Mayfair Pens Noldor Fountain Pen Review

(This is a guest post from Paul, aka The Poor Penman. Paul (he/him) is a life-long stationery fiend and former industry professional. Read about his journey with pens and paper at The Poor Penman and on Instagram.)

(Author’s note: I will endeavor to keep the Tolkien references to a minimum in this review, both because I’d hate to draw any undue attention from The Estate, and because this article’s gracious host would not understand them anyways.)

Mayfair Pens is a Virginia-based brand owned and operated by craftsman Ben Stewart. Ben makes fine fountain pens in several uniquely-styled pens inspired (at least a little) by Tolkien's Legendarium. I have admired his work for some time online, and had the chance for a hands-on look at the San Francisco Pen Show. Mayfair makes a handful of models with different characteristics, like the shimmering resins of the Arkenstone line, or the pocketable and postable Narya.

I chose the Noldor model for the simplicity of its design, as well as its position as the first design in the Mayfair family.

The Noldor is a cartridge/converter pen equipped with a steel Jowo #6 nib. The design consists of a smooth-sloping barrel with soft rounded corners and a pinched grip section. The shape of the pen is reminiscent of a glass vial or narrow flask, with seams that would be invisible were it not for the colorful resin mix. The grip section is reverse-threaded into the barrel (righty-loosy,) concealing the converter compartment. The Noldor is compatible with short and standard international cartridges and your typical Schmidt-style converter.

This particular Noldor, MY Noldor, was crafted from a sparkling dark resin mix with tones of purple, blue, red, and gold throughout. There were quite a few runners-up on the table (and online.)

The grip is pinched at the end of the section, rising slightly and dropping-off sharply to meet the cap. At its narrowest point the grip measures in at around 12 mm, swiftly widening to around 14 mm. This is on the wider end of my pen size tolerance, but still usable. Mayfair pens ship with a standard steel #6 JOWO nib unit. The nib that came with my Noldor writes well enough, but I immediately swapped it out for a laser-etched Tree of Life style design that felt very fitting for the piece.

I have mixed feelings about the cap. On the one hand, it’s simple. The cap is completely free from logos or insignia. It has a smooth shape that maintains the silhouette of the pen. On the other hand, it is quite small. And light. And fairly prone to rolling. If you tend to hold your pen cap while writing, then there’s no problem here. I tend to rest mine on the desk or tabletop, and sometimes the coordination of man fails.

Let’s talk about value. The Noldor retails for $185, which is not a small ask. In fact, this comes very close to my limit when it comes to recommending pens. There are some considerations to be made, however, such as the source and (for lack of a better term) provenance of the pen. Strictly speaking, the experience of using a Noldor is not remarkably different from less-expensive products; Jowo nibs and converter fillers are not exactly rare. What sets Mayfair apart is the design and artistry that goes into each piece. From the resins to the shapes, these things are unique. The main difference in buying a Mayfair compared to a “Big Pens” $200 offering is that your dollars go directly to the person making the pen. There is a direct relationship between the piece you buy and the person you buy it from. There’s something special about that, and it cannot be replaced by a bit of gold or precious resin.

Overall I’m enjoying the Noldor from Mayfair Pens. It has been in rotation for a few refills now, which is really saying something. The shape and style of Mayfair’s designs may not be to everyone’s taste, but that uniqueness is what drew me in. I think there is a LOT more room in the fountain pen market for interpretive and creative pen profiles. Ben Stewart, the craftsman behind the pen, uses a beautiful assortment of material blends to make unique pens that will stand out in any collection. He also does an excellent job displaying his work online, but I highly recommend checking them out live at a pen show if you ever have the opportunity. But not this one. This one is mine. My own. My… Precious.

(Note: For more on Mayfair Pens, check out Caroline’s Meet Your Maker post.)

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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

Nahvalur Eclipse Retractable Fountain Pen Review

I love modern takes on classic fountain pen design challenges. Whether it is creating a better filling mechanism, modifying nibs to meet the needs of today's user, or trying make a better retractable fountain pen, I’m here for all of it.

Nahvalur decided to take on the latter challenge with the Eclipse, their version of a retractable fountain pen. We have seen several companies attempt to match what the great Pilot Vanishing Point brought to the market decades ago, but none have been able to equal it. Given that the VP is untouchable, how does the Eclipse stand up to the rest of the retractable pen market? Pretty well.

The main design element of the Eclipse that differentiates it is the nib deployment mechanism. Instead of a button knock on the end of the pen (Vanishing Point, Platinum Curidas,) or a twist (LAMY Dialog,) this pen is what I’m calling a barrel knock. To deploy or retract the nib, you grab both ends of the pen and push it towards the middle. You can see the gaps in the middle of the barrel that allow the alternating aluminum parts to slide together and engage the mechanism. At the end of the day it’s still a knock mechanism, but handled in a unique way.

