My New Hakase

[katanankes]

This weekend I went for a 48 hour visit to Tokyo. I managed to loose two night's sleep because of inbound and outbound red eye flights but it was totally worth it!

 

The highlight of my visit was meeting Ryo Yamamoto, the third generation owner and master craftman of Hakase. As usual, Ryo was meeting clients during the weekend at Ken's cafè in Ginza, during the time of the pen fair at Maruzen. I guess the timing is no accident.

 

Last year I met him to take delivery of my first Hakase (an oversize jade celluloid) and I immediately ordered a second one in buffalo horn.

 

I am simply ecstatic about the outcome. I think that Ryo has further refined his skills because the construction quality of the pen is really impeccable. In my previous Hakase a potential issue was the limited threading. The new pen has just the perfect threading and close perfectly iike pens being turned with precision instruments. The only flow, but personally I do not care, may be that the clip and the roller stop on the body do not align when the pen is capped.

 

The pen was designed according to my specifications with a body lenght of 135mm. I find the pen to retain nice proportions when capped and to look pleasant when closed. The pen sports the iconic Hakase tear drop clilp (a mini clip effectively, not the most prctical, but a nice deprture from traditional clips) and the as much as iconic roller stop on the body.

 

But the real reason I ordered a second Hakase was the quality of the nib. Hakase nibs come from Pilot but Ryo's customization transform them into something else, and better. They are ridicolously smooth and, in my case, calibrated to release ink at the minimum pressure. My first Hakase had a broad to extra broad nib, excellent for signatures and quick notes. The new pen has a M nib that makes it a candidate for everyday writing. Seriously... the nib alone is worth the pen. By the way, nib sizes for Hakase tend to be closer to Westerner sizes from what I have seen.

 

Photos will follow...

 

 

 

[zaddick]

Congratulations. Looking forward to the photos.

[mongrelnomad]

 

 

But the real reason I ordered a second Hakase was the quality of the nib. Hakase nibs come from Pilot but Ryo's customization transform them into something else, and better.

 

 

 

 

 

Couldn't agree more. There's some magic there in them there nibs...

 

Enjoy the new pen in good health; looking forward to the photos.

[Trom]

Thanks for your story. Looking forward to see your pictures.

The Hakase Jade is the only expensive fountain pen I am still planning to buy. Someday I will take the decisive action. Is it really that good compared to other expensive pens?

[oldrifleman]

Would love to see pictures of both pens together.

[katanankes]

Finally some photos (I am quite adverse to photography... but I could not just use my poor camera phone and taking out my camera is always a pain):

 

My two Hakase

 

 

I need to rectify a previous claim, actually the clip and the roller stop on the body of the buffalo horn Hakase can align. It just take some attempts. So I guess it is really a greatly constructed artisanal pen!

 

New Hakase in his box

 

 

For comparison, the two Hakase pens vis a vis a Sailor King of Pen:

 

 

As you can see, my specifications turned out pens pretty much the same size as a King of Pen.

 

Unfortunately the battery of the camera died after these three pictures... maybe I can post later some more pictures of the pen uncapped and the nibs.

[noddle]

Thanks for the photos, the Buffalo horn is very classy.

[zaddick]

Very nice so far. I look forward to more photos.

[nekomuffchu]

Gorgeous... more close ups of pen perfection please

[mongrelnomad]

Finally some photos (I am quite adverse to photography... but I could not just use my poor camera phone and taking out my camera is always a pain):

 

My two Hakase

 

 

I need to rectify a previous claim, actually the clip and the roller stop on the body of the buffalo horn Hakase can align. It just take some attempts. So I guess it is really a greatly constructed artisanal pen!

 

New Hakase in his box

 

 

For comparison, the two Hakase pens vis a vis a Sailor King of Pen:

 

 

As you can see, my specifications turned out pens pretty much the same size as a King of Pen.

 

Unfortunately the battery of the camera died after these three pictures... maybe I can post later some more pictures of the pen uncapped and the nibs.

 

 

Gorgeous! Funny how the increased length totally alters the spirit of the pen. It's a giant!

[jde]

Finally some photos (I am quite adverse to photography... but I could not just use my poor camera phone and taking out my camera is always a pain):

 

 

Beautiful photos of your very handsome new pen. In awe of your taste in pens.

[Tinjapan]

Two very nice pens! May they bring you many years of writing joy.

[oldrifleman]

Wonderful pens, I have a hard time deciding which I like more, in the end I think I like the buffalo horn best, it is really nice looking. A stupid question but are these Eye dropper pens or C/C pens?

[katanankes]

Wonderful pens, I have a hard time deciding which I like more, in the end I think I like the buffalo horn best, it is really nice looking. A stupid question but are these Eye dropper pens or C/C pens?

 

Thank you! These are all C/C pens. Hakase uses Pilot nibs, so they work with the Con70 converter and also other Pilot converters and cartridges. I should also mention that for the smaller nibs (#5, while these are equivalent to a #6) Hakase also works with Sailor nibs. I have not explored the possibility to use them as eye dropper, I suspect it may be possible with some silicon grease since there are no metal parts inside, but do not plan to experiment!

[EdeIstein88]

if hakase use pilot nibs, so there is a chance hakase will comes with FA nib?

[katanankes]

Thank you for your encouragement, I took some additional photos.

 

The photo below shows a writing sample. Please note that Hakase calls this a M nib, it is quite similar to a M nib in most Westerner brands and the same as a B nib in most Japanese pens. The finishing is incredible. It is slightly stubbish and, as expected, perfectly match my writing angle. Interestingly, when I start writing on the left I can hear (but not feel) the nib touching the paper, as it progresses on the right (coming to the ideal angle I guess) it is basically gliding on the ink. Works well both on low quality paper and fountain pen friendly paper.

 

 

Close up of the nib (this is the only part of the be that bears Hakase branding):

 

 

Comparison with Hakase B nib and Sailor KOP B nib:

 

 

Comparison with randomly inked pens

 

[nekomuffchu]

Stunning! now excuse me while I pick up my jaw

 

Congrats and may it bring you many years of writing pleasure.

[brahe]

My 2nd Hakase came in last week. I ordered it when Mr Ryo was visiting Amsterdam, May 27th, 2016. I had to write something for him and as a result the FM nib is a lot better tuned then the one of my New Green celluloid. And I thought that one was very good, which it is.
This one is an ebonite. The balance again is fantastic. The size perfect for my big hands.

[essayfaire]

These are beautiful... but I think would be too large for my hands. Maybe that's a good thing given their prices Lovely pens!

[nekomuffchu]

My 2nd Hakase came in last week. I ordered it when Mr Ryo was visiting Amsterdam, May 27th, 2016. I had to write something for him and as a result the FM nib is a lot better tuned then the one of my New Green celluloid. And I thought that one was very good, which it is.

This one is an ebonite. The balance again is fantastic. The size perfect for my big hands.

 

 

I love the aesthetics of your ebonite Hakase and the gold band at the end of the barrel is also a nice touch.