Always interesting to watch a pen review. My Black Nautilus doesn't attract dust but fingerprints show up very clearly in the high polish. The black broad nib does not have the size on the side. It writes great, very smooth. Ink flow could be more consistent but adds character to the writing. It is one of my most comfortable writers. Nice to know easy to swap nibs. I have a few spare Moonman (Majohn) collars. Piston fillers continue to evolve & we all like that.
I was fascinated by your review, Chris because I was just filling my Nautilus when your review was posted. My box has the model, colour and nib size printed on the outer sleeve of the box, so I don't know how your supplier screwed it up. The all-black look is interesting though. I agree with your assessment of the feel in the hand - it is awesome. I have a new Wing Sung 629 14k piston filler arriving in the next week or so. I'll be interested to see how similar it is to a Montblanc 149/146 and/or a Sailor 1911L.
@@chrisrap52 No. It is a new model from Wing Sung, the 629. It looks very similar to an MB 146, is a piston filler and has a #6 size 14k gold nib. I've got the previous model 628 which has a #5 size 14k gold nib and is a cartridge converter. Very interesting pen. Here is Bobby's Aliexpress link: tinyurl.com/2p8v486j
@@InkquiringMinds Interesting, flat top & cigar ends, like Sailor. Link takes me to Mary's stationery Store, didn't know that was a Bobby store, St Penpps Chinese Pen Store is the one I follow now has no products so he opened a new store this year?
I love the design of this fountain pen. But it bugs me that (as seen in other reviews) the clip sometimes is misaligned and the portholes generally are 'off centered'. Nitpicking, I know. Eventually the seemingly common nib issues are a deal breaker. There are brands that are flawless in these regards at a similar and even lower price point. Thanks anyways!
I've just received my Nautilus today 13/04/24 from the cult of Pen in Engerland 1.1mm stub nib, yes they are still poor nibs like a nail.You are so right about the pen though I love it in seagrass green swirls.Your review still relevant.
Narwhal pen, Leonardo nib, Moonman nib collar- I think you broke multiple international laws with that combo. I was going to get this but was out of stock. Glad I didn't due to the nib issues. Thanks and Happy Holidays to you!
I love the Narwhal Nautilus and the creative designs coming from Narwhal. I suspect we are enjoying a glorious period with the affordability of these beauties. Your review did remind me I need to try another ink because I am not getting great flow with the nib. I will also smooth the nib after the first-fill usage (it does write a long time on a full filling!).
Try cleaning the feed in some water with a drop of dish soap. I didn't have problems with flow from the feed at all and the ink I used has shimmer which tends to clog feeds.
Super informative review, thanks. I, as so many others apparently, love the look of this pen. I just saw it for the first time last week, and it just stuck a cord in me. Now that I see how it writes, or not, I’m not so anxious to jump in. I’ve no experience with Narwhal. Thanks for such a solid review. It’s cool you were able to swap the nib to one that is a proven performer. Thanks again 😎.
Fantastic review, and I'm starting to notice lots of pen manufacturers are using moonjohn housings in there pens from ASC to Narwhal and Tianzi, nothing wrong with it just interesting to see, makes these swaps real easy.If I ever decide to jump into mass producing pens I know who to source collars/feeds from ;D
Aye, Captain! Great review. I love those ink portals. The clip gives it a great vintage look too. I was looking at that tool. They give you those with the Ikea type furniture. Maybe it might be worth checking those to see if they might be useful as a pen tool before tossing them. I know that sometimes the tools for our pens are goofy sizes. But, sometimes our real tools are just too big to get in there. They might not be the junk that we all thought that they were.
I hope I will get the pen, eventually. It is a very cool pen from an aesthetic point of view. Pity that the nib was not to expectations. But, seeing how it can be swapped is a a big bonus. I don't have a Moonman feed, but I do have an extra Leonardo Bock nib. I will have to go on the hunt for the Moonman. That is of course I do eventually get the pen. 🤞
This Nautilus is perhaps the only pen that has caught my interest so far, it's design is very elegant, both the Cephalopod Black and this Ebonite Bronze Corydoras look very beautiful. But I really love how the bronze details in the Corydoras looks so nautical. By the way, how easy is to use the ink porthole? Is it Lamy 2000k inkwindow easy? 😂. Thank you for the video Doug.
