Beautiful, with a simple, elegant design, but built to survive the apocalypse, I am in love with this Levenger L-Tech 3.0 Stealth fountain pen.
When Boing Boing BBS reader thaumatechnicia recommended the Levenger L-Tech 3.0 Stealth to me as "the fountain pen Jim Phelps (of Mission Impossible fame) would use," I had to order one. This all black fountain pen is pretty impressive.
Aside from the stainless steel nib, the L-Tech is made of brass. It is solid, it is heavy and from the first time you pick it up you realize this is a serious implement for writing. Levenger has made a pen that evokes the same feeling I get when I pick up a well made, and used, tool. The L-Tech instantly made me want to sit down and write.
The pen loads via cartridge or a converter. I used the converter and it was error free, I got no ink on my hands or elsewhere. The pen feels great to write with! It leaves a very clean line with little feathering in my moleskine notebook. The pen is also quite heavy! Not so heavy as to be annoying or oppressive, but the pen is certainly present at all times. Slightly larger than the Parker and Pilot I regularly use, I am liking it!
Levenger's fine nib is not particularly fine with my hand. It feels closer to a medium, but still narrow enough that I am merely noting it, not complaining. Folks who want extremely fine points on the pen or pencil will not like these, however. There are also 2 stylus add-ons that screw into the pen's cap. I have not used them and I doubt I will, in my estimation they clown-up a beautiful pen.
The "Stealth" finish has the pen totally blacked out. Even the threads inside the screw cap are black. There is a distinctly 1960s military equipment feel to the pen as well, with its simple but well fitting together barrel and cap. I can see where thaumatechnicia made the Jim Phelps connection. In the future, when I am writing a message that'll self destruct, I'll use the Levenger.
I found this for $89 on Amazon and think its a good price for a pen I'll likely use very regularly.
