Do you love ballpoint pens? Then this review and giveaway are for you!
Recently we were sent a few Drehgriffel from Leuchtturm (24.95 each) for review. These fun ballpoint pens are made to look sort of like pencils.
Drehgriffel is German and loosely translates to “twist stylus.” This pen style is a revival from the 1920s and it is made from precision-milled aluminum and brass. The Drehgriffel has a spring loaded twist mechanism – to open and retract the ball point you simply twist the end cap (which looks sort of like a combination of ferrule and eraser). The pens come in tons of fun colors; we received the Sage (green), Nordic Blue and Bellini (orange) for review. The pens come loaded with a blue ink, and refills are available in either blue or black.
The pen is lightweight at 14g, and is fairly short at 5″/12.5cm long. It is slightly longer than some of my favorite pocket pens, and very similar to the Caran d’Ache Nespresso I reviewed a few weeks ago.
L to R: Franklin Christoph Pocket 45, Caran d’Ache Nespresso, Leuchtturm 1917 Drehgriffel, Kaweco AL Sport.
The Drehgriffel writes smoothly without a lot of skipping. It’s lightweight and the hexagonal body is nice to hold in your hand. The variety of colors make it a fun pen to carry, and the fact that it is refillable is so much better for the environment (as opposed to disposable ballpoints.) In general, I gravitate more towards fountain pens, but sometimes a ball point pen is the best option. I can totally see keeping one of these in my wallet for on the go writing needs.
So now comes the fun part, the GIVEAWAY! Leuchtturm has generously offered these Drehgriffels to TWO of our lucky readers.
THE DETAILS: Two lucky winners will be selected from the comments on this post to win their choice of Drehgriffel in either Sage, Nordic Blue or Orange, as well as a package of refills in blue or black. Supplies are limited so we’ll ask for first/second choice and go with first come, first served.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us if you have a favorite Leuchtturm 1917 product. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.
If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by midnight CST on Friday, March 26, 2021. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Saturday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purposes of this giveaway. Please see the About page for more details.
I absolutely love my Leuchtturm 1917 A5 dotted journal! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
I used to use the 1917 A5 dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling. These are my favorite Leuchtturm1917 products. Those pens sure are handsome, so I’m eager to give them a go!
How fun! I’m using a gold Leuchtturn 1917 dot grid notebook right now. I think I like the blue pen the best and then maybe the orange 2nd. Cute revival. I wonder if the twist would get old though? I’d probably leave it on my desk always ‘open’
What cute pens! My favorite Leuchtturn product is a pink A6 notebook where I store tons of information, I’d be lost without it!
When I had the Leuchtturm 1917 Red Dot edition I absolutely loved it. I was amazed how quickly I worked through the pages, and it made me a LT1917 fan for life.
My favorite would have to the dot grid notebook (A5 size).
I have several Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks that are really lovely! I’d love to try one of these pens. Btw… its an ‘m’ not an ‘n’.
THANK YOU!
I have a desk top Leuchtturn and a backpack sized Leuchtturn journals. They’re so nice to write in. One of the new Leuchtturn pens would make a welcome companion. I like that it looks like some vintage twist style mechanical pencils I have seen. Do you think they will issue this design in a pencil version?
I don’t have a Leuchtturn notebook but it is a brand I have been wanting try. Any size, dot grid.
Wow! These are cool. I usually use fountain pens, but I would love a chance to test drive one of these babies.
My favorite product is the 1917 notebook, particularly the dot grid. I know the paper is not everyone’s favorite but I think it’s the perfect weight for everyday notes.
I love that these pens are a revival and the colors are great!
For me, the Leuchtturn 8×5 notebooks my favorite. But if I won the Sage Drehgriffel, it’d be my new favorite :))
I have a nice little Purple Dot Grid A5 I got from a conference that has been a solid work notebook for the last year!
I do not have a Leuchtturn 1917 yet but it’s on my wish list. I like that 1917 appears in its brand as my favorite uncle was born in that year. Synchronicity ? I think not…
I’m afraid I’m a bit boring – my favorite (and only) Leuchtturm1917 product is their pocket calendar which I use to halfheartedly manage my appointments. It works rather well with my Platinum fountain pen though.
Still, I’m in!
I’m a longtime bullet journaler and have used the Leuchtturm 1917 hard cover books… in various sizes. It goes everywhere and I would love a pen to go with it!! Blue goes with everything, but who doesn’t love a splash of any color in their stationary?!!
