Laban Mento Celebration Shell Fountain Pen Review

This pen was sent to me by www.laban.com.
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[@AnzanHoshinRoshi]

Thank you, Stephen. Tiny cartridge for such a big pen. Lovely material.

[@BariTone7-v5r]

I love the Mento! Beautiful colors and a great pen overall.

[@wayneclarkson375]

Mr Brown i've got the exact same pen but mine was advertised as the Laban Mento Galaxy. The pen is absolutely stunning, very nice writer very large pen indeed and was very reasonably priced all in all it was well worth the money i paid for it. Thank you as always for another awesome review.

[@mckenyon]

My Laban Mento is probably my favorite pen. One problem I find is that the pen does stall if left unused for even 20 minutes sometimes. Once it's going, it does not skip. But it is almost always hard starting. It takes long international cartridges well. (I had a big Monteverde that always pulled the cartridge off when being unscrewed.) Also, the nib is held on by friction, so you can swap the nib pretty easily and clean the feed if necessary. Laban did not offer a stub nib when I asked a few years ago. I bought a Broad nib, and that has worked well.

[@hwalker6135]

I love your reviews of pens I've never heard of; I learn so much from them. As a side note, I use reverse writing in a ledger notebook I use to keep track of the cheques I still write. The notebook predates my regular use of fountain pens, and is made from what has got to be the crappiest paper in the world. Reverse writing minimizes show-through.

[@frankbruno7122]

Thank you Stephen, this pen really reminds me of me my Stipula Etruria in terms of the very pleasant barrel shape. I find it nearly a perfect shape but this is highly subjective.. very nice videography! I agree also on the larger size fountain pens--seem to help avoid hand cramping.. Thanks! Frank from Boulder, Colorado

[@Takasnooze]

Thanks for this review. I really love this pen. Will it fit in the Visconti pen cases?

[@matthewbeddow3278]

Nice pen, ticks all the boxes really and a reasonable price i think. Thanks Stephen for the review. They really do deserve more exposure being a brand that is , has you say, often overlooked.

[@nisimromanok2744]

hi MR. Brown, thxs to you i brougth my first Laban pen , a mento in autum flake, gorgeous pen . incrdible nice material, a lot of shetoyance, love this pen, you pronunce Laban in a French way i do it in hebrew, laban means white, thank you for let us know this stunning pens. saludos desde Mexico mi amigo

[@peterhofmann8292]

Stephen, thanks for another great review and bringing yet another brand to my attention (must stop watching, as the pen budget is small:-) ) Love the material.

[@rztour]

Thanks Stephen. Very informative. A little wide for my liking but the material is very attractive. With a heavy hand, I lean toward stiffer nibs as long as there's not too much feedback. A bit pricey for my tastes, but sometimes it's tough to tell what drives price point. The clip, for example, did actually seem like there was a mechanism behind it. You sure tend to put best a best foot forward with your ink color choices. :)

[@johnedgar7956]

Another great video, thank you. :-) I love the finish on this pen. It gives it a certain "vintage" appeal. :-)

[@stevemaass3074]

Introduced me to a brand I hadn’t heard of. Thanks, Stephen.

[@jackbrian7083]

Hey man i was looking on to buy the Pelikan m200 as its actually just 50 euros now with a gold nib what are your thoughts ?

[@vienna11215]

Nice! So where can I buy one? Laban's website is not helpful, and Goulet Pens does not sell 'em... :-(

[@greyareaRK1]

It's pronounced 'Laban.' :-) I love the look of it, but with an unexceptional nib, plastic feed and acrylic body, I don't see the value proposition at that price. Then again, I find fountain pens quite confusing generally in this regard.

[@JohnAceti]

I've heard mention again that it may be a problem to eye-dropper fill a pen where there is contact between the ink and metal. Is that something you have seen or is it a layover concern from the days when inks were not neutral and metals were not stainless?

[@michaelinsc9724]

John Aceti , not all inks today are pH neutral, and stainless comes in varying degrees of quality and chemical resistance. I believe the concern is valid, but primarily from a long-term perspective.

[@sbrebrown]

I have it from hearsay, but it's been enough to dissuade me from trying it :-)

[@glenconverse1327]

I heard, I saw, I want!

[@michaelinsc9724]

Stephen, I've been watching your channel for a couple of months now and thoroughly enjoy your presentation content and technique. I had a Laban Mento roughly 20 years ago, but had issue with it drying out quickly. Any idea (you or any of your viewers) if this is still the case? Thanks and keep the excellent content coming!

[@sbrebrown]

Thank you! Do you mean the pen dried out during writing, or did it dry out when it was capped for a while? Actually, regardless, I didn't experience that with my Labans

[@michaelinsc9724]

Not when writing, but when stored unused for a day or two. I've heard others report similar. I just wanted to know how your experience compared.

[@ovebjornson7846]

As - too - many modern pens, they lack an inner cap. Unfortunatelly, this makes the cap not air-tight, and the nib will dry out when capped. YOu can check this by blowing through the cap. The air usually comes into the cap where the clip is attaches to the cap material. I have used blu tack to cover these gaps, sparingly, and making sure the nib doesn't touch the blu tack. Press small amounts of the stuff into the end of the cap and around the clip holes, untill you no longer cap blow air through it. I have wuite a few modern pens - well known brands - that have needed this, and don't really understand why pen manufacturers need to save the few cents by not installing an end cap.

[@strelnikoff7]

Eyedroppering :) pen - am I tripping or I saw a hole in the barrel (end)? The tip? Or it was some reflection...

[@rogeliogarcia-cavazos3715]

strelnikoff7 There is a pinhole at the end of the one I own. PenBoyRoy also describes one in one of his videos. I don’t know the reason (eyedropper-deterrent?).

[@danlevene5478]

Have a beautiful smaller version of the Mento, still not a small pen really. The nib would dry quickly, hard starter big time. I played around with the nib and feed, nothing. I changed nibs and feeders ... no good. One day, you in desperation I thought 💭 , an inner cap from a cheap Chinese pen with a bit of blue tack to hold it in might be worth a try. After all, the pen is very comfy in the hand and looks great. I was sad not to be able to use it. Problem solved. Wonder if anyone else had this problem.

[@sbrebrown]

Thanks for the input!

[@melissac9235]

I have the smaller Laban Meno in a beautiful shimmering yellow Italian acrylic. The medium nib is smooth and puts down a good bit of ink. The section is wider than my other pens and I find it aids my handwriting and reduces hand fatigue; I love it. I cannot use it. It dries out causing hard starts. A full converter of ink will completely evaporate as if it was left uncapped. There is an inner cap, but it looks as though it has been drilled through the top. My theory is the pen cap was originally designed for a #5 nib and then modified for the #6 nib. I have read others complain of this problem. One suggested solution is to seal the inside of the cap where the clip is attached with clear nail polish. I haven't tried that yet, because it is a spring loaded clip. I don't believe Laban makes the Meno any longer. I haven't read of any complaints of the larger Mento drying out or the resulting hard starts. Laban makes some of the most unique and beautifully designed pens on the market. I hope they continue to attract the attention of the fountain pen community.