Fountain Pen Review: Laban 325 Lagoon

It is the peak of summer in my part of the world, and it's sunny, hot, and dry. Without COVID-19, we would have all trooped to the beaches and enjoyed so much fun in the sun. But the pandemic is still raging on, and while most of us are confined to our homes, we can only dream of the cool, salty breeze on a barefoot stroll on the beach. In my time at home, my fountain pens have become a source of immense joy, and when the Laban Pen Company launched a new addition to their 325 Collection this May, my summer is complete. Lagoon, the newest 325 fountain pen, is the perfect reminder of the sea for fountain pen users with the ivory cap resembling a sandy beach, and the aqua turquoise barrel taking after the sea.

It seems like it was only yesterday when Laban Pen Company launched the 325 Wisteria Purple, which was followed by the 325 Snow a few months later. Now, we have a beautiful aqua turquoise 325 fountain pen, and it's a lovely addition to the classic Laban fountain pen series.

Inside the Laban box: Lagoon fountain pen including converter, warranty booklet, Laban bookmark, and Lagoon sticker.

The Laban 325 Lagoon is inspired by the eye of the sea and presented to those who "yearn for freedom." The turquoise pen should remind us of a leisurely dreamy island trip, represents tranquility, and reflects endless imagination.

Aside from the turquoise Lagoon, Laban's 325 Collection offers other beautiful finishes with the signature ivory acrylic and gold trims: Snow (white), Wisteria (purple), Black Cambridge, Burgundy Cambridge, Flame (red), Ocean (blue), Sun (orange), and Forest (green). All of the 325 finishes are also available as rollerball pens.

Laban 325 Lagoon, a new turquoise addition to the 325 series.

The Lagoon is a beautiful fountain pen. The pen barrel is adorned with a soothing turquoise acrylic. The combination of turquoise, ivory resin, and gold trims is classy, elegant, and refreshing. 

The 325 Lagoon fountain pen has the following measurements:

• Length, capped: 5.8 in | 14.8 cm
• Length, uncapped: 5.3 in | 13.5 cm
• Length, cap posted: 6.8 in | 17.3 cm
• Diameter, barrel: 0.63 in | 1.6 cm
• Diameter, section: 0.41 in | 1.04 cm
• Weight, capped: 34 g | 1.2 oz

The Lagoon is a heavy pen especially with the cap on. It's heavier than a Mont Blanc 149 (32 g), Tibaldi N°60 (28 g), or a Lamy 2000 (18 g). It can be used for writing with the cap posted, but it will be top-heavy, affecting one's writing comfort. Usually, posting makes pens uncomfortably long and top-heavy. Thankfully, the Lagoon can be used comfortably without the need to post the cap.

The Lagoon can be filled with ink using cartridges or converters. A Laban converter is included in each pen purchase.

The Laban 325's cap bears all the branding for this pen. The gold-plated clip is firm, sturdy, and holds the pen securely in place. There are two slim gold bands above the clip, and a gold Laban medallion adorns the finial. Laban's logo is etched on the wide gold cap band. There's a lot of gold in this pen's cap, but that's fine with me, I actually love it!

The lovely ivory cap of Laban's 325 series bears most of this pen's branding.

Laban's logo is etched on the wide cap band.

The gold Laban medallion adorns the cap's finial.

The Laban 325 Lagoon has a threaded metal section and a metal insert in the barrel, which add to its durability and stability.

Laban offers the Lagoon with a size 6 nib made from gold-plated stainless steel manufactured by Jowo in Germany. The nib widths available are the following: EF, F, M, B, 1.5 stub, 14K flex EF, and 14K flex F. The markings on the nib include "3952," Laban, "Germany" (place of nib manufacture), and "M" (nid width).

The meaning of "3952" on this pen's nib baffled me. Laban doesn't provide anything about it on their website, and I know it couldn't be the series name. Then I remembered that Platinum's use of 3776  refers to the elevation of Mount Fuji. So I did some research and looked for mountains in Taiwan that could have an elevation of 3,952 meters. I found it! 3952 comes from the elevation of Mount Yushan, the highest mountain in Taiwan, and the highest point in the western Pacific region outside of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The No. 6 Medium nib on the Lagoon wrote smoothly out of the box.