I personally prefer Narwhal's Porpita fp. I find it to be more aesthetically interesting and beautiful than the Nautilus. Not that the Nautilus isn't a beautiful pen, but I like the other one better.
Nice review, thanks. The crooked clip and the off-centre portholes would annoy my OCD too... I have a question: Isn't the "Moonman" housing, effectively just compatible with Bock #6? I would assume that most removable housings nowdays are compatible with either the Bock or the Jowo threads. Or am I missing something?
The Bock feed and collar are different from the Moonman #6 unit. Otherwise, I'd be able to swap my Bock #6 from my M800 Amber into my M800 Galaxy which has the Moonman unit and it isn't possible. The Bock takes a standard international where the Moonman is the "China" standard.
I hope you gave Narwhal an idea about nib options: a 1.1 sub would be great! LOVED THE REVIEW; you may even convince an old dude lacking confidence in performing anything mechanical (even when assured by an expert like you) on a treasured fountain pen. At the very least, you did perform an operation I can do: create a nib unit with Moonman housing and a nib I love, perhaps a 1.1 stub (I know Leonardo uses Jowo nibs; is a standard JOWO # 6 OK?); I can screw a nib unit in! THANKS FOR MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE CHALLENGED! :)
Thanks, Keith. It looks like those limited special acrylic versions of the Nautilus have an option for a 1.1 stub from Narwhal. It will be interesting to see of those stub nibs migrate to their other models as well.
A pen I might wait for in the future if there's a spot in the collection. Sounds like something to pick up before I get an ebonite feed though. Not sure how much I'm missing out with regards to ebonite feeds, but this is at least a price I guessed correctly on.
Nice review. I missed out on it when it first came out, now I don't feel so bad. But the ink seems like something that should be in my next order. Thanks
The ink was a gift from Janice. The one thing I didn't mention in the review was that I couldn't get the Nautilus into the bottle of Stormy Grey as the bottle neck is too narrow for anything but the slimmest of pens. I used the Pineider Pen Filler to fill the pen.
I was intrigued by the steam punk design and the name "Nautilus" is reminiscent of the submarine as well! But I don't want to spend all that money on a pen which does not write well out of the box and in any case, they are sold out everywhere. AFAIK TWSBI has great nibs because they use Jowo ones which are the best in the business. Thanks for the review!
You are correct. Jowo makes the nibs TWSBI uses. And they have addressed the cracking problems that plagued them early in, particularly in the 540 and 560s. That's old news.
They are, indeed, Jowo. My point was that the nib is the most important thing on the pen. Get that wrong and it doesn't matter what the pen looks like or feels like.
@@InkquiringMinds Narwhal's reach might be exceeding its grasp a bit. These seem to be uneven not only in performance but in the way they are tipping/grading/setting up their nibs. It was great to hear a review that didn't fawn all over this pen. You and Stephen Brown maintain admirable objectivity no matter how the pens land in your hands. That's a very good thing.
1. I never fall for gimmick pens. Till now. The aesthetics of this pen are so winning, without going overboard. Want. 2. I've seen other reviews, and the flimsiness of the clip attachment seems to be a thing. 3. I'm sure that what with all the reviews I watch, my experience is exaggerated, so that I have an inflated perception of the unreliability of nibs in otherwise wonderful pens. But if I were a pen maker, I would be tempted to sell pens without nibs at all (optionally?) - you don't like my nibs? Get your own dang nibs. 4. Moonman should have changed their name to Moonboy.
Wow, beautiful but I'm bummed about the nib. I have one on the way, $98 shipped from Cult Pens. At that price I can afford a nib swap. What nibs do you recommend that will fit and that might be available for purchase separately? Or maybe I could try one of my vintage 14k nibs and ebonite feeds.
Since the Moonman unit swapped out perfectly, any Moonman #6 nib and housing would swap. Also, since my Leonardo 1.1 stub fit into the Moonman M800 feed and collar, I would assume any stock #6 Jowo nib would fit. As long as you use the feed and collar that came with the Nautilus, I would suggest that most #6 size nibs would work. Your vintage ebonite feed might be an issue though. The feed has to fit the collar.
