Nahvalur (narwal) fountain pens anyone has experience with them?

[Anne-Sophie]

 

 

They have the Original, Orignal Plus, Nautilus, Shuylkill and Voyage lines at different price points.

 

They also offer double broad nibs.

 

I am especially interested to know the fountain pen sizes, compared to Lamy pens.

 

And how smooth their nibs are.  

[dudleian]

I have a Nautilus with a stub nib, which is as smooth as anything (though it’s obviously a big nib). The pen’s as big as a broom handle, but ergonomic in my average-sized hands.  

[Doug C]

They are incredibly nice pens, smooth and balanced. 

I have 2 Nautilus and one original. 

[mizgeorge]

I have about a dozen covering pretty much all the models. A couple of B/BB, but mostly stubs. Every one of them has been spot on right out of the box, and the build quality has been way better than you'd expect at the price point, and as above, I find the balance very comfortable.  I use at least one of them on a daily basis.

 

I particularly like their ebonite pens, but some of the acrylics, especially the limited editions, have been very appealing as well.

 

I'm afraid I can't compare to a Lamy because I don't have any.

[knarflj]

I have a Schuylkill with F nib.  I originally bought it because of the name (I grew up just a couple of miles from the Schuylkill River), but I really like the pen. The nib was lovely as long as you stayed on its sweet spot--which was pretty small, so depending on how you write, it could be great or could be frustrating.  It worked well for me.  

 

I had it reground to a cursive soft italic last year at the Detroit pen show, and now it's even more of a favourite, almost always inked.  (Kirk Speer at Pen Realm does really nice work).

 

Were you looking for size comparison of the pen itself, or the nib?  I'm not sure I could compare nibs with any kind of accuracy.  The length of the Schuylkill is very close to that of the Safari.  Maybe just a hair longer uncapped and unposted, and about, oh, maybe a quarter to three-eighths of an inch longer than the Safari when both are posted.  I can't tell you how the balance is posted, because I never write that way.   Unposted, the Schuylkill is very comfortable in my hand (and so is a Safari).

 

If I can find some time tomorrow, I'll try to take a photo or two and upload them to this thread.  

[Anne-Sophie]

Thank you so much everyone!

 

I am mostly interested in their BB nibs, are they smooth out of the box or are they finicky?

 

I used Lamy as a benchmark because I have most of their pens and will be able to compare the size of the Narwal Pens to them, so I will see if they are suitable.

 

 

Nahvalur (Narwhal) Schuylkill Fountain Pen is available with the double broad nib but it is my understanding that Nahvalur (Narwhal) Original Plus Fountain Pen is available in F, M, B  and stub nib but not double broad? 

[mizgeorge]

I've had two BB nibs in Schulkills, one of which I've since reground to something more like an architect.

 

Both were smooth out of the box - but I wouldn't call them the widest BB I've used - more comparable to Kaweco than Pelikan. 

[Aysedasi]

On 12/14/2022 at 3:26 PM, mizgeorge said:

I've had two BB nibs in Schulkills, one of which I've since reground to something more like an architect.

 

Both were smooth out of the box - but I wouldn't call them the widest BB I've used - more comparable to Kaweco than Pelikan. 

 

I've just taken delivery of a Nautilus with a BB nib.  I was surprised at how 'thin' the line is.  For me, barely broad.  I was expecting something much wider.  But it's still a lovely pen and a beautifully smooth writer.

[tde44x]

1 hour ago, Aysedasi said:

 

I've just taken delivery of a Nautilus with a BB nib.  I was surprised at how 'thin' the line is.  For me, barely broad.  I was expecting something much wider.  But it's still a lovely pen and a beautifully smooth writer.

Yeah, I have an Original + LE which I purchased with the stub nib. The horizontal stroke was way too thin for my taste, and I replaced it with a Narwhal double broad. FWIW - I have a number of 1.1 and 1.5 stubs from multiple brands and never had such a thin stroke.

 

I also purchased a Nautilus with a broad nib. I can't see any difference in line widths between the B and the BB nibs. FWIW - I own a number of B and BB nibs from Bock and numerous B from Jowo. There is definitely a noticeable difference between the B and BB from Bock.

 

Sent an e-mail to Narhwal sometime ago asking if they could provide the specs on the line widths including variance and never received a response.

 

I still like the pens and the nibs are smooth. Was just expecting more of a difference in B vs BB.

