(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.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
