Graf von Faber-Castell fashioned its
Pen of the Year 2010 (
www.graf-von-faber-castell.com) using the techniques of craftsmen who made hunting rifles in the 19th century. The production of case-hardened metal, which was used on fine guns from the period, was something of a secret art, handed down for centuries by word of mouth. Graf von Faber-Castell’s 2010 design features case-hardening work by one of the few traditional arms workshops still in existence today. Case-hardened details include a 24-karat-gold diamond shape on the Caucasian nut wood barrel and a metal disk that decorates the platinum-plated cap of each of the $2,500 numbered, limited-edition fountain pens.
