Just Wondering... Are Nakaya Pens Really Worth It?

[Jim Sexton]

httpmom,

 

Thanks for your posts! Much appreciated!

 

Everyone,

 

So, I have a fine nib on my Nakaya, and mine certainly is not "buttery smooth". It has that singing nib Nakaya quality I've read about--or so I assume. As this is my first Nakaya I wouldn't know. It certainly is less smooth than my Platinum 3776 fine nib. Looking at the two side by side, they look identical. But they certainly do not feel identical!

 

I asked John Mottishaw to adjust both of them exactly the same, which is to have at least medium flow with very light pressure, and to have as even a flow as possible from very light to medium pressure. I know now that the even-ness of the flow is not within the control of the nib meister. They can increase flex of a nib, but I don't think they can make them more even. In any case, the thing I stressed was that I wanted the pen to write even with only a very light pressure. I do not want to have to press down in order to get my fountain pens to write.

 

Now the 3776 has significant flow. I used to think it was perfect. But the more I use fountain pens and the more I learn, the more I seem to be leaning towards less flow than I used to prefer, and the lighter a touch I use when I write.

 

So, it is a happy accident that my Nakaya definitely has less flow than my Platinum. But, more importantly, they feel quite a bit different! The Platinum is more on the buttery smooth side of things, and the Nakaya is more on the toothy / feedback side of things. And, I have to say, now that I'm used to it more, I absolutely love the feedback thing! I feel like I can be more precise, and there's a wonderful, sensual quality to the sound of the Nakaya nib on the page. It's really awesome. It needs a light touch, but it's my favorite nib.

 

. . . except that I believe that the tines are slightly out of alignment. Every now and then in an upstroke, the nib catches, but never in a downstroke or side stroke. I'm right handed and I write with my pen more or less aligned along the left-right axis of the page, and I find the Nakaya writes better with the pen rotated slightly along its axis so that the upper tine (one closer to the top of the page) is closer to the paper. Also, in writing big circles, one part of the circle drags more than the other.

 

All of these things seem to me to indicate that one of the tines is slightly off from the other. Does this seem reasonable? It was worse at the very beginning, and has gotten better, but I still think it's just not quite tuned right. And this thought actually thrills me, since I've come to really like this nib and I wonder how much better it would be if the tines were aligned. But it also worries me, as I don't want the singing nib characteristic to be tuned out of it if/when I send it back to Classic Fountain Pens. However, I can't imagine that comes from the tines being misaligned, right?

 

People say that Platinum nibs and Nakaya nibs are the same, but I wonder if there isn't a difference in the iridium tip that is welded on, either in materials, or in shape. Or perhaps the Nakaya's are hand ground just a touch from the factory state or something?

 

Because, if I couldn't visually see that the nibs were the same, and I had to go just by writing feel, I'd have to say that they were two very different nibs. And given that I asked John M. to tune them both the same, I think that this finding is possibly significant.

[Algester]

the nibs are made by Platinum yes and you somehow got something else right once they arrive to the Nakaya work shop they are still inspected and under go a second hand finishing or what ever nib you so desire stubs etc... etc..

[hari317]

httpmom,

 

Thanks for your posts! Much appreciated!

 

Everyone,

 

So, I have a fine nib on my Nakaya, and mine certainly is not "buttery smooth". It has that singing nib Nakaya quality I've read about--or so I assume. As this is my first Nakaya I wouldn't know. It certainly is less smooth than my Platinum 3776 fine nib. Looking at the two side by side, they look identical. But they certainly do not feel identical!

 

I asked John Mottishaw to adjust both of them exactly the same, which is to have at least medium flow with very light pressure, and to have as even a flow as possible from very light to medium pressure. I know now that the even-ness of the flow is not within the control of the nib meister. They can increase flex of a nib, but I don't think they can make them more even. In any case, the thing I stressed was that I wanted the pen to write even with only a very light pressure. I do not want to have to press down in order to get my fountain pens to write.

 

Now the 3776 has significant flow. I used to think it was perfect. But the more I use fountain pens and the more I learn, the more I seem to be leaning towards less flow than I used to prefer, and the lighter a touch I use when I write.

