Jeb's Loa

[Esterfella]

My first ever formal FP review on the FPN covers my first custom-madefountain pen from Jeb’s Pens – the Loa, in Midnight Racer.

 

I had heard good things about these pens from other FPN reviews and so after reviewing Jeb’s website, and seeing the Loa Midnight Racer pen, I decided to take the plunge, as I was in the market for something interesting and custom-made. Basedon my initial experience with John E. Brady, the craftsman behind the brand, itwon’t be my last Jeb’s Pen (and likely not my last review, either).

 

Appearance & Design (10/10) – The pen subject to this review isthe Loa model, in the striking Midnight Racer scheme.

 

 

The Loa is named after Mount Loa, a mountain located on the island of Hawaii. My Loais made from acrylic acetate, and features strikingorange swirls against a silver, grey and black swirl background. I wanted a lava-like pen design, and when Isaw this pen online, with its cool orange swirl (orange is one of my favoritecolors), my first thought was, “hot rod” (hence, the Midnight Racer name) andmy second thought was, “I must have this pen.” The pen is stunning – the top coating has a luminous and yet transparentquality that afford great depth to the swirls, that appear to stare out at youfrom beneath a sheet of polished ice. Ithas a nice domed top and slightly rounded bottom end, bookending its straightbut solid line. I realize thatappearance is a subjective thing, but the pictures don’t do this penjustice. I smile every time I look atthis pen!

 

 

Construction & Quality (10/10)– This pen does not have any manufacturing flaws and feels smooth and wellcrafted. The orange swirls from thebarrel also manage to line up with the orange swirls on the cap – not sure ifthat was accidental or not, but it looks nice and adds to the instrument's appearance. The pens appears to be constructed very well –the cap screws securely to the barrel, the clip is secure and cleanly inserted,the barrel screws and unscrews flawlessly to access the filling area – noissues in terms of fit and finish. Ialso really appreciate the smooth grip – no annoying ridges or step-downs onthe gripping section, which makes holding this pen a pleasure, particularly forsomeone with longer fingers and a firm grip, such as myself. This pen gets compliments and attention everytime I use it and the build quality does not diminish from its appearance. John offered me my choice of clip colorpre-fabrication, as well as my choice of the area of the cap where the clip wouldrest, and I went with a gunmetal clip, which I opted to lay against thegrey-ish portion of the cap, to achieve a stealth look. I was very impressed by this attention todetail on John’s part.

 

 

Size (10/10) – The pen’s measurementsare as follows: Length - Capped = 6 " / Uncapped = 5 3/8"; Diameter -Barrel = 0.58" / Cap = 0.65. Idon’t know the weight of the pen, but it is light in weight, which is a nicecounter to the large size of the pen – no writing fatigue has beenexperienced. I have rather long fingers,so I appreciate a larger pen, but it’s not too big to be overwhelming and therelatively light weight makes it a pleasure to use. Thedesign of the pen does not permit posting – not a big deal, just an observation.

 

Nib (8/10) – Steel, single-tone,Meister 6 nib (I ordered one each of Medium and Fine points; they can be easilyswapped out on the pen, a nice feature); John liaised an introduction to histhird-party nibsman, who enthusiastically and patiently offered his services tomeet my particular nib preferences at a very reasonable rate. To play on the silver and grey tones in thepen’s motif, I went with a single-tone nib, which I think looks great with thisparticular pen. Both nibs seem true tosize in terms of the line that they lay down.

 

 

Filling System (7/10)– Cartridge/converter; nothing fancy here, but it works just fine thankyou.

 

Cost & Value (10/10)– The base model was $150; I paid a $10 up-charge for the gunmetal clip; I paid$20 for the extra Meister nib; shipping plus insurance to my CONUS location ran$7.85. So, all in, the pen cost$187.85. It shipped with a nice soft pen case included. I feel like this was a veryfair price for a pen of such high quality. I could spend more or less with other pen makers, but I am quite happywith my purchase and feel like I got good value from Jeb’s Pens.

