https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maclainedesign/black-steel-by-wingback
3.5 times harder than titanium, the strongest metal known to mankind, Tungsten Carbide is akin to black-gold in the EDC world. Give any gear a coating of Tungsten Carbide and it shines black like obsidian rock, with a unique metallic luster that’s glimmery in a subtle way… but more importantly, it makes them practically invincible, resisting any sort of external wear and tear. Pair it with Wingback’s series of exquisitely designed EDC and you’ve got the ideal combination of aesthetics and performance. Designed by Alasdair MacLaine, Wingback’s Black Steel collection sports three minimal-yet-functional products that are bound to be an unwavering part of your everyday carry. A bullet-sized Key Cache helps you store emergency money on your keychain, while a mechanical pen with its comfortable broad design promises to be the last pen you’ll ever want to use. Lastly, MacLaine’s 100ml hip-flask comes with the same cylindrical lathe-manufactured design as the other products in the series. With a refreshing baton-shaped design, the hip-flask is a pleasure to look at and to use, giving you the ability to store liquids in it as well as use it as a bottle-opener.
All of the Black Steel products are precisely lathe-manufactured in the UK using stainless steel, before being coated with a 3um thick surface of the magical Tungsten Carbide using a revolutionary process called magnetron sputtering. The result is a product with a black finish that’s still remarkably shiny, thanks to the steel sitting underneath it. You can even get custom personalized inscriptions laser-engraved onto your products, revealing the shining steel underneath the black coating. Each EDC gear is designed to be perfectly functional as well as aesthetic, with impeccable tolerances, and knurled surfaces that make using the items easy. The pill-sized Key Cache easily sits on your keychain, giving you access to an emergency bank-note if you ever find yourself in a financial fix. The mechanical pen, on the other hand, comes with a diameter of 10mm that feels comfortable to hold, along with the pen’s inherent weight. A single-handed twist of the knurled dial at the end helps deploy the pen’s Fisher PR pressurized ball-point refill, which can easily be replaced after use. The 100ml Hip Flask builds on an existing classic in Wingback’s catalog (which we’ve featured before on YD for its uniquely appealing design), but gives it a layer of future-proofing with the black Tungsten Carbide coating. The hip-flask comes fitted with water-tight silicone gaskets to ensure hermetic sealing, while its base also has a bottle-opener machined into it for good measure. The base is entirely removable too, making the flask easy to clean after use.
Every product in Wingback’s Black Steel collection comes with the same mentality of providing quality that lasts. The dark coating on the products help increase their lifespan nearly ten-fold, and each item is made from locally sourced materials to ensure a lower carbon footprint. Wingback ensures the delivery of each product is 100% carbon neutral along with a promise that they’ll serve you loyally for the rest of your life.
Designer: Alasdair MacLaine of Wingback
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Black Steel – Everyday Items Built to Last a Lifetime
Designed and made in England, the Black Steel Collection is a personalized everyday essentials with a tungsten carbide surface that’s 3.5x harder than titanium. The collection consists of the Mechanical Pen, 100ml Hip Flask and Key Cache.
Aesthetically, Black Steel rivals the exotic look of Damascus steel or titanium, with a sub-metallic lustre that reveals a glimmer of the steel beneath the surface. But it doesn’t just catch the eye. Their Black Steel finish also serves a vital purpose in protecting their pen, flask and key cache for the long haul.
It’s applied using a technology called magnetron sputtering, usually reserved for luxury watches and military-grade tools, where multiple nano layers of tungsten carbide carbon are deposited onto the stainless steel surface in a matter of seconds.
The resulting 3um thick surface has a Vickers hardness of 1200 VPN, 9x harder than stainless steel and 3.5x harder than titanium. Their Black Steel finish also has incredibly low friction (< 0.1) due to the carbon added, ensuring the sliding surfaces of the mechanism are satisfyingly smooth.
As a result, their Black Steel Collection will be scratch resistant to virtually anything you will put in your pocket and the parts should never need to be maintained, let alone replaced. They’ll work as well for you today as they will for a grandchild who might inherit your collection in decades to come.
Made to Order
After machining, each product can be laser engraved with a personal inscription, on the base of the 100ml Hip and Key Cache, and along the barrel of the Mechanical Pen.
The Mechanical Pen
The Wingback Mechanical Pen, epitomizes the “buy once” philosophy. Machine turned from stainless steel, it has been designed to last for decades, not months and help its owner rediscover the joy of putting pen to paper.
With a wide 10mm (3/8 inch) diameter and knurled grip, it sits comfortably in the hand to reduce writing fatigue while the satisfying weight (50g) of its materials encourages more time to be taken with every pen stroke.
Features:
– A large 10mm (3/8 inch) diameter allows for a better grip around the pen barrel means you can write more comfortably for longer
– At a compact 117.5mm (4.63 inch) length, the pen fits neatly in the crook of your hand when writing and is ideal to tuck in your pocket or bag
– Personalization of 50 characters available, laser engraved onto the barrel
– A single handed twist allows you to lock the nib in place with our bespoke mechanism
– Precise manufacturing tolerances stop any unwanted nib wobble
– Includes Fisher PR pressurized refill – (refills widely available online)
The Key Cache
The Key Cache is simple yet functional. It neatly clips onto your keyring to enhance your daily carry while containing a secure compartment to store banknotes and contact details in case your keys go missing.
Store an emergency banknote with a little space to spare for a message with your vital details.
– Fits GBP, EURO, USD and every other note we have tried (the maximum size we have tried is 160mm x 82mm)
– CNC machined from a solid block of stainless steel or brass, including custom knurling to provide the ideal ergonomic and aesthetic finish
– Hermetically sealed with a silicone washer to keep its contents dry
– Designed and manufactured to aerospace standards in England, with all materials sourced from Europe
100ml Hip Flask
The hip flask is iconic. A gentleman’s most trusted travel companion, worth its weight in gold (or bourbon). The classic rectangular shape and small spout hit popularity in prohibition, but they believed they could create a flask that celebrates its contents in a more user-friendly, less leaky, easier to clean, more durable way.
With a seamless, cylindrical design, the Wingback hip flask is robust, resilient and adventure ready. At a 100ml capacity, it’s the ultimate travel companion, designed to serve you on any journey as well it does at home.
– 100ml/3.4 fl.oz. capacity and a weight of 180g/6.35 oz
– Include your own personalization on the base of the flask (up to 50 characters)
– Manufactured to aerospace standards in the UK, from food grade 316 Stainless Steel, sourced from Europe, that will not alter the flavor of its contents
– A large lid and removable base makes filling, drinking and cleaning simple
– The wide mouth has been designed to give the perfect pour. Whether for a drip to taste or to pour a decent measure, you won’t get any spillage
– Includes a lip detail on the base of the flask that serves as a handy bottle opener
– Unbroken cylindrical design to eliminate risk of leakage and seam splitting
– Hermetically sealed with a silicone washer and a bespoke dual contact seal to eliminate leaks
– CNC machined from stainless steel, including custom knurling for the ideal ergonomic and aesthetic finish
– All parts are dishwasher safe
– Fits bourbon, whisky, whiskey, gin, tequila, mezcal…You name it, and it has been tested!
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