I’ve gone through multiple machined metal pens over the past three years, including most of the major “Kickstarter” projects. Very few of them have stuck with me. The two that I’ve ended up using the most are the Karas Kustoms Render K, which houses my Hi-Tec-C refill, and the Tactile Turn Mover, which is my “click pen” of choice.
Tactile Turn: The Company
Tactile Turn is the brainchild of Will Hodges, a designer and machinist based in Richardson, Texas. In approximately three years, Will has created and brought to market two excellent machined pens (the Mover and its companion, the Shaker), as well as a series of gorgeous razor handles (the “Parer” and the “Pruner). He recently concluded another Kickstarter for his “Gist” fountain pen, which fully funded and should ship this month or next. Starting with the Mover, every Tactile Turn product I have tested has been of exceptional quality.
The Mover
Tactile Turn Mover machined pen in hand
The Mover strikes a perfect balance with respect to weight. Many machined pens that I’ve tried are simply too heavy for longer writing sessions. The Mover, which is made out of anodized aluminum, has good heft but won’t wear your hand out when you’re drafting multiple pages of notes. (For comparison purposes, it’s probably closest to the Karas Kustoms Retrakt, another favorite which some jack*&ss stole off my desk at work.) This pen might be too long for some people. Those who want a shorter pen should go for the Mover’s sibling, the Shaker.
The Tactile Turn Nock Mechanism is sturdy, but it probably won't withstand abuse (i.e. clicking the pen repeatedly as a desk toy).
The nock mechanism (i.e., “the clicker”) on the pen is well-made and reliable. It’s the same one that Karas Kustoms uses on the Retrakt. The stainless steel clip holds well to a shirt pocket, though some may find it a bit tight. All of the other aspects of fit and finish on my pen are pretty much flawless. This is a great machined pen, and to me sets the standard by which I typically judge all other entries into this market segment.
Tactile Turn Mover ribbed grip section
My favorite aspect of the Mover is the textured (ribbed) grip section. I don’t know whether or not it’s properly referred to as “knurling,” because it’s not the same as the grip on something like the Rotring 600 mechanical pencil—it’s more comfortable to hold and doesn’t dig into your fingers, even if you write with a heavy hand.
The Color
I’m a sucker for red pens, and my mover is a beautiful deep burgundy-red color. Tactile Turn offers some of the best anodized colors around, and it’s concerning that most of the anodized pens appear to be out of stock on their website. I hope it’s just a production backlog since all of Will’s attention is now (understandably) focused on the Gist Kickstarter fulfillment.
Compatible Refills
The Tactile Turn Mover disassembled: There's no real art to "hacking" the Jetstream refill. You'll need to cut it down, and apply some tape to the end to give the Nock mechanism something to latch onto.
The Mover accepts a broad range of refills (some of which require "hacking"). Tactile Turn ships the pen with a .38mm Pilot G2 refill, a personal favorite and, IMHO, one of the best ultra fine gel pen refills that is relatively easy to find at your local office supply store. With slight modification, the Mover also accepts the hybrid ballpoint Uniball Jetstream refill. The .38mm blue/blue-black Jetstream refill is superb, and is what I have been using in the pen recently. Unfortunately, it's not sold separately, so you'll have to buy some disposable .38mm Jetstreams and scavenge the refills. If you’re a fan of Parker-style refills, then you’ll need to go with the Shaker.
Uniball Jetstream .38mm Writing Sample. The refill is labelled blue, but the color ends up being more of a blue-black. I'm increasingly becoming a fan of hybrid ballpoint inks. You get the "write anywhere" qualities of a ballpoint with the smooth, dark line of a gel pen.
A complete guide to Mover-compatible refills can be found here, and Shaker-compatible refills can be found here.
Takeaways
I’ve owned this pen for well over a year, and it’s been part of my EDC since it arrived. I write primarily with fountain pens, but I’m practical (most of the time), so I always carry at least one ballpoint on me, which gets daily use. More often than not, that pen is the Tactile Turn Mover. This one receives a “highly recommended” rating.
Further Reading
For some other takes on the Tactile Turn Mover, check out the PurlBug's review, which is extremely detailed, as well as Mary's review at From the Pen Cup. If you're interested in the Titanium/Brass/Bronze/Copper versions of the Mover and the Shaker, Ed Jelley has a good writeup.
DISCLAIMER: I purchased the pen featured in this review with my own funds, for my own collection. I was not compensated for this review by the manufacturer in any way. This post does contain some affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase something from certain sites linked to in this article. While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase an item you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so. Many thanks!