These Snakes Don't Bite

The new BENU Viper Collection finds inspiration in the sinuous bodies of three snakes.

- SUZANNE C. LEE

BENU Pen takes the road less traveled and benefits mightily from its unique vision. While its writing instruments are crafted using new technology such as a five-axis CNC lathe, BENU also offers something wholly traditional hand-painted pens using traditional techniques but with relaxed rules around subject matter (August 2023, cover). Now, BENU is returning to the very beginning, the primordial, with the new Viper collection.

Snakes and serpents touch us just as rich black soil or the first whiff of spring on the wind will: they are a connection to the Earth, to life's very beginnings. Aesthetically, snakes vary so widely that possible designs based upon individual markings could be more or less endless.

BENU has selected three vipers to focus on in this collection, and the results couldn't be more brilliant. The BENU Viper collection comprises the Bamboo Viper, Bush Viper, and Mangrove Viper. Each writing instrument is modeled upon and devoted to one of these remarkable snakes.

Each writing instrument in the BENU Viper collection is cigar-shaped and clipless and comes with an international standard cartridge and converter. The resin body is produced using proprietary techniques, and each one features a wrap-around snake in high relief along the body, which has the added benefit of acting as a roll-stop. The bodies are uniquely textured, and the letters "B," "E," "N," and "U" appear in high relief around the coils of the snakes. Each snake is finished with hand coloring on the sculptured snake body. The pens are fitted with No. 5 stainless steel Schmidt nibs, available in four sizes: extra-fine, fine, medium, and broad. Each piece is decorated uniquely, mirroring the very distinct snakes upon which they were modeled.