The "Alden" Fountain Pen
What’s So Special About “Alden”?
When I set out to create a new fountain pen, I had two goals in mind: to create a fountain pen that combined traditional and modern elements and to create a new pen that felt like an old soul.
The first goal wasn’t difficult. Special K and I have been working with resin and organic material for a while and I knew which pen blank I wanted to use: a gold shimmer blank infused with a pine cone stripped of its scales. I’d worked with a blank like this before and was blown away by the texture it produced once it was turned. It was both elegant and edgy, one of my favorite combinations.
If there is one thing a fountain pen possesses, it’s a regard for tradition and warmth, but we often forget that the fountain pen is one of the world’s truly great technical developments. Despite its dedicated “look,” the fountain pen is always evolving and two of the things I love about them are their versatility and their sustainability. This pen uses both refillable and disposable cartridges, which makes it ideal for a beginner or a long-time user. If you want to know how serious a fountain pen user is, just ask them about their ink collection. They all have their personal favorites and interesting stories about how they found them and how they use them.
The other thing I wanted to infuse this pen with was an identity. I wanted a pen that had a more robust, but friendly silhouette: one that would comfortably fit in the hand and provide an easy grip. Since the pen would have a fine point tip, I knew this would be a writer’s pen, as opposed to a calligrapher’s pen or artist’s pen. It wasn’t my task to give him a voice (the person who writes with him will do that), but I wanted to give him a spirit. “Alden” means wise, old friend. It’s also an nod to Walden, which happens to be located in nearby Concord, MA. Alden also happens to be the name of one of my favorite television characters, Rev. Alden of Walnut Grove on Little House on the Prairie.
And, of course, the pine cone has long been a symbol of enlightenment. By stripping the scale of the pine cone and putting them back together with the core of pine cone, we hoped to unleash its potential. To break old cycles of energy and reunite them in a new way. One of the things that surprised me – that I couldn’t see in the unturned pen blank – was how the scales of the pine cone absorbed the gold shimmer we infused the resin with. It gave them an iridescent quality that we didn’t plan, but were overjoyed to see. 
Like each and every pen we turn, “Alden” gave us a few surprises along the way – and a few fights – but the finished product was everything we wanted from him and we hope you feel the same way. If you'd like to order you very own "Alden" you'll find him waiting for you here.