The A5 planner is my favorite. If selected as the lucky winner, I’d like the Nordic Blue with blue refills.
The pens look neat, and I have never used a Leuchtturn 1917 product…maybe this will be the year. I’d prefer the orange, and then the Nordic blue.
I do not currently have any Leuchtturn 1917 products but would be excited to try some out!! I love the sage color.
Believe it or not, the only Leuchtturm 1917 product I own is one of those pen loops that you stick on the back cover of a notebook. I guess that will be perfect when I win one of these pens!!!
I love these pens! They would be my very first Leuchtturm item and blue or orange are my favorite colors!
I’ve actually never used a Leuchtturm product before, but this pen will probably push me over the edge!
To be honest, I haven’t tried any Leuchtturn products but I have seen others use the notebooks and they look like excellent quality. I’d love to try the pen because, like you, I generally prefer fountain pens but when travelling use ballpoints.
I think my favorite Leuchtturm1917 products have been their little pocket notebooks. I have filled up both a softcover and hardcover pocket notebook and really enjoyed how well made they are for such an abusive trip in my pants pocket.
I use the 1917 A5 lined for journal. I need to get a new one as this one is getting ful
I absolutely love my 1917 Master. My best friend got it for me while we were traveling in Israel at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
The paper can handle anything I put down and I LOVE the amount of space in the A4 format.
i have a larger Leuchtturm desk journal and a smaller backpack size and love using them. evertything i’ve used writes nicely in them. i like this new pen from them, because it reminds me of vintage twist pencils from the 40’s. i hope they will do the same with a pencil version.
I love and rely on Leuchtturm A5 hardcover yearly planner and dot-grid notebooks; I also use and enjoy my Leuchtturm Change Journal as well. Thanks for the giveaway!
These cute pens are my favorite Leuchtturm product! Sage first, Bellini second.
Do I dare say it has only been a dream? 🙂
The Leuchtturm A5 hardcover dot-grid notebook I can actually find preferably with a bright cover. Prefer orange then blue with blue refills but grateful for anything
Leuchtturm 1917 with graph ruling is my favorite. Dot grid is a close second. A5. Love all the color choices. But really, is there anything more fun than saying “Leuchttum” or “Drehgriffel?”
Blue – Sage – Orange
Blue refill
1917 A5 dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling!
What a cute little pen. Sage with blue ink would be my first choice. Second choice–any combination that left. 😉 Fingers crossed!
My favourite product is all of them since I have not had the chance to try any yet
I like the Leuchtturn 1917 sketchbook.
Any color of the Drehgriffels Is fine with me.
Leuchtturm A5 notebooks were my go-to until I started making my own notebooks 🙂 thanks for the opportunity to win – I love a good ballpoint!
Only product I have is a REALLY big notebook. And it’s blue. And I haven’t used it yet. Thanks!
I love my hardback A5 journal. The paper is fountain pen friendly, and it’s very sturdy.
I actually really like the Leuchtteurm sticky back elasticated pencil holdery-things. The actual word for these has escaped me but I’m curious if this pen will fit in them. Probably not, because that is how it always goes but I’d love to win a pen anyway! Thank you so much for the opportunity & good luck everyone! Hope your day is lovely.
I’ve only had one Leuchtturn 1917 item & that was a dotted journal, which I have yet to use! Too many journals, too little time!
As a lover of pens but also a budding pencil nerd, I fell in love with the Drehgriffel the minute I saw your review. I even love the packaging. Thanks so much for the chance to win one of these!
I have not yet used any Leuchtturn items, but I LOVE the look of these pens. I think one would be the perfect upgrade to my wallet pen! I love the Nordic Blue and Sage most.
I collect those fountain pens but I tend to use ballpoints for everyday writing…less smearing for this lefty. Would love to give an Orange 1917 a spin!
I have only tried the paper from their notebooks and they were great! These pens look awesome! Thanks for a great review and introducing me to a new product to get.
Well, I’ll start with first and second choice, as I tend to post and leave off such things. First choice would be the orange, with black refills. Second would be the blue with blue refills or whichever refills are left – how’s that? The refill color isn’t that big a deal to me.
