What is your latest pen acquisition?

[Chrissy]

I took a flyer on a pen I had heard about, the Narwhal Schuylkill. A thread on FPN tipped me off to a limited edition in a dark red ebonite that had been made up for Dromgooles and I decided to chance it.

Based on positive reviews, having an affinity for dark ebonites, and wanting to check out a promising, modest-cost piston filler. I ordered one late last Thursday evening. It just arrived now, which is remarkable service. Put a standard first ink in it and this is a very, very nice pen. The cap is too long/heavy for comfortable posting but it can be done. The ebonite gives it just a bit of heft and between that and a generous barrel length, it is comfortable un-posted. The barrel threads are essentially unnoticeable, which along with the generous-length section makes for comfortable writing. The nib is a well-done steel M and wrote totally smooth out of the box. The pen also has a well-made ink window.

With the limited edition packaging of the wooden box and leather case, this is an excellent purchase ($80 total), and worth consideration. They have this same basic pen in various colorful acrylics, minus box/case, for $40-55. Here's a quick phone-cam shot of the entire package as received:

That's a very nice looking pen for a decent price.

[Jon Szanto]

I didn't want to jinx this one by posting in the "what are you waiting for" thread, but the mail arrived today, yay! A little over a week ago I saw a new listing pop up on eBay and nanoseconds later I had made the decision and punched the button.

I'm very happy to have received a one-owner (essentially) Sheaffer set from the first generation of the Balance line, all in the new (then) finish of Black and Pearl. The set includes an Oversize Lifetime fountain pen, two different model/size pencils, and... a penknife! None of my research so far shows this as an actual Sheaffer product, so I am uncertain if it was the owner finding the match or cross-marketing or ?? Anyway, it's a perfect material match and a cool addition.

The best part was asking the seller for a bit of background: it turns out the set was purchased by her grandparents new, handed down to their children, who now are elderly and their children (seller) are helping them downsize. It has always been in the desk of the family at home, and I'm really happy to be giving a new home. I'll put some pics up after restoration, but the auction pics are pretty good already. Enjoy.

P.S. The pencils are both fully functional. The lead is a bit larger than a contemporary 0.09mm lead, and I would love to find some vintage red lead for the smaller pencil. If anyone is hip to the necessary info for finding lead for these, let me know (otherwise I'll ask questions at David Nishimura's vintage site).

[Chrissy]

That's a super set Jon and I hope that the original owners are happy that it has gone to a new life to be restored, loved and used. It must have been a difficult decision for them to part with it after all of these years.

As far as replacement leads go I don't know the size and I haven't found red leads. However there are some rare Worther 1.18mm leads available on Cult Pens. Might they fit? Or these are red 1.1mm ebay.com 372601478122. Good luck with your new acquisitions.

[carlos.q]

Cool set Jon! For the larger leads in different colors look here: https://www.legendaryleadcompany.com/

[Jon Szanto]

As far as replacement leads go I don't know the size and I haven't found red leads. However there are some rare Worther 1.18mm leads available on Cult Pens. Might they fit? Or these are red 1.1mm ebay.com 372601478122. Good luck with your new acquisitions.

Thanks, Chrissy. I actually managed to measure the thickness of the lead and it seems very close to the 1.1mm leads that David Nishimura has, so I ordered both red and blue. I found I had some older black lead that fit. Plus with DN, I was able to order some silicone sacs for the re-sac so that the pen won’t discolor any further. It hasn’t turned too far yet.

[mizgeorge]

Oh! Those are beautiful Jon - and they look in great shape. You must be really pleased

[FredRydr]

...The pencils are both fully functional. The lead is a bit larger than a contemporary 0.09mm lead, and I would love to find some vintage red lead for the smaller pencil. If anyone is hip to the necessary info for finding lead for these, let me know....

Ask Jon Veley of The Legendary Lead Company. He is often at pen shows.

That is a wonderful set, and in very good condition without the ambering that's usually found in this celluloid. Congratulations!

[fountainpenkid]

This is excessively elegant.
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[Igraine]

Wow, very pretty!

[FredRydr]

And comes another Pelikan. I'm not a demonstrator fan, and even tinted transparent plastic pens look cheap to me. I don't like cleaning ink from nooks, crannies and threads. But this M205 was offered without a nib unit, and my M400 14k B nib unit with custom grind by Richard has been an orphan too long. The M205 fits the bill and I get to see the innards. The seller kindly surprised me with a couple of ink samples, too!

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[BayesianPrior]

Just picked up this beauty at a local art supply shop. Completely unlike any other pen I own, so of course I've muted its exuberance with a sober blue-black ink.

I think it's a Conklin Duraflex in Endless Summer acrylic?

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[mizgeorge]

And comes another Pelikan. I'm not a demonstrator fan, and even tinted transparent plastic pens look cheap to me. I don't like cleaning ink from nooks, crannies and threads. But this M205 was offered without a nib unit, and my M400 14k B nib unit with custom grind by Richard has been an orphan too long. The M205 fits the bill and I get to see the innards. The seller kindly surprised me with a couple of ink samples, too!

