TERN Titanium: A Pocket Fountain Pen Reimagined in Titanium

When we designed TERN, the starting point was simple: to make a fountain pen small enough to genuinely carry in a pocket, yet one that feels like a full-size pen when opened for writing.

TERN Titanium is that idea reinterpreted in titanium.

A 23-Gram Fountain Pen

Titanium is often discussed simply in terms of weight. In TERN, however, the choice of material changes the entire character of the pen.

Machined from Grade 2 titanium, TERN Titanium weighs just 23 grams, including the ink cartridge. At 103 mm long when closed, it almost disappears in a pocket. Once the cap is posted, its proportions change, turning it into a comfortable fountain pen for everyday writing.

This is where titanium’s low weight becomes particularly meaningful: TERN can remain small without compromising the writing experience.

A Small Detail: TCR

Threaded pocket pens often share a common problem. Once the cap is removed, the threads used for posting can remain exposed, where they may be felt beneath the fingers while writing.

When designing TERN, we did not want to simply accept this as an unavoidable characteristic of a pocket pen.

The result was the TCR — Thread Cover Ring.

When TERN is closed, the TCR forms part of the body. When opening the pen, the ring is removed and transferred to the rear section where the cap will be posted. Once the cap is screwed into place, the TCR covers the threads that would otherwise remain exposed.

A small mechanical component therefore performs two different functions, without becoming a loose or unnecessary part at any stage of using the pen.

Black Kaweco Nib

For the titanium version of TERN, we chose a black Kaweco nib to complement the material.

The natural grey of titanium, the black nib and the knurled grip create a restrained, more technical character. The fundamental form of TERN remains unchanged, yet the result feels distinctly different from the brass version.

TERN uses standard international short ink cartridges.

Made One at a Time on a Manual Lathe

TERN Titanium is not a mass-produced pen.

Each component is individually machined on a manual lathe in the Thorn Mill workshop in İznik, Türkiye. The threads, mating surfaces, TCR, cap and body are made and fitted as parts of the same pen.

For us, this way of making is more than a production method. It is part of the character of the object itself.

Rather than producing thousands of identical components by CNC, we approach each TERN as a single pen from beginning to end. Subtle variations created during machining and finishing the titanium are a natural consequence of that process.

Small in the Pocket, Complete in Use

The purpose of TERN was never simply to make the smallest fountain pen possible.

The aim was to make a pocket fountain pen that does not feel compromised because it has been made smaller.

Its 103 mm closed length, 23-gram total weight, postable cap and TCR system are all parts of that idea.

TERN Titanium is the lightest interpretation of it so far.

Thorn Mill — İznik, Türkiye