r/machinedpens

Which do you prefer? I think the top looks better but my beta testers seem to prefer a bit more stickout for ease of writing. The pen is 9mm/0.356in diameter, tip has a 15 degree taper. Parker G2.

EDIT: This is a bolt action, 122mm length, C693 eco brass, 43 grams. I’ll put more photos in a separate post but I do have more in the socials in my bio.

EDIT 2: Seems that the answer, like most questions, depends on who you ask. Appreciate all the feedback, and the great discussion here. Hopefully this is helpful for all the makers!

YT Video - https://youtu.be/7Y81le9FmjQ?is=InSCoX9C1IzbrO00

MAGNUS PENS

10 Years of Titanium EDC Pen Models— 2016–2026

2016 — THE ONE

2017 — THE ONE CLICK

2019 — TWIST (cancelled)

2021 — BOLTY / CLICKSHIFT V1

2023 — CLICKSHIFT V2 / BOLTY UPDATE

2024 — CLICKSHIFT V3

2025 — CLICKSHIFT V4

2026 — MODERN MAGNUS

Product History & Detailed Overview

2016 The One Magnus’s first pen. Small, minimalist titanium pen designed around compact EDC.

2016 Mechanical Pencil One of Magnus’s earliest products. His current site explicitly describes the early lineup as three pens + one mechanical pencil before ClickShift.

2017 The One Click Evolution of The One into a retractable/click mechanism. Uses the same compact philosophy but adds a distinctive push-to-retract clip/mechanism.

2018 Early titanium products / refinement Magnus continues developing small titanium EDC pieces and refining his machining/finishing approach. Public documentation from this period is comparatively sparse.

2019 Twist Pen Magnus develops a twist-action pen concept. Cancelled before production, making it an interesting piece of Magnus history rather than a normal production model.

2020 Bolty / ClickShift development Major transition period. Prototypes and mechanism development begin. Community documentation places some early Magnus pieces around late 2020.

2021 Bolty V1 Original Bolty enters production. Compact bolt-action titanium pen with the distinctive integrated clip and small form factor. Community timeline places V1 here.

2021 ClickShift V1 Magnus introduces his radically different lever/click mechanism. This becomes arguably his most important mechanism commercially.

2022 ClickShift development Refinement of the mechanism, production problems and iteration toward the later V2.

2023 ClickShift V2 Major internal redesign. Magnus moved from the V1 hardened-steel internals to zirconium internals with an acetal adapter.

2023 Bolty updated version Bolty receives an updated configuration associated with the ClickShift V2 clip. Important distinction: Magnus himself stated the Bolty internals remained fully titanium.

2024 ClickShift V3 Major evolution toward the modern Magnus product ecosystem: new clip, lower pricing and introduction of increasingly elaborate machined/patterned variants.

2024 Bolty special runs Bolty becomes increasingly scarce and collectible, with tiny drops and unusual finishes. One documented 2024 drop contained only six Boltys.

2025 ClickShift V4 Current-generation ClickShift. 304 stainless internals, titanium spring, heavily refined mechanism and extensive machining/pattern variations. Magnus describes it as his fourth-generation ClickShift and rates it for 100,000+ clicks.

2025 ClickShift V3 variants “Skelly,” Hex, Helix and other machining patterns become a major part of the Magnus identity.

2025–26 ClickShift V4 variants Explosion of specialized finishes/patterns: Helix, Snake, Frag, Isogrid, Jewel, Dark Matter, etc.

2026 Bolty V3 / modern Bolty Bolty continues alongside ClickShift, including new machined patterns such as Maze.

2026 Current Magnus lineup Primarily Bolty + ClickShift, with the latter now in V4 and an enormous variety of machined/custom variants.

2016 — The One

↓

2017 — The One Click

↓

2019 — Failed/abandoned Twist experiment

↓

2020–21 — Reinvention

↓

2021 — Bolty + ClickShift

↓

2023 — ClickShift V2

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2024 — ClickShift V3 + pattern experimentation

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2025 — ClickShift V4

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2026 — Magnus becomes as much about machining/artwork as mechanism

And

2021 - Bolty — Original / V1 (≈2021)

2023 - Bolty — v2 Updated configuration

2025 - Bolty — v3 Current generations

⸻

Collection at the moment, it's small but based on the pens I like! The Magnus Clickshift is a recent acquisition!
Now I'm thinking about what's next, I'd like a Autmog eventually but they always seem so hard to snag, but I haven't really tried. Autmog is about 4 hours from me too so I'd consider it local.
Right now, I'm considering aiming for an Autmog, or checking out a Fellhoelter TiBolt (NT was nice but the SL mechanism wasn't for me.) The Billetspin Cam Pen looks interesting too but it doesn't speak to me as much. If there's other cool options, let me know!