The 325 Wisteria is a standard full-length fountain pen, and it is longer and heavier than a Leonardo Momento Zero, Lamy Safari, TWSBI ECO, and Kaweco Sport, but it's a well-balanced pen that is comfortable to use without the need to post the cap.

With the cap on, the 325 Lagoon is longer than a Lamy Safari or TWSBI ECO.

Uncapped, it has the same length as the Leonardo Momento Zero and Lamy Safari, and a bit shorter than a TWSBI ECO.

To test how this beautiful turquoise fountain pen writes, I filled it with Laban's Greek Mythology fountain pen ink Poseidon green, a perfect matching ink color. The pen's medium nib wrote well out of the box and I did not experience any hard starts. The nib wrote smoothly and the pen is well balanced and comfortable to use. The Laban 325 Lagoon is such an enjoyable pen. It's elegant, classy, and one that can be used for long periods of writing without experiencing any discomfort.

This pen and ink combination is so cool! And as I'm into writing song lyrics lately, I chose this hit classic from the Beach Boys to test write a full page in my Traveler's Notebook. The Lagoon wrote well and I did not experience any hard starts, drying, or skips.

I am very happy with the Laban 325 Lagoon fountain pen, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to explore and know this excellent brand from Taiwan. It's a beautiful pen and well-built for long-term use. Laban is dedicated to crafting excellent pens using only the best materials. Get one for your collection!

Rants of the Archer thanks the Laban Pen Company for providing the 325 Lagoon for review purposes. The 325 Lagoon fountain pen is available for purchase at Laban.com where it retails for around US$140 (EF to 1.5 stub) to US$280 (14K Flex EF and 14K Flex F). Aside from the 325 Collection, Laban also offers the following collections: Abalone, Antique, Antique'II, Canyon, Flora, Galileo, Mento, Mother of Pearl, Pocket Pen, Rosa, Skeleton, Solar, and Taroko. Laban offers their pens using different materials including aluminum, brass, abalone, mother of pearl, resin, and silver.

To learn more about Laban, where to buy their pens, and for other details on purchasing their pens, visit their website at https://www.laban.com/ or follow them on social media:

• Facebook (https://zh-tw.facebook.com/LabanPen)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/labanpen)
• YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1pN51UTW4EZTTUxVmVNR1Q)

Fountain Pen Review: Laban 325 Wisteria

In 2009, barely a year into full fountain pen use, I witnessed for the first time how fountain pen enthusiasts go crazy when they see notable personalities use fountain pens. On a world tour, then Pope Benedict XVI was seen signing a book using a Laban fountain pen, and many people just raved about it! Since then, I have learned that many personalities I admire use fountain pens: Queen Elizabeth, Angela Merkel, Princess Maha, to name a few. Seeing them using fountain pens helped me learn about these writing tools—brand, origin, material. After seeing Laban with the Pope, I believed Laban is an Italian product for a very long time. Until COVID-19 came along and the brand launched Write to Heal last May. It was only then that I realized Laban is not an Italian brand, but from a neighboring country to the Philippines – Taiwan!

Many of my friends at Fountain Pen Network Philippines joined Laban's Write to Heal, a fountain pen grab bag project to help frontline health workers. I missed joining the two campaigns, so I had to get a Laban pen to know more about its brand and products. I saw that my friends got different pens from the Laban 325 Collection, so I chose the newest pen from the series: Wisteria, an exquisite fountain pen in ivory and purple acrylic resin inspired by the purple Wisteria flower.

Laban 325 Wisteria

Reading about the company, I learned that Taipei-based Laban Pen Corporation is a young pen brand, founded in 1981 by John Hu and his brother Charles. John started the company by exporting paper products, gifts, and writing instruments. The brothers then built their own manufacturing plant intending to produce the highest quality Silver and Rhodium-plated writing instruments. Laban's initial releases were high-end pens such as the 1993 Filigree line of metal overlay pens using a specialized etching process.

