The Well-Appointed Desk

Fountain Pen Review: Laban 300 Skeleton Fountain Pen in Rose Gold

Goldspot is a lovely sponsor of the Well-Appointed Desk and recently they asked if there were any pens we would like to review on loan. YES! I asked to try the Laban 300 Skeleton Fountain Pen in Rose Gold ($207.95).

When the Skeleton first came out I was smitten with the look. There’s something about the modern metalwork over the acrylic resin demonstrator body. It was like the best of all the body types I love!

For all the rose gold detailing, the Laban Skeleton weighs in at only 31g when empty, and I was surprised how light it was compared to what I was expecting. It felt very comfortable in my hand, weighty enough to feel substantial, but light enough that my hand wasn’t fatigued holding it. Lengthwise, the Laban comes in at 5.4″ (136mm) when capped, and 5″ (128mm) when uncapped. The cap does post, but I found that made the pen top heavy, and I preferred to write without posting.

In comparison to some of my other favorite pens, the Laban is slightly smaller than what I consider my “larger” pens:

(L to R: TWSBI ECO Rose Gold, Laban 300 Skeleton in Rose Gold, Platinum 3776 Chartres Blue, Carolina Pen Company Charleston)

You may have noticed I haven’t discussed the nib yet. That is because I feel like the nib is the only weak point of the pen. The Laban Skeleton uses two-toned Bock steel nibs (available F, M, and B), imprinted with the Laban logo. The nib was perfectly serviceable; it wrote smoothly right out of the gate and was of a quality of I expect of Bock nibs. I admit I normally don’t fuss about steel nibs, but in this case, with so much rose gold on the pen, I really think the Skeleton would benefit from a matching nib, even if it made the pen a bit more expensive. What do you think?

Overall, I really like the look and feel of this pen, nib notwithstanding. Other finishes are available (Chrome, Gun Metal) but the Rose Gold has a warm look that I really love and the pen was a smooth writer. Add a Rose Gold nib and this would probably be a buy-it-now for me!

Paper: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
Pen: Laban 300 Skeleton Fountain Pen in Rose Gold ($207.95)
Inks: J. Herbin Poussière de Lune($12.95, 30mL)

DISCLAIMER: The Laban 300 Rose Gold included in this review was provided to us on loan by Goldspot for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Art of the Day

Eye Candy: Kaweco Sport Coral

AnaFebruary 17, 2020February 3, 2021147 Comments

More and more pen companies and pen shops are getting into the special edition game. So it comes as little surprise that limited edition Kaweco Sports are slowly making their way west. I acquired a set of special edition Kaweco Sports from Hong Kong a couple years ago (in the Pantone Colors of the Year: Rose Quartz and Serenity Blue).

The Kaweco Sport Coral by Fontoplumo (€29.50) is the most recent special edition. It comes in two hardware trim colors, gold and silver.

Coral was the Color of the Year last year but it’s still a popular color. It’s such a warm color. Though I have a hard time deciding if the silver hardware or gold accompanies the coral color better.

Either color trim looks good with the coral, in my opinion.

Printed in matching foil on the opposite side of the cap from the Kaweco Sport logo is “Coral by Fontoplumo”. The Coral with gold hardware has gold foil lettering, the Coral silver has silver foil lettering.

I am a huge fan of the Guilloche hatching designs on the Kaweco Sports. It adds just something that makes the pens look classic and dresses up the simple plastic barrel and cap. I have a black Guilloche Sport that I used so much I rubbed the patterning off. Then I misplaced it. Thankfully, Fontoplumo luckily had one still available some years back so I was able to get another one. So, the Coral edition with Guilloche is extra special.

Are you ready to start building your own Kaweco Sport rainbow? The Coral is a great place to start.

The Giveaway

I am giving away one Kaweco Sport Coral. Winner will get to choose whether they want the gold or silver hardware.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me how many Kaweco Sport pens you own. If you don’t have any, do you have multiples of another pen? Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, February 21, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 7 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Fontoplumo for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In news

Winner: Baron Fig Savor Notebook

AnaFebruary 17, 2020February 16, 2020Leave a comment

Thanks to everyone who entered the Baron Fig Savor Notebook giveaway. And thanks for not only describing your favorite recipes but actually including them in your comment! Most appreciated!

