Posts filed under Fountain Pens

The Plot is Afoot

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Two weeks ago, I asked you all for recommendations about what one--singular--pen I should use to write with for the entirety of NaNoWriMo. You all had some amazing suggestions!

By far the most popular suggestion was the Pilot 823, and I agree with you. It really is the perfect pen with which to write a novel! But one of my aims was to try something less well known. My Pilot 823 was actually my first "nice" pen that my husband bought for our fifth wedding anniversary. We're about to have our sixteenth, so I've been writing books with the Pilot 823 for over a decade. It's absolutely an excellent pen for the job! But it's far from unknown.

Another common suggestion was the Opus 88, which I've also reviewed before, and think is an excellent choice. But the most commonly recommended pen that I haven't ever tried was the Aurora 88. I've never even held an Aurora 88, but not for lack of admiration. Y'all just made some very fancy suggestions. But with big thanks to Brad, Kenro Industries, and Pen Chalet, there is now an Aurora 88 Unica Nera in my house, inked up, and prepped for its ultimate test.

I confess, my first reaction when the pen arrived was concern. This is a NICE pen, y'all. I got that gut reaction we all know too well. Is this pen too nice to use? But of course not, right? Pens were meant to be used. This one is about to run the pen equivalent of a marathon. How will it do? I don't know! I have no experience with the brand.

Based on a first impression, what I do know is that I'm going to really enjoy finding out. This pen fits all my criteria. It holds a lot of ink in its piston-filled mechanism, so I won't have to clean and refill it often. It's very lightweight, so I won't get hand fatigue. It has a smooth writing nib. It's not too big. The only question mark is the durability, and that will have an answer by the end of November. I do have it in a Musubi case for transport, so it's getting babied a little bit. But it is going on the road with me--first to the World Fantasy Convention in New Orleans, where I'll be doing readings/signings, speaking on panels, and eating my way through the city. Oh, and writing. That, too. NaNoWriMo waits for no one. And then my annual retreat to an inn on the shore of Lake Michigan, where all I do is write for three days straight over Thanksgiving weekend, listening to the waves and ordering nachos for room service.

I want to thank you all for your input, and for recommending such a nice pen! You've helped set me up for success and I'm really looking forward to getting started.

Now, tell me what you're working on! Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What tools are you using?

PS: The Aurora 88 was designed by Marcello Nizzoli, who has designs in the MOMA and who is most renowned for his design work on...typewriters. Will the ghost of Marcello lean over my shoulder as I write and whisper, "You know I designed a much more efficient way to do this?" I know, Marcello. I know. But that's not the point.

(Kenro Industries provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on October 13, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Aurora, Fountain Pens, NaNoWriMo.

Write Turnz Autumn Medley Fountain Pen Review

I’ve been spending a lot of time with my Write Turnz fountain pen I picked up at the Orlando Pen Show. Which one? This one ...

Called Autumn Medley, this brown, caramel, and purple resin is a knockout, and perfect for the fall.

Material beauty aside, do you know what sold me on this pen? The copper clip and finial. While I always appreciate a good clip and finial, it was the custom design on this pen that sealed the deal.

The challenging part with standing in front of the Write Turnz table is that nearly ALL of Jason Olson’s pens have a custom clip or finial, and often both. There were copper designs, like on this pen, brushed titanium on others, and a huge range of Damascus steel clips of different shapes and sizes elsewhere. I was completely enamored with all of the choices, and that was just for hardware!

Jason makes pens from a wide range of materials (fossilized Wooly Mammoth Tusk, anyone?) but I tend to go with something more straightforward for my first experience with a new maker. That’s if you consider Autumn Medley with custom copper hardware straightforward.

Looking at the rest of the Write Turnz pen lineup, it is. And I’m very happy with it so far. Fitted with a 1.1 mm steel JoWo stub nib, etched with the Write Turns logo, it performs great. That is to be excepted, but I made the pen sing even louder with my choice of Bungubox Imperial Purple ink. A more perfect match cannot be found.

The barrel shape fits my hand well. It’s standard in size and weight, with a straight-sides grip section, and a cartridge/converter filling system. The threading is smooth, with the cap taking just over one full turns to remove, and the entire barrel is polished to perfection.

