Quark could let me know how theirs arrived and what it came with, it would be much appreciated and I will update this paragraph.

So my thoughts. Overall I like the pen but I do have some conflicting thoughts mainly over personal taste. I am fine with the fact it is not in the usual Gravitas style. You want something this small that fits in with the Entry, Sentry, Pocket, etc, then you now have the Dinkey. Having said that at first I was not particularly grabbed by the looks. I can’t particularly put my finger on the reason why and now I am used to the Quark nothing jumps out at me. Maybe the desire to lose size and weight induced an element of anonymity. I suspect colour and finish may make a difference and certainly browsing the store website this Ultem® version looks dull compared to the coloured variants.

I have found over time being more drawn to this Quark. It is not an automatic grab, but one I am happy to use. Part of the problem is the number of pens I have out for use at my home PC and for review. I suspect if I just had a few then this one would be used a lot. Where it does really work is alongside the Dinkey I was sent at the same time when both carried in the USB pen drive style pouch. It gives me the ability to carry two different colours at the same time in a small package.

Would I recommend this pen to others, well I do know a couple of owners who swear by theirs (Ant if you’re reading this), and with the exception of the problems with posting it is a decent pen. If you are after something small and usable that is well made and the Dinkey is not quite for you, then why not. At present it is available for just under €90 including tax and postage to the UK, either direct from Gravitas or through Pen Venture, which does make it slightly cheaper than the Ultem® version of the Dinkey.

Pros:

• Very small pen but still with a full sized writing experience.
• Comfortable to use, if you are not in to pens with a lot of girth.

Neutral:

• Underwhelming design (to me).
• May be too thin for some.

Cons:

• Occasional problems posting.

Writing Sample:

Comparison Photos:

First with the ubiquitous Lamy Al-Star/Safari

Next with four other pocket pens in capped size order, namely L-R Gravitas Quark, Gravitas Dinkey, PenTiTan, Gravitas Pocket Pen, & Kaweco Sport

NEWSFLASH

Yes just 5 minutes after I posted the above article Ben Jammin on the Pen Addict Slack channel contacted me to le me know that a new version of the Quark has just been released and it appears to fix the posting issues. Ben confirmed he has no problems posting his Ultem® Quark but does with his other two in the original design. He has one of the new pens in zirconium and apparently the new design fixes everything.

From the Pen Venture website.