Seen in the wild

Just one or two days after I last mentioned Stilform, they announced their latest Kickstarter project: the Stilform Aeon.

It’s a ‘pen tip holder’ that comes with two magnetically held tips:

• one with a metal alloy end, called eternal tip, that leaves light marks on paper (and other surfaces)
• and the other one with a graphite end on the tip.

The implied claim is that using this pen is “not at the cost of the earth’s precious resources”. I like stationery, but when marketing departments make claims like this I get very sceptical. Comparing the eternal tip to a pencil doesn’t seem to make sense: writing with metal alloy tips is not comparable to writing with a pencil. The lines that pens like this leave are very light, at least that’s the case for the metal alloy pens I have used. Based on what I have seen on the Kickstarter page the Aeon is not different.

That leaves a comparison between the graphite tip on this pen and a pencil.

I might not have understood how this pen works, but I think graphite will be ‘used up’ when writing with this pen , so it looks as if to refill your pen you need to buy new graphite tips that come with magnetic ends. Generally speaking magnets are not eco friendly, so I am not convinced that buying replacement graphite tips is better than buying wood cased pencils, especially not if they are made from FSC certified wood.

Just to clarify, I don’t have a problem with the Aeon, but if you claim or imply this pen is better for the environment, and that is the opening and main point of the Kickstarter video, then it would be nice to provide some details how you came to this conclusion.

It’s great if this pen is better for the environment, but if so then explain why that is instead of just telling us and we have to believe this without an explanation.