Given this design, how do you get inside the barrel to access the nib unit and fill the pen? The rear of the pen twists, and in turn, unthreads the pen in the middle interior. The pen then slides into two halves where you can access the nib unit and ink converter. The pen fills by putting the removed nib unit into an ink bottle and using the supplied converter to draw in ink. Reverse the assembly process, and start to write!

I never used the launch version of the Eclipse, but there were reports of difficulty re-assembling the barrel once undone. Whatever the issue was seems to have been resolved in the current models, because I’ve had no troubles taking the barrel apart and putting it back together repeatedly.

From a writing perspective, I like the nib a lot. This one is a Fine Steel model (also available in Medium,) and both the line width and ink flow have been great. As someone who likes fine lines, I couldn’t ask for much more.

The Ecplise has many of the standard retractable fountain pen downsides, such as a long and wide barrel, and a clip in the grip area. It’s on the limit size-wise for me (my retractable preference lies with the Vanishing Point’s partner, the skinner barrel Pilot Decimo,) but still very usable. The bigger challenge with the Eclipse is the edginess of the aluminum parts in the middle of the barrel.

Close-up of the raised edges on the barrel.

The questions here are two-fold: 1. can you pinch your fingers when engaging the mechanism, and 2. just how sharp are those aluminum parts? To answer the second part, they obviously aren’t sharp, but each strip of aluminum has a raised lip along the edges. Given the number of them, you can really feel them on the barrel. Not so much when writing, but they are there. For the first question, I haven’t pinched myself yet, and I’ve used both single-hand and two-handed deployment options. If I didn’t pay attention, I do wager that I could get caught out.

Retractable pen comparison, top to bottom: Platinum Curidas, Nahvalur Eclipse, Pilot Vanishing Point, Pilot Decimo.

At $99, I think the Nahvalur Eclipse is a great option, if you can deal with the considerations listed above. Those considerations are what makes retractable fountain pens a secondary or specialty pen for many users, as for some people they just don’t fit their hand. For others, it offers something different than the Platinum Curidas in the same price bracket, and is much cheaper to try than the Pilot Vanishing Point and Decimo, both of which use 14k nibs. Overall, Nahvalur has made something interesting with this pen, and I look forward to continuing to use it.

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

Clarto Lavie Gray Tabby Cat Glass 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

A good glass pen is such a great thing to have around. They may not seem practical at first thought, but they're perfect for testing new inks. It's so much easier to clean off a dip pen after testing an ink than it is to fill a regular fountain pen. And with the ink retention that dip pens have now, it's hardly an inconvenience to re-dip the pen for another half page of writing. The trick, though, is finding a good one. I've used a lot of them that didn't quite work for me. Either the ink didn't flow nicely, or it didn't hold enough ink, or the glass tip was scratchy and tore the paper, or they were too delicate and fragile to use effectively. This Clarto Lavie Glass Pen overcomes all those obstacles and is dang cute while doing so.

Clarto pens are handmade in Japan, so each is unique and they feel like works of art. There's a definite special feeling that one gets while holding something handmade. It's a kind of connection to the maker, from one creator to another. It makes the use of that item all the more special.

This handmade glass pen is a smooth rod with a spiral flame-shaped nib at one end, and the cutest ever blown glass grey tabby cat at the top. It has cute little ears, and wee eyes, and a sweet curling tail, and soft stripes. She looks a bit like my grey tabby, Ursula, which is why I chose grey. It's a very simple construction, and the minimalism of it is definitely part of its charm. The other part of its charm is how well it works.

My favorite use for a glass pens is in ink testing. Y'all know I hate cleaning my fountain pens, so inking up a whole pen just to test an ink feels like a chore. I was excited to have a new tester pen. What I didn't expect, was that it would give me such a fantastic writing experience. I thought it was cute, fine for the short-term use of an ink review. But I would write with this for hours. In fact, in this pen, I've found this year's November challenge. My November-extra-focused-writing-month (formerly NaNoWriMo) will be done with this pen, and I'm excited about it.

The nib writes smoothly with no snags or catches. It has a nice texture on the paper, no dragging or squeaking. It feels just like writing with a good steel nib--and smoother than many. And the ink from one dip lasts for half of an A5 page, so there's rarely an interruption to your writing to re-dip. The spiral design stores ink around the nib, so as one side runs dry, you rotate the pen for some fresh ink. By the time you work your way around the whole nib, you've been writing for ages.

And to clean it--just run the nib under some water for a a second. Presto, done. I love it!

The smooth glass of the pen body is a bit slippery as a grip. That's really the only issue I had with using this pen. I might wrap it in a bit of washi for longer writing sessions. Also, the pen is expensive. The Tabby Cat version costs $140, which is a bit shocking at first, until you remember that it is handmade, and then you write with it and go "OH OKAY I GET IT." There are some more complex designs that cost as much as $179, and they'd be worth it, too. Y'all, there's one with a frog. An axolotl. A manta ray! As well as other seasonal designs. I'm smitten. With this kitten. Sorry, I'll see myself out.

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

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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