Being a Tomoe River user (read fanatic), I don’t use a lot of Leuchtturm products, however I do have one of their notebooks. It’s not an A5, nor even an A4, but rather…well, it’s bigger. It won’t even stand upright on my bookshelf in my study. I think, when I fill up the current notebook I’m using as my correspondence log, the whopper Leuchtturm will be its replacement. It just seems like a log book, you know?
Ive got an orange leuchtturm 1917 notebook that my girlfriend gave me for my birthday that I really like and use at work.
My favorite item is the dot grid notebook. Haven’t had a chance to try any other items yet. I LOVE the look of these pens! I’m normally a fountain pen enthusiast as well but I love that these are refillable and would work well at work!
Their notebooks have been on my list to try, but I haven’t yet. I’d be going for a dot grid notebook though; I didn’t even realize they made pens! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have not had the privilege of using any Leuchtturm 1917 products yet, been trying to purge myself of current inventory before investing in new products. However, this Drehgriffel in Nordic Blue might become my favorite item!
No favorite as of yet but I’d like to try them. The pens are cool looking.
The first dotted graph paper I ever heard of or saw, was Leuchtturm. It was truly revolutionary because the dotted graph meant I could easily align and portion sections of a page so that the layout worked for me.
I love the Leuchtturm 1917 notebook. I amuse myself trying to pronounce it. These pens look cool. Love the Sage color, but would take any of them, and any color refill.
i like their 1917’s planners. love the packaging and look of the Drehgriffel!
i like their planners! i had a yellow Leuchtturm 1917 a few years ago.
My little dot-grid notebook tucked into a bag. Love the Sage, love the Orange.
I’m using the Leuchtturm 1917 BuJo edition at the moment. Though with not going anywhere, the lists I’m writing are a lot shorter than they used to be.
Love the Leuchtturn 1917 notebooks.
I like the blue. I use A5 Leuchtturn notebooks and the smaller ones. I also have some Leuchtturn pencils.
Some lines a day for gifting
I’ve not really used any of their products but I like the A5 notebooks and these pens are cute.
I get the most use out of the dot-grid pocket notebooks from Leuchtturm. I tend to go back and forth between those and a Baron Fig of the same size, since they don’t get torn to bits in my pocket and I can use one book for a couple of months. My back pocket seems to eat thinner covers.
I’ve enjoyed the Leuchtturn 1917 journals for years.
The 5-year diary is very appealing.
I like the A5 hard cover notebooks – classic!
I like my Leuchtturm Reporter Notebook. Sometimes a good top-bound book is what you need and the paper plus numbered pages plus a good sturdy cover make it a really good top-bound book.
What a surprise – the A5 dot grid journal, just like most everyone here.
The blue and sage are nice.
I like the A5 hard cover ruled notebook. They make great journals and work logs.
Love the Leuchtterm pen loops!
That Nordic blue pen really caught my eye. Thanks for the chance to win.
These pens are gorgeous. I really like the sage. My favorite Leuchtturm product is the A5 dotted journal. I’ve been using them for years now!
i’ve had one leuchtturm notebook, and it has been my favorite! it is a simple army green dotted A5. i have used it up, and it is time to get another one – but maybe in a different color just for fun.
I’ve tried their dot grid notebook and it’s great!
I love every single one of my Leuchtturm 1917 dot grid notebooks…and believe me there are quite a few floating around here. Right now I’m using a Berry colored one for random scribblings/bullet journalling.
The pocket 1917 is a reliable everyday carry. I wouldn’t be embarrassed to whip out this ballpoint in blue or green! Kinda retro. Reminds me of those pencils you’d have to peel to expose the core.
I’ve never used anything from Leuchtturm and am in a buying freeze until I use up at least some of what I already own. Giveaways don’t count against a buying freeze, right?
My favorite leuchtturm is the bauhaus notebook and matching pencils. Everything starts with a dot! Ok yes, I also use it with the bauhaus black wings, how could I not.
I haven’t tried a Leuchtturm 1917 yet, but I’ve been thinking of trying a bullet journal. I used to be a rings person, then switched to the Traveler’s Notebook. This year I am trying the Nolty Listy and a vertical weekly layout. I’m liking the change very much. One of the reasons I hesitate to try bullet journaling is my total lack of anything creative. It would take me a good day or two just to draw out a weekly spread. I do love watching everyone’s YT videos on their bujos though. That is why I never get household chores done. If I ever tried bullet journaling, it would probably take me months to just choose a color for the Leuchtturm.
This is just cute! Would love to have it 🙂