Review Of C.e. Levi Pens: Colossus

[awc]

This is my first review of a pen, so please feel free to proffer suggestions, or ask any questions you might have.

 

Before I begin I should mention that I am writing this review for a $150 reduction in price on my pen, one might call it a "paid review."

 

I received this pen last Friday, and have been using it exclusively for the past week. This is not likely to change, and I may need to sell off the rest of my pens! Once I got to the pen, which was well packaged, I was floored. I stood in the hallway just looking at it. (Yes, I was far to excited to get the pen to my dorm room before opening it that I had to open it in the hallway.) The pen was much smaller than I anticipated. I find that the pictures on Mr Lewis' site don't provide a great sense of scale. After some use I am very glad that it is not any longer. It fits well in my pocket along with my phone and Rhodia No12 pad.

 

 

Appearance and Design:

In my humble opinion this is a beautiful pen, more-so than any of my other pens (including a CdA Ecridor, Waterman Expert II and Edison Pearl LEA). I chose to have the colossus in brass rather than bronze, and I dare say it looks much better . There are little to no machining lines on the pen, and the step between the cap and barrel and the blind cap and barrel are much smaller than anticipated.

 

 

Construction and Design

Given that the Colossus is made from a solid piece of brass, it is very strong. dropping it on the floor is not likely to cause damage to the exterior (I'm unaware as to the fragility of the innards so internal damage is possible). Brass does scratch and tarnish so if you want to have a pen that will stay nice an shiny for its lifetime, look elsewhere. My reason for choosing this pen of many another custom pen is that it will patina and develop its own "character" as time passes. It should be noted that this pen will NOT post.

 

Weight and Dimensions

This is a solid pen, and very well balanced. As advertised, the weight melts into my hand. I will have little to no problems writing a three hour exam with this pen.

 

(Actual weight and dimensions to follow)

 

 

Nib and Performance

Cameron helped me choose a single tone 14tk Sheaffer Lifetime fine-medium nib. A stiff nib in comparison to most vintage nibs, it is ever so slightly forgiving with a touch of spring. A nice consistently smooth nib (ie no super smooth sweet spot, and the rest is rather scratchy). It is just as smooth upside down as it is right side up (for the odd time one needs to write extra small). It is not a particularly wet pen, nor is it particularly dry. One might call it perfect! I've not tried it with any inks that are known for their shading properties, so I can't comment on that at this time.

 

 

Filling System

The Colossus uses a button filler, in my opinion the coolest filling system out there. I find it very fun to use, and much easier than a lever filler. The pen sucks up 1ml per pump (and rather quickly, unlike vacumatics). it does not have a breather tube, so if you would like to fill it with 2ml of ink, you will need to flip the pen upside down, expel the air in the sack, and stick the nib in the ink before releasing the button (I've tried this once and have decided that it is wholly unnecessary).

 

Cost and value

At the price I paid for the pen ($350 + $25 for shipping) I would say that the pen is under priced. That said, at $500 I wouldn't even have considered it due to my current financial constraints. $500 is very much what this pen is worth.

 

I highly recommend this pen. It will likely become my EDC pen. Once I can afford one, I will very likely order another pen from CE Levi Pens. I can't say enough about Cameron's personality and workmanship.

 

 

All pictures were provided by Cameron Lewis. I shall post some of my own in the next few days to show off how it has aged, and to compare it side by side with my other pens.

 

And again, please ask me questions. I am sure I forgot to include some small detail in this review.

Edited November 23, 2012 by awc

[rochester21]

Good review(nice pictures as well)- don`t forget to add the dimensions.

I like the colour of brass, adding some small but deep floral engravings would make it quite beautiful(it would add a vintage look to it). Then again, i have my own preferences. Overall, it looks like a solid fountain pen, with a straightforward design. I hope you enjoy it

[dcpritch]

Thanks for a very good review. I have one of Cameron's pens and concur with your estimation of his craftsmanship, and the ease of working with him. Besides his obvious abilities in creating writing instruments, Cameron is an exceptional nib tuner, and he will be sure that the nib selected for your pen does exactly what you want it to do.

 

I would be interested in the dimensions of your Colossus pen, as it is one I've had my eye on for a while.

[awc]

The pen is 12.8 cm long, The cap is 1.3 cm in diameter; the barrel is ever so slightly thinner, less than .5 mm on each side. The pen weighs 71g (I estimate that there was about 1ml of ink in the pen).

[JemC]

Wow, that is gorgeous. Great review.

 

It looks like the section has somewhat of a matte texture? If so, between that and the brass body, I can imagine how great it would feel in the hand.

[CLewis]

Wow, that is gorgeous. Great review.

 

It looks like the section has somewhat of a matte texture? If so, between that and the brass body, I can imagine how great it would feel in the hand.

 

 

When I cut the sections, I leave the finish less polished than I do the body of the pen. I find that if I bring it up to a higher gloss it gets a little bit slippery and the writing experience suffers.

[awc]

As promised, comparison photographs.

The pens are:

Wing-Sung 223, Sheaffer Lady Balance, Sheaffer Valiant, Sheaffer Statesman, Parker Vacumatic, Parker "51", C.E. Levi Colossus, Noodler's Ahab, TWSBI 540, Edison Pearl LEA, Waterman Expert II, Serwex 101, Caran d'Ache Ecridor, Lamy Joy.

 

Capped:

 

All Posted (exception Colossus)

 

All unposted

 

Posted or unposted as I use them.

[ethernautrix]

That is a real beauty, awc. The size comparison to the other pens really helps. (Gee, it isn't too big!) (Ruh roh!)

 

Very nice....

 

 

 

[awc]

That is a real beauty, awc. The size comparison to the other pens really helps. (Gee, it isn't too big!) (Ruh roh!)

 

Very nice....

 

 

Thanks! It is by far my favourite pen. It certainly isn't too big and I bet it would be a little tougher than those nakayas

 

You (the royal you that is the FPN) have all been such excellent enablers that I thought I should return the favour

[ethernautrix]

That is a real beauty, awc. The size comparison to the other pens really helps. (Gee, it isn't too big!) (Ruh roh!)

 

Very nice....

 

 

Thanks! It is by far my favourite pen. It certainly isn't too big and I bet it would be a little tougher than those nakayas

 

You (the royal you that is the FPN) have all been such excellent enablers that I thought I should return the favour

 

It certainly looks tougher than the Nakayas. And you certainly are returning the favor. Stop it!

 

 

Ha ha ha. I'm kidding. You can keep doing it.

 

:-)

[awc]

Well, after some weeks, this pen is very clearly mine. Through use, and perhaps some effort to achieve this effect, my fingerprints are more or less permanently patina'ed into the barrel of the pen.

 

If you dislike fingerprints in your pen, this is not the pen for you

 

Granted, you could polish the pen everyday if you want it to stay pristine, but that defeats the (or at least my) purpose for the purchase of this pen.

[awc]

I should add that the fingerprint is quite faint. visible if you look for it, but impossible to see from more than a couple feet away. Trying to take a photograph of it has proven difficult.

[awc]

I got a new Camera, and can now take some better pictures of the pen. This is one I took earlier today.

 

Please let me know if there are other angles/pictures you would like, or if you have any questions about this beautiful pen.

 

http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww158/awc_/DSC_0201_zpsb5c7787f.jpg

[Cerbervs]

This pens looks lovely, just the character of it is amazing. And a button filler I can feel my wallet emptying. It blows me away. I would love how over the years the nicks, stains, and blemishes would developed into a loved pen.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Cerbervs