BENU - Did someone say Bling? A Comparison Of All BENU Pen Models.

(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!.)

BENU: They’re either “omg, gimme all the sparkles” or they’re “too much” ==insert hand waving== ; but either way, they are definitely not boring! Originally founded in Russia and as of last year, now based in Armenia, BENU is known for their sparkly pens that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. After working a couple of shows with Luxury Brands of America (the US distributor for BENU Pens), I thought it would be cool for people to see the different models, though they really need to be seen in person to get the full effect. My poor photography skills will have to suffice 🙂 Thank you to Bryce Gillett of Luxury Brands of America for loaning these pens for review.

Sparkly, shimmery, colorful and not mistakable for other brands!

All BENU pens are packaged in a Benu-branded white box with an inner paper pen “pouch”, warranty information and a long standard international cartridge (pretty rare to find long carts!). Standard international converters are included for models that fit them.

Features:

• BENU uses stainless steel Schmidt nibs in sizes 5 or 6, and come in Extra Fine to Broad. Size 5 nibs come in silver or gold-tone, and size 6 only comes in silver-tone. 18kt Gold nibs are only available on some special editions only available on the BENU website.
• Nib units are screw-in and interchangeable with other pens that take the same size (e.g. you can swap size 5 unit into another size 5 pen)
• Entire grip sections are also interchangeable with each other as long as they fit the same size nib unit
• All models can be eyedropperable.
• Pen are primarily made of resin/acrylic so are fairly lightweight.
• Some of the models even glow-in-the-dark!!

Size 6 (left) vs 5 nib, also note that the tipping size is inside the square above the word “Schmidt” - in this case B and M, respectively.

Models:

Ambrosia

The Ambrosia model is typically only offered as direct from BENU exclusive, so I don’t have one to show off, but here is an example of the Blue Lotus Ambrosia. It is slightly shorter than the Minima and has a raised/textured cap band.

Nib: 5

Clip: No

Postable: No

Converter: No

Retail Price: $132+

BENU Ambrosia Blue Lotus. (PC: BENU)

Briolette

One of BENU’s most popular models, the Briolette sports gem-like facets on the cap and barrel with a black band at the base of the cap.

Size: 5

Clip: No

Postable: No

Converter: No

Price: $98-106 USD

BENU Briolette in Magenta Frost - bright colors and sparkles galore!

There is a fairly pronounced step down from the barrel but I don’t notice it because my fingers don’t touch it, and it’s also a smooth.edge.

Hexagon

The Hexagon model is named for its hexagon/honeycomb-textured barrel as well as the hexagonally “faceted” cap band.

Size: 5

Clip: No

Postable: Yes

Converter: Yes

Price: $119 (USD)

This is the Hexagon A, which is a subtly shimmering black with not-so-subtle gold shimmer flakes and grey transparent band and grip.

Minima

The Minima is one of the smallest pens in the BENU lineup. It is a slightly pointy, cigar-shaped pen that typically has a black cap band, but occasionally sports a metallic one.

Size 5:

Clip: No

Postable: No

Converter: No

Price: $106+ (Pen pictured retails for $152)

Minima Blazing Gold also sports a gold-colored cap band and nib.

This small pen still feels very comfortable to me, but then again I write with Kaweco Sports unposted, lol.

Skull & Roses

The Skull & Roses pen has, wait for it, skulls and roses on the pen and cap. There are textured skulls around the cap band while roses and branches adorn the rest of the cap and barrel. It is the same size as the Briolette but is not faceted due to the patterns in relief.

Size: 5

Clip: No

Postable: No

Converter: No

Price: $163

This Skull & Roses is called Smolder.

Even though the barrel is textured, it isn’t very noticeable for me because of the smooth grip section.

Scepter

Clip: No The Scepter is a spirally-faceted pen, which is tapered in the center (where the cap meets the barrel). It is definitely one of the more unique pen designs!

Size: 5

Postable: No

Converter: Yes

Price: $117

This blue and silver pen is the Scepter VIII.

The spiral facets did not interfere with my grip. It was comfortable to hold.

Grand Scepter

The Grand Scepter is the same length as the Scepter but has a slightly girthier grip section to accommodate the size 6 nib.

Size: 6

Clip: No

Postable: No

Converter: Yes

Price: $140

Grand Scepter X.

It is difficult to tell the difference between the regular (left) and Grand Scepters when they are capped.

The grip section of the Grand Scepter barely feels larger than the regular Scepter.

Euphoria

The Euphoria is the largest pen in the BENU lineup and is typically the model for BENU exclusives, including their hand-painted limited editions. It has a 10-sided faceted pen & cap. Even though it is postable, doing so makes the pen quite long, since the barrel already has some length to it.

Size: 6

Clip: Yes

Postable: Yes

Converter: Yes

Retail Price: $149

These are the only two BENU that I own - the Pen Addict exclusive (top) and Jazz. Jazz was my first BENU because it was less “out there” than the others.

It is comically long when posted.

