Japanese Pens Made In Switzerland

[mke]

Real beauties:

https://www.manupropria-pens.ch/welcome.html

 

[Newjelan]

Gorgeous

[zaddick]

Urushi - yes

Japanese - not so much

 

His pens are artisan works and can be a good value, but feel.very different in hand to me compared to Namiki, Nakaya, Platinum, Sailor, and even Danitrio pens.

[mke]

Now how do they feel different?

[zaddick]

I have only handled a few so I cannot speak to all models developed since inception of the company in about 2013.

 

The one i purchased is larger than a typical Japanese usushi pen and a fair bit thicker both in terms of the pen diameter and the pen walls themselves. There is also more of a step in the model i have compared to a typical Japanese urushi pen.

 

 

Here is my pen, which I believe is considered the medium size in its model, compared to a MB 149 and Pelikan M800 for scale.

 

 

I find beauty in the design (or I would not have bought it as it was not cheap), and the colors are a bit more muted with indoor light. But i find a happy amoung ot "pop" in the sunlight.

 

 

Also, the nibs are just unbranded JOWO for good or bad (dpending on the user). I have a custom grind on mine so I enjoy it.

[jmccarty3]

I also find the Manu Propria pens to be quite stunning in appearance, but the nibs are a real let-down. He could get these custom made, and even tuned or ground by an excellent nibmeister, for not much more than he is already charging. It seems a shame to go to all that trouble to make the beautiful pens, and then to slap on a mediocre nib.

[MartinPauli]

Hi there,

 

My name is Martin Pauli and I am the maker of the Manu Propria Pens and would like to comment to this post. I have started operating Manu Propria Pens in December 2014.

All pens are completely hand made in my atelier in Switzerland and as mentioned above I and my customers understand them as artisan works. MP pens are available in several countries represented by high-end retailers among them Ito-Ya Flagship store Ginza Tokyo.

The pen shown by Zaddick is a pen sold in an early close-out sale. It is a proto type pen made in 2013 before the standard sizes and designs were defined, therefore this pen is not representative for MP pens today.

Regarding the nibs: almost all pen manufacturer use nibs made by JOWO or Bock, also Danitrio by the way.

Unfortunately it is not possible to buy nibs from the fabulous Japanese companies.

To have a custom (engraved) nib made by one of the mentioned nib manufacturers is possible but very expensive. All nibs on MP pens are overworked by myself. I also offer italics, stubs EEF and more adjusted by myself here in my atelier- JOWO nibs and the feeds made in Germany I use on MP pens are excellent. That the nib is not a custom "engraved" nib does no influence the writing qualities, it's just a visual matter I assume.

 

I wish you all a pleasant weekend

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[mke]

Hi Martin

The "customized" nib, however, is something many people seem to want. The same argument also came up in another thread regarding Kuretake pens which use plain Bock nibs. And it came up in a thread regarding Eboya pens.

I am sure that people just are afraid that their not-customized nib looks like a Jovo nib in a Jinhao 159.

The design of the nib is important. I also enjoy looking at the nibs of a pen, not only enjoying the writing performance and looking at the barrel/cap.

Your pens are beautiful and deserve a similarly beautiful nib. I guess that you could win over more customers having a beautifully designed ManuPropria nib.

Best regards

Michael

Edited April 13, 2018 by mke

[MartinPauli]

Thank you Michael,

 

I am selling around 250 pens per year, the annualy production capacity is around 350.

So as a niche brand I am pretty happy and my customers seam to be happy with the pens they have purchased, by the way many of the pens completely customized.

My customer are urushi lovers as well as people who just love to write, self-confident people who don't compare one brand to the other. They appreciate and buy things they like.

 

Best,

 

Martin

[mke]

I couldn't resist and bought a pen from him. They are just too beautiful.

I also saw his newest pens at Itoya in Tokyo. Real beauties.

[mke]

By the way, Martin Pauli (Manupropria) has a special sales action running.

https://www.manupropria-pens.ch/welcome/News/February_Close-Out_2018.html

Click on the photo to see the pens.

[mke]

Incredible pen designs - pdf files

https://www.manupropria-pens.ch/welcome/Press.html

[Carrau]

Each page more remarkable and beautiful than the one before. I’ve never viewed a collection of pens where virtually every pen is appealing to my eye. Thanks Mike.

[Morphling27]

I have only handled a few so I cannot speak to all models developed since inception of the company in about 2013.

 

The one i purchased is larger than a typical Japanese usushi pen and a fair bit thicker both in terms of the pen diameter and the pen walls themselves. There is also more of a step in the model i have compared to a typical Japanese urushi pen.

 

 

Here is my pen, which I believe is considered the medium size in its model, compared to a MB 149 and Pelikan M800 for scale.

 

 

I find beauty in the design (or I would not have bought it as it was not cheap), and the colors are a bit more muted with indoor light. But i find a happy amoung ot "pop" in the sunlight.

 

 

Also, the nibs are just unbranded JOWO for good or bad (dpending on the user). I have a custom grind on mine so I enjoy it.