Good night from Spain. I find this fountain pen very nice and interesting. I'm looking on the internet where to buy it, but I can't find it. Can you send me a link to the tineda to see if they send it to Spain? Thanks
I noticed the Ranga ebonite pens list their feeds as “plastic” also😳. WTH?! I 100% agree that a faulty nib pretty much ruins the entire pen experience. I wonder if Leonardo nibs would fit my junk Monteverde & Conklin pens…
I got both of the Narwhal special edition Peter Pens from Goldspot. At some point, I am going to try to find an EF nib that fits them. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given they seem to be sold out everywhere), the Nautilus just doesn't seem to turn my crank $120 worth.
Thanks, Doug! I get that this pen is flying off shelves, but I will pass. I predict that those portholes will continue to work your pen nerd nerves. Thanks for clips from one of Disney's all-time best live action flicks. Cheers!
Super review sir. It’s all in the nib for me too, what else could it be? I’m not confident enough/ able to (due disability) make modifications to my pens …. So I’ll not be interested. TWSBI, to be fair, suffered from the cracking plastic, at the very beginning of their history, they quickly helped out anyone who suffered from that problem (sent me parts for free from Taiwan with no proof of ownership etc etc. TWSBI also don’t make their own nibs - they’re German as far as I know. Thank you and greetings of the season to you and your family.
Yes, indeed! TWSBI has great customer service. Which is good, because their pens still seem to be having cracking issues even though their website claims it is behind them. And yes, the nibs are Jowo. Thanks! Merry Christmas!
That bronze/black porthole Narwhal fountain pen looks gorgeous on my pad… I’ve gotta find a way to stop. I cannot seem to stop buying fountain pens & one of my excuses lately is the ebonite material. I do not own an ebonite fountain pen by Narwhal as of yet… Is that a good enough reason? Lol… Oh, come on, you’re killing me…😏
It really is such a stiff stiff stiff nib. To do the swap like you did I would need to get myself a moonman nib housing? Any specific one or do they generally have one standard they use? I suppose I could just pull the nib and feed from my leonardo and install that into the narwhal housing to simplify it?
The Tianzi is a more substantial pen and the cap at least posts a little. It is also a vacuum filler and not a piston filler so that is a big difference.
Yes, blows my mind how many manufacturers spend so much on the pen and neglect the nib, which is everything.
Always interesting to watch a pen review. My Black Nautilus doesn't attract dust but fingerprints show up very clearly in the high polish. The black broad nib does not have the size on the side. It writes great, very smooth. Ink flow could be more consistent but adds character to the writing. It is one of my most comfortable writers. Nice to know easy to swap nibs. I have a few spare Moonman (Majohn) collars. Piston fillers continue to evolve & we all like that.
I was fascinated by your review, Chris because I was just filling my Nautilus when your review was posted. My box has the model, colour and nib size printed on the outer sleeve of the box, so I don't know how your supplier screwed it up. The all-black look is interesting though. I agree with your assessment of the feel in the hand - it is awesome. I have a new Wing Sung 629 14k piston filler arriving in the next week or so. I'll be interested to see how similar it is to a Montblanc 149/146 and/or a Sailor 1911L.
@@InkquiringMinds My Narwhal box had no label. Do you mean 699 with a gold nib?
@@chrisrap52 No. It is a new model from Wing Sung, the 629. It looks very similar to an MB 146, is a piston filler and has a #6 size 14k gold nib. I've got the previous model 628 which has a #5 size 14k gold nib and is a cartridge converter. Very interesting pen. Here is Bobby's Aliexpress link:
tinyurl.com/2p8v486j
@@InkquiringMinds Interesting, flat top & cigar ends, like Sailor. Link takes me to Mary's stationery Store, didn't know that was a Bobby store, St Penpps Chinese Pen Store is the one I follow now has no products so he opened a new store this year?
@@chrisrap52 I linked the wrong one.
RANGA with fancy furniture 😍
I don't know a lot about musical instruments, but I could listen to you play that banjo for hours on end 😊
Thank you so much, John!
I love the design of this fountain pen.
But it bugs me that (as seen in other reviews) the clip sometimes is misaligned
and the portholes generally are 'off centered'. Nitpicking, I know.
