Nahvalur Eclipse - New capless pen

[inkstainedadventure]

I got a new pen yesterday. I pre-ordered a Nahvalur Eclipse. I must say, it is a pen with some length and girth (a scant bit over 14mm). The Medium nib writes like a Fine as compared to my other capless pens (was filled with Diamine Majestic Blue). I am going to be using it for a week or so and then do my first YouTube video review, God help us all.

 

Filling the pen is most similar to the Platinum Curidas. With the Eclipse, you unscrew the back end of the pen very carefully (the instructions say to avoid damaging the threads, so I wonder about the build quality) and half the pen comes off. You slide out the inner workings. Beware of the spring as it likes to come out with the nib and converter. Oh yeah, it comes with a converter in it, a rather small one but not every pen can hold a Con 70 right? The opening of the converter reminds me a whole lot of a Pilot converter. I may try to see if it will hold a Pilot cartridge. Here are a couple of photos and a small writing sample to compare it to my other capless pens.

 

All in all a decent pen for $99 US dollars. I will have more information as I use it more. This is just after having it less than 24 hours.

[Mechanical]

1 hour ago, inkstainedadventure said:

I got a new pen yesterday. I pre-ordered a Nahvalur Eclipse.

I was hoping that someone here would get this. It looks pretty nice!

 

I eagerly anticipate your review... and do let us know if the Eclipse has any resistance to drying out.

[Paul-in-SF]

Is it a twist mechanism to bring out the nib? I have a Pilot Fermo that I prefer to the clickable type. 

[inkstainedadventure]

7 minutes ago, Paul-in-SF said:

Is it a twist mechanism to bring out the nib? I have a Pilot Fermo that I prefer to the clickable type. 

It is not a twist. There are, slots, so to speak on the body of the pen. You push the back end of the pen forward until you hear the 'click' and there is the nib. Then to retract the nib, you push it the same way and the nib retracts. It is a bit awkward at first as it takes some time to learn to one hand it, but it's not impossible.

[inkstainedadventure]

1 hour ago, Mechanical said:

I was hoping that someone here would get this. It looks pretty nice!

 

I eagerly anticipate your review... and do let us know if the Eclipse has any resistance to drying out.

So far it's not had any drying issues. I may let it sit for a day or so and see if it starts up easy or needs assistance to start again.

[Dan Carmell]

Nice to see this—mine is on the way from NJ, due Monday. Wow, it’s bigger than the Curidas! I like what I see, thanks!

[inkstainedadventure]

A small update. I am going to be working on the video review but so far, the build of this pen is not what one would expect. They say to be delicate while removing the nib unit when you are refilling the ink. They say it's the threads but that's not it. I was going to unscrew it, and the end cap came off....not supposed to do that. What I saw in the end cap was dried glue. They glued the end cap onto the pen part that pushes the nib out of the door. There is an inner piece that screws into the upper body part of the pen. Why would a company use simple glue on a part that will be twisted a lot during the life of the pen? I'm not sure if they rushed these out as the pre-orders sold out. They sent out an email about a delay in shipping because of the stress on the producers. This is not good workmanship from the likes of Nahvalur.  

[Gloucesterman]

Thank you for the updated information.

I was going to look for/buy one of these at the Commonwealth Pen Show this weekend but now, I think I will hold off for a little while and see how these pens hold up in regular use and over time,

Your efforts and information are very appreciated.

[Doug C]

Mine arrives tomorrow.  I had hoped it would be smaller than the Curidas. Hoping the issues are isolated. Are you sending your pen back?

[Dan Carmell]

Mine arrived early this week and I inked it right up, curious to see how it wrote. Their in-house nib in Fine was smooth and very pleasant to use. Clearly they made an effort to put a good tip on that little scrap of paper. 
 

I like the pen a lot, it’s an innovative design and functional. I think the combination of its size and the ridges on the barrel may make it less than ideal for long writing sessions, but I’ve been using it as a note taker and it has worked great—until I picked it up today and found it to be slow to start. The nib does exit the barrel at a tiny angle from the horizontal, so a little one-off problem that I’m not ODC enough to be bothered by. I’ve not tried to remove the clip and I’m not sure I’d like the grip without it. 
 

It feels like a solid, well made pen, in spite of how light it is. I’d like to see version 2.0 be a little smaller and the ridges softened a bit, but that’s just me. 

[Doug C]

I got mine. Writes great (medium nib) and was simple to fill and use. There are some sharp edges on some of the aluminum which makes me think that they may be rushing these into market. 

No instructions so I'm not sure how to remove the clip.

Overall it's okay; no more no less. 

 

Five minutes later...UPDATE I got the clip off and enjoy it much more.

I do worry about the click cap based on earlier comments about build quality. It is easy to let the body slip when you retract the nib. With half of the body shooting up, I can see how it might fail after time.

[Gloucesterman]

3 hours ago, Doug C said:

I got mine. Writes great (medium nib) and was simple to fill and use. There are some sharp edges on some of the aluminum which makes me think that they may be rushing these into market. 

