Posts filed under Fountain Pens

Faber-Castell NEO Slim 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.)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a sleek all-black ballpoint pen that featured a pretty solid refill — the Faber-Castell NEO Slim ballpoint pen. This week, I'm looking at the sibling pen — the NEO Slim fountain pen with a medium steel nib.

Like the ballpoint sibling, the fountain pen is a sleek and modern fountain pen with an understated design. While the pen is slim, it's still fairly comfortable to write with. If you're a fan of blacked-out accessories, this pen will definitely catch your eye. The matte black body, cap, and section look great together, and then shiny black nib is a great accent to the overall aesthetic. The only branding you'll find on the pen is a small Faber-Castell logo on the cap next to the clip.

Speaking of the clip, it's very similar to the ballpoint version, which isn't a great thing. The same problem ails this pen as well. The clip lacks the strength and teeth to really hold on to anything without the assistance from gravity. If this is in your bag being tossed around, it will likely fall out. It does fine for tucking into a shirt or pants pocket, and even a bag pocket as long as it's staying upright.

When it comes to writing, this pen does a great job. It may be slim, but that doesn't detract from the overall comfort. If you look closely, you'll see that the grip section is incredibly small, which normally translates to a cramped holding position. With the NEO Slim, this isn't true because the grip section is (mostly) the same diameter as the rest of the body. The pen body is long and slender and feels great in the hand. I've some fairly long writing sessions with this pen, and I've never had any cramping or discomfort.

The tiny nib on this pen has been a point of contention for me. On one hand, it looks great and provides an excellent contrast to the matte black finish of the pen body. But on the other hand, it wasn't tuned correctly from the factory. It turned out to be a mild case of baby's bottom, but it still diminished the experience. This is bound to happen here and there with fountain pens, and it's (luckily) fairly easy to fix on your own. Still — at $50, it seems like a quality problem that shouldn't exist.

Once I smoothed out the nib on my trusty fingernail buffer, the nib started to sing. The ink flow was more normal and the stuttering and skipping problem was completely gone. I've loved writing with this pen ever since I took a few minutes to smooth the nib. It was a problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place, but it sure feels satisfying to improve something on your own.

The NEO Slim takes international cartridges or any international converter. You can purchase the Faber-Castell converter, but any converter with the same port will work. The pen is also long enough to store an extra cartridge if you're using international short cartridges.

At $50, this isn't an instantly easy recommendation, but it does feel and perform well for the price range. I've really enjoyed using this pen and can think of several people that would appreciate this pen as a gift. The blacked-out aesthetic and slender design make this a desirable pen to carry with you. But, if all black isn't your thing, there are several other color options. The pens range from $40 to $60, and you can choose from black, polished steel, black and rose gold, or matte steel finishes along with a range of EF to B nib sizes.

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

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Posted on April 10, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Faber-Castell, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Old but New to Me: 1970s Montblanc 149

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Let me introduce you to Walter, my 1970s Montblanc 149. I looked long and hard for just the right 149. I knew I didn’t want a modern one. I wanted one that was lovingly used with a 14k nib with some bounce to it.

I chanced upon some desirable Montblancs on the Fountain Pen Geeks “For Sale” forum. But they were all sold before I could snag one. The seller, Barry Gabay, let me know that he had some others I might be interested in. Sure enough, he had a 1970s Montblanc 149 with a bouncy 14k nib. I bought it, completely unaware that I was purchasing it from the editor of Pen World Magazine!

When the pen arrived, I immediately fell in love. When I fall in love with a pen, I usually give it a name. There was no question he would be named “Walter.” I am a rabid Breaking Bad fan, and this gorgeous black 149 made me think of Walter White in his Heisenberg Pork Pie hat.

Of course, my Walter isn’t an evil meth maker, he’s just an innocent victim of my fountain pen addiction.

Like Walter White, my Walter has a few bruises and scars. These do not bother me in the least--in fact, I love that Walter’s finish bears marks of use. It gives him character.

