Narwhal Schuylkill Fountain Pen Review

BIG Thank you to the kind folks from Narwhal for sending this pen to me free of cost. I was NOT paid for this review so all opinions expressed are my own!
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[@aliceruth4919]

I’ve had my Chromis Teal color Schuylkill for about 10 days, and it’s great! I got it with a Fine nib, and it’s utterly smooth. It writes like a dream. It compares very favorably to my Leonardo Momento Zero.

[@WaitingtoHit]

I love the look of the pen and that this company isn’t trying to gouge people. I’m a potential buyer. Very cool . . .

[@steventrosiek2623]

Me too. Great review.

[@queenbuzybee4074]

And me!

[@stephenroth7283]

Thank you for this review. I concur with all your comments. I use the Navy Porpita as a EDC and love it. This one is now on order. Can't wait to get it.

[@barbarawest1205]

I acquired my first Narwhal a few weeks ago and I love it. It's a Voyage model, in the New Orleans colorway, which is Mardi Gras colors - purple, green, and gold - but all just a little muted, which I love. I got a stub nib and it behaves beautifully. This pen is now one of my four favorites, the others being the Pilot 823, Lamy 2K, and Esterbrook Estie.

[@knitsistah2312]

Another great review. The pen is beautiful, and while I can’t justify buying another fountain pen, I will put this one on my list. The fact that it’s relatively inexpensive, seals the deal.

[@criscavi19]

YES! I have 6 Nahvalur fountain pens: Nautilus, Schuylkill, Exclusives, etc. These are GREAT FOUNTAIN PENS. Mine they all write like butter.

[@michellek649]

I got my first Narwhal last month and was really impressed with the pen overall.

[@mrcat3493]

I have been interested in this brand for a while. With this review and Narwhal's recent interview with the Tokyo Inklings, it convinced me to order one from Atlas Stationers.

[@williamcatalano1762]

I almost just bought this, but ended up getting a Leonardo Magico. It's my first piston filler, first medium nib, and first Leonardo. It has the older ink window though that you can see while capped. Which in my opinion I like better. One of the deciding factors I picked the Magico over this is that you can post the Magico better.

[@davidmathews2124]

So $200 vs $60. Both nice items.

[@williamcatalano1762]

@@davidmathews2124 I still plan on getting a Narwhal. Not taking anything away from Narwhal at all.

[@davidmathews2124]

@@williamcatalano1762 Have you checked out the Galen Leather x Narwhal Rose Gold Demonstrator? I love mine…a stub.

[@williamcatalano1762]

@@davidmathews2124 I have thought about it, but right now I don't really desire another piston filler unless it's a Pelikan. I really want a new vacuum filler by them though. I'd rather get a vacuum filler by Narwhal than TWSBI

[@karlgreene2177]

Thank you for your great review Kerry!

[@judyjacobs5827]

I just bought my first Narwhal Schuylkill in the Asfur Bronze colorway. The furniture is chrome, and there is no cap band. Nib has the Narwhal logo. I got it from a pen dealer who attends the local pen club, and it arrived without the wrench, box, etc. Great price, though. Thanks, Kerry.

[@frankbruno7122]

Thank you Kerry.. always appreciate your work for us.. best wishes in your job.. Frank in Colorado

[@crouserm]

An engaging presentation that covered the essentials of this very nice pen. Super! Thanks, Kerry.

[@alanpareis734]

Thanks so much for this review. I have been wanting one of these, since a long,long,long time ago, I did my undergrad work in Reading, Pennsylvania, a city located on the Schuylkill River. I guess I need to get one.

