Posts filed under Laban

Laban 325 Fountain Pen Review

Founded in Taiwan in 1981, Laban has been present in the fountain pen world for a while, but only came on my radar in the last several years. In using the Laban 325, I can only wonder what took me so long?

I’ve had this pen inked up on and off for the past three months, and every time I pick it up and write with it, the same group of words come to mind. Solid. Nice. Pretty. Quality. Fun. What more can I ask for from a pen? Not much. The Pen Addict Review Crew have been reviewing Laban fountain pens since 2019, to generally high praise, and I’m only going to add to the chorus today.

Let’s start with what you see: the barrel. The 325 is on the larger size of the scale, especially given the cap overhang. The design works together as a whole, but the initial visual is that this is a big pen. When in user mode, aka uncapped, the 325 hits the perfect user length at just over five inches. The diameter befits its size, with a tapered section providing a nice grip area.

Aesthetically, the 325 features three distinct visual areas. With this Sun model, both ends use an Ivory marbled acrylic, with the heart of the barrel showing off a beautiful Orange cracked acrylic. Many of the 325’s are designed similarly, with different color acrylics taking prominence on the barrel.

Laban 325 Fountain Pen Safari — *LAMY Safari for scale.*

Gold trim wins the day on the 325, with the clip, finial, barrel and cap bands, and matching gold plating on the steel nib. The nib itself is Laban-branded Jowo #6, and the Medium tip was perfect out of the box. This is an international cartridge/converter filler, and ships with Laban marked on the converter.

Writing comfort is perfect for me. To say that I don’t notice the pen when writing is a high compliment. When I’m putting ink on the page, I want nothing more to get into the flow. I don’t want to think about the pen, nib, ink, or paper. The 325 allows for that.

Should you consider trying out a Laban fountain pen, specifically the 325? At $128, it doesn’t have a lot of price competition. The entire $75 to $150 range is honestly a bit confusing. Benu, Narwhal, and Opus 88 do well here, fancy Kaweco’s live here, maybe some solid maker pens. The 325 is one of the lower priced Laban pens, and has some of the Leonardo Momento Zero feel to it for around $40 less. So yes, I think they are compelling.

*L’Ecritoire ink, from Paris. Courtesy of a pen friend.*

Laban makes several different styles of pens in their lineup, and given the feel and functionality of the 325, I’m interested in moving on up the price bracket to see if the value proposition continues to hold. Seems like a good plan for 2025.

(This pen was provided by Luxury Brands USA at no charge for purposes of this review.)

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Posted on January 27, 2025 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Laban, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Laban Hermes Sky Blue Ink Review

Laban Hermes Sky Blue ink is an addition to my "didn't know they made ink too" list, but this is a list that I'm always happy to see expand. We definitely don't have a shortage of ink choices these days.

My only exposure to Laban in the past has been their fountain pens and other ballpoint/rollerball writing instruments. They're a luxury brand on the more affordable side that offer a lot of unique and attractive designs. Until recently, I thought that's all they did. But it turns out they also make their own ink.

Hermes is just one ink out of the Greek Mythology collection, all of which are bold and striking colors. Hermes is a bright sky blue that really pops off the page. It's just dark enough to be easy to read while still obviously being sky blue. Compared to other sky blues from other ink makers, it's definitely on the lighter side.

The ink shades easily from the pervasive sky blue to a lighter sky blue as it dries. It's not a large amount of shading, but it provides some character and flair to the ink. Once the ink dries, I can detect a very small amount of bright sheen in some angles. It's not enough to even name the color of the sheen, but it does add a dynamic look to the dried ink on the page.

Dry time is pretty average when comparing to other inks. Typical strokes from a medium nib are dry in around 15-20 seconds, while larger strokes from a wider nib take between 20 and 30 seconds to dry. Nothing to write home about, but decent. For left-handed writers, this won't be a great option since it doesn't dry fast enough to avoid hand smudges while writing.

The flow of this ink is a little on the dry side. It's not enough to make the nib feel dry or scratchy, but it does mean nib/feed combos that lean to the dry side might struggle to supple enough ink. It does fine in the nibs I've tried, but I can definitely tell that the ink feeds slower than most inks. Not a good choice for a nib that you know is already a little scratchy, but it feels fine in a well-tuned nib.