The finial is a perfectly circular copper disk, with no engravings or markings to speak of. I dig the simplicity. The clip is also unmarked, but has a unique short curved blade shape, giving this pen a sneaky cool feature. Both parts will continue to patina over time.

Sneaky cool is what Write Turnz is to me after getting to spend time with Jason and his daughter in Orlando. Their offerings can be a simple or as complex as you like, and I promise you will see something you haven’t seen before on the table. In fact, Jason showed me his Hang 10 project at the show, where he makes pen barrels from discarded surfboard resin. Now that’s what I call quite good!

I believe I paid around $225 for Autumn Medley at the Orlando Pen Show, and while not directly available on the site, many other unique models are. I’m sure you can always contact Write Turnz if you are interested, or have a special request of your own.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Write Turnz, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Narwhal Nautlius Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Every now and then, I'll pick up a new pen that just instantly feels right in my hand. I just know that we're going to get along based on how it feels. As long as the nib and everything else functions normally, I'm pretty much already in love with it.

This doesn't happen to me often, but the Narwhal Nautilus surprised me with this feeling the first time I picked it up. It surprised me because I wasn't instantly attracted to it at first sight. Sure, it's definitely a unique pen that attracts the eye, but it wasn't until I picked it up that everything just clicked for me.

Being made of ebonite, this pen already has a lot going for it. I really wish we had more ebonite pens to choose from, and I wish that more modern manufacturers used the material. It doesn't produce bright, vibrant colors, but it just feels so good in the hand. It's lightweight, but warms up quickly and always feels sturdy. It's a fantastic material that comes from a process of vulcanizing rubber, which in itself is fascinating. Throw in some black and burgundy notes with the dusty purple hue, and you've got a winner. The gold trim fits well with the ebonite tones, and the port hole ink windows are a fun accent that adds to this pen's unique aesthetic.

The actual name of the color is Pelagia Noctiluca. A quick search lands me on this page, where I'm lost reading about jellyfish for a few minutes. The main takeaway here is that Narwhal named this material colorway perfectly.

While the ebonite is the clear star of this pen's design, the shape is something that also gives it a lot of unique personality. The pen is a tad thicker than most standard fountain pens, and it's about as long as a Lamy Safari. It looks a little chunky or heavy at first glance, which is why it's so surprising and delightful when you actually pick it up because it's actually quite lightweight. The rounded ends and straight tubular clip match perfectly with the three ink windows, which take design cues from a ship's port hole windows. For me at least, these windows also make me think of Captain Nemo's ship in Disney's adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — which also happens to be called Nautilus (mind-blown emoji). And, since there are three of these windows, it's really easy to get a quick idea of how much ink you have left in the pen.

The Nautilus uses a piston-filling mechanism for inking the pen. It's a great mechanism that feels smooth and well made. There isn't any play in any of the pieces when operating the piston, and it only takes a couple of quick turns to fill the pen.

Moving down to the nib, you have a large steel nib with the same gold-like plating as the rest of the pen's trim. There is some decorative scroll work as well as a Narwhal logo. The nib size is stamped on the left shoulder of the nib, which is a welcome addition in the event you forget what nib size you have! This happens to me more often than I'd like to admit, so I love it when manufacturers stamp the tip size on the nib.

The grip section of the Nautilus is also a big part of why I love this pen. It's a great size, and the slight taper toward a hefty shoulder at the end makes it really comfortable and secure. The ebonite material warms up in your hand quickly, and it has a tactile grippy-ness that is hard to describe. It doesn't feel like other materials that I'm used to (like metals or resins), and I'd say this is a perk.

The cap doesn't post on the back of the pen, but that's fine with me since I don't normally post the cap anyway. With the size of this pen, posting the cap would be a little awkward and would throw off the great balance it has.

The cap also features a decorative band that has the NARWHAL name printed into it twice along with some wave motifs. I think it's really well done and adds to the sense of quality and thought that went into the design and manufacturing of this pen.

This is my first exposure to the Narwhal brand (now Nahvalur), and I couldn't be more pleased with the Nautlius. From a pen that I shrugged at initially, this pen has been a nearly constant companion for the past few weeks. At price points ranging from $120 to $295 (depending on the material,) you definitely shouldn't overlook Narwhal's Nautilus offerings, and I look forward to seeing what they get up to next.

(Nahvalur provided this pen at no charge to The Pen Addict for purposes of this review.)

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