Let him that hath understanding count the number of the nib: for it is the number of a pen; and his number is Six
Now, a pocket pen is a fine thing to have, especially in warm weather when there isn't room in a pair of shorts for great big pens. Until recently, though, there hasn't been much chance of finding a genuinely pocket-sized pen with a full-sized #6 nib. The Pocket Six is, as the name rather giddily confesses, an immediate answer to that headache.
Ian Schon already has an enthusiastic following in those circles which obsess mightily about the perfect 'EDC' kit, but shiny as his many previous pens were none had yet come my way because, well, it used be all about ballpoints, and without putting too fine a point on it those aren't really pens in my world-view.
Of course, as soon as he turned his hand to turning bodies for proper nibs, I volunteered to try one. Said 'volunteering' may have involved repetitively harping-on a bit until Nero's Notes gave in, but they're all far too nice to complain.
How it looks is tiny, of course. This all-black version would be easy to lose for someone who wears a lot of black (as a recovering goth, I have done my research) but there are also versions in full Jackson Pollock rhubarb-and-custard camouflage, and I'm rather hoping that Nero will bite on a stash of polished brass Pocket Six pens eventually too.
Once one unscrews the cap and screws it back on to the other end of the barrel, the whole assemblage is exactly long enough to write with. The combination of materials choices and astonishingly precise milling makes for a surprisingly light pen in the hand, but it feels built to withstand some hard knocks too.
How it writes is obviously a pretty crucial point too, and I'm going to come clean about this as, by pure bad luck, I got one that wasn't the smoothest nib I'd ever tried. Fortunately, this rare disorder is easily treated, because the Bock housing simply unscrews from the grip section - and if your luck happens to be as poor as mine, the lovely people at Nero HQ will sort you out with a new nib right away and you'll be smiling again.
Once you get the right nib for you, in the coat you prefer, the Pocket Six will be the envy of all your friends. It looks small, if perfectly formed, but once opened up it's quite a Revelation.
