Edison Nouveau Premiere Arctic Currents

[OmegaMountain]

So, today I am going to do a review of the 2016/17 Winter Edison Nouveau Premiere in Arctic Currents Ebonite.

 

Overview: This pen is the first ebonite body pen I have purchased and I have to say that I quite like the material. It is light in the hand and very warm to use while writing. I bought this pen because I was very drawn in by the beautiful color of the ebonite. I'm not sure if my photos will have done it justice, but it is a beautiful mix of colors. The nib and clip are done in black which matches quite well to the color of the pen. I bought this pen with the 1.1mm stub steel nib as I didn't want to spend the additional cost to get the gold on a pen that is already not the least expensive you can buy. Plus, I like the fact that you can buy additional Edison branded steel nib units that are easily exchanged into the pen. Perhaps I will purchase a gold nib unit for it sometime in the future, but the steel works just fine for now. I will refrain from scoring the pen and just give my overall impressions of the various aspects of the pen.

 

 

Nouveau 1

 

 

Body: The pen is a "torpedo" shaped pen and pointed on both ends. Some may be hesitant to order a pen that is so sharply pointed at each end with the idea of using it for every day carrying in a shirt pocket or the like. I don't find it to be so pointed that this would be a problem. The points are not extremely sharp and the pen is light enough that movement of your shirt should move the pen with it to keep any potential jabbing to a minimum. The blue and black ebonite is truly beautiful. I don't know if photos can do it justice, really. Fit and finish is also very good. The only branding on the outside of the pen is a very small engraved "Edison Nouveau Premiere 2017 Winter Edition" in two lines on the body of the pen. It is completely unobtrusive and does not interrupt the aesthetic of the pen. The section has a very comfortable hour glass shape that has soft threads for the cap which do not cause any discomfort for me when writing.

 

 

Pen 2

 

 

Cap: The cap has a nice black finished clip with a gently curving stripe running diagonally about 2/3 of the way down it. It fits very nicely with the overall design of the pen to give it a wonderful cool and dark wintry look. The cap threads on snugly with no cross threading issues at all. The cap will post snugly, but it makes the pen somewhat long. Posting does not significantly throw off the balance of the pen, however, since the ebonite is such a light material.

 

 

Pen 3

 

 

Nib & Filling: Edison supposedly checks and tunes all their nibs in-house. I'm not sure if this is true with their production model pens, but this nib writes very well. It has a slight amount of scratch to it, but it is a stub nib and the feedback is not anywhere near problematic. I'm pretty sure that part of it is that I need to adjust my hold on the pen slightly. You can tell this nib is very similar to the Goulet 1.1mm stub which I also have in a Conklin Nighthawk. I prefer this nib of the two, however, as this one writes more consistently. (In the spirit of full disclosure though, the Goulet 1.1 has J. Herbin Stormy Grey in it which can be fussy due to the gold particles in it.) The ink flow is what I would call a nice medium and the feed has no problem keeping up at what I consider to be my fastest practical writing speed. Nibs are easily exchanged, if you would be so inclined, as Edison uses a #6 modular nib unit and sells additional nib units separately including steel and 18K gold options. I won't comment really on line variation because, well, stub nib. Filling is accomplished by a nice capacity converter that is of very good quality and has given me no ink supply issues. I have included a writing sample sheet below which may help some.

 

 

IMG_0382

 

 

Conclusions: This is not exactly an inexpensive pen at $175 and it could only be bought through Goulet. I say in my review that it was Winter 2016/17 because it first went on sale at the beginning of winter in December 2016 though they label it as the Winter 2017 edition. It is now completely sold out, however. I waffled on buying this pen since it was first released and was fortunate enough to jump on the second shipment they got in this January. I'm glad I did because I love this pen. I haven't seen anything else that looks quite like it and it really fits with the design and colors that I like. Is it worth the cost? Well, in this hobby once you get above, say, $30 that is a completely subjective thing. I don't think you will find many ebonite pens of this quality with this level of fit & finish in a limited production run for this price. I don't regret the purchase at all. As a side note, the pen did come with a nice Edison logo metal bookmark that I think was a nice touch. I hope this review was helpful and I apologize for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes.

Edited February 5, 2017 by OmegaMountain

[ItsMeDave]

Nice pen, nice hand as well.

