November Sponsor Spotlight

Sponsor support is very important to me here at The Pen Addict. My sidebar advertisers put their faith in me to deliver good value for them month in and month out, and I want to shine the light on the best of the best for you. If you are shopping for pens, paper, inks, and more, please check out these great companies and see what they have to offer. Some recent highlights:

JetPens received the Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange Limited Edition, which is just the pen you need to kill winter with orange.

Pen Chalet stocked the new Wancher True Ebonite Dream Fountain Pen in stock and ready for holiday shipping.

Goldspot has the full lineup of Bungubox Inks, which make the perfect match for those holiday fountain pen purchases.

Anderson Pens has the 2018 Limited Edition Pilot Vanishing Point available, which would make a perfect gift for any pen lover on your shopping list.

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Sponsors.

Galen Leather Six Pen Case in Crazy Horse Brown: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Galen Leather makes gorgeous leather products and other accessories for the analog-minded. For my birthday, I asked my husband to purchase a Galen Six Pen Case in Crazy Horse Brown leather. I liked the design with the zip closure which I hoped would offer a better level of protection than a roll case.

The case comes in a Galen cardboard box. Included inside are a card with the craftsman's name, information about Galen leather, an evil eye talisman, a packet of Turkish coffee and a tea bag. I love these extra touches in their packaging.

The case is absolutely gorgeous. I really like the weathered look of Crazy Horse Brown leather.

The zipper is super thick with a leather pull attached.

Inside are three elastic pen slots on each side. Leather flaps cover the pens to protect them from knocking against one another when the case is closed.

All of this is fabulous--until you put pens in the case. The elastic slots hold the pens securely. However, I encountered several problems.

First, pens longer than 5.5 inches do not really fit in the case. For example, my Danitrio is simply too long (and fat) for this case.

Second, if the pens are large in diameter, the leather flaps don't completely cover the pens to protect them, and the pen case itself can't be zipped closed.

*In this photo, you can see how the leather flap meant to protect the pens is forced up. Even if you push it down, it doesn’t cover the bottom third of the pens.*

Third, even if you fill all six slots with pens of ordinary size, the case will not close completely—at least I wasn't willing to try to force it closed. When I say pens of ordinary size, I'm talking about typical-sized fountain pens, such as Platinum, Pilot, Aurora, and Sailor.

What I discovered is that this case works great with just three pens, but if you try to fill all the slots, you run the risk of the pens scratching each other since the leather flaps don't fully cover them. Worse, you can't completely close the case. While I realize that leather can stretch, I doubt it can stretch enough to make the case useable for me—and who wants to risk using their pens to stretch out the leather? Perhaps Galen could use some elastic along the zippered portion that would allow the case to expand to accommodate six regular-size pens. I'm not sure. But, in all honesty, I feel uncomfortable putting more than three pens in this case, which obviously means it's no longer a six-pen case.

That said, I looked at the reviews of the six-pen case on Galen's website, and most people were quite happy with it. One or two said that the case doesn't accommodate larger pens, but no one discussed the case not closing properly. Maybe those reviewers use smaller-sized pens. I will probably return my six-pen case and purchase a version that has pen slots on one side only.

Even though this six-pen case didn’t work for me, if you use smaller pens (I’d say pens equivalent to Pelikan M400 size), it should work well for you. The craftsmanship is truly exquisite--there’s no doubt in my mind about that. The case is reasonably priced at $45.00, and you can have it personalized for $10.00 more.

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Posted on November 30, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under Galen Leather, Pen Case.

Sheaffer Pop Star Wars Collection BB-8 Rollerball Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The Sheaffer Pop Star Wars Collection BB-8 Rollerball Pen might be a limited edition, but it isn't a collectible--the quality isn't high enough. It's a novelty item--a fun one. And sometimes fun is all a thing needs to be. So if you just want a fun Star Wars pen, this is a great choice, though it's a bit pricey for what you get.

The body of this pen is a lightweight plastic patterned with designs from the Star Wars character BB-8, runner-up for the cutest droid in the Star Wars movies. The designs look a bit off to me, probably because BB-8 is a sphere, and here he's presented as a cylindrical pen. It's still unmistakable, even with a quick glance, that this is a BB-8 pen.

The grip section is black silicone that collects dust like crazy. It's also the kind that deteriorates after time with exposure to light and moisture. So, while the pen is refillable, it won't last forever. The body designs are also not printed in a way that will last with wear and tear.

The refill is a 0.7 mm gel rollerball that writes a dark, smooth line. It writes really nicely and covers completely. With its lightness and this rich ink, it would be a great pen for long writing sessions. I had no trouble with skipping. And despite the seeming firehose of ink, it didn't bleed. I was pleasantly surprised by the refill.

The pen is short, so it may not fit larger hands. It has a snap cap that fits securely and posts well. The clip is metal and quite flexible and sturdy. It has the Sheaffer white dot that hearkens back to old Sheaffer traditions.

As a long-time pen hound, I have a conditioned response to that white dot--excitement! Because Sheaffer is a quality legacy brand. But I confess, to me, that white dot looks out of place on this pen. The Sheaffer company has changed hands and is certainly pursuing new brand directions. One of those directions is in these whimsical licensed properties. While this pen is cute and fun, I can't find it exciting. But I'm not its audience. Who is? My eleven-year-old, who can't wait for me to finish this review so he can have it. I suppose I better wrap this up--because he is definitely excited. If you're looking for a gift for a young Star Wars fan, this is a good bet. The $22.99 price tag is more than I would pay for a rollerball of this quality, but it's well within the window for a gift for a young pen addict. Or an older one with a young, fun heart.

(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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