Eventually the seemingly common nib issues are a deal breaker.
There are brands that are flawless in these regards at a similar
and even lower price point. Thanks anyways!
Ok I forgot about this pen and now I have it ahead of Lamy 2000 and Visconti Rembrandt on my wish list
I've just received my Nautilus today 13/04/24 from the cult of Pen in Engerland 1.1mm stub nib, yes they are still poor nibs like a nail.You are so right about the pen though I love it in seagrass green swirls.Your review still relevant.
Thanks Doug. Unfortunately this pen come and go fast from the stores, who knows... maybe will be a new batch soon. Have a nice week.
Thanks, you too!
Narwhal pen, Leonardo nib, Moonman nib collar- I think you broke multiple international laws with that combo. I was going to get this but was out of stock. Glad I didn't due to the nib issues. Thanks and Happy Holidays to you!
Narwhal pen, Leonardo nib, MaJohn nib collar. There, I fixed it now.
I love the Narwhal Nautilus and the creative designs coming from Narwhal. I suspect we are enjoying a glorious period with the affordability of these beauties. Your review did remind me I need to try another ink because I am not getting great flow with the nib. I will also smooth the nib after the first-fill usage (it does write a long time on a full filling!).
Try cleaning the feed in some water with a drop of dish soap. I didn't have problems with flow from the feed at all and the ink I used has shimmer which tends to clog feeds.
Thank you for showing us this beautiful piece 😃
My pleasure 😊
Great pen with the only problem being they're out of stock.
Cult Pens has them for pre-order www.cultpens.com/i/q/NW92148/narwhal-nautilus-fountain-pen-bronze-corydoras
Super informative review, thanks. I, as so many others apparently, love the look of this pen. I just saw it for the first time last week, and it just stuck a cord in me. Now that I see how it writes, or not, I’m not so anxious to jump in. I’ve no experience with Narwhal. Thanks for such a solid review. It’s cool you were able to swap the nib to one that is a proven performer. Thanks again 😎.
Fantastic review, and I'm starting to notice lots of pen manufacturers are using moonjohn housings in there pens from ASC to Narwhal and Tianzi, nothing wrong with it just interesting to see, makes these swaps real easy.If I ever decide to jump into mass producing pens I know who to source collars/feeds from ;D
Good point!
Aye, Captain! Great review. I love those ink portals. The clip gives it a great vintage look too.
I was looking at that tool. They give you those with the Ikea type furniture. Maybe it might be worth checking those to see if they might be useful as a pen tool before tossing them. I know that sometimes the tools for our pens are goofy sizes. But, sometimes our real tools are just too big to get in there. They might not be the junk that we all thought that they were.
I just tried the WS tool on my Pelikan M800 and it works! So that's four pens now; Pelikan M800, Wing Sung 699, Tianzi and Narwhal.
“That’s what she said”
1 year later I got myself a nautilus with 14k gold nahvalur in house made nib, and it arrived today haha
Very nice!
I hope I will get the pen, eventually. It is a very cool pen from an aesthetic point of view. Pity that the nib was not to expectations. But, seeing how it can be swapped is a a big bonus. I don't have a Moonman feed, but I do have an extra Leonardo Bock nib. I will have to go on the hunt for the Moonman.
That is of course I do eventually get the pen. 🤞
This Nautilus is perhaps the only pen that has caught my interest so far, it's design is very elegant, both the Cephalopod Black and this Ebonite Bronze Corydoras look very beautiful. But I really love how the bronze details in the Corydoras looks so nautical. By the way, how easy is to use the ink porthole? Is it Lamy 2000k inkwindow easy? 😂.
Thank you for the video Doug.
Thanks, Jorge. Yes, the ink portholes work well.
I personally prefer Narwhal's Porpita fp. I find it to be more aesthetically interesting and beautiful than the Nautilus. Not that the Nautilus isn't a beautiful pen, but I like the other one better.
Nice review, thanks. The crooked clip and the off-centre portholes would annoy my OCD too... I have a question: Isn't the "Moonman" housing, effectively just compatible with Bock #6? I would assume that most removable housings nowdays are compatible with either the Bock or the Jowo threads. Or am I missing something?
