Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Laban Skeleton Fountain 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

In my love for all things spooky, I've had my eye on the Laban Skeleton for a while, so I was excited to give it a try. Clearly it looks fantastic. The resin demonstrator body gives a fun view into the converter and ink inside the pen, and the gunmetal-colored brass lattice covering looks, somehow, both modern and ancient. The shape of the overlay looks both architectural and organic. Yaknow, like a skeleton.

The finial, endcap, cap band, clip, and grip section are also brass, but for all that metal, the pen feels very light. The clip is stiff, but it holds securely to whatever it is clipped to. The grip section has no texture, so it can feel a bit slick, but because the pen is so light, it's not too much of a problem.

The pen has a stainless steel Bock nib and it writes well. It's smooth, but with a good amount of feedback. It has consistent ink flow. I prefer a wetter writer, but this doesn't feel too dry.

For the most part, I enjoy writing with it, but it isn't super comfortable to hold. I had assumed that the metal overlay would be somehow attached to the pen body, but it actually sits around it like a cage, with space between the metal and the resin. One of the reasons the pen is so light is because the metal is very thin. The result is that this cage of thin metal is quite sharp, and the edges of it dig into the hand when you're holding it. On the plus side, grip! You're not going to drop it! But I don't enjoy using it for long writing sessions. I had expected the pen to be more precisely fitted and finished than that.

One of the reasons I had those expectations is the price point of the pen. The Laban Skeleton costs $224, which is rather a lot. While fountain pen prices have gone up at an upsetting rate, I still think this price is too high for the pen. In terms of materials, feel, and performance, I'd compare this pen to a TWSBI Diamond ALR, and those cost between $65 and $90, depending on limited edition status. And those are perfectly good pens, as is this one, but for the price, I expected better than good.

It does look better than good, though, so it definitely has that going for it. And when I took it out into public for a writing group gathering, it received much admiration. And while I don't like the way it feels, I do keep picking it up for quick notes--just not long writing projects. This is a pen you might enjoy very much, but its one I'd recommend you try out before you invest and see if you like the feel of it as much as you can't help but admire its good looks.

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

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Posted on February 27, 2025 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Laban, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Happy Pen/Ink Pairings

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

While trying to figure out what I wanted to write about this week, I was struck by a few pen/ink pairings that were bringing me a little more happiness than I expected, and for very different reasons, so I thought I’d share why I’m enjoying them so much.

Kaweco Perkeo (Indian Summer) and Ferris Wheel Press Goose Poupon Despite being a long time Kaweco Sport fan, it wasn’t until 3 years ago that I first used the Kaweco Perkeo for this showdown article. I really liked the pen, but that particular color wasn’t my jam, so back it went to the Bossman for a giveaway. I eventually bought myself the Infrared one and more recently, this Indian Summer colorway. I’m not going to go into the merits of the Perkeo (you can read the review for why I like it), but this pen is “sparking joy” because I am loving the combo of this pen with Ferris Wheel Press Goose Poupon.

*Kaweco Perkeo Indian Summer (Medium nib) with Ferris Wheel Press Goose Poupon.*

For starters, I used to think that this color was gross, and years later I’m finding myself drawn to “weirder” colors like this yellow-green, which is kind of reminiscent of poopy diapers. It just reminds me that tastes can and do change, which is one way that I find myself “maturing” in this rabbit hole. This pen, at $20 (or less), is a reminder that pens don’t have to be expensive to be enjoyable. Also, this ink not only is a great, well-behaved match, but is also named Goose Poupon - a play on the Dijon-style mustard Grey Poupon - and the kid in me keeps giggling and calling it “Goose Poopoo”.

It is a nice shader, whether I’m printing or writing in cursive. The only time I had any issues was when the ink didn’t flow from the cartridge and I had to tap it a few times to get the ink to “unstick” itself from the walls (that happens with some inks if syringe-filling a cartridge). This combo is such a divergence from my usual pens/inks that it’s a welcome change to my lineup and a reminder to occasionally think (or ink) outside the box!

Kaweco Special (Red) and Diamine Noel This pen has no right being one of my favorite pens. For one, it’s red. This blue-and-gold girl (Go Bears!) is not a red girl, but over the years, fountain pens and inks have changed my tune. Still, the number of blue pens and inks far outnumber the red ones, so this really shouldn’t even be a contender! Also, it has brass accents, which goes well with the red, but is subject to patina-ing, which usually drives me crazy. And yet, for unknown reasons, it doesn’t really bother me.

This Kaweco is also a much slimmer pen than I typically prefer, but it’s still comfortable in hand. I think that its slightly heavier weight (due to it being metal, instead of the Perkeo’s plastic) balances out the slimness. What shouldn’t be a surprise is that it is faceted, which means automatic brownie points.

*Yay for facets, but look at that patina! (shudder)*

I have had this pen inked up with this ink since March 16, 2024. I filled a converter with it (once) and have used it 34 times since then (including today). I don’t always use it for lots of writing (maybe the day’s todo list or a page in a penpal letter), but it has never failed to write as soon as I uncap it. The pen’s o-ring means that it seals very well and your pen does not dry, despite traveling on many airplanes and even writing at 9000 feet in Colorado.