[ajcoleman]

I just received a Schuylkill Blue Marlin purchased from Indy-Pen-Dance. I am really pleased with the look and quality of the pen. I bought it mainly to try a piston fill, and that works great. Of course the nib is fantastic after Linda's standard checkout and tune-up prior to shipping. I have a fine, and the width seems as I expected, similar to a nice-flowing JoWo fine (which it probably is).  I have one or two fine JoWo nibs that write a bit finer, but they are drier also. Overall I am very happy with it. It is a fantastic pen for the money.

[Aysedasi]

On 4/21/2023 at 2:27 PM, tde44x said:

Yeah, I have an Original + LE which I purchased with the stub nib. The horizontal stroke was way too thin for my taste, and I replaced it with a Narwhal double broad. FWIW - I have a number of 1.1 and 1.5 stubs from multiple brands and never had such a thin stroke.

 

I also purchased a Nautilus with a broad nib. I can't see any difference in line widths between the B and the BB nibs. FWIW - I own a number of B and BB nibs from Bock and numerous B from Jowo. There is definitely a noticeable difference between the B and BB from Bock.

 

Sent an e-mail to Narhwal sometime ago asking if they could provide the specs on the line widths including variance and never received a response.

 

I still like the pens and the nibs are smooth. Was just expecting more of a difference in B vs BB.

I have plenty of experience over the years with B and BB nibs and I had to go and look at the box again to make sure I'd been sent the correct nib.  If it had been a Japanese nib I would have expected it to be 'thin' but there's no way a Nahvalur BB can ever be described as double broad.  

[Aysedasi]

On 12/13/2022 at 11:31 PM, dudleian said:

I have a Nautilus with a stub nib, which is as smooth as anything (though it’s obviously a big nib). The pen’s as big as a broom handle, but ergonomic in my average-sized hands.  

I've just swapped my 'alleged' BB nib out for a stub - what a difference!  Beautifully smooth stub which lays down a cracking broad fluid line.  One of the best £15 I've spent for a long time.  

[JohnFDaydream]

I have a Nautilus and a Key West. The Key West is ok. The ergos are good but it’s metal on plastic and doesn’t stay closed easily. My ebonite Nautilus is amazing. I have bought a few nib units too. I have a B, 2x M, and a F. They were all great out of the box. They are pretty juicy. 

[AmandaW]

I have a recently purchased Narwhal Schuylkill Chronis Teal and find myself happy enough with the purchase to not regret it.

 

I delayed ordering for a long time feeling suspicious about it being good value (higher priced than a TWSBI Eco, for example) or their 'fine' being too broad for my handwriting. The rebranding put me off even more - 'nah' in Australian tends to be slang for 'no' - and valur sounds too much like value. No amount of spin could get me past the NoValue... I hunted out the Teal to be sure of getting a pen with the old branding. And as nice as the nib is - very smooth and wet (but broader than I think a fine should be, which is my fault and confirms that I prefer Japanese fine) - I don't think I'll be adding anything else from the brand because of the branding.

 

 

[virtuoso]

           I have a Nautilus ebonite with a fine nib. The pen is great. The nib feels like no other nib; it feels soft on the page and writes wonderfully.

           virtuoso aka steve 

[SpecTP]

I played around with an artisan nib from Nahvalur at the DC Pen Show and it's practically a wet noodle. It was paired with an urushi model.

 

[langere]

I really like Nahvalur Nautilus shape.  It is very ergonomic and just feels right when I am writing.  The nibs are good too - so far no fuss with any of them - and you get a piston filler for an excellent price.

 

Erick

[Boston Brian]

Like several others who have commented, I bought a BB nib and compared to all other pens I have purchased, it could not be described as a BB nib, frankly a generous medium at best!

Is  it a smooth  nib, yes, is it a high quality pen, absolutely, but if you have ever owned a BB nib by Lamy, Parker, Sheaffer or other manufacturers then you are going to be really disappointed.!

[effrafax]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:17 PM, AmandaW said:

I have a recently purchased Narwhal Schuylkill Chronis Teal and find myself happy enough with the purchase to not regret it.

 

I delayed ordering for a long time feeling suspicious about it being good value (higher priced than a TWSBI Eco, for example) or their 'fine' being too broad for my handwriting. The rebranding put me off even more - 'nah' in Australian tends to be slang for 'no' - and valur sounds too much like value. No amount of spin could get me past the NoValue... I hunted out the Teal to be sure of getting a pen with the old branding. And as nice as the nib is - very smooth and wet (but broader than I think a fine should be, which is my fault and confirms that I prefer Japanese fine) - I don't think I'll be adding anything else from the brand because of the branding.

 

 

 

It may be spelt 'Nahvalur', but it's still pronounced 'Narwhal' - it's Icelandic!

 

[AmandaW]

Can anyone comment on how well the Nautilus pen seals? Especially any in a dry climate... do they dry out?