 

Conclusion (57/60) -- My overallimpressions of Jeb’s Pens are extremely positive. Customer service was top-notch, frompre-order guidance through production phase (he emailed me photos of the penpre-delivery and even offered me cap placement options for the clip) topost-delivery follow-up (he furnished me with details on taking apart andputting the nib back together). Heanswered questions promptly and kept me abreast of my order. The pen was wrapped securely for shipping. John is clearly a craftsman who cares abouthis product and his customer, and this greatly influenced the customerexperience, for the better. My wholeorder, from inception to delivery, was only about 2 weeks, which is outstandingturn-around time for a custom-built pen. I would recommend Jeb’s Pens to any FP enthusiast looking to acquire acustom-made pen that is anything but middle of the road.

 

 

[lovemy51]

beautiful resin! thx for the review.

 

the style (body, clip) is not one i like. and i wish the nib weren't that plain!

[raging.dragon]

beautiful resin! thx for the review.

 

the style (body, clip) is not one i like. and i wish the nib weren't that plain!

 

I think the two-tone nib, with rhodium trim, would look nice with the midnight racer material.

[lovemy51]

hi. i meant more like having something engraved on it. i hate doing this, but see an Edison nib and see the diff. other than that Jeb's pens are very nice indeed.

[raging.dragon]

He probably doesn't have the volume of sales (yet) to order custom logo'd nibs.

[MCWB]

I think the two-tone nib, with rhodium trim, would look nice with the midnight racer material.

Like my one but with rhodium trim? This is the one problem with these pens, there are so many options!

 

I have to say, I agree with everything you said about the material and about working with John. Congrats on the pen, hope you're enjoying it as much as I am mine!

[lovemy51]

He probably doesn't have the volume of sales (yet) to order custom logo'd nibs.

i understand completely. just have to wait and see how his business developes.

 

in the case of Esterfella's pen, i think the SS nib goes well with the silver color clip.

[USMCMom]

I have 2 of JEB's pens. Both are beautiful, well made and are wonderful writers. Couldn't be happier.

[raging.dragon]

I think the two-tone nib, with rhodium trim, would look nice with the midnight racer material.

Like my one but with rhodium trim? This is the one problem with these pens, there are so many options!

 

Both rhodium and gold trim suit this particular material.

[leod]

nice resin, interesting color pattern

[Esterfella]

The resin is truly spectacular and well-polished; looks are subjective, but I get a kick out of the pattern (I like cars, so the hot rod theme is appealing to me); agree that gold or silver accents would work, but I prefer silver furniture as a general rule and in this case felt it complimented the grey background palette of the pen better than gold would; pen came with some carts and a converter included, which was nice; already looking forward to my next Jeb's Pen.

 

When will this obsession of mine cease? Presently, I am awaiting the arrival of my new Waterman Edson (in discontinued ruby red); this is getting habit forming.

 

Thanks for all of the good observations and feedback.

 

Cheers.

[sheehmi]

The resin is truly spectacular and well-polished; looks are subjective, but I get a kick out of the pattern (I like cars, so the hot rod theme is appealing to me); agree that gold or silver accents would work, but I prefer silver furniture as a general rule and in this case felt it complimented the grey background palette of the pen better than gold would; pen came with some carts and a converter included, which was nice; already looking forward to my next Jeb's Pen.

 

When will this obsession of mine cease? Presently, I am awaiting the arrival of my new Waterman Edson (in discontinued ruby red); this is getting habit forming.

 

Thanks for all of the good observations and feedback.

 

Cheers.

Great review and very cool pen--I like all your custom choices!

[superfreeka]

Now that's one nice looking pen!

[watch_art]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

[owenj]

Beautiful pen! I'll admit, I rather like the "simple" nib. I'd rather have a bit of engraving & that's it instead of the engraving & "IPG" stamped below.

[raging.dragon]

I definetly prefere not having the IPG stamp, but I like the look of a manufacturer logo (even if it's the Bock, JoWo or Schmidt logo) on the nib.