Lastly, I’ve inked up the pen with Diamine Noel multiple times since owning this pen. While it didn’t wow me when I first swatched it in 2019 as part of Diamine’s first Inkvent (it is a red ink, after all), I absolutely loved it once I wrote with it! Noel is a nice deep red ink with subtle green sheen and average to slightly wetter flow. I have a hard time picking a different ink for this pen, and vice versa.

*The subtle greenish gold sheen is chef’s kiss!*

Platinum 3776 (Shape of Heart, Chai Latte) with Lennon Tool Bar Sesame Oil No surprise that a Platinum 3776 with a Medium nib is something that I enjoy writing with, and I love this special edition with the light brown cap with crystals in the finial (just don’t make me find the 3 punched out nib-hearts!), but I am REALLY digging the pen with the Lennon Tool Bar Sesame Oil ink. The ink is a light brown ink that has great shading, especially when printing. Copying out Meditations with this pen/ink combo is so calming because the soft brown ink, despite not being a wet ink, just flows so perfectly out of this pen. Bonus was that a friend helped me get a bottle of this ink when it was sold out everywhere. No crazy revelations here, just a combination that I’m really loving.

*Love this combo, not much more to it than that!*

TWSBI Vac 700R (Kyanite) with Robert Oster Blue Denim I was hoping that the Jacques Herbin’s Kyanite du Nepal would be a good match for the TWSBI Vac 700R, Kyanite, but alas, the colors were off enough that it would drive me crazy, so I picked a better match that I hadn’t used in several years, Robert Oster Blue Denim.

*Jacques Herbin Kyanite du Nepal is too blue for the TWSBI Kyanite which is more of a teal.*

*Cursive or print, both were equally enjoyable with this pen/ink combo.*

I’ve really been enjoying writing with this larger TWSBI (with the size 6 nib) for transcribing another Italian kids book. The Medium nib feels great and I love seeing the ink matching the nib as it flows onto the page.

*The ink/nib match really kicked it up several notches for me!*

The ink is also a subtle sheener, with a touch of red sheen in some spots (more noticeable with print than cursive). I don’t usually love high capacity pens because I have so many pens inked up at a time, but it’s kind of cool watching the ink level slowly going down (9 pages down, maybe another 20 to go). The ink flow isn’t too wet nor dry and matches the wetness of the size 6 nib. Another happy combo.

*Look at that subtle red sheen! Have I mentioned how much I love subtle sheen like that?*

I’m sure I could come up with more happy combinations, but these really just struck me as some current favorites, and not just because of ink/pen matchy match, though let’s be real, a good color match also makes me happy. With everything happening in the world around us, we could all use anything that brings a little bit of joy and sunshine in our lives. After all, isn’t that why we use fountain pens? ☺️

PS - Bonus happiness is me finally getting around to starting a book journal for the books I read last year.

(Disclaimer: All products, pens, inks, papers, stamps, and washi tape are my own.)

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Fountain Pens.

Laban 325 Fountain Pen Review

Founded in Taiwan in 1981, Laban has been present in the fountain pen world for a while, but only came on my radar in the last several years. In using the Laban 325, I can only wonder what took me so long?

I’ve had this pen inked up on and off for the past three months, and every time I pick it up and write with it, the same group of words come to mind. Solid. Nice. Pretty. Quality. Fun. What more can I ask for from a pen? Not much. The Pen Addict Review Crew have been reviewing Laban fountain pens since 2019, to generally high praise, and I’m only going to add to the chorus today.

Let’s start with what you see: the barrel. The 325 is on the larger size of the scale, especially given the cap overhang. The design works together as a whole, but the initial visual is that this is a big pen. When in user mode, aka uncapped, the 325 hits the perfect user length at just over five inches. The diameter befits its size, with a tapered section providing a nice grip area.

Aesthetically, the 325 features three distinct visual areas. With this Sun model, both ends use an Ivory marbled acrylic, with the heart of the barrel showing off a beautiful Orange cracked acrylic. Many of the 325’s are designed similarly, with different color acrylics taking prominence on the barrel.

Laban 325 Fountain Pen Safari — *LAMY Safari for scale.*

Gold trim wins the day on the 325, with the clip, finial, barrel and cap bands, and matching gold plating on the steel nib. The nib itself is Laban-branded Jowo #6, and the Medium tip was perfect out of the box. This is an international cartridge/converter filler, and ships with Laban marked on the converter.

Writing comfort is perfect for me. To say that I don’t notice the pen when writing is a high compliment. When I’m putting ink on the page, I want nothing more to get into the flow. I don’t want to think about the pen, nib, ink, or paper. The 325 allows for that.

Should you consider trying out a Laban fountain pen, specifically the 325? At $128, it doesn’t have a lot of price competition. The entire $75 to $150 range is honestly a bit confusing. Benu, Narwhal, and Opus 88 do well here, fancy Kaweco’s live here, maybe some solid maker pens. The 325 is one of the lower priced Laban pens, and has some of the Leonardo Momento Zero feel to it for around $40 less. So yes, I think they are compelling.

*L’Ecritoire ink, from Paris. Courtesy of a pen friend.*

Laban makes several different styles of pens in their lineup, and given the feel and functionality of the 325, I’m interested in moving on up the price bracket to see if the value proposition continues to hold. Seems like a good plan for 2025.

(This pen was provided by Luxury Brands USA at no charge for purposes of this review.)

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