PHX-1 : Design Tool Set
Last Updated on Sunday, 29 January 2012 12:24 Written by Atticus Sunday, 29 January 2012 10:02
A package arrived in the mail this week. A slim cardboard box with PHX-1 stamped on it. This was a parcel I had been waiting for with some anticipation. So much so, I had already gone out and purchased two pens and a some craft blades to go with it.
Well that's odd. Why would I buy a couple of pens and some craft blades?
Well, the PHX-1 is a Multipen with a difference. I first saw it on Kickstarter a few months ago and immediately wanted one for myself. One end of the pen holds a cutting blade and the other end houses a pen. The PHX-1 multipen itself comes in a slide rule container. Old School style! The case would look right at home on any desk. but may get scratched up if you tried carrying it everywhere in a backpack.
The PHX-1 container is made from bamboo and the lid itself is a custom, double sided ruler. The PHX-1 multipen has a screw-on cap on each end. Machined from stainless steel this pen feels hefty in the hands. With such solid construction material this pen could easily last a couple of generations and will only be limited by the supply of blades and compatible pen inserts. But, I doubt either the Hi-Tec-C or Uniball UM150s are going out of production any time soon.
I had a fair bit of trouble locating the blades for this pen. The Kickstarter page describes X-Acto No.11 blades as the blades to source but the X-acto brand must be common in the American market rather than here in Australia. I had to try a couple of craft shops here in Brisbane before a found an equivalent blade. Pen wise the PHX-1 will accomodate a Hi-Tec-C pen or a Uniball Signo DX. Once again neither pen can be easily found here so I settled on a couple of Uniball Signo (UM151s) pens instead. They fit and that is all that matters right?
This pen has some heft to it. The pen with case is 192g and the pen with blade and pen insert is 83g. Additionally the PHX-1 is quite lengthy and this affects the balance in your hand. With both caps on it is 19 cm long and 13.5 cm long without caps. I wouldn't recommend using the PHX-1 for extended writing periods. But, the PHX-1 wasn't designed for that type of use was it? This is a craft and design tool and I believe it would work perfectly well as such (not that I come from a craft/design background).
I was lucky and got on board early to secure myself one of these. It cost me $50USD. From what I know of Kickstarter campaigns this pen will be available soon for almost double what I paid for it. in this sort of price range I think the PHX-1 is worth it for Multipen collectors and those from a craft/design background only. However, I hope I am proved wrong, after all the Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded very quickly.
For additional details, videos and photographs visit the Kickstarter webpage.
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