If you’re looking for some foodie inspiration, check out the comments for the post. There are some super tasty-looking recipes! There is everything from pancake recipes and sausage casserole to vegan-friendly cheesecake, cabbage and farro soup and some cocktail recipes!

Our winner is:

Thanks for the pesto recipe and major bonus points for the “nooch” hack. For non-vegans, nooch is nutritional yeast. It’s a great source of protein and B vitamins and adds a richer texture to food since vegans don’t have the luxury of eating cheese or butter. (I’m lactose-intolerant so even if I wasn’t meat-free, I’d still have to be dairy-free!)

I have contacted Ian directly and will send out his shiny new notebook this week.

Thanks again to everyone who played along. Look for more giveaways soon! I’m going to go enter all the great recipes into my copy of the Savor notebook now.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Baron Fig for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Fountain Pen Review

Pen Review: Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen

AnaFebruary 14, 2020March 17, 202012 Comments

The Prefounte ($10) is a new entry-level fountain pen from Platinum. It features a similar design to the Preppy but with an upgraded metal clip and more sophisticated body colors.

The Prefounte pen comes in retail display packaging with one cartridge. The pen is large enough for a converter and it’s probably possible to eyedropper fill it too if you’re particularly bold.

I picked the Dark Emerald body color which is a deep green with a hint of blue. It’s a really pretty color. In the hand, uncapped, the Prefounte is exactly like the Preppy. The body has the same shape and size as the Preppy and essentially the same weight.

Above is the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen (PCDP) ($13.75), the Prefounte, and the Preppy ($4-5). These are the entry level plastic pens from Platinum. The Prefounte and Preppy are clearly the same size and shape with the clip being the only difference. The Carbon Desk Pen is much longer and doesn’t profess to have the “1 Year No Dry” promise but the nib is wicked fine.

The Prefounte and Preppy both feature snap and seal caps. The PCDP has a friction seal cap. I love the PCDP. It writes super fine and handles permanent carbon ink with aplomb. It’s fugly as hell though.

Above, the nibs are pictured side-by-side. My Preppy nib is dirty! But despite being in a drawer for who-know-how-long, it still writes which is what the Prefounte also professes to do. The PCDP usually has a steel nib. Mine is a special 14K version I found on a Japanese web site. My steel nib PCDP have all been given away. Artists love the PCDP for drawing and replaces the thousands of felt tip pens we all seem to churn through.

In writing tests, the Prefounte 03 is super smooth but a little wider writing than a lot of Japanese fine or extrafine nibs.

So, I imagine you want to know if I recommend the Prefounte? If you already own one or more Preppy pens, then you don’t really need to purchase the Prefounte.

If you are looking for a gateway pen to get someone into fountain pens, the Prefounte may be more convincing than the Preppy. Aesthetically, its nicer looking than the Preppy however, Platinum pens do require a proprietary cartridges or converter ($8.25).

For the same $18+ dollars, you could buy the (IMHO, fugly) TWSBI Go ($19.50) which is a piston-filler pen so there’s no need for proprietary cartridges or converters. The Kaweco Perkeo ($16) takes standard international cartridges or converters ($2.50+) so it’s also in a similar price range and easier to find cartridges/converters for newbies. Finally, the Pilot Kakuno ($11.75-$12.50) is a similar-sized pen and there’s one proprietary converter ($7.25) I recommend. So, the winky Kakuno is also a good option.

The looks of the Prefounte is probably the most sophisticated of the lot but I’m not sure that validates the $7 price hike from the Preppy.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature, Fountain Pen Review, news, Pen Review

Pen Review: Sailor Lucky Charm and a Music Nib

Jessica ColesFebruary 13, 2020February 13, 20204 Comments

By Jessica Coles

Recently I wrote a post about a local art supply store (Meininger’s) that happens to have a wonderful selection of ink and fountain pen friendly paper. Well, I did forget to mention it also has a huge variety of pens. Among these pens I forgot to rave about are Sailor pens. But last weekend, there were so many more Sailors!

On February 9th, Sailor sent a representative (Rachel) to our little corner of the world to offer Coloradans a chance to use all of the standard Sailor nib sizes, see all of the standard Sailor pens side by side, hold and see up close the newest North American exclusive Sailors, and to even see a few King of Pens and Bespoke nibs. The event was called the Sailor Trunk show and there was a great turn-out of pen folks.

