Gravitas The Monster Ultem Red Fountain Pen

Do not let the name fool you. The Monster is not a bulky, unwieldy fountain pen. It is based on the well-proportioned shape of the original Vac model, a design that has already won over plenty of stationery lovers. Every line and curve has been carefully refined, from the silhouette to the balance, with an obsessive eye for proportion and function.

To deliver an exceptional writing experience, the Monster is built with careful weight reduction from high-grade materials: red bead-blasted anodised aluminium, Ultem and 304 stainless steel. Ultem is an engineering plastic that is stronger and lighter than acrylic and resistant to stains and chemicals. The translucent material lets you see the pen's inner mechanism. The result is a pen that feels solid yet stays perfectly balanced.

The heart of this fountain pen is the Kraken filling system, a mechanism inspired by mechanical heart valves. Ben Walsh designed it while researching sealing valves for retractable pens, finding his answer in the medical world. The result is a seal that looks simple and works beautifully, behaving more like a heart valve than a classic Vacuumatic filler.

What makes the Kraken filling system special:

• an efficient design with a 7 ml ink capacity at a full fill
• a purpose-made quad ring that keeps lubrication where the parts meet, for a better seal
• precise machining that draws a large volume of ink, even in a single fill

The writing point is a Size 8 steel nib with an ebonite feeder, available in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium and Broad. The grip section unscrews for easy cleaning and maintenance of the filling system. Each pen comes in a handy zip case.