Kepler Pen | Brass, Stainless Steel, or Vapor Black | Schmidt 635 Refill

Craighill's whole thing is iterating obsessively until the details are right, then stopping before it gets precious. The Kepler pen is five inches long, weighs two ounces, and takes Schmidt 635 refills. It comes in brass, stainless steel, or PVD black-coated stainless steel they call Vapor Black. The balance sits right in the middle so it doesn't tip forward or back when you're writing, which sounds minor until you use a pen that hasn't figured that out.

Two ounces is heavy enough that losing it feels like a small personal failure but light enough that you won't develop a callus from taking notes during a three-hour meeting about meetings. Vapor Black sounds like a fragrance for people who wear a lot of titanium jewelry. It isn't, but it could be.

• 5 inches long, 0.3 inches diameter
• Weighs 2 ounces
• Takes Schmidt 635 refills
• Available in brass, stainless steel, or Vapor Black (PVD black-coated stainless steel)
• Balanced weight distribution for all-day writing
• May be distracting for dogs