Nakaya Naka-Ai In Heki-Tamenuri, Broad (0.6Mm) Stub

[Betweenthelines]

After 6 months of waiting, my Nakaya grail finally arrived.

 

http://i.imgur.com/QQ3HkzL.jpg

 

 

Presentation: 10/10 (of course)

 

There's nothing better than opening one of these soft wood boxes. Ok, maybe there is another thing that's better..

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/7k9bR7V.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/Nic17Au.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/gqRCIyk.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/ALonG95.jpg

 

Appearance and Design: 10/10

 

The beauty of these pens are unparalleled. The design of the Naka-Ai I find to be especially appealing - I love sleek form of it - and the tapered ends that finish in points make it far from another boring cigar shaped pen. It reminds me of an elegant samurai sword. The urushi finish is impeccable - the transitions divine. Closing the cap that twists to a firm and tight finish to bring the two tan/green points together is so very satisfying.

 

I love the warm brown hue of my pen. My one gripe, however, is that the under color is not as green as I expected and would have preferred - it's more of a tan with a tinge of green to it. This seems to be a trend in newer heki-tamenuri pens - the older ones were a darker shade of brown with a green shade of undertone - these newer ones are a lighter, redder brown with a less green under color.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/sQvFDrx.jpg

 

The Kanji is expertly done and really compliments the pen - mine is Shoshin (beginner's mind)

 

Construction & Quality: 10/10

 

Simply put - these pens live up to the hype. The quality is felt, and seen, throughout the pen.

 

Weight & Dimensions: 10/10

 

The feel of the pen is one of my favorite aspects of it. I have large hands, but this Naka-Ai unposted feels... like bliss. It is an extension of my hand. I am usually a "must post" person but it is unnecessary with this pen. It is light, warm, perfectly balanced, perfectly sized... it really is "all that", at least for me and my hand.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Zs7wCtq.jpg

 

There's nothing quite like Urushi.

 

http://i.imgur.com/VUx16tK.jpg

 

Nib & Performance: 10/10

 

I have a lot of great writers. This 0.6mm stub nib ground from a B standard gold nib is one of my absolute best. Bravo, Mr. Mottishaw. It is utterly smooth, with a whisper of feedback, perfect flow ("medium plus", 6-7/10) on the wetter side, fantastic line variation, firm, but still with some give and some "softness" to the feel writing.... I have to wear two pairs of underwear when I write with this pen.

 

http://i.imgur.com/wyzIaZn.jpg

 

 

The beautiful nib with the Nakata family name.

 

http://i.imgur.com/hPWjg9g.jpg

 

John's flawless stub grind.

 

http://i.imgur.com/rt0Fr2c.jpg

 

 

Filling System & Maintanence: 7/10

 

A platinum C/C filler. Can be easily forgiven considering the other aspects of this pen.

Cost & Value: 10/10 or N/A

Hard to put a number to this one, as this is really a luxury item and certainly goes beyond utility. However, for how much you are getting for your $ with these pens, they really are a good deal. When it comes to price points for pens, I look at it like this: <$50, $50-100, $100-150, $150-250, $250-350, $350-450, NAKAYA. In other words, if you're going to spend above $400 on a pen, you should be buying a Nakaya. A hand made, urushi lacquered artisan pen with Japanese quality and a John Mottishaw tune/grind? It boggles my mind that anyone would buy anything else at this price point.

http://i.imgur.com/qYbOqHo.jpg

 

 

Overall: 10/10

 

This is as close to a perfect-for-me fountain pen as I'll ever own.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Betweenthelines

[Dhruv_Sood]

Nice pen.

I prefer the gold nib instead of rhodium or ruthenium plated ones.

I like the design of Naka-Ai more than the piccolo long I have, two store exclusive models of Nakaya. Naka-Ai is exclusive to CFP and Piccolo long is exclusive to AestheticBay.

[sannidh]

Thanks for sharing the nice pics and a nicer review.

I was planning to get a Naka-ai Writer Midori, but it will be not before next year

Edited August 3, 2015 by soniknitr

[Cryptos]

Beautiful pen, really beautiful.

 

May I ask, are you a practitioner such that you have chuxin written on your pen?