IMG_3744.jpg

Very jealous! I keep missing these, and I love demonstrators!

[mizgeorge]

Just picked up this beauty at a local art supply shop. Completely unlike any other pen I own, so of course I've muted its exuberance with a sober blue-black ink.

I think it's a Conklin Duraflex in Endless Summer acrylic?

IMG_20210330_1303326.jpg

That is much nicer looking than the pictures I've seen. What's the omniflex nib like?

[BayesianPrior]

That is much nicer looking than the pictures I've seen. What's the omniflex nib like?

Thanks! The miracle of a BlackBerry camera.

I'm still getting used to the nib - I'm not a flex user. Nearest thing would be a soft fine on my Pilot 912. It's not glassy, but I probably should give it a proper soapy rinse before I judge it too hastily. Certainly does a nice hairline with no pressure. If I can find my Tomoe River paper I'll post a writing sample.

[Detman101]

Pulled the trigger on one of these.



Should arrive in a month or more...

[Igraine]

And comes another Pelikan. I'm not a demonstrator fan, and even tinted transparent plastic pens look cheap to me. I don't like cleaning ink from nooks, crannies and threads. But this M205 was offered without a nib unit, and my M400 14k B nib unit with custom grind by Richard has been an orphan too long. The M205 fits the bill and I get to see the innards. The seller kindly surprised me with a couple of ink samples, too!

IMG_3744.jpg

Don’t you just love Sea Europa?? I got a small 5ml bottle, definitely going to buy a full size! I was expecting a deeper, darker color, but was pleasantly surprised with a soft, clear coral...kind of a flamingo pink. Beautiful shade.

[Igraine]

Very nice, Jon. That looks like a very good deal at 80 bucks. Where is it made?

I honestly have no idea. Everything would point to New England (because of the reference to the Schuykill River) but it is something I want to track down. No place of manufacture or other company data on the brief instruction/warranty card. I'm going to find out.

Annnnnd.......... Here they are: Narwhal Pens. Note that there is some other place with a similar name that sells a bunch of basic stationery products which is why it took me a while to track this down. They also have a Facebook page if you want to look there.

Schuykill is a Dutch word, meaning secret/hidden. I looked it up once while sitting in traffic on the Schuykill Expressway, which runs along the river. There is also a Schuykill County in east central Pennsylvania. When I first heard of the Narwhal Schuykill, I too thought they must be from that area (Mid Atlantic US, not New England) because it’s an unusual word that I’ve never heard in reference to anything other than the river and county...but I didn’t see anything on the Narwhal website indicating where they are from.

I want a Narwhal pen just for the nib design!

[BayesianPrior]

Very nice, Jon. That looks like a very good deal at 80 bucks. Where is it made?

I honestly have no idea. Everything would point to New England (because of the reference to the Schuykill River) but it is something I want to track down. No place of manufacture or other company data on the brief instruction/warranty card. I'm going to find out.

Annnnnd.......... Here they are: Narwhal Pens. Note that there is some other place with a similar name that sells a bunch of basic stationery products which is why it took me a while to track this down. They also have a Facebook page if you want to look there.

Schuykill is a Dutch word, meaning secret/hidden. I looked it up once while sitting in traffic on the Schuykill Expressway, which runs along the river. There is also a Schuykill County in east central Pennsylvania. When I first heard of the Narwhal Schuykill, I too thought they must be from that area (Mid Atlantic US, not New England) because it’s an unusual word that I’ve never heard in reference to anything other than the river and county...but I didn’t see anything on the Narwhal website indicating where they are from.

I want a Narwhal pen just for the nib design!

There is a little voice in the back of my head saying California. Their website links to the LinkedIn pages of the three gentlemen who appear to run the company (designer, marketing, and finance). Two are in Cali (Berkeley and LA) and one is in Nawlins.

Stonecott Fine Writing Supplies describes Narwhal as an American/Chinese brand.

Cultpens describes the company as Californian.

But I guess that doesn't answer the question of where the pen are made. I would be surprised if a small Californian start-up found New England to be the most economical place for manufacturing.

[FredRydr]

...but I didn’t see anything on the Narwhal website indicating where they are from....

Utah? https://narwhalcompany.com/pages/about-us I recall reading that the pen was named to connect to the Philadelphia Pen Show (rather esoteric name for those not from southeast Pennsylvania) while the vendor was attending the show.

I grew up swimming and fishing in the Schuylkill across from Valley Forge, and now I want an ebonite Narwhal Schuylkill.

[mizgeorge]

Utah? https://narwhalcompany.com/pages/about-us I recall reading that the pen was named to connect to the Philadelphia Pen Show (rather esoteric name for those not from southeast Pennsylvania) while the vendor was attending the show.

I grew up swimming and fishing in the Schuylkill across from Valley Forge, and now I want an ebonite Narwhal Schuylkill.

Not the same company - the one in the links is for sewn goods, not fountain pens.

However this - https://penquisition.com/2020/01/14/...how-2019-teal/ - would indicate that the whole setup is in-house somewhere in China, which would make sense given that the three people named as being the company owners are all American Chinese.

As for finding one - they seem to be completely sold out now - but we know who's got one...