Sunderland Mk1 Review

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of metal pens, especially machined pens that accept Pilot G2/Juice refills. I think part of the attraction to machined pens is that, much like with custom pens, there is something cool about having a pen that started out as a solid piece of material that in no way resembled a pen. It is hard for me to see a nicely designed, machined pen and not want to immediately get one. That was the case with the Sunderland Mk1.

While it would be easy to label the Sunderland Mk1 as just another machined pen that takes G2 refills, there are a couple of features that help the Sunderland Mk1 to standout from the competition. The first is that in addition to Pilot G2 refills, the pen also accepts Montblanc rollerball and finerliner refills. While there are many machined pens that take G2 refills, there are only a few that take Montblanc refills. The Prometheus Alpha and most of the Big i Design family of pens accept Montblanc refills. The Prometheus Alpha works only with the Montblanc refills and the Big i Design pens are designed to accept both G2 and Montblanc refills. (Big i Design markets the pens as accepting 30+ refills but they are pretty much all roughly the same size as a G2 refill.)

The Big i Design capped pens use a springy plug insert thingy that the refill pushes against to help hold the refill in place, and it is a so-so design. The pen screws together with no problem when I use a G2 refill, but when I use a Montblanc refill I have to use a lot of force to screw the pen together (almost enough to question if I should be using the refill even though the pen is “designed” for it) and I think this is because the springy plug is having to be compressed so much.  The Sunderland Mk1 doesn’t have this problem because “We designed the mk1 to utilize the screw-in ability of the Montblanc cartridges, while also providing a rigid mount for the Pilot G2 cartridges. There are no parts to swap or screws to adjust. Simply remove one cartridge and install the other. The Montblanc screws in and the Pilot G2 drops in.” (Quoted from the Kickstarter page.) I was initially a little concerned about how secure this rigid mount would be for the G2 refills but both refills fit securely in the pen with no wiggle or play in the tip and the pen screws together with no issues, regardless of the refill used.

The other feature that really helps set the Sunderland Mk1 apart is the thread-on cap. The threads for the cap are hidden behind the grip section of the pen and this gives the pen a really clean look. This also eliminates any problems you may have with the the cap threads being near the grip section. The threads are very secure and I haven’t had any issues with cross threading.

The gap between the top and the grip section is where the threads for the cap are hidden

The grooves in the grip section provide a nice grip without being uncomfortable. The barrel of the pen tapers towards the back and this is to allow the cap to post securely onto the back of the pen. I don’t normally post my pens but I prefer posting this one. I don’t find it to be top heavy when posted and I think it being slightly lighter than other machined pens helps with this. With the cap posted, the taper of the barrel is a little more noticeable and messes with the clean look of the pen. I wish the cap and taper would meet and give a cleaner, smoother line, but this is a purely an aesthetic complaint. The pen also has less of an industrial look to it in companion to some other machined pens. The overall look of the Sunderland Mk1 reminds me of a Montblanc Meisterstuck or other “fancy” rollerball pen.

I have been very pleased with the Sunderland Mk1. The design of the pen, especially the hidden cap threads, help the pen to standout from the machined pen crowd. If you are looking for a machined pen that takes G2 and/or Montblanc refills, or if you are a person for whom a postable cap is a must have the Sunderland Mk1 may be the pen for you.

Brad at The Pen Addict reviewed a prototype version of the Mk1 and that review can be found here