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Product Description
New from Levenger, the Aero-D carbon fountain pen offers a satisfying weight in the hand and loads of industrial appeal. Understated at first glance, the barrel reveals unexpected depth when it catches the light, the woven carbon fiber just visible beneath the clear lacquer coating Read More
uh... carbon fiber and "solid brass" ? the whole point of carbon fiber is to be lightweight... brass is literally the heaviest material used in pen bodies... Somebody didn't think this idea through.
"Aero" has nothing to do with weight so I don't know what you're getting at here. It's short for AEROdynamic and is also commonly used to describe a sleek design aesthetic. Also, of course the CF is purely for aesthetics. Are you implying that the only time products should be using Cf is for being light weight?
"Aero" can be "short" for a number of things, but it is also used on it's own (not as an abbreviation) and it's commonly used to describe something that is lightweight.
Examples:
Aero Chocolate are aerated making it light and fluffy rather than dense and heavy like a normal chocolate
"While lightweight and plastic, the XDJ-Aero is well constructed." (lightweight and uses wifi for portable DJ)
Gigabyte Aero series laptops are "slim and lightweight"
RS-Aero sailboat "is ultra-light weight and easy to handle."
Delsey Luggage Helium Aero Expandable Spinner Trolley (ultra lightweight luggage)
Macbook AIR... has air in the name because it is ultra lightweight...
Aerolacrosse makes the "lightest handles on earth" carbon fiber lacrosse sticks.
I could go on.... Air, Aero, Aerospace, Aeronautics, etc... are all generally associated with things that are lightweight, and or very rigid/strong. Even "aerodynamic" things are commonly known to require the same features... Making something aerodynamic then intentionally making it as heavy as possible obviously doesn't make sense considering that the point of good aeros' is to make the thing faster or more efficient.
Again as I said, if you want a CF pen... then get a real CF pen. I named two other pens that use REAL CF and are also heavy for people who think heavy = quality... My points were very clear, this Levenger is not a quality product. By all means, buy it if you want poor to mediocre performance and imitation materials.
You can also head over to Etsy and find some hand made pens with CF barrels for around the same price that come with schmidt nibs.
Some thoughts from a current owner -
1) The fine is a European Fine so it's going to be a lot thicker than you may expect. If you normally go with a medium or a broad, you may want to consider stopping down a notch or two here depending on your taste. Just don't go in thinking it's going to write like your fine/extra fine Pilot Metropolitan and you'll be good to go.
2) This is a #5 nib, not a #6 as I've seen floated around before. In theory, you should be able to replace it with your nib of choice, but I had issues getting the cap to close when I did. Replacement nibs can be had for $15 a pop from the Levenger site and they're the same units used in the Levenger TrueWriters.
3) It writes well and with a good nib it's as smooth as I'd expect for a fine, but is very wet. If you're like me and you're cool with that, you already know how important paper choice is going to be here. If not, or you're not sure, you'll want to be open to trying different inks and paper combos to get it where you want.
4) Speaking of the nib, there are a few concerns. Quality issues has been my personal experience with my first unit having issues with hard starts and skipping. Replacing it solved the problem, but also exposed what others have said about it: the black is a coating and it will chip on you. Within a few weeks of regular use, it was showing on both the bad nib and the replacement (current) nib.
5) This goes into how I know about the cost of the replacement nibs. When I tired to report issues, it basically came down to "Sorry, but you didn't buy this from us directly, so take it up with your seller." Which, if I'm being honest, is understandable. So I returned it, got one from them directly, and it had the same problem. This is where I screwed up and tried to fix the nib myself, bent it, and had to buy my own. :P
6) The grip isn't as slick as I expected (since it's metal), but I find my fingers travel quite a bit over longer writing sessions.
7) After a few months of ownership, I do notice that the trim on the cap where it says "Levenger" is starting to wear down. It looks like the gunmetal color, like the black parts of the nib, is just a coating.
8) I really do like the weight of this thing. It's not so heavy to be a distraction, but I do feel like I'm holding a hefty chunk of metal in my hand (Unlike the Tombow Zoom 101 which feels super cheap for a carbon fiber fountain pen). The body feels like quality in the hand.
9) Here's a poorly lit photo of my poorly done handwriting on Code&Quill's Origin notebook (100gsm).
Reading people complain about nibs peeling and the manufacturer not honoring warranty, I'd recommend to anyone attracted to this because of the Carbon Fiber design, to look at the Tombow Zoom 101. Outstanding fountain pen (there is a roller also, I have both).
http://tombowusa.com/zoom-101-fountain-pen-medium-668.html
Yeah also check out La Couronne du Comte. Last i checked a couple months ago Aziza from the blog Gourmet Pens has a coupon code for LCDC. Gourmet10 for 10% off. While i have no affiliation with either of the companies, the exchange rate on the euro and the coupon code made it possible for me to get things at a hell of a price. Like i paid $3.75 for a bottle of R&K ink or like $22 for the Lamy Al Star pacific. With prices like that im a sucker for more ink. Although ive noticed the Pilot iroshizuku is more expensive than on amazon, but its possible to get a bottle of Pelikan Edelstein ink for $11.60.
Also all they prices on there show VAT included but if you make an account and sign in with your country being outside the EU it shows you prices minus VAT. And then they have free international shipping over €150. Which if youre going for a pricey pen or getting multiple things its easy to do. All in all a hard deal to pass up and one not very many people on this side of the pond know about.
Also thats the only place ive managed to find the elusive Faber-Castell nib units that they supposedly dont make according to the nice lady i talked to when i called the company directly.
Ps sorry about the long winded rant/advertisment, i just like spreading the word to my fellow fountain pen enthusiasts.
Just as a future warning to anyone who buys this pen. Levenger will not honor any warranty unless the item is purchased through their website.
The black nib is not ion coated so it will peel on you. Ink gets trapped in the nib housing very easily, and removing it can be a pain.
I have two different Levenger pens and both developed "baby's bottom" nib so it gives me some trepidation to grab another one. It took a few weeks for Levenger to send a replacement for each. The nibs when working are gratuitous gushers, in my experience. If you like some cleanliness and "forgiveness" on your nibs, I'd stay away from Levenger and grab a TWISBI or Kaweco instead.
PTrainor
Oct 17, 2016
I can't afford this at the moment but I can say that is one attractive looking fountain pen.
Bruno28Yeah I would say so for you. Not for those of us in the US though... Even if the cost comes out about the same, I don't buy from Drop to get the same price I could elsewhere, you know what I mean? If I'm going to wait on a drop it should be a significant discount.
A-sideJust seems to me that Massdrop isn't bringing that many good deals anymore. Could've just bought the things elsewhere and don't need to wait for months.