Through the years, Laban has successfully established itself as a major pen brand. From 1997 to 1999, the brand was the exclusive manufacturer of the Vatican Museum line of pens and received the Best Writing Instrument of 2004 from the Royal Academy of Arts of the United Kingdom. In 2011, Laban was the Reader’s Choice Award in Pen World Magazine. But the most notable personality to use a Laban pen is probably Pope Benedict XVI when he signed that book in 2009!

The Wisteria comes in a classy blue pull-out box lined with soft white satin. An orange ribbon and two overlapping elastic bands hold the pen in place inside the box. Together with the fountain pen, the box also contains an ink converter, a warranty booklet, and Laban logo and Wisteria stickers.

Inside the box: fountain pen, warranty booklet, bookmark, Laban logo, and Wisteria stickers.

The Laban Wisteria pen is inspired by the elegant purple Wisteria flowers, the noblest color in Japan's  Heian period when the color purple was associated with the ruling class. The Wisteria flower clusters also symbolize "predetermined driving force between people." 

Aside from the purple Wisteria, Laban's 325 Collection offers other beautiful finishes with the signature ivory acrylic and gold trims: Black Cambridge, Burgundy Cambridge, Flame (red), Ocean (blue), Sun (orange), and Forest (green). All of the 325 finishes are also available as rollerball pens.

Laban Wisteria is a beautiful fountain pen. The combination of purple marble, ivory resin, and gold trims is classy. It shows sophistication and elegance. I am glad I chose this finish over the Sun (orange) pen because it has given me a better appreciation of the color purple.

The 325 Wisteria fountain pen has the following measurements:

• Length, capped: 5.9 in | 15 cm
• Length, uncapped: 5.15 in | 13 cm
• Length, cap posted: 6.8 in | 17.2 cm
• Length, barrel only: 3.6 in | 9.14 cm
• Length, section to nib: 2.15 in | 5.5 cm 
• Length, cap: 2.7 inches | 6.9 cm
• Diameter, barrel: 0.51 in | 1.29 cm
• Diameter, section: 0.41 in | 1.04 cm
• Weight, capped: 34 g | 1.2 oz
• Weight, uncapped: 13.5 g | 0.48 oz
• Weight, cap only: 22.5 g | 0.78 oz

The Wisteria is a heavy pen especially with the cap on. It's heavier than a Mont Blanc 149 (32 g), Tibaldi N°60 (28 g), or a Lamy 2000 (18 g). It can be used for writing with the cap posted, but it will be top-heavy, affecting one's writing comfort. Usually, posting makes pens uncomfortably long and top-heavy. Thankfully, the Wisteria can be used comfortably without the need to post the cap.

The Wisteria's cap, section + converter, and barrel.

The Laban 325's cap bears all the branding for this pen. The gold-plated clip is firm, sturdy, and holds the pen securely in place. Two slim gold bands sit on top of the clip, and a gold Laban medallion adorns the finial. Laban's logo is etched on the wide gold cap band. There's indeed a lot of gold in this pen's cap, but that's fine with me, I actually love it!

This cap bears most of this pen's branding in gold. 

Laban's logo is etched on the wide cap band.

Laban's logo is etched on the wide cap band.

The Laban 325 Wisteria has a threaded metal section and threaded metal insert in the barrel, which adds to its durability and stability.

The Wisteria fountain pen can be filled with ink using cartridges or converters. A converter is included with each pen purchase, and their logo is printed on the converter.

Laban offers the 325 Wisteria with a size 6 nib made from gold-plated stainless steel manufactured by Jowo in Germany. The nib widths available are the following: EF, F, M, B, 1.5 stub, 14K flex EF, and 14K flex F. The markings on the nib include "3952," Laban, "Germany" (place of nib manufacture), and "B" (nib width).