[@jamesaritchie1]

When Narwhal first hit the radar I didn't buy one because it was too close in price to some gold nib pens, and more expensive than a couple. But then someone convinced me to buy an Opus 88, and I now have three of them. Then I bought a Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler that cost a hundred and fifty bucks. I topped it off with another Cross that cost five hundred dollars, and it has a steel nib. The nib does have gold inlay, but it is still a steel nib. So I bought a Narwhal. Then another, and then...well, you know how that goes. They are all beautiful, and they all write like a dream. I know some say they got bad nibs, but all of mine are just perfect, and write like a dream. I'm not sure I'd say the nibs are a full size about most pens, but they are wide and wet. To me, they are sized about identical to my TWSBI ECO pens. The Narwhal and the ECOs all have medium nibs. I actually prefer a little thinner line, a Japanes medium is perfect, but the Narwhal nibs do work for me, and I can use them without a problem. Honestly, they write so well that I'm a little bit afraid of trying a smaller nib size.

[@forgotMyUsername100]

I prefer the visable window; I think it provides contrast to the resin & sometimes I can tell what ink is in the pen. It seems to be rarer tho -- any other capped-visable ink-window pens I should check out?

[@incognitoedc]

I recently purchased my first Narwhal limited edition Peter Pen. Nice pen. My only complaint is the fine nib is way to thick for my teeny writing. But..like you I discovered in the reverse mode, its close to an ef, my preferred nib size. Writes gloriously smooth in reverse, feels nice in hand etc. Very solid pen and great value!

[@bigdhav]

I've had a bad experience of the Narwhal brand. The rear knob was glued so could not be disassembled, and the wrench supplied did not even fit! The nib was extremely poor too with huge baby's bottom. It snapped when I tried to undo the rear knob for cleaning.

[@plkrtn]

I have this pen in medium, and to me it feels like a medium. A European medium at least. But still, it's a gorgeous pen and writes very well. So pleased. It feels a lot more premium than its price.

[@tiantuatara]

I have one of the original models (from the DC show a few years back). It is a great pen. I left ink in there for a good while, since it is a piston filler, and the pen wrote every time. I like the nib. I have one of their Nautilus models on order now and I can't wait.

[@davidmathews2124]

Of possible interest: this pen is an upgraded design from the other stablemate Schuylkill models. It’s heavier, longer and has thicker walls. It’s the only one with the cap band. And for the same $60 tag…it’s definitely the pick of the litter. Mine is the 1.1 stub. Thanks for the great review.

[@cathiescott7382]

I got the original resin and it writes so well. Yes! I love mine

[@superalbertos550]

Hi! I thank you for the nib recommendation. I follow our advice and bought an "F" nib. I purchase the Voyager New Orleans. I'm happy with the pen, though, I have the impression that I over pay, the price is double the price of the model you are reviewing. The F nib has result perfect. Thank you again! The pen is very nice and writes fabulously.

[@PensandTea]

Price can be tricky for sure but I’m so glad that you like the end result!

[@ronaldchapman2806]

I have four Narwhals - two Nautilus, a Voyage and a Schuylkill - for me the most exciting releases of the last couple of years and I have never has any problems with the nibs. In my opinion the ebonite Nautilus is the best in terms of design, materials, build and value for money.

[@trlan55]

Question: are you comparing these nibs to Japanese nibs or German nibs?

[@liamstrain]

Very cool - that is a great material. Thanks for the in-depth review.

[@edisontrent5244]

I would be careful, mine developed a cracked section after minimal use. Since it is all one piece that means that it cannot be repaired without replacing the entire barrel. Make sure to file your warranty papers. I was able to obtain replacement parts, but had to pay $15 for them. I found the nib to be scratchy regardless if ink utilized.

[@bigdhav]

Awful quality. They glued the rear piston knob on mine so it snapped when I tried to undo it for cleaning. The provided wrench didn't even fit!

[@catwhisperer911]

The Narwhals that I purchased with medium nibs unfortunately all had baby's bottom and from the fountain pen groups on Facebook it appears to be a frequent problem. I like their designs and the acrylics they use. I like that they use #6 size nibs and the performance of their pistons but I really wish they paid a lot more attention to their nibs. The nib, after all, is the business end of any pen and if it is not ready to write out of the box then the pen is just an ornament imho.

[@steverenard55]

Likewise. In my experience, their nibs are hopeless and I would not buy another. Shame, because their designs are nice.

