It’s always a fun day when new pens arrive for the shop, and yesterday a huge box of Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) pens showed up. We’re starting out with two models: the Nahvalur “Original Plus” and the Nahvalur Nautilus, both of which bring something unique to the current shop lineup as we build our our fountain pen offerings.
Introducing the Nahvalur Original Plus
You may recall that I previously reviewed the Narwhal “Original”, a piston-filler fountain pen offered at the $45 price point in four brightly colored swirled acrylics. While I very much enjoyed that pen, the materials used in the “original Original” were a bit loud for my taste, and I was intrigued when Nahvalur switched things up a bit by launching the “Original Plus” series with some major modifications. First of all, Nahvalur has introduced a vacuum-filler mechanism, similar to those found on pens such as the PenBBS 456 and TWSBI Vac700R / Vac Mini. Second, while the new “Original Plus” keeps the same general four-color scheme as the “Original,” Nahvalur has opted for transparent acrylic with more subtle colored swirls, and I love the new look. While all four colors (“Altifrons Green,” “Melacara Purple,” “Azureus Blue,” and “Gold Ocellatus”) look great, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add yet another yellow demonstrator to my collectionn (though the blue is calling my name).
Introducing the Nahvalur Nautilus in “Stylophora Berry” Ebonite
I’ve picked up two different versions of Nahvalur’s ebonite piston filler, the Nautilus, over the past several months, and I came away so impressed with the value this pen offers that I had to go ahead and add it to the shop as well. First of all, ebonite pens are still somewhat uncommon outside the custom pen world, despite the fact that it’s the original material from which most early fountain pens were made. I have several ebonite pens in my collection, ranging from the inexpensive to the luxurious, and the feel of this material is difficult to reproduce in any other way. Second, the design of the Nautilus intrigued me, especially the “porthole” ink windows. You’ll be seeing much more of the Nautilus in the months to come, as I had C.Y. of Tokyo Station Pens add a mini-Nag grind to one of mine at this year’s San Francisco pen show.
Where to Buy and an Inaugural Promotional Offer
As of this morning, you can purchase both the Nahvalur Original Plus and the Nahvalur Nautilus in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. The Original Plus ($55) is available in all colors and nib sizes, while the Nautilus ($160) is currently available in Stylophora Berry ebonite. Since both pens are bottle-fill only, we also have several different ink options available in the shop, and to kick off the festivities we plan to include a complimentary ink sample (my own random choice, but it will be something quality and I will try to select a color to match your new pen) with all Nahvalur pen purchases through Monday September 19, at 11:59pm. Be sure to let us know what you think of the ink that we include - we’re “test driving” a few different brands as we think through future expansion!
The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands shown, including Nahvalur!