It took me a long time to figure out the meaning of "3952" on this pen's nib. Laban doesn't provide anything about it on their website, and I know it couldn't be the series name. Then I remembered that Platinum's use of 3776  refers to the elevation of Mount Fuji. So I did some research and looked for mountains in Taiwan that could have an elevation of 3,952 meters. I found it! 3952 comes from the elevation of Mount Yushan, the highest mountain in Taiwan, and the highest point in the western Pacific region outside of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The No. 6 Broad nib on the Wisteria wrote smoothly out of the box.

The 325 Wisteria is a standard full-length fountain pen, sharing almost the same length as a Bexley Intrepid or Edison Collier, though it is heavier. Its middle section is as thick as the Intrepid and Collier, but it's a well-balanced pen that is comfortable to use.

The Laban 325 Wisteria shares the same length as a Bexley Intrepid or Edison Collier.

Uncapped, the Wisteria is shorter than the Intrepid and shares almost the same length as the Collier, TWSBI ECO, and Lamy Al-Star.

Gold-plated and two-toned gold nibs. From left: Bexley Intrepid (B), Edison Collier (B), Laban Wisteria (B), Dryad Pen (B), Platinum 3776 (B), and Conklin Duragraph™ (M).

To test how this beautiful purple fountain pen writes, I filled it with Lamy Dark Lilac, a matching purple ink. The pen wrote okay out of the box and I did not experience any hard starts, but I was not happy with it. I cleaned the pen and filled it with an old-time favorite purple ink, J. Herbin Poussière de Lune. It was a perfect match! I was in fountain pen writing heaven! With Poussière de Lune, the No. 6 broad nib wrote smoothly, there were no writing skips, no inky blobs, I had no trouble writing at all. I tested the pen and ink combination on several paper brands, and the best writing experience is (still) on Tomoe River paper. The Laban 325 Wisteria is such an enjoyable pen. It's elegant, classy, and one that can be used for long periods of writing without any discomfort.

The stainless steel Jowo Broad nib in Laban Wisteria fountain pen is a joy to write with, especially if it's paired with a wet ink such as J. Herbin Poussière de Lune. The nib just glides on the smooth Tomoe River paper. 

The Wisteria fountain pen can also be used to do ink art and simple shapes. I enjoyed doing the ink art on this page, along with this beautiful wedding poem by the English poet Wilfred Owen. I can't seem to explain it, but the moment I opened the box and saw the Wisteria fountain pen, I thought of a beautiful, romantic wedding. I felt like it's the perfect wedding pen! And for the review, I found the perfect wedding poem! Beautiful pen, lovely purple ink, meaningful love poem — it's a perfect combination!

I am very happy with the Laban 325 Wisteria fountain pen, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to explore and know this excellent brand from Taiwan. It's a beautiful pen and well-built for long-term use. Laban is dedicated to crafting excellent pens using only the best materials. Get one for your collection.

The Laban 325 Wisteria fountain pen is available at Laban.com where it retails for around US$140 (EF to 1.5 stub) to US$280 (14K Flex EF and 14K Flex F). Aside from the 325 Collection, Laban also offers the following collections: Abalone, Antique, Antique'II, Canyon, Flora, Galileo, Mento, Mother of Pearl, Pocket Pen, Rosa, Skeleton, Solar, and Taroko. Laban offers pens in different materials including aluminum, brass, abalone, mother of pearl, resin, and silver.

To learn more about Laban, where to buy their pens, and for other details on purchasing their pens, visit their website at https://www.laban.com/ or follow them on social media:

• Facebook (https://zh-tw.facebook.com/LabanPen)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/labanpen) 
• YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1pN51UTW4EZTTUxVmVNR1Q)

Fountain Pen Review: Ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen

I first saw Ystudio pens in Patrick Ng's blog last year. The combination of brass, leather, and wood in a single package was interesting and intriguing to my fountain pen user/collector and designer's eyes. At first, I thought the brand is Japanese, but I learned that it is from Taiwan, the birthplace of TWSBI. I followed the pen on Instagram and in fellow bloggers' pages and I became a fan of its sleek and minimalistic design. I wanted to see one and try it for myself. Early this year, I learned that Scribe, the country's sole seller of premier fountain pens will be adding Ystudio to their store shelves. Through Scribe, Ystudio kindly sent a fountain pen to me for review here. I tested the Ystudio Portable Fountain Pen in the brassing variant for a month before finally sitting down to write the review.

