FAQs

A/B Pen & Cradle

The A/B Pen housing is made out of CNC machined and laser cut aluminum parts. The parts are sandblasted to give them a matte finish, and then they are hard anodized to create a durable external coating. There are also 4 magnets embedded in each A/B Pen housing.

  • Dimensions: 125mm x 21mm x 8mm | 4.92″ x 0.83″ x 0.31″
  • Weight (including refills): 44g | 1.6oz
  • Materials: T6 6061 Aluminum
  • Coating: Type 3, Hard Coat anodizing (colored tips are Type 2 anodized)

The A/B Pen is available in Grey and Black, colored pen tips in red, blue, gold and purple anodized aluminum. More colors might be released in the future, so let us know if there’s one you really want.

The A/B Pen and Cradle contain parts that come from various countries. Each unit is assembled personally by us in Germany.

The A/B cradle’s main body is sintered Nylon. Eight 1mm thin embedded magnets provide a sturdy, self-aligning mechanism for your Pen and a bent steel clamp, adhered to the back of the body, allows you to hook your cradle onto your favorite notebook.

  • Dimensions: 135mm x 27mm x 10mm | 5.31″ x 1.06″ x 0.39″
  • Weight: 34g | 1.2oz
  • Materials: Nylon and Steel

We recommend cover thicknesses of minimum 1mm for a sturdy hold. Hardcovers provide a rigid clipping surface for the cradle.

Ink Refills

The A/B Pen comes with one each of the red and black Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto refills. Refills of hand-picked colors that we love are available on the site as well.

This is one of our favorite ink cartdridges, the Hi-Tec-C Coleto has a devoted following, and for good reason. It’s a Japanese gel refill that writes with a needle fine precision, stays crisp through the whole cartridge, has a smooth ink flow, no skipping, no bleeding and it comes in a beautiful range of colors. Once you’ve written with one it’s hard to go back.

The A/B Pen is compatible with most Japan Type Refills with length from 88mm to 100mm and diameter up to 3.0mm, with or without a spring stop.

Additional refills that we have tested and can recommend are:

Gel:

  • Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto (0.3, 0.4, 0.5mm)
  • OHTO G-95NPS (0.5mm)
  • Zebra Sarasa NJK (0.5mm)

 

Ballpoint:

  • Mitsubishi S7 (0.7mm)
  • OHTO 893NP (0.3mm)
  • OHTO 895NP (0.5mm)
  • OHTO 897NP (0.7mm)
  • OHTO RFL5 891 (1.0mm)
  • Pentel BXS7 (0.7mm)
  • Pilot BKRF-6F-B (0.7mm)
  • Pilot BVRF-8EF-B (0.5 and 0.7mm)
  • Uni Jetstream SXR-80 (0.38 and 0.7mm)
  • Uni Jetstream SXR-203 (0.28, 0.38mm)
  • Zebra X-701 K (0.7mm)
  • Zebra Blen SNC (0.7mm)

We recommend getting a couple extra ink refills with your A/B Pen order, you can mix and match from our curated color selection. Once you want to restock, you can always reorder from makeduo, but shipping costs might not make sense if you’re outside the EU.

The good news: this is a very well-loved refill, it’s widely available from stationery shops online and on Amazon. If you’re in the US, we’d point you to jetpens.com, one of our favorite stationery shops. You’ll find Pilot Hi-Tec C Coleto refills there, and in fact most (if not all) other compatible refills as well.

And if you’re outside the EU or US and can’t find any locally, just let us know, we’re happy to help you track down a local source.

Shipping

We prepare and pack your order within 1–3 business days. Once it’s on its way, you’ll get an email with tracking so you can follow it.

Estimated shipping times after dispatch:

  • Germany: 1-3 business days
  • EU and North America: 7-15 business days
  • Asia, South America, Middle East and Oceania: 7-30 business days

These are estimates, not guarantees — customs can add time on international orders, and delivery is ultimately in DHL’s hands.

Yes. As soon as your parcel ships, we’ll send you an email with a DHL tracking number and a link. If you haven’t received it within a few days of ordering, check your spam folder, and if it’s not there, drop us a message.

It depends on where you are:

  • Within the EU: No. All taxes are included in the price you paid, nothing extra on delivery.
  • Outside the EU: your country may charge import duties, VAT, or handling fees on arrival. These are set by your local customs authority, not by us, and they’re the customer’s responsibility. Amounts vary by country and order value.

Write to us at hello@makeduo.com. Wrong item, damaged parcel, missing package or a question about your order, whatever it is, email us and we’ll sort it out. We’re a small team, so you’ll be talking to us in person.

Returns & Exchanges

Yes. You have 14 days from the day your order arrives to change your mind, no reason needed. Just let us know, you can use the Withdraw contract button in our footer, or simply email us at hello@makeduo.com.

Once you’ve told us, send the items back within 14 days. Return shipping is at your own cost, and we ask that items come back in a condition that reflects a normal inspection.

When we’ve received your return (or proof that you’ve sent it), we’ll refund you within 14 days, using the same payment method you paid with. That includes the original shipping cost you paid us.

We don’t process exchanges directly. The simplest way is to return your order for a refund and place a new one for what you’d rather have.

If you’ve received something faulty or we’ve sent the wrong item, that’s on us, email hello@makeduo.com and we’ll sort it out.