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Monday, March 29, 2021

Fountain Pen Review: Narwhal Original Demonstrator


In August 2019, a new brand of fountain pens was launched during the Washington DC Fountain Pen Super Show. Narwhal fountain pens joined the pool of promising fountain pen brands. They are fountain pens with white ribbon swirls in bright and colorful blue, green, purple, and yellow semi-transparent resin. Narwhal fountain pens debuted at one of the biggest fountain pen shows in the world, and since then has become one of my pen "must-haves." Two more pens were added into the Original series in September last year, and a few months later, I received a Demonstrator fountain pen from Narwhal through their exclusive seller in the Philippines, Jumpbid.

When I received the Narwhal Demonstrator, I was more than surprised—I was impressed! I got a piston fill demonstrator pen with an amazing nib! The pen is designed well, the resin looks durable, and the medium in-house nib writes very smoothly!

The pen is presented in a white box that is printed with NARWHAL on either side and the brand logo of a multi-colored narwhal on the top.
Inside the box and its contents: pen, wrench, user guide, and an extra nib.
Narwhal includes a wrench in each box so the pen can be easily taken apart for cleaning.

The Narwhal Original Demonstrator fountain pen is truly an impressive pen. It's a piston fill fountain pen with the mechanism visible through its clear demonstrator barrel. It holds a huge amount of ink at 1.5ml, and this is a plus for people who use their pens a lot. It feels very solid in my hand, and the material is smooth and polished with no sharp corners. The threads on the section are also smooth. The length and weight of this fountain pen are just right, which makes for a comfortable and enjoyable writing experience. 

Narwhal Original Demonstrator fountain pen.

The Narwhal Original Demonstrator fountain pen has the following measurements and specifications:
  • Length, capped: 5.8 in | 14.73 cm
  • Length, uncapped: 5.25 in | 13.3 cm
  • Length, cap posted: 6.9 in | 17.5 cm
  • Length, cap: 2.9 inches | 7.36 cm
  • Full pen weight: 20 g | 0.7 oz
  • Body material: Transparent resin
  • Color: Clear demonstrator
  • Trim: Silver
  • Cap: Screw on
  • Clip material: Stainless steel 
  • Nib: No. 6 steel in Fine or Medium
  • Filling system: Piston fill mechanism through bottled ink
  • Colors available: Classic Black, Demonstrator, Poseidon Blue, Yellow Tang, Merman Green, and Hippocampus Purple

Narwhal Pens used an excellent material for this pen. It's sturdy and shatterproof.
I love Narwhal Pens' classic clip design. It's shaped like a fountain pen nib!
A ring below the section threads bears the Narwhal logo.
The clear and blemish-free barrel of the pen shows the piston filling mechanism.

The nib is this pen's biggest surprise for me. Narwhal nibs are made in-house, and I had some reservations about that. I almost expected that the nib will be dry or scratchy. When I inked the pen for the first time though, the Narwhal stainless steel medium nib put away all of my reservations. It is wet, smooth, and wrote so well out of the box without any nib tuning or modification. I didn't get any hard starts or ink flow problems, only a smooth and flawless writing experience. 

Narwhal stainless steel nibs are engraved with the brand logos.

The Narwhal Original is longer by ~0.25 in than my two TWSBI demonstrators (Diamond 540 and ECO). It's also longer than the Lamy Vista (0.3 in), and Jinhao 992 (0.5 in), but this does not get in the way of writing comfort. The Narwhal Original fountain pen is comfortable to use even for long periods of writing.

The Narwhal Original Demonstrator with some clear demo pens. From top: TWSBI ECO Clear, TWSBI Diamond 540, Lamy Vista, and Jinhao 992.

I thought of filling this pen with a bright red or pink ink so it will show nicely in the clear barrel, but I realized that most bright red or pink inks stain pens. So I filled this pen with Iroshizuku Kon-peki, a personal and crowd favorite, and they are a perfect match! The medium nib wrote smoothly out of the box without the need for any adjustments or tuning. I did not experience any hard starts or problematic ink flow. It just wrote so beautifully!

A match made in pen and ink heaven: Narwhal Original Demonstrator and Iroshizuku Kon-peki. It's as if these two are made for each other. The pen wrote so smoothly and I can't think of any ink to fill this pen with.

The Narwhal Original is an exceptional and well-designed fountain pen with an excellent nib. I highly recommend it to fountain pen users who want to experience a demonstrator pen with a piston filling mechanism without paying too much. It's a perfect beginner pen, and even more perfect to add to a collection. It's great to look at and a delight to use. Get one for your collection!


Rants of The Archer thanks Jumpbid and Narwhal Pens for providing the Narwhal Original Demonstrator fountain pen for review purposes. To learn more about these beautiful, well-designed pens, visit the Narwhal Pens website: http://narwhalpens.com/original/ or follow them on social media for updates and see their new offerings:

In the Philippines, Narwhal pens are available at Jumpbid's Shopee store: https://bit.ly/3cvrQkn

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