February Sponsor Spotlight

Sponsor support is very important to me here at The Pen Addict. My sidebar advertisers put their faith in me to deliver good value for them month in and month out, and I want to shine the light on the best of the best for you. If you are shopping for pens, paper, inks, and more, please check out these great companies and see what they have to offer. Some recent highlights:

Vanness Pens has the new Kaweco Lavender Collection in stock, led by the practically perfect Lavender Skyline Sport.

JetPens received the stunning new TWSBI ECO Smoke Rose Gold fountain pen, which is a great addition to the classic ECO lineup.

Pen Chalet posted the latest from Conklin, the Duragraph Rainbow Ballpoint and Fountain Pen. You need to see these to appreciate their awesomeness.

Goldspot has the newest color of the popular Pilot Custom 74 in Forest Green with Silver Trim. It’s a great addition to an already great lineup.

Scribo Feel A Riveder Le Stelle 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.)

After I reviewed the Scribo Feel Amarena several months ago, I was smitten with the flex nib Italian pen. I discovered a special edition, available only from Scrittura Bolognese, called A Riveder Le Stelle ("to see again the stars"). Midnight blue with a sprinkling of white like the Milky Way, the pen called to me and I answered.

The pen comes in the usual grey-blue box associated with Scribo pens. There's a cotton and leather two-pen roll-up case inside, along with information about the pen and a warranty card.

In addition I received a hand-written card from Scribo and a complementary bottle of ink.

There's also a commemorative book included that features the Cineteca of Bologna.

La Riveder Le Stelle is a line from Dante's Divine Comedy. Dante and Virgil, emerging from Hell, observe the starry sky and exult in being able to see the stars again. After our year of Hell (i.e. 2020) Scribo created this pen with the hope that soon we will all be free to observe the stars, both literal and figurative. La Riveder Le Stelle is, therefore, a tribute to the stars of the cinema. 10% of the revenue from the pen is donated to Cineteca of Bologna to assist with the recovery and restoration projects of Immagine Ritrovata.

The pen features handmade midnight blue resin speckled with white. Trims are platinum and the 14k flex nib is white gold. Scribo Feel pens have a distinctive dodecagonal shape with curves that taper towards the mid-section of the pen.

This is a large pen, measuring 148mm/5.83 inches capped and 136mm/5.35 inches uncapped. The cap does not post. Capped and filled with ink, the pen weighs 39.15 grams. Uncapped and filled with ink it weighs 21.3 grams. The grip is a comfortable 11.28mm. A piston filler, the Scribo can hold 1.42ml of ink.

The screw-on cap features a finial etched with a quill, a rather tight clip, and a cap ring inscribed with "Scribo Feel the Writing."

There's a sharp drop from the barrel of the pen to the grip, but the grip is lengthy, so your fingers never come in contact with the drop or the barrel threads. The rounded shape of the barrel fits snugly between your thumb and forefinger. The pen is well-balanced in the hand and extremely comfortable for writing.

I opted for the 14k fine flex nib. The nib has a tiny bit of plain scrollwork and the words "Feel the Flex Scribo," along with the gold content. The fine nib is smooth and arrived perfectly tuned.

To assist with the ink demands of flex, the nib is fitted with an ebonite feed with two capillaries. I've not experienced any ink starvation or railroading when writing with this nib even when flexing.

Although no modern nib can really compete with vintage flex nibs, the Scribo Feel nib is very good. It's a smooth, trouble-free writer unflexed. Flexed, it provides excellent line variation, up to 2mm wide.

Unfortunately, I've managed to knock the tines a bit out of alignment. Clearly, I pushed the nib too far while experimenting, so I suspect a nibmeister is in my future.

The Scribo A Riveder Le Stelle is limited to 100 pieces, and you can only find it at Scrittura Bolognese. It costs €581.97 (approximately $709, depending on exchange rates). That's a pretty penny for a resin fountain pen, but this pen is so solid in the hand, so beautifully made, and such a great writer that I believe it's worth it.

(I purchased the Scribo A Riveder Le Stelle from Scrittura Bolognese with my own funds.)

---

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!

Galen Leather Sketchbox 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 check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

One of my most prized possessions is an antique writing box from the 1860s. I found it in an antique shop in Pennsylvania when I was there visiting my grandmother. I'd seen many before, and always wanted one, but they're highly prized and often highly priced. This one, however, needed repair, and the shopkeeper sold it to me like he wanted it gone. I've yet to have it repaired. I kind of treasure it in its worn state--this writing box was used well. Now it sits on my dresser and is often admired. Someday I'll collect more antique writing boxes.

In the meantime, there are excellent folks like Galen Leather keeping the portable writing box tradition alive. And while I haven't yet taken the spendy plunge on their official Writing Box (I will, though--maybe for the holidays if I've been very good), this more affordable Wooden Sketchbox caught my eye (and my heart) immediately.

Made from walnut wood, with a solid brass clip and red felt lining, this sketchbox looks fancy, and I feel fancy when I use it. The wood is smoothed to a satiny finish--there is no texture to it at all, so it works well as a surface for writing or drawing. The brass clip is held in place with two adjustable bolts, and the underside of the clip has two padded feet that keep your papers in place. It can hold a decent stack of papers, but not quite the quantity that a clipboard would.

On the left side of the box is a hole where you can insert your finger to push the drawer out on the right side. The drawer is held shut by a small swiveling metal leaf. The swivel does tend to move on its own a bit, and I wouldn't rely on it to hold the drawer shut under any kind of agitation, but it does well enough to hold it during regular writing or carrying.

The drawer itself is large enough to hold unbound A4 papers or A5 notebooks, though it is fairly shallow. My Seven Seas Writer notebook comes to the top edge. The downside to this is that not many pen or pencil cases will fit inside, so writing instruments almost have to go in loose, which isn't going to work well for something that you carry around. The drawer does have a small wooden board that can be inserted to divide the drawer space, if you desire. However, it doesn't have a very tight fit, so mine just ends up rattling around once the box is lifted. Honestly, I've found that piece more useful as a straight-edge for drawing charts in my planner.

Despite the shallow drawer, I find myself using this sketch box a lot. It makes a great lap desk for reading or writing. If I want to sit in my comfy chair while I type, I use this as a surface under my laptop so it doesn't overheat. I do carry some note paper, gel pens, and pencils in the drawer--just not delicate fountain pens. Overall, I really enjoy this sketchbox. Who knows, someday maybe it will be sitting, in disrepair from good use, in an antique shop where it will make someone's day.

(This item was purchased at retail directly from Galen Leather.)

---

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!