Hello,

When I saw the pictures of this pen: Chinkoku

I immediately wanted one. Alas, Nakaya never bothered to answer my mails.

But, a few months ago, a French official distributor offered the precious pens.

Communication was much easier then, and with a strong Euro, the price was almost affordable

So, I ordered the pen. After a little bit less than two months, here it is:
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As you can see, the pen is a Piccolo. I already have one Piccolo, and I was surprised to see that the cap of the second one is not exactly the same.
Same design, of course, but a couple of millimetres shorter. I don’t know why, but it does not really matter because the pen itself is similar in length to the first Piccolo.

Nowadays Nakaya can make this pen in a variety of colours, but this one has always been my favourite.
It is not white, not ivory, but rather a dark creme.
The floral pattern is etched, and filled with carbon. It is very tactile.
Click to view attachment

I asked for a broad nib. I find it very nice. My other Piccolo is a medium, and both are excellent writers.
This one is wetter than the first. The nib glides easily on the paper.
Right now I’m using Diamine’s Royal Blue with a cartridge adaptor.

The pen is too short to include a spare cartridge, but it is not a problem for me.
Click to view attachment

At first I was a little disappointed because of a lack of continuity of the pattern between the pen and the cap.
Before realising that, duh... It depends on the way I screw the cap. Silly me. The pattern is perfect.

The pen looks very nice from a distance, and upon close inspection, it’s uniqueness becomes apparent.
Click to view attachment
I’m so glad to finally have this pen.

The only sad note is that, being a custom order, I expected a personalised letter from the people at Nakaya.
But no, all I got was the standard letter.
Sometimes it feels like Nakaya does not really bother too much.

Well, at least the French vendor was nice, he took the time to phone me when I was about to pay for the order. And he included the standard Nakaya convertor, the international cartridge adaptor and a box of Platinum cartridges.
(I think Nakaya usually only includes a free box of cartridges).

So, do you like my pen?

Your pen is GORGEOUS!

It really does look like something special. Sortv old world and exotic at the same time.

Way to go, Peheme!

A real work of art. And fantastic photos. Congratulations.

Very fine and beautiful. Congratulations on an impressive work of art on a fine writing instrument.

Wow, congratulations on the fantastically gorgeous pen! What artistry! Are there any other colors that this pen is made in or just the pink? Is it pink or is it just my monitor?

I'd love to know what other colours the pen is available in, it really is stunning. Pink, hmmmm, it's a sort of mushroom colour on my monitor.

Aside from Creme, this design also comes in Red (etched with carbon), Blue (etched with platinum or gold) and Black (etched with platinum or gold). I'm sure there are other combinations available for this design if you ask.

Breathtaking..........

I read that the finish is urushi, but what is the material?

Acrylic? Ebonite?

Absolutely stunning, by the way. My piccolo is one of my favorite pens.

Thanks for the nice comments, Ethernautrix, Opus104, Briand, Playpen Carrie Doug and Immoteus.

It is a beautiful pen, yes.

Regarding the colours available, Immoteus already answered.
You can see the pens at Nakaya's:
Nakaya

My pen looks darker than the officials pictures.

I wrote creme, you could say a light beige, but certainly not pink (sorry Playpen).

And to Brian: ebonite, yes. I can smell it if I gently rub the inside of the cap.
I visited your site, you make beautiful pens too.

At first, I wanted to use black ink (Caran d'Ache Carbon, of course), but I used Diamine's Royal Blue because it is my favorite blue right now and I already have other pens filled with black.

The nib is wet, comparable to a Yard-O-Led.
I choosed a broad nib, but it looks like a fat medium (just like I hoped it would).

stunning pen you have here peheme

Très, très jolie!
One of my favorites too, though in red. Unfortunately the Dollar is not as strong as the Euro, so this one is quite expensive.
Enjoy it, for it is very unique and the nibs are excellent.

This is a nice review. Thank you. I especially like the pictures.

I have seen this finish on the Nakaya web site and in their catalog. I love tactile designs and finishes, and I was seriously wondering what this pen might be like. It looks like a finish I would enjoy very much. I hope you are enjoying your pen.

With the cream color of the pen, you can use just about any color ink you want. I am attracted to the red color because it looks like my perception of "traditional Japanese," but this cream color makes me stop to think. I only have about three white or cream colored pens, and a Nakaya in this finish would be a nice addition to my collection.

I wonder about Nakaya's problems with communication. My communication with them was excellent when I ordered my first pen from them a couple of years ago. They are a very small company and have become somewhat popular, and I think they are having trouble coping with success. I think they remain well intended, but they are overwhelmed with the volume of business. - This is just my guess.

I ordered a Piccolo from Nakaya about a year ago and had a very full and productive correspondance with them. Mine was in the more "ordinary" urushi color, tamenuri, the traditional dark red/brown most often associated with laquer boxes and tea sets. I also ardered mine with a broad nib but specified a "soft" one. In form it looks something like the spread wings of a bird. It was delivered as promised and came with a nice letter with names of the craftsmen who did various parts of the pen. It is about as large a pen as I can comfortably use, yet since it is very light weight it is very comfortable indeed. The nib is my ideal for a work day nib: just enough spring for personality but nothing that would get in the way of fast note-taking. It reminds me very much of pre-c. 2000 Pelikan nibs. As for the color, the depth of the urushi finish is amazing. I'm still not sure how I'd compare it to my Danitrio of the same tamenuri color. The Dani is slightly larger so I use it less often, but the nib is extremely nice with a touch of flex. Workmanship on both seem roughly equal, but I am not an urushi maven.

Gerry

Detail of the Shu (red) Chinkoku:

Absolutely lovely pen. What else can I say? Well... maybe something else. I want one. For some time I've been reading about the Japanese Nakaya pens. All of them, even the Tamenuri finish which doesn't look like nothing of the ordinary to me, all Nakaya pens seems to be personal works of art. Unfortunately, can't spend the money for a Nakaya at this time. It won't be too soon before I can buy one.

My friend, that is a preposterously sweet pen! Congratulations.

R.