In a niche industry admittedly dominated by hype and FOMO, products come and go. Something launches on Kickstarter, people buy the product in an initial rush, maybe it sells briefly at retail, and then it disappears. I can think of a few candidates, but the Steel & Flint pen and the Twist Bullet Pencil are the two that come to mind because I miss them the most. While I still have two Twists, the pencil has been out of production for a couple of years now, and no third-party retailers appear to have any left in stock. I hesitate to carry my Twists as much as I’d like because it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to source a replacement if lost.
The brass “bullets” on my Twist pencils have aged nicely, developing quite the patina.
You can read my original review of the machined aluminum Twist Bullet Pencil here. The product itself impresses with the quality of construction and the way in which the designers took the bullet pencil, a classic piece of Americana, and modernized it for today’s stationery enthusiast. While I purchased several Twist pencils over a two or three year period, I only kept two in my collection. I suspect the primary reason behind the discontinuation of the Twist was that it was a niche product targeted to pencil/pocket notebook enthusiasts and the Erasable Podcast crowd - enough to support an initial Kickstarter project and product launch, but maybe not sustained production because even woodcase pencil enthusiasts don’t necessarily have a need for multiple bullet pencils.
My favorite iteration of the Twist was the wooden “Timber Twist” model. It’s incredibly light.
Regardless, the Twist remains a great tool to have, and I’m sad to see a general lack of modern bullet pencils currently available for purchase. Neither of the Twist co-creators are still in the pencil business, from what I can tell. Jay Smith (“Huckleberry Woodchuck”) still maintains an active site, selling handkerchiefs, facemasks, and Begleri beads, and his site confirms that the Twist is officially out of production. Metal Shop CT, co-creator Jon Fontane’s machine shop, which actually manufactured the Twist pencils, no longer maintains an active website, though there was some chatter on Instagram last year about possibly resuming production at some point.
My red and brass “Ironman” version.
Are There Any Viable Bullet Pencil Alternatives on the Market?
As I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t find many modern iterations of the classic bullet pencil currently on sale. You can always acquire vintage bullet pencils on Etsy or eBay (Seller “Barnstar Treasures” seems to have a lot of interesting options), but I’ve been hesitant to dive back into the vintage market due to the pain in sourcing replacement erasers, and the inherent fragility of using a pencil 70-90 years old as an everyday writer. Elegant Utility makes the brass “Pencil Pal,” a more modern machined brass take on the classic bullet, and there’s always the Traveler’s Company version, though it’s currently hard to find in the U.S. If you are aware of any other alternatives currently on the market, please let me know! [Update: I managed to source the Traveler’s Company bullet pencil and now have it available for sale in my shop! It has an excellent authentic vintage vibe, and even uses the same bullet style as some of the vintage pencils in my collection.]
Maybe the solution is for Pokka to design a “pencil” insert for their recently released “Pokka Jakket” aluminum cap?
In my opinion, the true “spiritual successor” to the bullet pencil is probably the ultra-portable Pokka Pen - even though it’s a ballpoint pen and not a pencil - because it not only follows the “bullet” form factor but is inexpensive and designed to be used in a workaday scenario where you’re not necessarily afraid of losing a prized possession. As I posted yesterday, you can now “upgrade” your Pokka barrels to provide additional durability, if you so desire, and there’s even a keyring dock (pictured below) to make it a more integral part of your EDC. Maybe the solution is for Pokka to make a pencil insert for the Pokka Pen? We can dream, right?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I purchased the bullet pencils featured in this post with my own funds, for my own collection. I am also a retailer of Pokka Pens, and additional details can be found in The T.G.S. Curated Shop.