I’m not sure what I love best about the Retro 1951. It comes in an awesome box. You open the box to reveal an awesome metal canister. You pull that apart to see your shiny new Tornado safely enveloped in a velvet pouch. The pen is the best constructed pen I have ever felt. It is all metal and the weight is perfect. It is a retractable pen, but they don’t mess with any of that click-y stuff. Nope. There is a metal gnurled knob at the top that you turn to bring forth the ink.
I mentioned I have two of them now. I got a classic stainless first. It looks amazing. They recently came out with the Stealth. It is an all blacked-out pen with a powder coated barrel. I couldn’t resist. I got it last week. They are easily the best feeling pens I have ever used. You can get the stainless for less than $20, which isn't bad at all for what you get. The Stealth was a little more than that, but not much.
The only thing I am not totally in love with on the Tornado is the ink. The ink is great, but it is liquid ink roller ball. I'm not a huge fan of liquid ink pens. It tends to bleed through the page onto the other side. There are some applications where I enjoy using it, but for most writing I want a ball point ink. Parker and Schmidt each have really great ball point refills that fit the Retro 51 Tornado perfectly.
I've already planned out my next Tornado purchase. There is a new "Lincoln" model that is pretty sweet. Before I know it I am going to be a collector. If you like pens, you will like the Tornado.
retro51.com