No instructions so I'm not sure how to remove the clip.

Overall it's okay; no more no less. 

 

Five minutes later...UPDATE I got the clip off and enjoy it much more.

I do worry about the click cap based on earlier comments about build quality. It is easy to let the body slip when you retract the nib. With half of the body shooting up, I can see how it might fail after time.

Oh this definitely sounds like a wait for the 2.0 version situation.

Based on the quality of their other stuff (my experience so far is very positive)) I am confident that they will address the concerns mentioned here.

As I recall, the original TWSBIs had issues and they made good on them and look where they (TWSBI) are now.

 

Please keep us posted on any experiences with this pen.

 

And thank you (all) for the updates.

[inkstainedadventure]

On 9/12/2024 at 8:11 PM, Doug C said:

Mine arrives tomorrow.  I had hoped it would be smaller than the Curidas. Hoping the issues are isolated. Are you sending your pen back?

I put in a ticket but have yet to hear back. In the mean time, I went all detective and engineer. I took quite a lot of time, and some very needle pointed tweezers, and cleaned out all of the old adhesive (looks like it might have been either glue or a epoxy of some kind). There was a lot of it and I think it was keeping the threads from sealing very well. Once I figured out the way that little knob worked and what it's job was, I was able to reattach the knob, wait a day or so for it to dry, and now it functions as intended. I think they rushed these out as they did say that delivery was delayed on the pre-orders because of stress on the producers. I love the medium nib on this thing, it's not your typical gusher medium nib but writes very well. 

 

I think I shall keep it and see if they come out with anything concerning this issue. What got me was that I have not yet heard anything concerning the ticket I put in on it.

[inkstainedadventure]

On 9/12/2024 at 8:57 PM, Dan Carmell said:

Mine arrived early this week and I inked it right up, curious to see how it wrote. Their in-house nib in Fine was smooth and very pleasant to use. Clearly they made an effort to put a good tip on that little scrap of paper. 
 

I like the pen a lot, it’s an innovative design and functional. I think the combination of its size and the ridges on the barrel may make it less than ideal for long writing sessions, but I’ve been using it as a note taker and it has worked great—until I picked it up today and found it to be slow to start. The nib does exit the barrel at a tiny angle from the horizontal, so a little one-off problem that I’m not ODC enough to be bothered by. I’ve not tried to remove the clip and I’m not sure I’d like the grip without it. 
 

It feels like a solid, well made pen, in spite of how light it is. I’d like to see version 2.0 be a little smaller and the ridges softened a bit, but that’s just me. 

 

I found it hard starting after testing for that and letting it sit for a day. I changed inks to a wetter ink in Iroshizuku asa-gao and it didn't quite as hard start as with Diamine Majestic Blue. I cannot see enough to know if the trap door is closing tightly or not. I may have to invest in a tiny snake light lol.

[inkstainedadventure]

8 hours ago, Doug C said:

I got mine. Writes great (medium nib) and was simple to fill and use. There are some sharp edges on some of the aluminum which makes me think that they may be rushing these into market. 

No instructions so I'm not sure how to remove the clip.

Overall it's okay; no more no less. 

 

Five minutes later...UPDATE I got the clip off and enjoy it much more.

I do worry about the click cap based on earlier comments about build quality. It is easy to let the body slip when you retract the nib. With half of the body shooting up, I can see how it might fail after time.

I didn't like that there were no instructions but did find some stuff online on their website. But no instructions on the clip removal, so I did what any good pen owner did, I played around until I figured it out lol. 

[Dan Carmell]

9 hours ago, inkstainedadventure said:

 

I found it hard starting after testing for that and letting it sit for a day. I changed inks to a wetter ink in Iroshizuku asa-gao and it didn't quite as hard start as with Diamine Majestic Blue. I cannot see enough to know if the trap door is closing tightly or not. I may have to invest in a tiny snake light lol.

Mine is now hard starting as well. I didn’t flush it originally so I will do that and change inks as well. I’m 

[inkstainedadventure]

12 hours ago, Dan Carmell said:

Mine is now hard starting as well. I didn’t flush it originally so I will do that and change inks as well. I’m 

After letting it set overnight and most of the day today, no hard start. I had to remove the nib unit, and clean out the top section of barrel and that may have helped seal the door a bit tighter. Here is hoping that it was not a fluke and the test can be repeat tomorrow sometime.

[Doug C]

12 hours ago, inkstainedadventure said:

After letting it set overnight and most of the day today, no hard start. I had to remove the nib unit, and clean out the top section of barrel and that may have helped seal the door a bit tighter. Here is hoping that it was not a fluke and the test can be repeat tomorrow sometime.

No problems with mine after a few days. 

[inkstainedadventure]

Another update. Found out the Eclipse can use Pilot cartridges. Perfect fit. 

[stephanos]

This is definitely interesting; thank you. To me - based on the photos you've posted - it looks a lot like the Curidas, but without the bulge at the end of the barrel for the nib trapdoor. Would that be more or less accurate?