Tactile Turn Gist (V1.0) Titanium

The Tactile Turn Gist is a kickstarted pen from Will Hodges that was launched in October (ish) 2015 and has recently been re-launched in V2.0. This review is of the original version.

Caption: From left to right: Kaweco Classic Sport, Franklin Christoph Pocket 66, Tactile Turn Gist Titanium, Edison Pearlette, Pilot Prera

The Gist is a shortish pen, about 13 cm long (capped) and 12 cm long uncapped, making it a little on the small side. On the Titanium version of the pen, however, I don’t really notice its smallness, as it still has some heft to it due to the metal. Its really well balanced (unposted) and feels substantial in hand, despite the apparent small stature. I don’t think I could use it for long writing sessions requiring quick writing, but under normal circumstances, it feels comfortable for me. Being all metal, it is too heavy for me to post and it feels very top heavy when I do post.

All metal pens usually feel very slippery and require a death grip regardless of weight and form, however, the Gist is cleverly ribbed for your comfort. I’ve not found any machining errors either so it will suit the OCD in you as well. For those of you who get annoyed by excessive unscrewing of pen caps, the Gist takes 2.5 turns to completely uncap. All of the other pens I have on hand (Platinum, Pelikan, Sailor, Pilot, TWSBI, Bexley) take around 1 turn.

The nibs available on the Gist are the standard Bock nibs and can be ordered in steel, gold and titanium. Bock is one of the big German nib manufacturers and also makes nibs for Kaweco, Faber Castell, Eboya and Visconti, to name a few. In my experience, the standard Bock nibs I own are a little inconsistent. One is wet and a little scratchy (this one) and the other is a little bit drier and smoother. However, the nibs are very usable and would perform well with minor adjustments.

Overall, the Gist is a pretty good choice for a full Titanium pen, which can be expensive. The thing that stands out about the Gist is the ribbed finish which really does make a big difference in grip and writing comfort.