Benu Talisman Dream Bean Fountain Pen Review

What’s the most important feature of a fountain pen? Design, nib, filling system, weight, balance … all of those things are important. But the most important feature, I’d argue, is happiness. Yes, all of those features combined contribute to the overall feel of any writing instrument, but does it make you happy when you pick it up and use it?

The Benu Talisman Dream Bean makes me happy. Downright giddy, in fact. And I can’t explain why.

Maybe it’s the Dream Bean itself? After all, these giant seeds are notorious for their ability to “induce lucid dreams that enable communication with the spirit world,” and some of their dust is infused into the barrel material.

That probably explains a lot of it.

The Talisman is one of my favorite Benu Fountain Pen shapes. My preference lies in the more traditional lines of the exterior barrel, which this pen has. It also has different notches and facets shaped into the barrel, giving it a unique look when the light hits different areas. I also like the tactile feel of these divots, not just on the barrel, but in the cap as I hold it in my hand when writing.

Brown and Black are the primary colors of the Dream Bean material, which is further infused with fine sparkles of Green, Gold, and Red. The glitter doesn’t take over the barrel, which is a feature of some other Benu models, so this more subtle one - subtle for Benu that is - may be more up your alley. It’s kind of perfect for the season, too, with full-on Christmas Pudding vibes.

What has turned up the happiness on this pen is how much I am enjoying the nib. It is a stock Fine Steel Schmidt nib, which is normally great out of the box, but something about this one sings. It suits my handwriting well, giving it the edge of a fineliner, which are some of my favorite pens to write with. I can go pages and pages with ease when my letters look as good as this.

I chose Teranishi Guitar Antique Black to ink this pen with, and I nailed it. The Black and Brown tones of the ink pair perfectly with the Black and Brown tones of the pen. Who knew? I knew, and now I’m thinking I need to add my own shimmer to this ink to go full Dream Bean on the page.

I wish I could explain in more detail why I am getting along with this pen so well, but it boils down to what I said up top: it makes me happy.

The Benu Talisman Dream Bean Fountain Pen is $162, along with 11 other stunning Talisman models. If you enjoy fun pens as much as I do, then everything Benu does should be on your radar. Happiness achieved!

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

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Nahvalur Original Plus Matira Quartz Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Original Plus from Nahvalur is a fountain pen that offers a large ink reservoir since it uses a vacuum filler mechanism. Vacuum fillers seem to be one of the more rare type of ink filling mechanism used in fountain pens today, so it's always exciting to see other options pop up, especially when they're also fairly affordable compared to other options.

For me, my first vacuum filling fountain pen was a Pilot 823, but that's not an accessible place to start. TWSBI has long offered a more affordable vacuum filler with the giant Vac 700 and later the pocket-friendly Vac Mini. Until recently, vacuum fillers could be hard to come by. Luckily, that's changed over the past few years.

I reviewed a PenBBS vacuum filler back in 2022 that only cost around $60 at the time and also worked beautifully. It's definitely possible to make a sub-100 vacuum filler that works well, and Nahvalur has another great example of this in their Original Plus.

The Original Plus is a standard-sized pen (similar in length and diameter to the Lamy Safari or AL Star) that features an enormous ink reservoir and vacuum filling system. Plus, the barrel of the pen is transparent so you can see the ink and filling system in full view.

The colorway I chose is called Matira Quartz, named after the Matira Beach in Tahiti. Aside from the transparent barrel, the other material used by the grip, cap, and blind cap (or finial) all use a translucent white with reflective gold particles suspended in the acrylic. It's a beautiful material, and the rose gold trim goes nicely with it.

As far as build quality goes, this pen is on par with every other Nahvalur pen I've used in the past. It's well-made and feels like it will last me a lifetime if I take care of it properly. All of the tolerances are tight without being difficult to use, and all the various threads have a satisfying feel that leave me sure that they're tightened properly. No one likes loose or ambiguous threads!

The clip on the cap of the pen is substantial and has a lot of gripping power. Despite being so strong, it's still really easy to use. Clipping it onto something or removing it are easy tasks, but I don't have to worry about it coming loose on its own.

The nib on this pen is a #6 steel nib made by Nahvalur. The fine point on this unit was buttery smooth right out of the box. I'm really happy with how this pen writes from the factory. The nib has the same rose gold plate finish as the other trim parts on the pen, but be aware that it's just rose gold colored plating, not actual gold. In my book, that's a great trade-off because it affords a better price!

Writing with this pen has been such a pleasure. The nib and feed provide great ink flow, and the pen feels well-balanced in my hand. I prefer writing without the cap posted, but you can post the cap if you like. I haven't measured to be sure, but you can easily fill more than 1 ml of ink on the first pump of the vacuum system. With this much ink, the reservoir looks about 60% full. There are ways to fill vacuum filler pens all the way, but I don't need that much ink at one time and don't want to risk spilling is spraying ink. Even 60% full is a more ink than I can fit in a piston filler or cartridge-converter pen, so I'm happy with the easy route.

Keep in mind that you have to back the blind cap out a few turns to allow ink to flow properly when writing. When the blind cap is tightened down, the ink supply is shut off from the feed. This is great for transporting the pen, and you can even write a couple of sentences before running out of the ink that was already in the feeds Just remember to open the reservoir a bit and you'll have all the ink you can need!

The Nahvalur Original Plus is just $55 in most cases (there are a couple of models with more expensive material/trim options), which is a fantastic value. Nib size options can vary a bit depending on stock, but in general you can pick from F-B and 1.1mm stub.

There are several interesting colorways to choose from, and they all use the same great nib and large ink reservoir. The price and level of quality are fantastic, and I can easily recommend this pen to anyone interested in vacuum filling mechanisms. It's a great way to it out and compare it to piston and cartridge/converter systems. Good luck picking a color!

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

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Tactile Turn Buccaneer Mini 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, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

I've purchased several Tactile Turn pens over the years--one for my father and two for my husband. MY TURN.

I've drooled over a number of their seasonal and limited releases, but I caved and bought the Buccaneer the moment their newsletter hit my inbox. Because pirates.

This pirate-themed pen comes in three sizes: Standard, Short, and Mini. I opted for the Mini, because I love a good pocket pen. Regardless of size, the pen is made of titanium with a Cerakote finish that makes it look like wood. It looks very realistic and even fooled one of my coworkers. On the finial, there is a Jolly Roger and the clip is laser engraved and aged to look like an old treasure map. Aesthetics are ten out of ten. Everything is machined with precision and works smoothly, with the nosecap fit so seamlessly that I couldn't even find it at first.

The pen operates with a bolt-action knob, which is 24kt gold-plated stainless steel. The liner of the bolt mechanism is a perfect pirate red.

The Standard length takes a standard Pilot G2 refill, the Mini takes the mini G2 refill, and the Short length takes the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 refill--all fantastic writers, so you can't go wrong. Mine has been my primary writer since it arrived (which admittedly was only a few days ago) and it has been a delight to use. And that fidgety knob has gotten me through some stressful hours.

The pen came in a sturdy foam coffin inside of a special cardboard sleeve, and it came with a cool postcard, a sticker, and temporary tattoos! Delightful.

Overall, Tactile Turn makes excellent pens, which is why they've been a go-to for my gift purchases in the past. I've enjoyed watching the evolution of their designs, and I know I'll continue picking up their limited releases because they're just too much fun.

The Buccaneer sells for $149, which I obviously thought was absolutely worth it. For the quality, Tactile Turn's prices are very fair. I say this knowing that a non-pen person would think I'm insane. But in da clurb, we all fam.

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Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!