The 149 is a large pen, measuring 5.8 inches/147mm capped, 5.2 inches/132mm uncapped, and 6.6 inches/168mm posted. It is perfectly balanced, and I adore large pens. My 149 has plastic piston threads, and the piston works flawlessly--as smooth as Heisenberg talking himself out of a tight situation.

The cap has a simple clip, somewhat brassed, but that’s what a rough life will do to you. The cap ring is engraved with Montblanc Meisterstück No. 149. “Germany” appears in tiny letters on the clip band.

The most stunning thing about any MB 149 is the enormous nib. This gorgeous hunk of 14k gold is tritone with beautiful scrollwork, the Montblanc logo, and the number 4810 (the height in meters of Mont Blanc).

The nib is a medium and is juicy, smooth, and bouncy. The solid ebonite feed supplies plenty of Kobe Mikage Grey ink to the nib. Walter is a delightful writer. He and I have collaborated on some rather dark poetry and prose.

I know some people think that Montblancs are overrated and ostentatious. I disagree. Even though the pen is large and can command attention, the simplicity of this black and gold cigar-shaped pen also allows it to be classic and stealthy--like black Ray-Bans over piercing green eyes. Yes. Go ahead and say it: “I am the danger.”

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Posted on April 5, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Montblanc, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Laban Ocean Blue Fountain Pen: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Laban Pen Company is a Taiwanese brand founded in 1981. Their motto is “Refill your soul by writing.” I tried to find out more about the company, visiting their website and Facebook page, but neither of these offered any specifics about the founders. The company sees itself as carrying on the long tradition of writing by hand and creating beautiful instruments to aid in that process.

I’ve never owned or used a Laban pen, so I was excited about the opportunity to try the Ocean Blue fountain pen. It comes in a black clamshell cardboard box.

The Laban Ocean is part of a two-pen series called “Land and Sea” (the other pen is the Laban Forest). The blue acrylic barrel is meant to mimic “waves breaking gently on the sand” (Facebook Post February 13). The remainder of the pen (cap, grip, bottom section of the barrel) is a marbled ivory color.

The pen is adorned with gold-plated accents. The cap has a medal-like finial with the Laban crest.

It also has two thin gold bands at the top, a gold spring-loaded clip, and a wide gold band near the bottom, etched with the company name. The acrylic is thick and the cap is sturdy and of excellent quality.

The body of the pen is made of the same thick acrylic. The grip and bottom of the barrel are both accented with gold rings (two where the barrel meets the grip and one between the barrel and the bottom of the pen). This is a large pen, measuring 5.9 inches/150mm capped, 5.2 inches/132mm uncapped, and 6.8 inches/172mm posted. Because the cap weighs 14 grams all by itself, posting really throws the balance off.

Not only is the acrylic thick, but the threads inside the grip and the barrel are metal, adding extra weight to the pen. The pen weighs 34 grams overall.

The Laban converter is plastic and inserts into the metal portion of the grip. I found that the converter slips in and out a bit too easily. I’d like it to be more snug.

My Laban has a gold-plated, stainless steel fine nib with engraved scroll work and nib size. The number 3952, “Laban,” and “Germany,” seem to be printed or etched onto the nib. This is the only detail that detracts from the pen. Close up, you can see that these items seem smudged. I searched long and hard to discover why the number 3952 is etched on the nib. 3,952 meters is the height of Yushan Mountain (the highest mountain in Taiwan), so perhaps this is why the number appears.

The nib is a smooth writer, but it does not offer any flex, bounce, or line variation. Still, the feed provides plenty of ink to the nib which is juicy and fun to write with. I’ve not experienced any dry starts, skipping, or rough writing with this nib, even though the tines are slightly misaligned.

I am deeply impressed with the Laban Ocean Blue fountain pen. I took it to a faculty meeting yesterday, and everyone at the table wanted to look at it. The ivory and blue acrylics work really well together, all the gold accents make this pen look like a high-end luxury pen, and the pen has the heft of a Montblanc 149. You can purchase the Laban Ocean Blue from Vanness for $104.00, which I think is an incredible price for so much elegance.

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

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