Later in my visit, I learned that my new friend Rachel (the Sailor representative) had the privilege of being the one to choose the names for the most recent North America exclusive Sailors – the 4am and the Lucky Charm pens.

I had a terrible time trying to decide between these pens. The ruthenium trim on the Sailor 4am called to me, even though I typically stay away from the 1911 series in favor of the Pro Gear Slim (these two models only differ in the shape of the end cap and finial). But it was the teal color and the two-tone nib that won me over in the end. Pro Gear Slim pens do not often offer a two-tone nib and it looks amazing on the Lucky Charm pen.

The size of the nib was another factor that pulled me toward the Lucky Charm pen – a music nib. Over the years, I have acquired each Sailor nib size offered in the standard line-up (no special Bespoke nibs). Since I typically prefer fine line widths, I stayed away from the Zoom and Music nibs – these produce a much broader line. But last year I dove into a Zoom nib and found that I loved the experience.

The Sailor Zoom nib is a nib that changes line width based on the angle at which it is held. When the pen is held at a low angle (closer to horizontal), the width can be quite broad (broader than a music nib). As the angle increases (going toward 90 degrees away from the page), the line changes to fine. The nib can even be flipped over – reverse writing – and the line is extra fine. The nib on the left is a Zoom nib.

I have yet to find a Sailor nib that I dislike. Below are nib sizes (from left to right) Zoom, music, broad, medium, medium-fine, fine, and extra fine.

Here’s a view of the pens themselves.

I was a bit tickled when I found out that I had several Sailor models that my new friend Rachel had never seen! With the incredible number of Sailor variations and special editions available, it shouldn’t be surprising, though. Sailor seems to have a special talent for colors and combinations that make each pen into a story.

Thank you to all of the staff at Meininger’s and our Sailor representative Rachel who had to deal with many very excited pen fans! I hope this gathering is not the last of its kind!

DISCLAIMER: All of the items included in this review were purchased with my own money for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Ain’t Getting It Done

AnaFebruary 12, 2020February 12, 20203 Comments

This week is the week leading up to the impending lay-offs at work. So, the sign above, from a post on Design You Trust, suits my outlook to a tee. I added in a screenshot from another Design You Trust post featuring honest Valentine’s greetings. Right now, it’s snowing buckets in Kansas City and I am getting a new laptop at work (the irony of the timing!) so I am definitely not getting anything done today as I race the clock, the weather and the weirdness of setting up a new laptop. Sure, there’s some “set-up” with a new notebook but it never leaves me with the kind of dread that a new laptop does. How about you?

Pen Review: TWSBI ECO White Rosegold Fountain Pen

Laura CameronFebruary 11, 2020March 17, 202010 Comments

Review by Laura Cameron

I haven’t bought a new pen in a while, though I’ve been tempted by many of TWSBI’s recent offerings (I’m looking at you MINT BLUE). But when the ECO White Rosegold (Lemur Ink, $49.99) edition came up for sale, I didn’t really stop and think, just hit pre-order.

The ECO White Rosegold is basically exactly like the rest of the TWSBI ECOs, with the exception of the Rosegold plating on the nib, clip and rings. TWSBI shares that the plating process is a bit more intensive for the Rosegold editions, and so this run is a limited and a bit pricier than most runs of ECOs.

I do have a clear ECO to compare it to, so I’ve done so here.

I love my TWSBI ECO. The first one I bought was over 3 years ago, and it has served me well. My original ECO has a medium nib and is almost always full with Platinum Classic Lavender Black. Though I’ve been warned that iron gall inks can stain pens, my TWSBI seems to have escaped that fate. It’s a consistent writer and, even if I put it down for long periods of time, writes well as soon as I pick it up, rarely even needing water or priming to re-start.

My biggest dilemma when using the Rosegold ECO was what color ink to choose? I opted for bright pink (Diamine Hope Pink) thinking it would complement the Rosegold, but I also think a bright green would do it justice. What color would you use?

Overall, I like the finishing work on this ECO so even if it isn’t vastly different from the first one I own, I’m happy to have another TWSBI in my pen case, and one that sparkles a bit differently at that!

DISCLAIMER: All of the items included in this review were purchased with my own money for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The Giveaway

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Type & Calligraphy:

Other Interesting Things: