A man, a plan, a trash can. Sometimes you have to throw it all away and start fresh, which is what I did with this week’s show notes. The results were … lovely.
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(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!)
If you were one pen brand, which brand would you be? I'm Benu. Sure, we'd all like to think we're Nakayas, but I've met me. If I were to anger a wizard and he turned me into a pen, I'd end up something like this pen. If I'm lucky.
This new wild offering from Benu is part of the Skull and Roses Collection, which comes in three colors of fountain pen and rollerball configurations, all in this gorgeously decorated cigar shape. It's available in all transparent red, all black, or in this striking two-tone version.
The pen is made from lightweight acrylic resin. The background has a crackled matte texture and the decorative overlay is shiny, which gives it fantastic dimension. The carved shapes are of thorned branches, leaves, and roses, with the skulls circling the middle cap band. The overall effect makes it look like the vined porch pillar of a Gothic mansion.
The cap screws off to reveal the clear-red grip section. It's long and narrow with a taper toward the nib, and very comfortable to hold. Some may find it a bit too narrow. The pen overall is fairly small. The cap doesn't really post, as all the texture on the pen body prevents it from getting a good grip. The texture does prevent the pen and cap from rolling away, however, so you can set the cap aside with confidence.
While the texture looks sharp, it feels smooth, so it doesn't interfere with the comfort of writing at all. And the pen is so light that the shapes don't dig into the hand at all.
The nib is a Schmidt #5, which works well with this smaller pen size. It writes nicely and is less of a firehose than my other Benu pens have been. It's smooth and the Fine point is a true Fine. It comes with a converter and also takes standard international cartridges. Of course you must fill it with your most Gothic ink on hand.
This model of Benu costs around $163, in keeping with the brand's other special edition offerings. It's a very fair price, and less than I'd have been willing to pay for it.
Benu continues to surprise and delight me. I'm with you in all your skulls and sparkles, Benu. We're kindred spirits.
(Luxury Brands provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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The Nebula by Colorverse Casual A5 notebook is a sleek spiral-bound notebook that really checks a lot of boxes. You probably know Colorverse from their amazing inks, and they know what it takes to pair a good ink with good paper.
The notebook is one of the most minimalist designs I've seen lately. The front and back cover are a thin cardstock with almost nothing printed on them. The front cover has a few stars in the upper right corner to add a little flair, and the back cover has some manufacturing information on the notebook. The inside covers are both blank, and there are no pockets or sleeves. The stars on the front cover are so easy to miss that it's delightful when the light catches them in a way that draws in your attention.
The double spiral binding is strong and easy to turn through the pages (meaning the pages don't clog up in the spiral binding when you turn through several pages). A good spiral notebook is hard to ignore given how they can lay absolutely flat, but this never stops me from buying notebooks with perfect binding. The covers are lightweight and sturdy, but they wouldn't put up with much abuse. The rounded corners make it easy to slip in and out of a bag or pouch without anything snagging, which is good since you'll most likely only carry this inside something to protect the cover and spiral binding.
The paper inside the notebook is an off-white color, but not close to ivory or cream paper. Each page is perforated, making it easy to cleanly remove pages. The 90gsm paper makes for a fantastic writing experience. It's a smooth paper with a small amount of tactile feedback when writing. If there's a coating on the surface, I can't tell it's there. Ink behaves really well on the paper, which makes me really happy since an ink company put their name on this notebook. There isn't any feathering or bleeding, and show-through to the back of the page is impressively minimal. The back pages are definitely useful even when using wetter/broader nibs. The version I have is lined paper, but you can also get dot grid and blank. No matter what version of the paper you choose, you get 120 pages of this delicious 90gsm paper.
At $15, the Nebula Casual A5 notebook is a great value. It performs exceedingly well and really holds its own with other more established paper products. This isn't just a gimmick notebook to cash in some extra profits — this is a fantastic notebook that was made by (and for) people that understand what makes a great writing experience. I highly recommend picking one up when you have a chance. If orange isn't your thing, you can also find turquoise, baby pink, black, navy, and green.
(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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!
