Laban is Taiwanese-based pen company that I’ve had a lot of experience with using so I was quite excited to get a chance to test one of their fountain pens.
The Laban Rosa Fountain Pen ($140) in Lilac with the Medium nib is an acrylic resin pen with gold tone hardware. The Rosa line includes several other color options. The cap bands on the other designs look like a Greek Key repeating pattern while the Lilac has an etched branded cap band. Its a medium-sized pen, similart in overal dimensions to a Leonardo Momento Zero in size and shape.
The pen ships in a simple paperboard drawer box and includes the pen and a converter.
The colors of the Lilac are a swirl of green, grey and a periwinkle blue violet. It’s accented with the warm gold hardware and a two-tone nib.
The nib is a smooth writer with a bit of bounce. It’s not flexible but does have a gentle spring when used.
I attempted to match some ink colors to the pen. Which color is your favorite?
I chose the Ayame originally since it has a similar color range. But it ended up being a little too light for the medium nib so I went with the Pen BBS No. 224 Tolstoy.
Because of the bounce in the nib, it doesn’t lay down a lot of ink for an over-handed left-handed writer.
When I switched to underwriting (the middle sample) the color was much deeper and the line weights were a bit thicker. There was even a little bit of line variation as a result of the bounce in the nib.
I was a bit surprised to discover the bounce in the Laban nib. Sadly, it’s not a pen that works with my writing style. The resin is very pretty and its quite comfortable in the hand.
So, my loss is your gain. I am giving this pen to one lucky reader.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what the colors of this pen remind you of. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.
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FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, October 25. 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 5 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 Luxury Brands USA/Laban for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.