I wrote about this pen a while back, when I picked up the Electroless Nickel variant. I like that pen so much, that I decided to see what the brass variant would be like. And great news: it’s just as good, and in someways better.
I am not going to rehash everything from that first review, so take a look at that if you don’t recall how much I love that variant.
Materials
This pen is brass, with a titanium clip. It still takes the excellent Montblanc Rollerball/Fineliner refills — toss out the trash it comes with and get on the good stuff.
The finishing on this brass version is excellent, even better than the Nickel variant. With really smooth threads (yay brass) and an overall really smooth bit of machining. It is heavy, like pretty heavy.
In Use
You either like a heavy pen, or you don’t. I grabbed the Nickel the first time around because other reviewers said they preferred it. I can see why too, it is a very light pen and so your hand feels very nimble using it, and it is easy to carry. With the brass version it’s not comically heavy like some of the brass pens I have had in the past, but it does have a significant amount of weight to it.
The balance is spot on for me, so when I write with it, I don’t get a tired feeling from trying to control a heavier pen. Instead I get something that is well balanced with a very nice grip — making the overall writing experience ideal. Now, I typically only write notes and nothing long form, so it could change if I were needing longer form writing. For short bursts of note taking, this pen really hits the sweet spot.
As it is, the only real downside is carrying the pen. There it is noticeably heavier in the pocket, and even when you drop it on the table you get quite a loud thud. The patina is decently even and really lovely on this pen. It’s all around a great setup.
Overall
I’m torn which Alpha metal I like better. I like carrying the Electroless Nickel better, and I like using the Brass better. But I do use both pretty equally, and they both excel in different enough ways that I don’t pay much attention to which one I grab.
This is a great pen, you can’t go wrong.