[Pen/Pencil Review] A Libelle Fountain Pen from Pen Place

This weekend, while visiting family in Kansas City, Jimmy and I took a quick break to head over to The Crown Center to visit a store we read about in Pen World Magazine – Pen Place. this store is tucked away across from a soap store and around be corner from a restaurant called Streetcar Named Desire.

But for the size, the store was remarkably well stocked and drool worthy. They had everything from Parker to Pilot – Monteverde to Mont Blanc.

After spending way too along sighing over the ACME novelties and the Visconti and Conklins I have little hope of affording anytime soon, Jimmy gave me a price range and I finally picked something out…of the Clearance case. A brand I have never heard go, but it’s a beautiful piece. It is a Libelle fountain pen. The box – which will rival any jeweler box – says Libelle New York.

This fountain pen has a German-made, iridium nib. It’s a medium, but writes on the fine side. The quick test was a smooth glide across test paper. It has good writ and length. The grip is chromed stainless steel with an attempt at ergonomics. But it fit comfortably and the cap twists to secure both posted and capped, do that puppy isn’t going anywhere.

The body is what finally got me – because even though it was on my upper price range ON CLEARANCE – I kept coming back to it. The cap is chrome accented black enamel probably a resin – the barrel is a finely textured rubber. Yes, rubber! It gives the barrel just a nice bit of give and fun feel while making it look sleek and unique and pretty darned awesome.

It comes with both a converter and a standard short ink cartridge, but I also picked up a pack of Private Reserve Avacado Green cartridges. and don’t worry, Jimmy got something too, I’ll need to get him to write that up.