The Bock feed and collar are different from the Moonman #6 unit. Otherwise, I'd be able to swap my Bock #6 from my M800 Amber into my M800 Galaxy which has the Moonman unit and it isn't possible. The Bock takes a standard international where the Moonman is the "China" standard.
@@InkquiringMinds Of course, we have to have a multitude of “Standards”! What was I thinking? 🤦🏻♂️
@@georgeparapadakis "Standard" is a relative term in the fountain pen biz! LOL
I love this pen. I have it in the same finish but with a broad nib. I’d love mine to go +1 on flow, but I’m a bit envious of that 1.1 stub.
You could put a Jowo 1.1 stub nib into the Nautilus no problem. That's what the Leonardo is; a Jowo 1.1 stub.
I hope you gave Narwhal an idea about nib options: a 1.1 sub would be great! LOVED THE REVIEW; you may even convince an old dude lacking confidence in performing anything mechanical (even when assured by an expert like you) on a treasured fountain pen. At the very least, you did perform an operation I can do: create a nib unit with Moonman housing and a nib I love, perhaps a 1.1 stub (I know Leonardo uses Jowo nibs; is a standard JOWO # 6 OK?); I can screw a nib unit in! THANKS FOR MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE CHALLENGED! :)
Thanks, Keith. It looks like those limited special acrylic versions of the Nautilus have an option for a 1.1 stub from Narwhal. It will be interesting to see of those stub nibs migrate to their other models as well.
A pen I might wait for in the future if there's a spot in the collection.
Sounds like something to pick up before I get an ebonite feed though.
Not sure how much I'm missing out with regards to ebonite feeds, but this is at least a price I guessed correctly on.
Try a Ranga with an ebonite feed. They are awesome.
Super interesting review! I love love love the design of this pen, but until the nib situation is resolved, I’ll be sitting out the brand…
I suggest that you try robert Oster bronze ink😮. Or diamine salamander. Check em out! I'd say they'd be perfect matches.
Nice review. I missed out on it when it first came out, now I don't feel so bad. But the ink seems like something that should be in my next order. Thanks
The ink was a gift from Janice. The one thing I didn't mention in the review was that I couldn't get the Nautilus into the bottle of Stormy Grey as the bottle neck is too narrow for anything but the slimmest of pens. I used the Pineider Pen Filler to fill the pen.
@@InkquiringMinds another reason to hold on that pen! Thanks for the heads up
I was intrigued by the steam punk design and the name "Nautilus" is reminiscent of the submarine as well! But I don't want to spend all that money on a pen which does not write well out of the box and in any case, they are sold out everywhere. AFAIK TWSBI has great nibs because they use Jowo ones which are the best in the business. Thanks for the review!
Yes they do! And I beleive the Nautilus is very much inspired by Jules Verne more than the animal. Those portholes are a dead giveaway!
@@InkquiringMinds Exactly my thoughts as well!
Does twsbi make their own nibs? I heard that they are also JoWos, but I could be wrong.
You are correct. Jowo makes the nibs TWSBI uses. And they have addressed the cracking problems that plagued them early in, particularly in the 540 and 560s. That's old news.
They are, indeed, Jowo. My point was that the nib is the most important thing on the pen. Get that wrong and it doesn't matter what the pen looks like or feels like.
@@InkquiringMinds Agreed. IMHO, pens are for writing.
@@InkquiringMinds Narwhal's reach might be exceeding its grasp a bit. These seem to be uneven not only in performance but in the way they are tipping/grading/setting up their nibs.
It was great to hear a review that didn't fawn all over this pen. You and Stephen Brown maintain admirable objectivity no matter how the pens land in your hands. That's a very good thing.
@@jacobus57 Thanks, Jackie!
1. I never fall for gimmick pens. Till now. The aesthetics of this pen are so winning, without going overboard. Want.
2. I've seen other reviews, and the flimsiness of the clip attachment seems to be a thing.
3. I'm sure that what with all the reviews I watch, my experience is exaggerated, so that I have an inflated perception of the unreliability of nibs in otherwise wonderful pens. But if I were a pen maker, I would be tempted to sell pens without nibs at all (optionally?) - you don't like my nibs? Get your own dang nibs.