 

EDIT: we seem to have PMs and thread posts crossing and never meeting! Got the message. Thank you. Gassho.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Empty_of_Clouds

[Tas]

Mmmmm.

 

Thank you for sharing this gorgeous looking pen.

[maverink]

lovely pen well i will have to sell my kidney to get one thou so i will make do with my 3776 century

[da vinci]

Great review, thanks

[alarickc]

Aren't John's .5 - .6mm stub grinds something else? I have a .5mm stub by him on my Long Cigar, it's spectacular. My favorite nib by far. Enjoy yours!

[GardenWeasel]

Gorgeous! Congratulations!!

[Sabin]

I don't mean to be disrespectfull to people that buy these pens, but i don't get the excitement over this boring looking pen.

I have expensive pens, mostly european, but they look much better than this . And the amount you pay for a 14k nib, no piston, and a shiny simple body.. is just beyond me.. But again this is just one man opinion..

[Koyote]

I don't mean to be disrespectfull to people that buy these pens, but i don't get the excitement over this boring looking pen.

I have expensive pens, mostly european, but they look much better than this . And the amount you pay for a 14k nib, no piston, and a shiny simple body.. is just beyond me.. But again this is just one man opinion..

There is beauty in simplicity.

[canibanoglu]

Thank you very much for the review.

 

I have to disagree with your price point remark though. While you say that it boggles your mind when people buy something other than Nakaya when they spend more than $400 dollars, it boggles my mind that people buy Nakayas. Cartridge converter pens with gold nibs and a lot of paint job. Personally I would much rather buy a Pelikan.

 

To date, the only Nakaya that I considered was the Milky Way Raden. Again, could not justify it. I'd much rather spend a lot more and get a Pelikan Raden.

[Betweenthelines]

Nice pen.

I prefer the gold nib instead of rhodium or ruthenium plated ones.

I like the design of Naka-Ai more than the piccolo long I have, two store exclusive models of Nakaya. Naka-Ai is exclusive to CFP and Piccolo long is exclusive to AestheticBay.

 

Yeah I really like the look of the Naka-Ai. Would love to hold the others, though, to see how they feel in the hand. After writing with it for a while, I do think it could be just a bit longer for my large hands.

 

Thanks for sharing the nice pics and a nicer review.

I was planning to get a Naka-ai Writer Midori, but it will be not before next year

 

You're welcome, and good luck on the Nakaya purchase!

 

Beautiful pen, really beautiful.

 

May I ask, are you a practitioner such that you have chuxin written on your pen?

 

EDIT: we seem to have PMs and thread posts crossing and never meeting! Got the message. Thank you. Gassho.

 

Thank you. I try to be a practitioner as much as possible, though it's difficult without a Sangha here. The tenets are in my living practice day by day, though, especially in my therapy practice, and I hope that this pen will be a daily reminder of living with open eyes and open heart.

 

Mmmmm.

 

Thank you for sharing this gorgeous looking pen.

 

You're very welcome!

 

lovely pen well i will have to sell my kidney to get one thou so i will make do with my 3776 century

 

That's what I thought. But then over time the price ceiling kept raising. I am considering selling a few lesser used pens to fund another, in fact.

 

Great review, thanks

 

Thank you, and you're welcome.

 

Aren't John's .5 - .6mm stub grinds something else? I have a .5mm stub by him on my Long Cigar, it's spectacular. My favorite nib by far. Enjoy yours!

 

You said it. This stub tops the charts as my very best and most enjoyable to write with. Wow. If I end up getting another Nakaya (someday) I would get a medium (0.55) stub, and am pondering what that would be like on a Soft Medium nib. Not sure how that would turn out, though.

 

Gorgeous! Congratulations!!

 

Thank you!

 

I don't mean to be disrespectfull to people that buy these pens, but i don't get the excitement over this boring looking pen.

I have expensive pens, mostly european, but they look much better than this . And the amount you pay for a 14k nib, no piston, and a shiny simple body.. is just beyond me.. But again this is just one man opinion..

 

"BORING"!? How DARE you. Blasphemy!! Get the heathen!!! *lights torches*

 

Ahem.

 

I think you touch on the beauty of this hobby - the range of personal tastes and variety of pens to fit those tastes. What is beautiful to me may be boring to you, and vice versa.