Top to bottom -
Spoke Roady
Grimsmo Saga - Distressed Purple (I've kinda given up on the ano.)
TRSPC Titanium Bolt
Magnus Clickshift v4 "Viking"

DB Blades x MIG Collab

1. Double Agent
2. Android

I have been using the BilletSpin Energel Fusion for a while now for all my creative writing and want to share some of my thoughts.

The Great

• The Fusion is a great looking pen! I am a huge fan of the overall aesthetics of it, especially the way the concave grip looks.
• The concave grip with rings is incredibly comfortable, quite possibly the most comfortable machined pen I have ever used!
• This pen is incredibly fidgety! It took some time to get accustomed to (more on this later) how you click and release with the clip, but it is so nice when you do.
• I am usually not the biggest fan of stepped noses, but it really fits the overall design of the Fusion.
• I love not having to trim Energel refills!

The Preferentially Bad

• This pen is noticeably back heavy, even when compared to other machined pens. I would love to see a future iteration that uses an Ultem mechanism in addition to the titanium clip.
  • To the end of further shifting the balance point forward, I would love to see a version without fluting on the grip.
  • I would also love for Rich to consider making the grip a separate piece so it can be a heavier material fro the body. An alternative is to make the tip out of steel, brass, or zirc.
• The clip is selective on where you press it to release deployment. If you press too high or too low, it tends to catch on your thumb. Pushing it where it screws in or right below has been the sweet spot for me.
• I still wish there was a way to replace the top pusher with an end cap to make the shorter.

Got this Sigma Clicky Pen yesterday & included some tt side click variants so it wasn't alone, since it seems like this was inspired by what Will Hodges created (per the bg info at the product page). Looks like others have gotten theirs recently as well 👌

The Sigma's got a pretty smooth mech, where they took a little bit (~3 yrs) to really refine the function & form to how they like it. & usin' a ruby for the side button retract feature is kinda fun.

Even though I often appreciate when makers create all-metal machined writing instruments where they select the materials based their properties & each component's application, PL incorporated 3D-printed materials for the mechanism, & it seems like they chose well 👏😎

I admit - I DO curate my pens and try to match them with my knives (not all the time, but a good bit of the time) - but today, I accidentally/unintentionally matched my knife/pen carry with the shirt I was wearing... And thought I'd come out of hiatus to ask this fine group something.

Here's my question: do y'all curate your pens and knives or other EDC to match? Do you go above and beyond and also match with attire, or match to outing/event/workplace/etc.? Just curious!

The missing slot on my Galen Leather case, btw, is reserved for a special CM that I am totally stoked for... and if u/confoundedmachine sees this, shout out to the Bolt King 👑.

(I also realized the SOTC pic is from a couple of weeks or so ago prior to finalizing my mods to my Bugout build. Oh well.)

So, in case ya hadn't seen the instances where I added it to some shots recently (like here, there, or over yonder), besides tickin' off a lotta features/details on some imaginary checklist of what I'd like to see(/use) in a machined writing instrument, I also just really like the design o' this small Knock from Nakayama Hidetoshi.

I've asked some makers, like u/MachineEraCo, u/devaspotato, u/Focusworks (the dragonskin looks so organic to me 👌), & kohbanang (from ig), how, when they're creating a writing instrument & adding the machined details on the exterior, how do they know what looks good? Some folks just have a good sense of what goes well together.

I can't describe what I like to see a lotta the times, yet I know it when I see it. Yet for the creators, how do they know that cutting this or that into the barrel or making a certain contour not only looks good to them, it may also look good to others?

Once I start looking into stuff like that, I think I get too analytical & wanting to use formulas & measurements & geometry, & maybe overthink it, while it seems like others just have a good sense o' proportions & shapes & angles & curves, & just get it, which is way cool. 👏

Well, maybe it just hits different for me, yet I like that this 1's more than a cylinder w/ some basic cuts & a block for a clip (though I do like lotsa different looks, whether minimalist or more detailed), & thought it was neat to see 😊

L-R

1. Copper
2. Bronze
3. Titanium

This pen is amazing. The grip is fantastic and the mechanism is a home run. A little top heavy but fantastic pen. I definitely would prefer Energel over the G2. Overall this is a fantastic pen and deserves a spot in anyone’s collection.

I know, this is just one more of the countless Fusion posts recently, but I’m stoked about this pen. The zirc/brass has a wonderful look and feel to it, and I’m excited to carry it soon! Rich really delivered on this design (and the drop ordering process)—doesn’t disappoint.

Just so happens the Prometheus Sigma I preordered came in on the same day. VERY different pens. The grip has a pretty deep groove pattern to it—more than I expected. It’s like TT pens, but amplified. I have a Prometheus Alpha that I love, and was intrigued by their take on a click pen…more to come.

An axel custom copper Fellhoelter nickel plated with Zirc clip and brass fap

Electron color combo is better than expected. 😁