[This is the Extended Edition of a review posted at PenAddict.com. All products mentioned were purchased by the author. All characters mentioned are property of their respective owners.]
The world is changed.
I feel it in the ink.
I feel it in the nib.
I smell it in the paper.
In a house, in Virginia, lived a pen maker. Ben Stewart creates uniquely-designed fountain pens from resins which, through their application, gain the status of precious.
I have admired their work for some time online, and had the chance for a hands-on look at the San Francisco Pen Show. Mayfair makes a handful of models with different characteristics, like the shimmering resins of the Arkenstone line, or the pocketable and postable Narya.
I chose the Noldor model for the simplicity of its design, as well as its position as the first design in the Mayfair family.
The Noldor is a cartridge/converter pen equipped with a steel Jowo #6 nib. The design consists of a smooth-sloping barrel with soft rounded corners and a pinched grip section. The shape of the pen may remind you of a class vial, a narrow flask, or an old man’s walking stick, with seams that even the finest craftsman in Eregion* would overlook were it not for the colorful resin mix. The grip section is reverse-threaded into the barrel (righty-loosy,) concealing the converter compartment. The Noldor is compatible with short and standard international cartridges and your typical Schmidt-style converter.
This particular Noldor, MY Noldor, was crafted from a sparkling dark resin mix with tones of purple, blue, red, and gold throughout. This particular piece called out to me for its depth of color and visual texture that really draws you in*, but there were quite a few runners-up on the table (and online.)
The grip is pinched at the end of the section, rising slightly and dropping-off sharply to meet the cap. At its narrowest point the grip measures in at around 12mm, swiftly widening to around 14mm. This is on the wider end of my pen size tolerance, but still usable. Mayfair pens ship with a standard steel #6 JOWO nib unit. The nib that came with my Noldor writes well enough, but I immediately swapped it out for a laser-etched Tree of Gondor adjacent design that felt very fitting for the piece.
I have mixed feelings about the cap. On the one hand, it’s simple. The cap is completely free from logos or insignia. It has a smooth shape that maintains the silhouette of the pen. On the other hand, it is quite small. And light. And fairly prone to rolling. If you tend to hold your pen cap while writing, then there’s no problem here. I tend to rest mine on the desk or tabletop, and sometimes the coordination of man fails.
Let’s talk about value. The Noldor retails for $185, which is not a small ask. In fact, this comes very close to my limit when it comes to recommending pens. There are some considerations to be made, however, such as the source and (for lack of a better term) provenance of the pen. Strictly speaking, the experience of using a Noldor is not remarkably different from less-expensive products; Jowo nibs and converter fillers are not exactly rare. What sets Mayfair apart is the design and artistry that goes into each piece. From the resins to the shapes, these things are unique. The main difference in buying a Mayfair compared to a “Big Pens” ~$200 offering is that your dollars go directly to the person making the pen. There is a direct relationship between the piece you buy and the person you buy it from. There’s something special about that, and it cannot be replaced by a bit of gold or precious resin.
Overall I’m enjoying the Noldor from Mayfair Pens. It has been in rotation for a few refills now, which is really saying something. The shape and style of Mayfair’s designs may not be to everyone’s taste, but that uniqueness is what drew me in. I think there is a LOT more room in the fountain pen market for interpretive and creative pen profiles. Ben Stewart, the craftsman behind the pen, uses a beautiful assortment of material blends to make unique pens that will stand out in any collection. He also does an excellent job displaying his work online, but I highly recommend checking them out live at a pen show if you ever have the opportunity. But not this one. This one is mine. It is…precious to me.
The Poor Penman 