Talisman

The Talisman series was created “as a tribute to the ancient myths, legends, and tales that were used as inspiration for the design”. The material of each Talisman pen is infused with the actual item that it is named after. For example, there is powder from the foxglove flower in the Foxglove pen, peacock ore mineral powder in the Peacock Ore pen and so on. Each pen also includes an information sheet about the item which inspired its creation.

The texture of the Talisman is unlike any of the other BENU or even other pens. The best way I can describe it is that it has alternating gentle facets, but pictures are more helpful.

Size: 6

Clip: Yes

Postable: Yes

Converter: No

Price: Starts at $154

There is actual Dream Bean powder in the BENU Tasliman Dream Bean pen!

Luxury Brands has a handy chart with the dimensions of the pens.

I laid out the pens in the same order as the above chart (minus the Ambrosia) - Talisman, Jazz, Scepter, Grand Scepter, Briolette, Skull & Roses, Minima, Hexagon.

Here are comparisons with other pens (L to R): Diplomat Aero, TWSBI Eco, BENU Talisman, Leonardo Momento Zero, LAMY Vista, Pelikan M800, Pilot Custom 823, BENU Euphoria, Scepter, Grand Scepter, Briolette, Skull & Roses, Sailor Pro Gear, Pro Gear Slim, BENU Minima, Pelikan M800, BENU Hexagon, Platinum 3776.

Same lineup as above but I moved the Sailor Pro Gear to be in between the Scepters and the Briolette.

The Schmidt nibs write well, though they did take a wee bit of priming to get the ink to the nib. If you are using a cartridge for the smaller pens, you might need to set it nib side down for a bit in order for the ink to flow or dip it into water to get the capillary action going. As you can see below, the EF and F had nice fine lines but the Medium and Broad were quite a bit broader. The steel Pelikan Broad nib gave similar lines to the Medium Benu nib! If you like a wetter/broader line, the Medium and Broad nibs are both great options. I generally don’t use many EF nibs, but was surprised at how nicely the EF wrote.

BENU pens were inked up with Kaweco Blue so you can see the line differences are based on nib size, not ink. Comparison with several Fine to Broad nibs in steel and gold.

If the color, sparkle, and shapes of the BENU line of pens are right up your alley, consider checking out BENU pens. They are fun pens that also write well and don’t hit the wallet too hard either. I’m happy with my two BENU pens and am relieved that these sparkling beauties didn’t tempt me too much (though I might need to look at other Hexagons).

(Disclaimer: All BENU (except the two Euphorias) were loaned to us for review by Luxury Brands of America. All other pens were purchased by me.)

Opus 88 Demonstrator Sapphire 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 Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

Another winner in the lineup of Opus's ink tank pens. This limited edition Opus 88 Demonstrator in Sapphire is a stunning acrylic in sparkly, swirly blue and purple. The finial and end cap are a clear blue resin. The demonstrator name is a little misleading in this edition, as the body of the pen is opaque enough that you can't see much of what's going on inside. But there are cool things going on inside.

This pen is an eyedropper fill pen, and it comes with a glass eyedropper you can use to fill it. The grip section unscrews from the body, then you use the eyedropper to fill the whole entire pen body with ink. It's a lot of ink. This pleases me. Also in the pen body is an ebonite piston and gasket, which seal the ink chamber off from the feed and nib, which helps to prevent leaks and burping. To set the ink free, you unscrew the clear blue end cap, which pulls the gasket away from the feed and lets all that good ink flow. This is great for longer writing sessions, when you want to drain as much ink as possible. Then you can close the end back up for transporting the pen.

Pro tip: after filling the pen, loosen the end cap and let it sit nib-down for a few minutes. If you fill it and let it sit with the gasket closed, you're going to wonder why there's no ink flowing and be puzzled for a minute, before you realize that the ink is sealed off from the feed, so of course it's not writing, and then you'll feel kinda silly. Hypothetically.

Once it is writing, which will only take a few minutes if you are very clever, or few hours if you haven't had enough coffee that day, it writes very well. The pen uses a black stainless steel #6 JoWo nib that comes in EF, F, M, B, and a 1.5 stub. My pen has the stub nib, which is perfect for working through all that ink.

This pen ended up being the MVP of my NaNoWriMo efforts. I wrote four pens dry before I inked this one up, and it saw me through to the end of the month. The fact that it's so dang pretty doesn't hurt, either.

You can snag this pen at Pen Chalet for $140. Between the looks, function, and great build, I would likely have bought one, myself, if Brad didn’t send it to me. I'll be happily writing with this pen for a long time. Today. Because it's the last day of NaNoWriMo and I'm not done yet.

(Pen Chalet provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Reflections on Some Currently Inked Pens

(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!.)

Despite being in this rabbit hole for 6.5 years, I continue to learn not just about pens, inks and all that, but about my preferences and habits. There isn’t a right or wrong way to be in this hobby and what works for someone may or may not work for you. For some reason during the past few weeks, a few of my currently inked pens were good reminders of lessons I’ve learned along the way.

On the surface, there isn’t much that is similar among these pens, other than they all happen to be blue! (Bottom to top: Pelikan M215 Blue Stripe, TWSBI Classic Blue, Visconti Van Gogh, Platinum Curidas, Pilot Falcon/Elabo.)

