This is what I like to see: people Kickstarting some really amazing stuff. How amazing? Try a handmade pen made of multiple pieces of wood spliced together and top-of-the-line clips and gel-inks. The pen, called the Exemplar, is half-length and costs a mere $100 (relatively cheap for a handmade pen, but still). However, it’s made by two North Carolinian lads, Cass Baltz and Bart Creasman, which adds a certain bit of old country panache.

$50 gets you a handmade wooden letter opener.

The pair are calling their company Baltz Fine Writing Instruments and, while pens have gone the way of the 50-cent milkshake, human kindness, and the Dodo, it’s nice to see two fellows so dedicated to a rapidly dying art.