Pens of Note - Laban

Pens of Note are those pens of my collection that rank as something special.

About the Company

The company's was founded in 1981 in Taipei, starting as an export business and then commenced manufacturing their own pens. Additional information on Laban is found in the Pen Companies are of the site.

Mento

I acquired my first Laban pen, the Mento, from the on-line retailer, i.sellpens.com - and found Todd Nussbaum to give very prompt service. The pens were well packaged, shipped at a reasonable rate, and arrived on schedule.

I had heard about Laban but had never come across the line of pens here in Vancouver. I was looking for a general use pen, at a reasonable price. The Mento looked like it would fill that slot.

The Laban Mento is a large pen with a vintage look. It was the size and look of the pen that drew me to think about getting it. I find that I am writing with larger and larger pens now. The pen is long, measuring over 6 inches in length with the cap posted. My comments on posting the cap follow. And the size of the body is big, with the diameter being 18mm (nearly 3/4inch) at its widest part. So with those characteristics it was a pen that I wanted to try. It turns out it sits very well in my hand.

Laban created this line with a bold look. They were successful. There is a classic look to the pen, yet because of its size, it really stands out.

Although it is a big pen to hold, the body and cap are all resin so it is very light weight in the hand.

The body and cap of the pen are made from italian resins and the two models that I selected have a particular classic appearance. The clip and the ring at the bottom of the cap are platinum plated and look substantial enough for the size of the pen.

The only draw back to the pen is that with one of the pens, the cap will not stay posted on the pen when I write. I can post the pen, but when I put in on the desk, that is enough for the posted cap to release.

While some may think having the cap posted is not needed, given the size of the pen, I disagree. The smooth round body will start to roll down the desk top in seconds!

I would not want to damage the nib and it is a nib that is a very smooth writer. Iridium tipped, steel nibs are good and although I could have upgraded to a gold nib I did not. The primary reason I did not is that the gold nibs do not come in Broad width. The Broad nib writes like a good thick medium and I could not have written with the medium nib. But also, I like finding a reasonably price, steel nib pen. It always makes the point, you don't have to pay close to a $1,000 for a good pen.

Laban Mento, Terrazo Fountain Pen

Laban Mento, Cracked Ice Fountain Pen

I started with one, I found the service from isellpens.com to be top notch. I was impressed with how quickly the order was processed and the reasonable shipping price. Sometimes I think than the shipping fee is just another way that some retailers get the profit margin up! But not so with isellpens.com - I was pleased to get an email to let me know the shipping would be less and the difference credited back to me. With that I ordered a second!

The Terrazzo Marble (on the left in the picture above) is very close in appearance to the Cracked Ice but I never just want to have one! I am now sitting the edge considering the Celebration Red.