 

I myself personally find many of the expensive European pens (especially Italian) to be gaudy and at times plain offensive to the eyes when compared to the sleek, elegant designs of these Nakayas. The depth of the colors is like looking into pools of water and seeing a different world beneath, and I personally find the Japanese QC and attention to detail in their craftsmanship to be unmatched by any other nation. Add a John M. grind to the nib, options for personalization, and the knowledge that your pen was crafted by hand, from start to finish (even the threads!), and it's perfection (to me ). I do much prefer piston fill systems to C/C, but such systems would ruin the designs of these pens. I am a bit stumped, though, as to why you would think a higher karat gold = a better nib. I have 18K and 21K nibs and I actually generally prefer my 14K's, both in modern and vintage, as I find them to have the spring and flex that can't be had with the higher gold contents, and absolutely no effect in regards to smoothness.

 

That all being said, with Nakaya you are paying for the looks. And if the looks don't do it for you, then of course they would seem like a ripoff. For me, however, they do it for me.

But again, these are MY personal tastes, and I respect your right to have your own! Life, and this hobby, would be boring if everyone had the same tastes.

 

There is beauty in simplicity.

 

"Brevity is the soul of wit". Well said.

 

Thank you very much for the review.

 

I have to disagree with your price point remark though. While you say that it boggles your mind when people buy something other than Nakaya when they spend more than $400 dollars, it boggles my mind that people buy Nakayas. Cartridge converter pens with gold nibs and a lot of paint job. Personally I would much rather buy a Pelikan.

 

To date, the only Nakaya that I considered was the Milky Way Raden. Again, could not justify it. I'd much rather spend a lot more and get a Pelikan Raden.

 

You're welcome. Thanks for the feedback. I don't want to repeat myself too much, but again it comes down to personal taste, and what resonates with you. For what it's worth, I own several Pelikans (in fact posted a flock review recently) and enjoy them, but the majority of Pelikans (at least the standard editions) can be had for far less than a Nakaya (if ordered from Germany) so I don't really associate them with the $450+ category.

 

The truth is that I'm sure there are many pens at the $450+ category that can rival Nakayas, and many I have personally drooled wistfully over. My point, however, is that, if Japanese hard-rubber urushi pens are your thing, it's hard to top the value of a hand made personalized Nakaya that will arrive perfectly tuned/ground by an excellent nibmeister, especially when the alternative is often (but not always) a mass-produced resin pen that may very well arrive with an iffy nib (as is unfortunately often the case with Pelikan and their poor nib QC). Again, if they jive with you, the bang for your buck with Nakaya is unmatched. If they don't, well, they don't!

[Iittala]

Absolutely gorgeous pen and beautiful photo's

[Cryptos]

 

I try to be a practitioner as much as possible, though it's difficult without a Sangha here. The tenets are in my living practice day by day, though, especially in my therapy practice, and I hope that this pen will be a daily reminder of living with open eyes and open heart.

 

I hear you, same position here really. Have you considered an online Sangha? I know it's not quite the same but there are some useful resources and contacts out there.

[wrath186]

That's a stunning pen! Quick question, since I am not very familiar with the brand, but can that be used as an every day writer?

[fly_us]

That's a stunning pen! Quick question, since I am not very familiar with the brand, but can that be used as an every day writer?

The Nakaya is premium brand of Platinum. And i'm sure it í a superb daily writer, but i'm not sure how many people could afford it to be used as a daily writer.

 

Well, i'm still saving money for one.

[s_t_e_v_e]

Looks Beautiful! The Urushi is so lusciously glossy, like a crystal or like it is still wet.

 

I'm sure that nib is priceless. Enjoy your perfect pen!

[maverink]

yes it can be used as a daily writer why not? but you have to be careful as it has precious urushi laquer coating on it, no posting, no moisture etc.. i have a pilot urushi 845 pen and am using it as my daily writer

 

only putoff is the platinum converter

Edited August 4, 2015 by maverink

[Tas]

That's a stunning pen! Quick question, since I am not very familiar with the brand, but can that be used as an every day writer?

 

I have been re-assured by an esteemed member of this forum that these pens are hardy. He takes his on camping & canoe trips for weeks on end . . .