[@jamesaritchie1]

That's interesting. I haven't seen a Narwhal with baby's bottom. Nor has anyone in my fountain pen group. I wonder if there was just a bad run of nibs? It happens. But, honestly, I think they do pay a lot of attention to their nibs. Every one I've owned or used had perfect nibs. All of mine are medium, and none have a problem. As for Facebook, the squeaky wheel makes the most noise and gets all the grease. One case of baby's bottom, or any other problem, sounds like a thousand cases. It happens with nearly every pen of every brand at some point, and it's almost always extremely exaggerated. It certainly is with Narwhal. The number of complaints the company receives is so miniscule that they almost don't exist as a percentage. I really have never seen a single bad Narwhal nib. I found fifteen people in my fountain pen group who own a total of thirty-five Narwal pens. They seem very popular. None of them had a Narwhal with a bad nib. As I said, Narwhal backs this up by looking at complaints. I suspect there was a bad run opf nibs, and you got one of them. In a way, baby's bottom is caused by paying too much attention to the nibs, rather than too little. When a company wants to make its nib as good, as smooth, as perfect as possible, they sometimes go just a hair too far and the result is baby's bottom. In fact, from seventy to eighty percent of the nibs of brand name pens are over polished, and are very close to baby's bottom as a result. Every one wants a butter on glass nib, even though that is not good on a pen that will be used day in and day out for months on end, but that's what customers want, so that's what customers get. Pencil on paper feedback is simply better. Not a rough nib, which is uneven and the result of poor QC, but feedback, which is perfectly even, intentional, and designed to make the nib last a lifetime. A nib with just a little bit of this pencil on paper feedback will be much more reliable, and will last decades longer with heavy use. It will also attain smoothness in the best sort of way, which is by being used frequently. Platinum does this perfectly. Some of the upper end Sailor pens are also good at this. Anyway, it's infinitely better than baby's bottom. You should try another Narwhal. You can always send it back if you don't like the nib.

[@jamesaritchie1]

@@steverenard55 How many have you tried? I've owned or used dozens of these pans, and I've talked to dozens more, and watched a bazillion reviews. Not one of the pens I've owned or used had a poor nib. Nor have any of the people I've talked to had a bad nib. They've all been perfect. Now, I think the pens themselves are worth owning, and I think any number six nib will fit on them. I think it would easily be worth paying twenty bucks for a perfectly smooth nib. But like I said, I have yet to own, use, or see a Narwhal with a bad nib, though there have to be a few. There are a few with any brand and model of production pen.

[@steverenard55]

I have 3. All are poor, to the point where I do not use them. Sorry but I can only speak as I find.

[@pinkpolly88]

I bought this pen a month or so ago, and I bloomin love it! Such a pretty finish, and an all-round fabulous pen. I love Narwhals anyway, but this is just fantastic. Buy it!

[@waldeksobolewski5325]

Can I ask you if this pen is good for normal printer paper, or does it bleed through it ? and cheep notebooks ? I'm asking about student type notebooks instead of specific fountain pen paper.

[@ChadHerring]

Thanks for this review. I have two Narwhals now, a Nautilus Voyage Shanghai (in a gorgeous diamondcast resin) and the 365 Anniversary Cano Cristales in a beautiful Jonathan Brooks PM3.5. With this new Schuylkill, it looks like the details that are different between these Voyage/Anniversary pens and the Schuylkill pens are diminishing. The new band on the cap of this one is the same as the Voyage/Anniversary pen, and from this review I can't really tell the difference except maybe for the materials used in the body itself. The band on the cap of the Voyage is right at the end of the cap, and this one has it a bit higher up. But that's the only thing I can tell from the video. Maybe there's a size difference. I guess I was surprised to see this branded a Schuylkill. What's the price point for this one? The Schuylkills are a much less expensive line than the Voyage line, so I'm interested in where this one will fall overall. FWIW, I love my Narwhals. Love. Them. They write so great (particularly the Shanghai), and they're two of the most beautiful pens I own.