4. Moonman should have changed their name to Moonboy.
I dunno, Ichiro. Kaweco have probably captured the Moonboy trademark too!
Wow, beautiful but I'm bummed about the nib. I have one on the way, $98 shipped from Cult Pens. At that price I can afford a nib swap. What nibs do you recommend that will fit and that might be available for purchase separately? Or maybe I could try one of my vintage 14k nibs and ebonite feeds.
Since the Moonman unit swapped out perfectly, any Moonman #6 nib and housing would swap. Also, since my Leonardo 1.1 stub fit into the Moonman M800 feed and collar, I would assume any stock #6 Jowo nib would fit. As long as you use the feed and collar that came with the Nautilus, I would suggest that most #6 size nibs would work. Your vintage ebonite feed might be an issue though. The feed has to fit the collar.
Good night from Spain. I find this fountain pen very nice and interesting. I'm looking on the internet where to buy it, but I can't find it. Can you send me a link to the tineda to see if they send it to Spain? Thanks
You can pre-order them from Cult Pens right now. www.cultpens.com/i/q/NW92148/narwhal-nautilus-fountain-pen-bronze-corydoras
I noticed the Ranga ebonite pens list their feeds as “plastic” also😳. WTH?! I 100% agree that a faulty nib pretty much ruins the entire pen experience. I wonder if Leonardo nibs would fit my junk Monteverde & Conklin pens…
Both my Rangas have ebonite feeds.
I got both of the Narwhal special edition Peter Pens from Goldspot. At some point, I am going to try to find an EF nib that fits them. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given they seem to be sold out everywhere), the Nautilus just doesn't seem to turn my crank $120 worth.
That's fair enough! I wasn't thrilled with the money I spent until I swapped the stub and now it is a pen I will continue to use!
Thanks, Doug! I get that this pen is flying off shelves, but I will pass. I predict that those portholes will continue to work your pen nerd nerves. Thanks for clips from one of Disney's all-time best live action flicks. Cheers!
Thanks, David. I'm surprised that no one else seems to get the Jules Verne connection. Perhaps Jules Verne isn't big in Taiwan?
Super review sir. It’s all in the nib for me too, what else could it be? I’m not confident enough/ able to (due disability) make modifications to my pens …. So I’ll not be interested. TWSBI, to be fair, suffered from the cracking plastic, at the very beginning of their history, they quickly helped out anyone who suffered from that problem (sent me parts for free from Taiwan with no proof of ownership etc etc. TWSBI also don’t make their own nibs - they’re German as far as I know. Thank you and greetings of the season to you and your family.
Yes, indeed! TWSBI has great customer service. Which is good, because their pens still seem to be having cracking issues even though their website claims it is behind them. And yes, the nibs are Jowo. Thanks! Merry Christmas!
@@InkquiringMinds oh they’re still having them? I thought they were behind them. Thanks sir. Merry Christmas.
That bronze/black porthole Narwhal fountain pen looks gorgeous on my pad… I’ve gotta find a way to stop. I cannot seem to stop buying fountain pens & one of my excuses lately is the ebonite material. I do not own an ebonite fountain pen by Narwhal as of yet… Is that a good enough reason? Lol…
Oh, come on, you’re killing me…😏
It is ONE reason, yes! :)
@@InkquiringMinds You are a bad influence & I believe you enjoy your role… Lol…
@@hekatsees9449 LOL So true.
It really is such a stiff stiff stiff nib. To do the swap like you did I would need to get myself a moonman nib housing? Any specific one or do they generally have one standard they use? I suppose I could just pull the nib and feed from my leonardo and install that into the narwhal housing to simplify it?
You have to use the feed that came with the pen you are swapping the nib into.
That’s a bit of bad luck on your Narwhal nibs. I have two, and they’re both super smooth with no issues. Maybe they send all the bum ones to Canada.
Or just to me!
How would you compare it to the Tianzi?
The Tianzi is a more substantial pen and the cap at least posts a little. It is also a vacuum filler and not a piston filler so that is a big difference.
Interesting pen :).
It really is!
I've been looking at the mat version. That shouldn't be so magnetic if I understand you correctly. 😇🩷🙏🙌