The Backstory
Written by Will Hodges
My father was a cabinetmaker before he met my mother and joined her architectural scale model company and had a deep appreciation for modern Danish furniture. Clean design, great materials, and proper craftsmanship is part of the culture and no one exemplifies the attention to detail better than the legendary designer, Jens Ansø. I remember seeing some of Jens' knives at Blade Show Atlanta back in 2017 and loving them but I was too intimidated to introduce myself. Imagine my surprise when Jens reached out about a pen collaboration in August 2024. I immediately sent the initial design specs to the team, picked my jaw off the floor, and set the wheels in motion.
Our first formal meeting was at Blade West later that year where he showed Kevin and I his prototype and we started talking through how to make it happen. He wanted a VERY slim pen with a hexagonal body which is much more difficult to manufacture than it seems.
Slim pens on their own are difficult and Jens wanted to go significantly slimmer than anything we had done before and utilize our Side Click mechanism, requiring plenty of iterations to get right. On top of that, the hexagonal body was a bigger challenge than expected. Most of the time, hexagonal-shaped pens are made from extrusions of aluminum or brass which is straightforward. Titanium hex is a different story and the suppliers that were willing to do it required huge orders which we didn't feel comfortable with knowing if the tolerances were even slightly off we'd be sitting on a lot of very expensive scrap.
Instead, our solution was polygonal turning which involves timing a cutter and the rotation of the material just the right way to produce different shapes. I won't bore you with too many details but I will say that there were some serious barriers in changing DEEP internal settings in the machine that ran these that will keep most other machined pen makers from doing this. Credit to Kevin's incredible knowledge and experience to make this happen.
This pen is a result of an amazing collaboration – Jens came up with something quite difficult and the team stepped up to make it happen. I couldn't be happier with the results and I know Jens feels the same way.
Designed from the ground up
While it may resemble our typical Side Click models, the Ansø pens feature a special, slimmed-down version of the mechanism to fit the even "slimmer than slim" body diameter. The knurled grip and hexagonal body sections are new additions to our catalog which required using new (to us) tools and plenty of trial-and-error. One immediately obvious change is the side button to retract the ink refill is located on the opposite side of the clip.
One length, multiple materials
Because of the slim diameter constraints, the Ansø pen only accommodates Parker-style refills and comes in a single length equipped with an Ohto PG-105 0.5mm blue ink refill. For the initial batch, we're excited to offer the pen in both Stonewashed Titanium and Brass which adds a bit more heft and will patina over time.
New Finish
Blackened Brass
For this brand new finish, we applied Black Cerakote paint to the brass pen before running it through the tumbler. Due to the polygonal nature of the Ansø pen, the brass shines through on the edges and knurled grip to create a striking look.
Note: The finish will continue to change over time.
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Meet Jens Ansø
Jens is Denmark-based industrial designer and knife maker known for his high-quality, functional, and beautiful designs which have earned him international recognition since 2001. His work is characterized by a distinctive form language with influences from modern architecture, traditional carpentry, and vintage Danish furniture. For more information, check out his YouTube channel (@jensanso) or his website by following the link below.
