Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Nakaya Dorsal Fin 2 in Heki-Tamenuri: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Nakaya pens are all grail pens in my opinion, but there’s one model, in particular, that has always captured my imagination: the Dorsal Fin 2. To me, the pen mimics the soft curve of a Samurai sword more than it does a dorsal fin. But I’ve never much liked the Dorsal Fin 1 model, even though it more obviously evokes a dorsal fin. Dorsal Fin models (especially the Dorsal Fin 2) are in high demand and are constantly on backorder. When nibs.com announced last summer that they were expecting a shipment to arrive in the fall, I preordered one immediately and received it in October.

Nakaya pens come packaged in a softwood box with a red velvet-like interior. Included with the pen are a box of cartridges and a kimono. The pen is also supplied with a converter.

Heki-Tamenuri is a lovely urushi with organic, earthy tones of brown and green.

One of the reasons I chose the Dorsal Fin is because the model’s unique lines show off the underlying green urushi so well.

When you uncap the pen, you see even more of the green in the threads and grip section.

This pen is pure zen. It is perfectly balanced capped and uncapped, and it feels absolutely luscious in the hand. Urushi warms to your body temperature, so the pen becomes an extension of you. Writing with it is a simple pleasure.

For this Nakaya, I chose a medium-soft nib with added flex, ground to a stub by John Mottishaw. The Nakaya branding on the nib is gorgeous and the nib performs exactly as I hoped it would.

You can see the flex of the tines in this photo.

I inked the pen with Iroshizuku Tsukushi. I’ve found that Nakaya pens work especially well with Iroshizuku inks. This nib is wet and smooth. It is bouncy when writing without flex and it offers good line variation when you flex the nib.

The Nakaya Dorsal Fin 2 retails at $1,500 plus additional charges if you want nib modifications like mine. It’s obviously one of those pens you think about long and hard before purchasing. I’m absolutely pleased with my purchase. Not only is this pen a piece of beautiful art, it is one of my best writers as well.

You can purchase the Nakaya Dorsal Fin 2 from nibs.com. The Dorsal Fin 2 comes in various colors, including Heki-Tamenuri, Kuro-Tamenuri, Aka-Tamenuri, Midori-Tamenuri, Toki-Tamenuri, and various Ishime colors.

(I purchased this pen with my own funds after selling several beloved pens so I could afford this one!)

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Posted on March 13, 2020 by Susan Pigott and filed under Nakaya, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Leonardo Momento Zero Blue Hawaii Fountain Pen Review

If you have paid attention at all to the fountain pen scene over the last year, then you have seen the rise of Leonardo Officina Italian fountain pens. Susan has reviewed two for The Pen Addict already (here and here) and I’m finally ready to spill a few words on my own Leonardo Momento Zero Blue Hawaii fountain pen.

Leonardo Officina Italiana was launched in 2018 by the Matrone family, who have a combined 45 years in the pen business, primarily with the now-shuttered Delta. All Leonardo Pens are manufactured in-house in Italy, where they also manufacture pens for Armando Simoni Club. This experience has led the the creation of one of the best new entrants in the pen market in years.

What caught my eye with the first batch of Leonardo pens were the materials used. The acrylics in the Momento Zero lineup (they also use celluloid and ebonite) are stunning. Choosing my first proved to be difficult, but I zoned in on the Blue Hawaii early on. The only issue was the color was so popular that it took me a while to acquire one with rhodium trim!

My time came all the way back at the 2019 Atlanta Pen Show, and the Momento Zero has been a regular in my rotation ever since.

While the material used for this pen is what caught my eye, what good is the material if the pen barrel isn’t nice to use? The experience of the makers show that they know how to make a great feeling writing instrument, not only a great looking one.

The grip section has a slight taper in the middle, allowing for a natural feeling finger placement. The barrel length (5.5 inches) and diameter (0.6 inches) both fall into the standard size category for me, and the 0.8 oz. weight give it a perfectly balanced feel. It uses a cartridge/converter filling system, with a blind cap on the back end of the pen as an added way to access the converter. Speaking of which, this is a fancy converter that I very much enjoy.