Just wondering about the size not feeling like traditional Japanese pens:

 

Pilot makes the Namiki Emperor Urushi and many maki-e versions. It's HUGE. The Yukari Urushi is larger than the Yukari Royale line which itself isn't small.

 

Also, Danitrio pens are pretty large and in charge. The work is obviously Japanese, but I think they make the pen itself in the USA? Or at least, not in Japan I know.

[DrDebG]

Absolutely stunning pens!

 

Unfortunately, they are way out of my price range at this time.

 

I did find Mr. Pauli's description of urushi lacquer fascinating. I have always wanted a ebonite pen with urushi lacquer, but have been hesitant to consider one because I am highly allergic to latex. But if the urushi lacquer is that strong and resistant, perhaps the allergens from the ebonite would not be able to work through the lacquer and cause exposure. I may have to check into this more.

[zaddick]

Just wondering about the size not feeling like traditional Japanese pens:

 

Pilot makes the Namiki Emperor Urushi and many maki-e versions. It's HUGE. The Yukari Urushi is larger than the Yukari Royale line which itself isn't small.

 

Also, Danitrio pens are pretty large and in charge. The work is obviously Japanese, but I think they make the pen itself in the USA? Or at least, not in Japan I know.

I am pretty sure Danitrio pens of ebonite are made in Japan except the nib and feed which are from Bock for the vast majority of their pens.

 

I have all the pens you mention and they are indeed large, but they somehow feel different. I think it is the weight of the others are less and the sections work better for me. I think I have some comparison picks I can post.

[Morphling27]

Absolutely stunning pens!

 

Unfortunately, they are way out of my price range at this time.

 

I did find Mr. Pauli's description of urushi lacquer fascinating. I have always wanted a ebonite pen with urushi lacquer, but have been hesitant to consider one because I am highly allergic to latex. But if the urushi lacquer is that strong and resistant, perhaps the allergens from the ebonite would not be able to work through the lacquer and cause exposure. I may have to check into this more.

 

 

I have no idea about an allergy to latex crossing over to ebonite - they are very different types of rubber, if you will. I don't have an MD or anything, so yeah. Additionally, there are dozens of layers of urushi lacquer on most of the pens - the urushi is made from sap that itself is poisonous. So, clearly a lot of refinement in the products takes place.

 

I am pretty sure Danitrio pens of ebonite are made in Japan except the nib and feed which are from Bock for the vast majority of their pens.

 

I have all the pens you mention and they are indeed large, but they somehow feel different. I think it is the weight of the others are less and the sections work better for me. I think I have some comparison picks I can post.

 

I'm not very up on Danitrio - I know their older pens were more 'regular', if you will until they decided to do exclusively high end urushi pens.

 

I don't own all the pens I myself mentioned, but interesting you say that. Fountain pens, and truly hand crafted ones, certainly all can have a unique feel so I believe you. I just find it interesting, as the 'big 3 Japanese pen companies' make urushi or maki-e pens in what I'd call large or almost comically large sizes.

[MartinPauli]

Ebonite is the first product Mr. Goodyear has developed on his way to develop rubber for tires. Ebonite is one part Kautschuk powder and one part Sulphur powder. The mixed powder is pressed under pressure and high temperature in shape. I cannot imagin that it reacts to someone who has problems with latex. By the way bowling balls are mande from Ebonite.

 

Danitrio is made in Japan, managed in the US. Large pens are ideal for impressive maki-e works.

But maki-e pens are not necessarily made for Japanese market, they go to Singapore, Hong Kong, Malysia, China and so on.

The expensive Maki-e pens sold at Ito-Ya Tokyo are purchsed by tourists or by Japanese people as gifts to foreign business partners.

[mke]

@jmccarty3

> but the nibs are a real let-down

While I also enjoy branded nibs, I must say after now using my Manupropria pen for a week or so, that nib is really no let-down - and it looks good. My pen has a „lacquer imitating stone surfaces“ design LINK so the "blank" nib really fits. It is a contrast. And it writes good. The F nib, I own, lays down a relatively wet line - good if you use e.g. Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue which tends to look a bit "not dense enough" with many other pens. Not so with this nib.

I don't regret having bought this pen, I like it. I even take it with me to the office that I have the chance to write more with it.

 

@MartinPauli

> The expensive Maki-e pens sold at Ito-Ya Tokyo are purchased by tourists or by Japanese people as gifts to foreign business partners.

Yes, expensive presents. I saw a man buying THREE Namiki Emperor at this year's Mitsukoshi penfair (ca. 25000 USD). He really looked like the owner of company buying presents for business partners because he made the deal quite quickly and was not so much informed about pens. I was just looking at the Yukari Raden pens, so I could follow the deal. I should have asked him if I could slip that cheap Yukari pen onto his bill.

[mke]

Martin Pauli did it again - 17 pens with reduced prices.

Here, they are: LINK (Click on the picture)

 

I am just now trying to pillage the piggy bank of my wife.