One thing I noticed pretty quickly is that this ink can behave a little erratically on different types of papers. It does well when writing on coated papers (like Rhodia), but can be splotchy or invisible in some areas on uncoated paper. There's a good example of this on the swatch card in the photos. There are a couple of spots on the card that look much lighter than the rest. This is likely due to some sort of small imperfection in the paper stock that the ink refused to soak into for some reason. I've noticed it on other papers that aren't coated, so it must be something in the ink formula that makes it less resilient on different paper types. Not a dealbreaker, but an oddity that needs to be pointed out.

At $25 for a 50ml bottle, Hermes Sky Blue is priced a bit higher than other inks of the same size. Not to single anyone out, but for comparison's sake, a 50ml bottle of Robert Oster ink is $18, and that's an ink brand that almost always delivers flawless performance. I'd rate the behavior of Hermes Sky Blue behind the Robert Oster inks I've used, so that's worth considering given the price. I'd be happier and more willing to recommend it if it were closer to the $15-20 mark. Since I've only tried one ink from Laban, I can't say yet if their other inks are on par with this performance, but I certainly hope they behave a little better than Hermes Sky Blue. I'm definitely keeping my eye on them and looking forward to trying other inks from their lineup.

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

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Posted on October 2, 2024 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Laban, Ink Reviews.

Laban Rosa Sky Blue 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.)

We're no stranger to Laban pens around here, and I have yet to be disappointed by one. Sure, they don't quite compete with the likes of Sailor, Pilot, and Platinum, but they're a solid fountain pen manufacturer with a unique style and excellent quality.

The Laban Rosa fountain pen is an acrylic resin pen that takes inspiration from the neoclassical style when it comes to the trim, but uses a fairly standard pen shape that fits great in the hand.

The part that stands out to my eye is the collar at the mouth of the cap. It reminds me of Roman or Greek designs from art history, but also fits right in with the overall aesthetic of the pen. The warm gold finish isn't my first pick against the sky blue acrylic, but it still manages to look fantastic. I'd be interested in seeing a variant of the sky blue Rosa with fatigued nickel finish, but that's not likely to happen. As is, the cap band looks fantastic and feels great in the hand. It feels like a solid piece that's been engraved versus a few cheap parts glued together.

Moving up the cap to the clip, it uses the same gold finish to cover a stout clip with simple angular features. It's a perfect fit for the rest of the pen, and it functions perfectly. This pen won't go anywhere when you've secured it with the clip.

The finials of the pen are a cone shape with a soft tip. This gives the ends a distinct look without scratching or poking your hands or getting caught on fabric. I like the sharp cone aesthetic paired with the rest of the pen — adds just a little more interest to the pen.

The grip section of this pen is the same acrylic material as the rest of the pen. It's a smooth finish and feels warm in the hand after handling the pen for a few seconds. Even though it's smooth, it has plenty of grip when writing. Similar to every other acrylic resin pen I've used in the past!

The German Bock is a two-tone finish with the same Laban scrollwork that they use on their other nibs. The size of the nib is perfect for the rest of the pen body.

The nib looks good, but how does it perform? So far, so good! It had a small flow issue at first, but moving the tines a tad fixed the issue in a few seconds. The nib is smooth and easy-flowing — exactly what you want from a fine German nib.

Along with the pen, Laban includes a simple cartridge converter — perfect for filling up with your ink of choice to match the sky blue material. It also fits international cartridges if you want to go that route. And, as an added bonus, there's a small bookmark included in the pen box.

The Laban Rosa is available from Vanness for $140 with a choice of EF, F, M, or B nib size. If the sky blue material isn't your thing, there are several (eight!) other fantastic materials available. For the price, I think the Rosa is a good value. This is a hot price range, so there's no shortage of excellent options out there. Still, it's great to see another acrylic resin pen that uses gorgeous materials to create a handsome writing instrument that also writes really well. This kind of pen makes an excellent gift for something looking for a stylish and unique fountain pen, or even a splurge for yourself!

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

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