When I received the pen package, I was very impressed with Ystudio's branding and presentation. The big box that holds the pen's outer and inner boxes is a plain box made of corrugated board, but the Ystudio logo is neatly printed on its sides. Inside the big box are the pen's outer and inner boxes. Ystudio's logo is imprinted on both boxes in gold. The box that holds the pen and accessories is a beautiful stained sycamore wood with several layers of board lining that can be removed if one wants to repurpose the box. A thumb hole at the bottom makes removing the lid easier.

An instructions booklet and a sheet of sandpaper are included in the wood pen case. Details about these two items are in the later part of this review. Also included in the package, together with the brassing fountain pen, is a protective tube made of white maple wood, two leather cords, and a brass ring. The accessories—tube, leather cords, and brass ring—are included to make the pen 'portable'.

Inside the box: carrying tube, brassing Ystudio fountain pen, leather cords, and brass ring.

The combination of brass, leather, and wood of the Ystudio package gives its user a unique sensory experience. One touches the hardness of the wood and brass against the softness of the leather
cord and feels the coldness of the brass amidst the warmth of wood and leather.  

Ystudio, a design company based in Taiwan, has successfully created a unique fountain pen design that easily catches attention everywhere. The pen is a head turner! The minimalistic design gives the pen a modern industrial look, its simplicity brings to mind traditional Asian form. Amsterdam-based store Kohezi wrote, "Ystudio, founded in 2012, believes in the value of simplicity. Their designs are minimalistic, yet extremely powerful, made for everyday use with natural materials that will last for more than a lifetime."

This pen is completely new to me, as I do not have many metal pens. I have several pens with aluminum bodies, but the Ystudio brassing fountain pen is my first fountain pen that is made from brass. This is also my first hexagonal fountain pen, and I am enjoying this barrel design a lot. It's a built-in roller stopper which compensates for the pen's missing clip. It's also a nice conversation piece and a fun item to bring to meetings where people keep asking about the pen, some even requested to try it.

Ystudio makes two types of fountain pens: "Portable Fountain Pen" and "Desk Fountain Pen." The Portable Fountain Pen comes in two variants: "Classic" and "Brassing." The Brassing Fountain Pen is made of solid brass coated in black lacquer with subtle gold lines that accentuate the hexagonal design. Through time, these pens will develop character. The Classic, which is made from copper will develop patina, while the black lacquer in Brassing will wear off and reveal the brass underneath.

Here are the measurements of the Ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen:

• Length of pen, capped: 5.4 in
• Length of pen without cap (barrel end to nib tip): 4.7 in 
• Cap: 2.4 in
• Section: 1.2 in
• Section while threaded in barrel: .94 in
• Barrel: 3 in
• Section diameter: .3 in
• Barrel diameter: .4 in
• Weight, full pen with converter: 45 g 
• Pen with converter, without cap: 30 g
• Cap: 15 g

The Ystudio Portable Fountain Pen's parts: cap, nib assembly, section, converter, and barrel.
Ystudio has kindly included a converter in the package.

Ystudio has kept its branding consistent and simple. Their logo is placed towards
the end of the barrel. Here, the brass shows through the lacquer.

The top of the Ystudio Portable Fountain Pen cap is flat with a hole.
This feature is for personalizing the pen and making it portable.

The Portable Fountain Pen's nib assembly: section, nib and feed holder, feed, and nib.

When I uncapped the pen, I was a bit apprehensive because of the small No. 5 Schmidt nib, but it did not disappoint. The medium Schmidt nib wrote smoothly out of the box for the first time, and through the weeks, I did not experience skipping or even a single hard start, considering that the pen is always upright in my pen wrap inside my bag.