[@dj405767]

I saw this pen on your channel and fell in love the colors in this pen-blue is my favorite color-so I purchased one last week from Goldspot. I love the feel of the pen and the writing experience, maybe I should have bought F instead of medium, but not a big issue. What is an issue is that my Dragonet looks more green, orange with a little aqua than the bold blue and red I see in your pen and the website display. It looks more like the Rockfish Red except for the sparkle. I don’t know if they ran out of properties used to make the colors as advertised, but I am disappointed. 🥺

[@lukeh8890]

This pen might have to be my back to school gift for myself!

[@paddymcnamara9147]

Have an older one and its a beautiful writing nib. I also have a few other models and all of my Narhwals have been wonderful.

[@hectorrosario8447]

Thanks for the review

[@zacheryanderson7363]

I have one from the ...i dunno... Second Batches i saw stocked online when they first came out. The original was alright if you put a super wet ink in it but the schoolkylle I got is the driest Missy annoying pen. I want to love it but pilot iroshizuku inks... Too dry. Diamine... Definitely too dry. Noodler's air corps Blue Black... Should be coming out almost black with a hint of color not Green with a hint of black . I'm going to try a Monteverde ink next... Iced cookie but that is more like lube and propylene glycol with a little bit of ink mixed in. I'm glad if they fixed the problem but it was a deal breaker for me. I'm honestly curious how this "new" one does with other inks after watching this. Thanks for another great video!

[@forgotMyUsername100]

The new cap-band really improves the look of the Schuylkill - thanks for showing us the new model! Does anyone make flex or fude rose-gold nibs I could swap in? I, too, prefer rhodium/steel trim & most of my nibs match that.

[@corin4450]

Schuykill is the name of a river in Philadelphia. It is pronounced “SKOO-kul” sort of like “school”

[@Sallysaurus]

I'm surprised to see that one has a cap band, I just bought the rockfish red and it has no cap band and all which I like, also a silver cap and nib

[@hooligan31089]

It seems to be a beautiful pen, what are your thoughts comparing it to different Nibs, is it really good?

[@josephaziz785]

Unless they've improved the nib recently, you'll need a nice JoWo gold tone nib. Then it's a fabulous pen. Goldspot did this for me--swapped nibs--it's hard to remove nib.

[@Penandpapers]

Unfortunately its very difficult to find Narwhal Pens in India would love to try atleast one of their pens

[@jeffroberts532]

Narwhal’s are great pens for the money, probably amongst the best!

[@kjmav10135]

After two days I noticed a crack in my Chromis Teal pen cap. I was careful with it. Didn’t drop it. Probably not going to be buying another Narwhal again in this lifetime.

[@Mikey-ii8ef]

If you could only have one, would it be this pen or the Magico?

[@PensandTea]

Magico

[@sunny8254]

I've had 2 Narwhals and neither stayed in my collection. First was a Peter Pen. The F nib was so so dry. I even purchased a M nib unit to see if that helped. Nope. Dry. Some baby's bottom. Sold it. Second was a Chromis Teal Schuylkill. It was the ugliest pen I'd ever seen. Super brown and muddy, only like 5% teal color. The plastic threads also felt really really fragile, moreso than say, a TWSBI. I returned it the same day.

[@arlenealennox3136]

I wonder why they called it Schuylkil (skoo-kul-local pronunciation) since that’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was disappointed when I learned it’s a Chinese pen, when I was looking to add an American-made pen to my collection.

[@peterf2023]

She said the pen model was introduced at the Philly pen show, so they presumably used a local name for the pen.

[@__YASH]

Price ??

[@PensandTea]

I mentioned it was $60 USD retail price

[@redson39]

I like Narwhal pens I own 6 😄

[@archivist17]

Narwhals are always cool.

[@superalbertos550]

I meant YOUR advice...

[@violantederojas6188]

Skooolkill. At least that's how it's pronounced in Philadelphia...

[@arnauuu1]

What is your job?

[@sushanart]

😇🩷🙏🙌

[@wwbdwwbd]

Boycott TWSBI!!