From the time immemorial, the rhetoric of progress has had as its postulate that what is good for us is also good for the planet. With the ongoing concerns regarding climate change, we have realized that this postulate is a false one. We need to work in ways whereby our own interests have been subordinated to the interests of the planet, sustainability as a feature placed prior to any other consideration.
One way to do this is to opt for products which can be used for long durations of time, since that would ensure that newer production (and hence more use of novel resources) does not have to be undertaken since there is not an ever increasing pool of demand for goods. When it comes to pens, the normal ball and gel pens made of plastic have done much to contribute to the ever-increasing detritus of human civilization, with each document and file leaving in its wake an array of pens used and disposed of. To deter from worsening this unsustainable course of action, we need a strident return back to the classical ways of writing. We need a pen which works for decades.
What should this pen be made of ? The best choice is aluminium, which has been astutely termed by William Rouke as the 'sustainability nutrient of the world'. He has done this for good reason, since seventy five percent of all the aluminium made since 1886 is still in usage in 2022, that is the present day. A resource which lasts 136 years and more - it spells sustainability for all.
A product of skilled craftmanship
That is why the makers of the Novium Hoverpen adopted aluminium to be the metal in which to cast their dreams and promises. Crafted from a single piece of aircraft grade aluminium, the way Michelangelo is said to have set his figures free from a single stone, it is a uniquely designed piece of metal apparatus. This aluminium is as rare as the gold and meteors which now enjoin the Hoverpen's beauty, sourced from a premium supplier. The pen's holder, also cast from a zinc alloy, is inspired by the USS Enterprise from the popular science fiction show Star Trek, thus giving it a futuristic appeal.
The pen's body is designed in a way that it is almost an 'unibody' or one single unit of metal - as if it was unearthed from the depths of the Earth in its unalloyed perfection. Only the head is a separate screw-on : done so to make reloading the cartridge of the pen possible.
The pen is also available with an eighteen karat plating of the metal called by Norm Franz as 'the money of kings' - gold. This sleek touch of the metal which set Aguirre on his voyages, Dobbs to his madness and Smaug to his desolation, is a combination to unite both strands of thought : futurism for which sleek design and utility is the criterion (exemplified by the Hoverpen and its design), and tradition which revels in the beauty of the useless (encapsulated in meshing of this futurism with the harbinger of all traditional wealth - gold).
The precious feature of Hoverpen
All these features combine to give the Hoverpen its distinct feel - the weight of tradition and sophistication, minus the charges of being a luddite and added with an ergonomic sense of usage. Its sleek curves, accentuating its appearance, makes it easier for the user to hold the pen as well as to rotate it to give it a good twenty second spin.Here we must remember that the ink-spilling series of unfortunate events, which form a staple set of stories for those who dealt with the inefficacious natures of fountain pens, is avoided here, for Hoverpen comes with metallic Schmidt ballpoint cartridges. These cartridges, manufactured in the concentration of the German genius for industry, ensure that there is no spilling, no spotting, and no explosions (even in outer space) for the Novium Hoverpen. The Hoverpen is very easily reloadable, for all that one has to do for this is to pull out the cartridge using the provided pincher tool and reinsert any refilled of the D1 size easily available for purchase on the Hoverpen website. An extra cartridge, completely free of any cost monetary or otherwise, is now included in each pledge (with even an extra graphite rod being made available if pledged for the graphite pencil option).
An unnecessary war has been waged on metals in the name of sustainability, not knowing that each complements naturally the other. The stone age man who lived in his times had the exact same resources that we have today, and yet our lifestyles are completely different. This is because of the knowledge that we have now available which can be impressed upon these resources to extract their optimum usage. Today, in the midst of an environmental crisis, we must shift to metal-based options for pens rather than plastic, since the former are bound to last for the decades to come. And with the Novium Hoverpen, maybe we can usher in a new century.
Here's to the hopes.