Top is the pen's barrel, below that is the cap.

The Ystudio Portable Fountain Pen is of standard length, sharing the same length as a Lamy Safari or TWSBI ECO with its cap on. However, this pen does not post, so it becomes shorter compared to other pens without its cap. This is not an issue to me, though. I look at this as part of careful (and thoughtful) planning for a metal pen design. The Ystudio pen without the cap already weighs 30g. That's almost the same as the weight of Kaweco DIA2 (28g) or TWSBI Diamond 580AL (31g) with their caps on. If the Ystudio's cap is posted, the pen becomes heavy and writing may be inconvenient. Designing the pen to be a little shorter and non-posting decreased its weight, ensuring writing comfort.

The Ystudio Portable Fountain Pen package includes an instructions booklet and a sheet of fine-grit sandpaper to guide the user in personalizing the pen.

A spread in the instructions booklet contains a list of the accessories and shows steps on converting the pen into a portable one. The flat end of the pen's cap fits in the space on top of the carrying tube. Once fitted, a leather cord is laced through the hole on top, the brass ring secures the leather before it is knotted. With the pen encased in its carrying tube, it is now portable and ready to be attached to a bag handle, belt loop, or lanyard. This is a unique feature of this pen, but I'm not sure if I'll be doing it. I'm a bit uncomfortable with my pen hanging somewhere even if it's encased in a wooden tube. First, what if the wooden tube breaks? Second, I don't feel safe hanging a US$160 (PhP8,395) pen somewhere with the possibility of losing it. I'm sure this system would work for some fountain pen users, it's just not for me.

A different spread in the instructions booklet discusses pen care, including how to fill the pen with ink and cleaning afterward. This spread also illustrates how to create a personalized brassing effect by removing the black lacquer coating using the sandpaper in the package. I love the look of the Brassing fountain pen's black lacquer, so I'll hold on to it for now.

The Ystudio Portable fountain pen's all-black presentation is simply elegant.
I like this look, so I'll hold off sanding the lacquer coating for now.

Beautiful.

The package includes two leather cords in black and tan. The black leather cord is softer than
the tan cord and looks perfect on the Brassing fountain pen.

Here's a writing sample of the Ystudio Portable Fountain Pen. To ensure good ink flow,
I filled this pen with Robert Oster Velvet Storm – a smooth, wet, and saturated dark blue ink.
(Rober Oster inks are also available at Scribe.)

Having said/written all these, the next question on my list is, would I recommend this pen to anyone? Well, I'm a Ystudio fan, and I've enjoyed the pen over the past month that I've tried it. Ystudio has done an awesome job in designing this pen, and sure, I recommend it to anyone who uses a fountain pen, especially to those who love brass (or copper), or simply wants to: try a metal pen, use a portable fountain pen, or personalize their pen.

If anyone wants to get a Ystudio Portable or Desk Fountain Pen, the Ystudio website has a list of retail and online shops from around the world who are selling their products.

In the Philippines, Ystudio products are available at the SM Aura and Glorietta 4 branches of Scribe. For product availability, check with the branches first. Their website has a list of their store locations with contact numbers.

To cap off this review, here's a summary of my observations about the Ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen:

What I love about it:

• Simple, elegant pen design—hexagonal design prevents the pen from rolling off (also a nice conversation piece)
• Leather and wood complement pen's brass 
• Excellent packaging (maple pen case is awesome!!!)
• Pen is not heavy despite being made from brass
• Schmidt converter comes free with pen
• Nib is wet and writes smoothly
• Pen is portable–can attach anywhere—belt, bag, notebook, etc.

What I don't like about it:

• Limited nib options — no B! (or italic/stub)
• Slim section — I wish it is fatter than it is now
• Clipless
• Cannot post — this is more for those who post their pens -- I don't post my pens.
• Cap — snap instead of screw on

The fountain pen in this review was sent to me free of charge by Ystudio, through Scribe. This review is unpaid, and the contents are not in any way influenced by either Ystudio or Scribe.