Comparison Nakaya Equilibrium and Conway Stewart Evolution

[rhk]

Weight and balance of a pen is very personal. Most pens offer one option to adjust the balance of a pen, that is, to post the cap. That may damage the barrel, and the adjustment of balance may not be precise enough. I know of two pens that allow one to adjust the balance more finely: Conway Stewart Evolution and Nakaya Equilibrium. From the outside, these pens are really different: the Conway Stewart pen is a heavy pen, of solid silver. The Nakaya on the other hand is an ebonite light weight pen, finished in aka-tamenuri urushi lacquer (in my case).

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/conway%20stewart/cs%20evolution%20closed_600.jpg

 

The approach both pens take to balancing the barrel, is different. The Nakaya pen came with a little stick, and a pouch five little weights.

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/nakaya/nakaya%20equilibrium%20with%20weights_600.jpg

 

These weights can be inserted in the barrel by removing the cap at the end of the barrel, and then screwing them inside the barrel. The barrel has thread inside, just like the cap. The picture below shows the barrel that is open, with one weight inserted.

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/nakaya/nakaya%20equilibrium%20barrel_600.jpg

 

On the other hand, the Conway Stewart pen has an integrated balance adjustment mechanism. The balance is adjusted by turning the blind cap. A nice touch is that the blind cap fits seamlessly on the barrel, see the picture below. No attempt has been made to have the engavring continue on the cap, so there is no discontinuity when the cap is turned (this is different with the blind cap of the Visconti Wall Street that I have).

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/conway%20stewart/blind%20cap_600.jpg

 

Inside the barrel is a weight and a spring, and by turning the blind cap, one can adjust the position of the weight, and thereby the balance. The spring is just visible in the picture below.

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/conway%20stewart/closeup%20barrel_600.jpg

 

Then the question is, does it work? Do these mechanisms adjust the balance to a noticebale degree? I have tried to see whether the center of gravity really shifted by putting all weight near the section first, and then inserting three rings (Nakaya) or putting all weight near the blind cap second. The results are shown in two stitched pictures.

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/nakaya/nakaya%20equilibrium%20balanced%20pens_600.jpg

 

http://www.rhkoning.com/penpics/conway%20stewart/balanced%20pens_600.jpg

 

Clearly, these mechanisms adjust the balance of the pen. As the Nakaya pen is lighter, I think their mechnism with weights is somewhat more effective. On the other hand, one needs additional things (the little stick, and additional weights) to adjust the balance. An advantage of the Conway Stewart approach is that it does not require any additional parts. I assume Conway Stewart will include this mechanism in other models in the future.

 

Ruud

Edited November 29, 2008 by MYU

[HDoug]

I was very curious about how these two compare. Fascinating. Thanks much for the review and photos.

 

Does changing the balance affect the feel of the pens for you?

 

Doug

[NeoTiger]

I think another advantage of the Nakaya system is that you start off with a light pen, and can add just one weight or up to 5 weights. So you're not only changing the balance, but can also change the overall weight of the pen.

[DRP]

I was wondering how those things worked.

 

Thank you for a most interesting and informative posting.

[rhk]

The weight of the Nakaya (cap removed, no posting) varies between 12gr (no rings inserted) and 16gr (five rings inserted). For me, I like the option to add weight to the pen. Ruud

[Bryant]

This is very cool... I'm not convinced on the price quite yet, at least on the Conway, I don't know how much the Nakaya is. But still cool!

[HDoug]

This is very cool... I'm not convinced on the price quite yet, at least on the Conway, I don't know how much the Nakaya is. But still cool!

 

I just looked it up -- Nakaya's website shows the price at between $385 to $670 depending on size and finish. That's less than I thought it would be.

 

Doug

 

[Bryant]

This is very cool... I'm not convinced on the price quite yet, at least on the Conway, I don't know how much the Nakaya is. But still cool!

 

I just looked it up -- Nakaya's website shows the price at between $385 to $670 depending on size and finish. That's less than I thought it would be.

 

Doug

Thats not bad compared to the MSRP of the CS... $2700 right?