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Karas Kustoms RETRAKT Pen

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Karas Kustoms RETRAKT Pen

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Product Description

After establishing a reputation for building high-quality pens with a bolt-action model, called the BOLT, Karas Customs took the logical next step by introducing a retractable pen body called the RETRAKT. Designed to be "the last pen you'll ever need," every RETRAKT is machined by hand from a single block of aluminum, brass, or copper at the Karas Kustoms shop in Mesa, Arizona, and features a tapered tip, stainless steel clip, and knurled grip near the German-made knock Read More

discussions186

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Mezz

350

Jan 28, 2015

I have the brass and the copper from the original kickstarter campaign. Both feel substantial and have developed nice patinas. The Copper patinas more quickly and looks like an antique within few month of use.

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Mezz

350

Jan 29, 2015

quick cell phone pics. Does not capture this very well, but here you go

JonasHeineman

5987

Jan 29, 2015

MezzThanks for sharing those pics @Mezz, that's cool you have two from the first release.

deathgale

Aug 19, 2014

I'm just wondering whether it comes with a Pilot G2 or a Parker ballpoint refill and if so which one does it come with?

kasek

Aug 19, 2014

deathgaleIt doesn't come any refill just two spring types and a plastic spacer, at least mine didn't

wiemerimer

120

Aug 29, 2016

The same pen is available on JetPens for $45 w/ Free US shipping. Even the brass and copper variants are not a deal here right now :(

Shazb0t

218

Aug 29, 2016

wiemerimerYikes! He's right, cheaper there across the board.

GeigeEngel

Sep 1, 2016

Shazb0tYeah... Sadly not enough of a drop to make me complete my EDC Copper trifecta...

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kasek

Aug 19, 2014

Mine came today and I will say I'm a little disappointed in the build quality. I purchased the aluminum version and there was definitely some quality issues. 1 the threads on the center of the barrel were a little course but the issue is the ends of the threads were chewed up so every time it screwed or unscrewed it worse than nails on a chalkboard. 2- the lower threaded hold down cap doesn't screw on tight after a day of using it vibrated loose. 3- not a biggie but if I remember right their kick-starter showed it being clicky pen, mine doesn't click at all I have to check the tip to make sure it actually engaged.

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idklel

219

Sep 20, 2014

kasekMine suffers from the first problem too. It's like a banshee screaming.

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PandaSPUR

356

Sep 23, 2014

idklelI have the Render K in aluminum and it had that first issue too. I believe at the time Karas knew about the issue and said it would go away pretty quick, but if you wanted to make the problem better, just lube it a tiny bit.
I had some grease for my bike laying around so I just a tiny drop of that and never had the issue again.
As fr the RETRAKT, I have it in copper from their Kickstarter. Freaking love it.

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yiri

237

Jan 28, 2015

Seriously, this pen is being sold without a refill?
Funny corner to cut.

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Leppy

Jan 28, 2015

I think you'll find that the "most people" you talk about aren't going to spend more than a couple of dollars on a pen. The people who are spending 40 dollars on a pen for every day use are the type of people who are particular about the refill.
I'd rather buy this pen and put in my own preferred refill than have to throw out the 0.5mm ballpoint refill and replace it with a 0.7mm rollerball.

yiri

237

Jan 29, 2015

LeppyFrankly, I doubt that the people you mention are as numerous as you think. It seems more likely to me that when you ask yourself "How many pen enthusiasts are there?" your mind performs a quick assessment of the prevalence of that hobby among your friends and associates. Needless to say, the fact that you yourself are a pen enthusiast makes that sample group hopelessly biased.
If the above seems hostile, let me clarify — everyone has their own unique life circumstances and history, so everyone is biased. Just like you, I may well be overestimating the proportion of people in similar circumstances to me.
I'm very intolerant of bullshit. Each day I have objectives to achieve. Any possession I have is intended to facilitate or optimise the processes that I engage in to achieve those objectives. Consequently I hate things that slow me down or cause friction. Example: I don't have any fountain pens because they probably will require learning and then regularly performing maintenance on them, and they might leak, requiring me to perform the tedious and expensive replacement of whatever they destroyed. Ideally, I only want one of every thing that I need; the best one. But I don't like conspicuous consumption one bit. So I like MassDrop because the community here often has a reasonably well informed opinion on which item represents the best "X" to buy. There's a bit of whining whenever luxury items come up (go see the Sieveking headphone stand comments) but still, this place saves me a lot of annoyance.
(No, it's not incongruent that I spend 5 minutes replying to you; explaining oneself orders one's thoughts. And no, I don't mind waiting for shipping - usually - because it's not actively interfering with my life.)
Maybe I'm the only person in that position. I'm not sure. But it doesn't seem likely that either of us is going to be able to come up with authoritative third-party sources to back up our opinions. At any rate, I think I'll give this drop a miss and go look over that titanium pen thing. Have a nice day :)

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nard

Feb 10, 2014

Will there be more drops by Karas Kustoms? I've been looking for a Brass Render K or Brass Retrakt

jessiew

Jul 5, 2015

Which refill is in the retrakt in the main picture? Looks like a Hi-Tec-C?

BILLKARAS

Jul 8, 2015

jessiewIt's either a pilot juice or a Hi-tec C Cavalier.

Ragsy

Mar 26, 2015

I was looking for this pen and was about to buy it directly from the karas site until I saw a $14.25 shipping charge included. Searched around, found this site (and on the last day for the group too) AWESOME. Thank you massdrop, I'll be back and tell my friends

JonasHeineman

5987

Apr 21, 2015

RagsyHey thanks @Ragsy! Hope you're enjoying the pen. If and when you refer friends, make sure to use your unique referral code so that you can start racking up referrals and get a sweet gift box.

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dwimbley

Feb 21, 2015

Got 2 pens and it appears one of them has a defect. The pen on the left is not wide enough for either a g2 refill parker refill where the pen on the right was fine witht he g2 refill. Can anything be done?

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JonasHeineman

5987

Mar 6, 2015

dwimbleyHi @dwimbley -- The opening of the barrel on the left does look narrower, sorry about that.
Karas Kustoms guarantees their pens against defect: http://karaskustoms.com/faqs
You can contact them directly for a refund or exchange: http://karaskustoms.com/contacts
Bill runs a great shop and I'm confident they will take care of you, let us know if you need help.

Nendu

Mar 20, 2015

JonasHeinemanHi! @JonasHeineman I was just wondering what specific refill was used in the pictures above. I'm not sure if that question has been answered already. Hopefully not. Anyways, thanks!

Tigerman

412

Jan 8, 2015

I got the copper, and use it with a jetstream refill. I was worried I'd regret copper, being heavy and soft. In theory it's not a very suitable material for a pen, but it turned out to be awesome. It has the feeling of the last pen I'll ever need. There are many ways this could have disappointed me, but I'm very happy.