[thehobbit]

That IS a beautiful pen.. Thanks for the review and the images. Somehow I did not notice this most recent variation - from all their previous "edition" this is THE best one ever... It's a pity (but lucky for my wallet) that it is not available in Europe...

Edited February 4, 2017 by thehobbit

[gerigo]

I have been curious about this pen so thanks for a more detailed look. It's definitely a departure from their previous color ways and a nice addition. Also your hand is really nice and a great addition to the review.

[OmegaMountain]

Thanks - honestly, that's not my best handwriting. I did it at night when I was really tired. I think this model is the best of the line by far to this point.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. At that price it's a bit pricy, but that is a pretty pen (I love the warm feel of ebonite).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Djehuty]

Beautiful! I hope they make more with that material, some day when I can afford new pens. That catches my eye like few pens do.

[Komboloi]

Nice review. I find good narrative descriptions like yours more helpful than points systems anyway, so I don't mind your not providing ratings. The colors on the pen are quite nice to my eye.

[Drone]

Thank you for sharing your overall impression of this pen. I was quite tempted to purchase this limited edition, but the high price-tag and the fact that it did not have a cap liner put me off.

[OmegaMountain]

Thank you for sharing your overall impression of this pen. I was quite tempted to purchase this limited edition, but the high price-tag and the fact that it did not have a cap liner put me off.

Yeah, it's not cheap, but I felt the uniqueness and quality justified the price for me. That's a completely individual preference though. I haven't had any drying out issues with the pen not having a cap liner. It is designed and seals pretty well.

[ElviStylo]

I usually do not care for the look of ebonite, but that pen is quite nice. I think

I am glad that I missed the offering, as I don't need another Nouveau Premiere!

 

I like the shape and lines of the Goulet/Edison Nouveau Premiere, but I do find

that the posting of the cap is awkward: it doesn't go on very far and makes the pen

into a wand. Either way it is a comfortable pen in hand as it is pleasantly light.

 

My NP comes with a 14k <EF> nib, and is a great writing nib.

I had supposed that Goulet did some nib checking/smoothing (my Edison-direct nibs have been mediocre at best) but maybe not.

[fabri00]

It look very similar to a blue-black ebonite pen I bought from Ranga - India few years ago.

I dont remember the cde/name of the pen, but it is this one:

 

[Zinonas]

The ranga you are referring to is the ranga 8. It is my favorite ranga model and I agree that it is quite similar to the Edison Nouveau Premiere, but it has a slightly thicker section.

[OmegaMountain]

It look very similar to a blue-black ebonite pen I bought from Ranga - India few years ago.

I dont remember the cde/name of the pen, but it is this one:

 

It is very similar in shape, but the ebonite pattern is different. The Nouveau is a little more vivid and.... wood grain like? The Ranga is a nice pen too though. Edited February 6, 2017 by OmegaMountain

[Inkantadora]

Thank you for the review. I am a crazy one who actually bought this pen in the January shipment to be shipped all the way to Europe... and I don't regret it for a second. I fully agree with your review. At the moment I have it inked up with Diamine's Moon Dust which is a Shimmertastic collection ink and it has dealt with it rather well despite all the glitter in it. Honestly it's impossible to capture its beauty on camera but you describe it really well.

[ekfritz]

It is very similar in shape, but the ebonite pattern is different. The Nouveau is a little more vivid and.... wood grain like? The Ranga is a nice pen too though.

 

 

I've also found the Ranga to not quite so well finished; on the two I have, the seams are much more noticeable than on Edison pens.

 

(edit to correct idiotic and embarrassing spelling mistake)

Edited February 18, 2017 by ekfritz

[OmegaMountain]

 

 

I've also found the Ranga to not quite so well finished; on the two I have, the seems are much more noticeable than on Edison pens.

Yeah - you really have to look hard to see the seam on the cap's end-finial that holds the clip on. It's extremely well fit. Honestly, it's not a cheap pen, but the fit and finish is excellent and the material is just beautiful with the wood-grain pattern in that blue and black... I just love it. I'd love to get a gold nib for it but it might ruin the look. The black nib just fits this pen.

[Misfit]

Thank you for your review. I'd like another Edison with the 1.1 stub, so it was nice to see the lines that nib produces. I have a Menlo with the 1.5 stub, and would like one day to own a Beaumont pneumatic in Molten Ores (which Goulet used for a seasonal offering renamed mystical myrrh).