If you were to force me to list any negatives about the Leonardo Momento Zero, I can come up with two, but only barely. One, the materials on the barrel do not line up. There are six areas that the materials run through, and none match up. They aren’t trying to line the material up and it’s off - it’s not supposed to line up at all. I think of it like the pattern on a calico cat, and I think it is great. Some may not like it.

Two, Leonardo uses Bock nibs. If I had my choice, I would choose Jowo every time, but it’s pretty clear that these nibs are being QC’ed and adjusted if needed before leaving the shop. This steel EF nib was perfect right out of the box.

With a street price of $199 these are not inexpensive pens, but I feel that they represent good value. And, with a bit of shopping around, you can bring that price down on this model a good bit. I recall paying $180 for mine from Dan Smith at the Atlanta Pen Show, and site sponsor Pen Chalet has several models for as low as $159. With the number of models and colors available, you are certainly able to find one that suits your style if you are interested in Leonardo Officina Italiana fountain pens.

I know I am interested, as I just picked up my second one a week ago. And I feel like it won’t be the last.

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Posted on March 9, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Leonardo, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Narwhal Piston-Fill Fountain Pen Review

(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!)

I hadn't heard of or seen a Narwhal fountain pen till I watched Brad unbox his on his Twitch stream. Even after seeing the video, I kept my expectations low. With its price tag of $45, I assumed it was more likely to be cheaply made and slightly overpriced than well-made and underpriced. When the pen arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe even shocked. Possibly flabbergasted.

The first thing I noticed about the pen is how substantial it feels. It's very solid. A bit heavy, but in a reassuring way. It doesn't feel like the plastic is fragile or cheap, the way some economically priced acrylic pens sometimes do. In the hand, it does not feel like a cheap pen at all. The joins and corners are all smooth and seamless. The threads are precise, both for the cap and for the piston. Because, yes, this is a piston filler! The mechanism resembles the one in a TWSBI ECO, and it holds a comparable amount of ink. As in, a lot of ink.

The piston is operated by twisting the end cap. The cap, end cap, body, and grip section are all in the same pretty, swirly acrylic. The ribbons of color have a great depth to them and it's a lovely effect. The grip tapers smoothly and is very comfortable to hold. The threads at the top of the grip section are so smooth that you can hardly feel them. There is a silver clip that has the perfect amount of grip and spring, and a silver cap band that says "Narwhal." The clip design even looks like a fountain pen! There is also a silver ring at the join for the end cap. Every fitting is absolutely seamless. I don't think I've ever seen this level of precision on a pen under a hundred dollars. Heck, I have some that cost over that that are less well fitted.

Narwhal also make their own nibs, which sounds bold, even foolhardy, but--again--they've exceeded my expectations. This is a good nib. Perfectly wet with no skipping. There's a bit more feedback than I personally prefer, but it doesn't feel too scratchy, and it doesn't feel dry. It also has one of the coolest engravings I've seen on a nib--a leaping narwhal (their company logo). The nib only comes in Fine, but it's not a true fine, in my opinion. It's closer to a western medium, or even a Japanese broad.

When uncapped, it's perfectly balanced. With the cap on, it's very cap-heavy, as there's a chunk of metal at the finial. The only negative I can name so far is that it does not post. I know that can be a dealbreaker for some folks. If it did post, though, that metal in the cap would be a problem. It's a large enough pen that it does not need to be posted, and would even be a bit unwieldly if it was. It's slightly longer than a TWSBI ECO.

I highly recommend this pen if you're looking to try a piston filling pen and want great quality for your money. I can't quite fathom (haha, get it?) how they've kept the cost so low while offering such high level of finish. They could easily be charging quite a bit more for these pens. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Narwhal comes out with next. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this new brand.

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

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