Pelikan M215 Blue Stripe

Hard to tell from this picture but there are silver colored stripes on the barrel of this pen.

• Patience (and research), Grasshopper - I have wanted this pen for 3-4 years (maybe longer) and have seen it on eBay for very high/ambitious prices. And I am definitely not one for patience. But I also don’t want to overspend. Doing research ahead of time, including reaching out to folks who have better pulses on the Pelikan secondary market, made it easier for me to pounce on a listing that was finally in the right price range.

• Inks & pen combinations matter - As I mentioned in recent ink reviews, inks behave differently in different pens (and also on different papers too). This M215 is currently inked up with Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite, which is a lovely blue-black ink. Is it a shocker that this is a good matchup? No, not really, but I haven’t used this ink since I first tried it, gulp, way back in 2017, in a Lamy Safari. I absolutely hated the combination because it felt like writing with sand and I wondered if I should dump the ink out of the pen and get rid of the sample. What I didn’t know then, was that Lamy pens can be on the drier side and that Pelikan inks are also on the drier side (to compensate for their wetter nibs), so that combination was doomed from the start. What’s sad is that I was hesitant to try the ink again, even though I learned more about pens and inks since 2017. I’m glad I decided to try the ink in this pen, because it flows just perfectly from this pen, and it’s a great match colorwise, too. I’ve also since learned that it’s ok to empty out a pen if the ink just isn’t doing it for you. Life’s too short to write with a bad combination.

TWSBI Classic, Blue

• Oldie but goodie - One of my first TWSBIs is the Classic, in Turquoise. I love the non-demonstrator look but I don’t really think about them as much because I usually want a demonstrator when I want to ink up a TWSBI. I needed to ink up a blue pen so I decided on the blue Classic. It had a Fine nib and even though Mediums are my usual jam, I just shrugged and inked it up anyway. Then I wrote with it and was shocked at how much I liked the Classic AND the fine nib. It is so easy to ink up the latest acquisitions and forget about the older pens (and inks). I try to balance that urge by having a mix of old and new pens in the “to-be-inked-next” tray. I do this with inks too. It’s like discovering a lost treasure.

Visconti Van Gogh, Starry Night

• It’s ok if looks are important - As a Van Gogh fan, and more specifically of Starry Night, I love this pen. Not because it is an amazing writer (I mean, it writes fine) but because looking at it makes me happy. It makes me think about my favorite piece of art and that makes me happy. People place different levels of importance on the nib vs the appearance and that’s one of the many wonderful things about this rabbit hole. My personal pen preference emphasizes looks over writing (probably 65:35 as long as the nib doesn’t write poorly). In the end, as long as you’re happy, whether it’s with the looks, the nib (or both), it’s a win in my book.

• Oldie but goodie, this time with ink - I inked this up with an ink that I once loved but sorta put by the wayside (shame on me) - Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo. When everyone was raving about Shin-kai (cough cough, Bossman), I instead fell in love with Tsuki-yo. With all the deluge of inks that currently exist and continue to be released, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest “must-have ink”. I had forgotten how much I liked that ink and I’m glad I decided to use it again.

Platinum Curidas, Matte Blue

• It is not a popularity contest - Not gonna lie, the Platinum Curidas is probably one of the more polarizing pens when it comes to looks, nock length, design, etc. And yet, I still love it. I have the original demonstrator finishes but I love this Matte Blue with black trim. The Medium steel nib gives me the perfect line width. Do I love it more than the Vanishing Points or Decimos? Probably not, but I still love it, even if it’s not for everyone, and that’s what matters.

• Don’t judge an ink before using it - I bought a sample of Taccia Ukiyo-e Hiroshige-Ruri and after swatching it, I thought “yet another dark blue ink” and was glad that I hadn’t bought a bottle. After pairing it up with the Curidas though, I’m loving the richness of this blue ink, along with its subtle sheen that can even been seen on Rhodia, and am now adding it to my “bottles to buy” list. It’s another reminder that I shouldn’t judge an ink too quickly!

Pilot Falcon/Elabo, Metal Blue

• They can’t all be winners - The Pilot Falcon (or Elabo in other markets) is a pen that has a fun, bouncy nib that can give some line variation, which I generally love, but there’s something about this one that isn’t doing it for me. I really like the plastic version of this pen with a Soft Fine nib, but I don’t think it’s the minimally- added weight. The Akkerman Delfts Blauw ink is flowing just fine so it’s not that. Maybe it’s the Soft Medium nib which feels blobby and almost squeaky. I really want to love it, but I don’t, so I think it’s better to part ways, than to have it stay in the collection untouched and unloved.

• It’s hard saying goodbye - Despite everything I just wrote about the pen not being a good fit, it’s still really hard for me to decide to sell a pen. I just have to remember that someone else will enjoy it more than I do and that I can use the proceeds to get something else, like that bottle of Taccia Hiroshige-ruri :-)

None of these things are earth-shattering or new in any way, but I don’t usually have these revelations when I’m writing with my pens. So when they do pop up, it’s worth taking a moment to pay attention to what they’re trying to teach me.