[rudyhou]

So, today I am going to do a review of the 2016/17 Winter Edison Nouveau Premiere in Arctic Currents Ebonite.

 

Overview: This pen is the first ebonite body pen I have purchased and I have to say that I quite like the material. It is light in the hand and very warm to use while writing. I bought this pen because I was very drawn in by the beautiful color of the ebonite. I'm not sure if my photos will have done it justice, but it is a beautiful mix of colors. The nib and clip are done in black which matches quite well to the color of the pen. I bought this pen with the 1.1mm stub steel nib as I didn't want to spend the additional cost to get the gold on a pen that is already not the least expensive you can buy. Plus, I like the fact that you can buy additional Edison branded steel nib units that are easily exchanged into the pen. Perhaps I will purchase a gold nib unit for it sometime in the future, but the steel works just fine for now. I will refrain from scoring the pen and just give my overall impressions of the various aspects of the pen.

 

 

Nouveau 1

 

 

Body: The pen is a "torpedo" shaped pen and pointed on both ends. Some may be hesitant to order a pen that is so sharply pointed at each end with the idea of using it for every day carrying in a shirt pocket or the like. I don't find it to be so pointed that this would be a problem. The points are not extremely sharp and the pen is light enough that movement of your shirt should move the pen with it to keep any potential jabbing to a minimum. The blue and black ebonite is truly beautiful. I don't know if photos can do it justice, really. Fit and finish is also very good. The only branding on the outside of the pen is a very small engraved "Edison Nouveau Premiere 2017 Winter Edition" in two lines on the body of the pen. It is completely unobtrusive and does not interrupt the aesthetic of the pen. The section has a very comfortable hour glass shape that has soft threads for the cap which do not cause any discomfort for me when writing.

 

 

Pen 2

 

 

Cap: The cap has a nice black finished clip with a gently curving stripe running diagonally about 2/3 of the way down it. It fits very nicely with the overall design of the pen to give it a wonderful cool and dark wintry look. The cap threads on snugly with no cross threading issues at all. The cap will post snugly, but it makes the pen somewhat long. Posting does not significantly throw off the balance of the pen, however, since the ebonite is such a light material.

 

 

Pen 3

 

 

Nib & Filling: Edison supposedly checks and tunes all their nibs in-house. I'm not sure if this is true with their production model pens, but this nib writes very well. It has a slight amount of scratch to it, but it is a stub nib and the feedback is not anywhere near problematic. I'm pretty sure that part of it is that I need to adjust my hold on the pen slightly. You can tell this nib is very similar to the Goulet 1.1mm stub which I also have in a Conklin Nighthawk. I prefer this nib of the two, however, as this one writes more consistently. (In the spirit of full disclosure though, the Goulet 1.1 has J. Herbin Stormy Grey in it which can be fussy due to the gold particles in it.) The ink flow is what I would call a nice medium and the feed has no problem keeping up at what I consider to be my fastest practical writing speed. Nibs are easily exchanged, if you would be so inclined, as Edison uses a #6 modular nib unit and sells additional nib units separately including steel and 18K gold options. I won't comment really on line variation because, well, stub nib. Filling is accomplished by a nice capacity converter that is of very good quality and has given me no ink supply issues. I have included a writing sample sheet below which may help some.

 

 

IMG_0382

 

 

Conclusions: This is not exactly an inexpensive pen at $175 and it could only be bought through Goulet. I say in my review that it was Winter 2016/17 because it first went on sale at the beginning of winter in December 2016 though they label it as the Winter 2017 edition. It is now completely sold out, however. I waffled on buying this pen since it was first released and was fortunate enough to jump on the second shipment they got in this January. I'm glad I did because I love this pen. I haven't seen anything else that looks quite like it and it really fits with the design and colors that I like. Is it worth the cost? Well, in this hobby once you get above, say, $30 that is a completely subjective thing. I don't think you will find many ebonite pens of this quality with this level of fit & finish in a limited production run for this price. I don't regret the purchase at all. As a side note, the pen did come with a nice Edison logo metal bookmark that I think was a nice touch. I hope this review was helpful and I apologize for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes.

 

that looks real nice and classy

[OmegaMountain]

Thanks! I hope to do a couple more reviews in the future!