 

So, it is a happy accident that my Nakaya definitely has less flow than my Platinum. But, more importantly, they feel quite a bit different! The Platinum is more on the buttery smooth side of things, and the Nakaya is more on the toothy / feedback side of things. And, I have to say, now that I'm used to it more, I absolutely love the feedback thing! I feel like I can be more precise, and there's a wonderful, sensual quality to the sound of the Nakaya nib on the page. It's really awesome. It needs a light touch, but it's my favorite nib.

 

. . . except that I believe that the tines are slightly out of alignment. Every now and then in an upstroke, the nib catches, but never in a downstroke or side stroke. I'm right handed and I write with my pen more or less aligned along the left-right axis of the page, and I find the Nakaya writes better with the pen rotated slightly along its axis so that the upper tine (one closer to the top of the page) is closer to the paper. Also, in writing big circles, one part of the circle drags more than the other.

 

All of these things seem to me to indicate that one of the tines is slightly off from the other. Does this seem reasonable? It was worse at the very beginning, and has gotten better, but I still think it's just not quite tuned right. And this thought actually thrills me, since I've come to really like this nib and I wonder how much better it would be if the tines were aligned. But it also worries me, as I don't want the singing nib characteristic to be tuned out of it if/when I send it back to Classic Fountain Pens. However, I can't imagine that comes from the tines being misaligned, right?

 

People say that Platinum nibs and Nakaya nibs are the same, but I wonder if there isn't a difference in the iridium tip that is welded on, either in materials, or in shape. Or perhaps the Nakaya's are hand ground just a touch from the factory state or something?

 

Because, if I couldn't visually see that the nibs were the same, and I had to go just by writing feel, I'd have to say that they were two very different nibs. And given that I asked John M. to tune them both the same, I think that this finding is possibly significant.

 

After reading your full post, the conclusion that can be reached is that no two nibs are alike, even from the same manufacturer, and no two nibs are the same, even from the same nib technician, in this case John M. the nib should not catch, have John relook the nib.

[Jim Sexton]

Algester,

 

Very cool!

 

hari317,

 

I have two TWSBI Vac700's with Extra-Fine JoWo nibs, and I just bought another, spare, EF nib for them as well, which I just now inked up and tested, and while these three nibs are not exactly the same, they are pretty darn close and have a lot of the same traits and writing characteristics.

 

My Platinum 3776 Fine nib, and my Nakaya Neo Standard Fine nib are dramatically different, except for the diameter of the tip and the stiffness of the nib. Way more different than my three JoWo Vac700 nibs.

 

So, while I agree with you that no two nibs are exactly the same, I still think it's significant that my Nakaya and Platinum nibs feel so different.

 

And, thanks for the advice and confirmation. Yes, I intend to send my Nakaya back to CFP's, but John Mottishaw is on vacation until the first week in September, and despite the advantage of being first in the queue when he gets back, there is no way I am going without my Nakaya for the better part of a month. For now, I'm quite happy writing with it as it is!

[jmccarty3]

(T)here is no way I am going without my Nakaya for the better part of a month.

 

 

All the more reason to own more than one Nakaya.

[biancitwo]

I happened across this thread, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have a Nakaya Desk Pen in Aka-Tamenuri, and have written with two others. Each looks and writes beautifully. Mine has a Mottishaw Italic broad. I love writing with it. It took all my strength to resist buying a second at the Ohio Pen Show.

 

I also have two Platinum Chartres Blue 3776s. My broad nib is superb. My soft fine is as fine as a straight pin. It still writes well. I have a Bourgogne 3776 broad on order. It will go to Pendleton Brown for an italicized nib. I love my Platinums. They write beautifully. But, they are not Nakaya. They do not have the workmanship, or the incredible tradition. To hold and use a Nakaya is to touch the dedication and artistry of hundreds of years. I will have another. Besides, I have two daughters. One day I will want at least one for each.

 

Thank each of you for this thread.

[minddance]

aren't Nakayas supposed to be hand tuned by already very esteemed Japanese masters? why do they still have to be mottishawed (nibmestered) again?

[mongrelnomad]

aren't Nakayas supposed to be hand tuned by already very esteemed Japanese masters? why do they still have to be mottishawed (nibmestered) again?

They don’t. If you buy from John, his outfit (not necessarily him unfortunately) will fit and/or grind and/or adjust the nib. It’s a case of getting one or the other doing the work.

 

I have from both and my experience with Nakaya themselves has been better.