A DecaBlogaVersary

(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!)

Dearest pen friends, this week is my 10th anniversary writing for Brad here at The Pen Addict blog. Ten years ago, Brad put out a call for additional help writing posts for his site and asked folks to email him a letter of interest with the subject "I want to write!" I sent in my bid and crossed all my fingers.

At the time, I was a full-time freelance writer. I had just moved to Wisconsin from Colorado. I had been collecting pens for over a decade by then and I was an avid listener of The Pen Addict podcast. I could not think of a better writing gig than reviewing the stationery that I loved! Brad hiring me was one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and I am eternally grateful for the last ten years of pen friendship.

I call Brad BestBoss, because he is. If you were to meet him for even ten seconds, you'd be able to tell that he's both capable and compassionate, supportive and fun. This is where I'd reassure you that he's not paying me to say this, but I guess he technically did! He just didn't know I was going to say it. I've written for dozens of platforms for over twenty years, and this is the only time I've felt like more than a word factory. Working for The Pen Addict feels like being a part of something great. Sure, we're niche, and most folks have never heard of us (and are surprised such a thing exists when they do hear about us), but we're also a vast, diverse community that celebrates our common interest. I love you all dearly.

It has been an honor to be a part of such a wonderful project for ten awesome years. That's about 500 blog posts! And I hope to stick around for another ten years, and beyond.

I'll be absent for the next few weeks, though, as the actual moving part of moving is happening next week, followed by the final phase of moving my parents across the country into nursing care near my new home. But wasn't I blogging about doing that a year ago? YEP. It has taken a year and it was very hard. This difficult chapter is finally coming to an end.

That does also mean that in a few weeks, I will finally be able to unpack all my stationery that has been in storage for months! Organizing it all from scratch is both exciting and daunting. I can't wait. And I'll probably blog about it.

Thanks for reading my posts, pen fam. Whether I'm reviewing, traveling, or writing about writing, it's nice to have you with me.

xoxo Sarah

Laban Taroko Fountain Pen Giveaway

Sent to us as part of Kimberly’s Laban Pens - A Quick Comparison, the Laban Taroko is an excellent offering from this Taiwanese maker. I have one Taroko in their Pinnacle material, with a Fine Steel nib, to give away this week, so read the rules below and enter away!

Laban Taroko Fountain Pen Giveaway

Pairings Party: Nahvalur Original Plus Powder Blue, Wearingeul Undine

Even if I’ve reviewed a product before, I like to return to it every few years if the company keeps it in the lineup. It doesn’t have to be changed much, if at all, but I do want to see if anything is different as the product matures. And let’s be clear, I’m a simple man. I see fun colors, I’m interested.

That’s the case with the Nahvalur Original Plus in Powder Blue. It caught me by surprise in 2023 with how nice it was, and it has continued to be one of the best mid-range, bang-for-your-buck, pens going.

In testing the Powder Blue Original Plus, it performs exactly as my first one in Matria White. That’s a good thing. The only difference is that I chose the 1.1 mm nib for the new model, as opposed to the Fine nib in the … original.

Outside of color and nib, the Original Plus is known for using a vacuum filling mechanism. That’s not something often seen at this price point, and it works great. Filling is easy, it seals off well when not in use, and cleaning is a breeze because you can unscrew the grip section and run water through the barrel.

Nahvalur releases new colors of the Original (Piston-filler,) and Original Plus two or three times a year, including the just launched full color Original in translucent and opaque barrel models at the Washington D.C. Fountain Pen SUPERSHOW this past weekend. I still prefer the clear barrel/color cap and finial style, but all of them look great.

When choosing an ink for Powder Blue, my default choice would normally be Pink, but I went more matchy-matchy with Wearingeul Undine. I’m not sure of the story behind the ink, and reading the product description I’m not sure I want to, but wow is this a nice color. It’s a bit of a dual shader, with a colorful Turquoise/Teal combo (is that a thing?) with a lot of Pink/Purple shading. It flows great from the 1.1 mm nib.

Recommending both of these products is easy. In thinking about the Original Plus, it is a $63 pen (with some sale options at $47,) and I think that is fair for what you get in this market. As I was thinking about it in the context of other pens in this price range, would I choose the Original Plus, or the Pilot Prera?

As a bonafide Pilot stan, I think it’s a coin flip. The Prera has a better nib, and the Original Plus has a better filling system. Both come in fun colors, and should hold up as well as plastic barrel pens can.

Where would you rank the Original Plus versus the Prera, or the TWSBI ECO or 580? It’s right there in the mix for me, and I’m glad to have another solid option in this range.

(These products were purchased from Dromgoole’s and Goldspot, respectively, at a discounted price.)

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