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First Optima Or Another Nakaya


Tiggercat

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I'm not usually a fan of "what should I buy" posts, but I'm considering a choice with enough specificity that I feel sort of okay asking. I have two Nakayas, a Neo-Standard and a Naka-ai. I love everything about them - the urushi, the nibs, the size, the feel of the section, the looks, and the weight. I was saving up for another, but started thinking about the Optima. I've only had one Aurora before (an Ipsilon), but I keep reading posts from people who absolutely love their Optimas, and I'm curious. I'm a big fan of the similarly shaped Sailor Pro Gear (I have two), and my only gripe is that they could be just a touch bigger. I really like the flared section, and I love the look. KOP is an option, but I'm wondering if I'm missing out with the Aurora.

 

So the question: is the Optima really that good? Not that I doubt Aurora quality - I'm just trying to gauge the likelihood that I'll get one and wish I had gone for a Nakaya.

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What do you like so much about your Nakayas? Do you think you will find the same qualities in the Optima? This is a hard one to weigh in on because they are apples to oranges in my eyes. I've personally wanted an Optima for a long time, then I read a couple of things about them that made me question their durability over the long haul, and at the last pen show I went to, I saw one snap clean in half as a guy was putting the pen back into the elastic loop of the vendor's pen case. Maybe it was just defective, but that experience has cleansed me of any desire to get one for the foreseeable future...

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It's a tough call. I "only" have fifteen pens. Of these Aurora and Nakaya are two of my favorite brands and are always in use. I currently have a Naka-Ai (I sold a piccolo and another Naka Ai to buy the Optima Nebulosa) as well as two Optimas. I also have several Pro gears. Although their aesthetic is very different, they are all light, beautiful, comfortable pens with gorgeous finishes that happen to be fantastic writers. The Optima is for me the most comfortable with its long section and thick barrel. It posts really well. The Aurora is also a piston filler. I go through a lot of ink so the Optima is my most used pen, and its beauty pushes it ahead of the Sailor for home use.

 

I do love Nakaya and Platinum nibs, which run a tad finer than the Aurora, but Aurora is no slouch. I haven't bought a new pen since the Optima Nebulosa a year or so ago. If I didn't have my Optimas I'd be sorry. I love them to bits. If I didn't have an Optima, I'd want one. The special edition finishes are gorgeous.

 

I don't drool over Optimas anymore. I do still pour over the Nakaya pages on nibs.com. (the Chinkin dragonfly, the Ayakashi, an unpolished shu with a black charcoal eye peeking out of a crack). But now if someone gave me $4000, I'd buy a Nakaya.

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But now if someone gave me $4000, I'd buy a Nakaya.

 

 

Whereas if someone gave me $1500, I'd buy two or three Aurora Optima (or Ottantatto) aurolide pens instead of two entry-level Nakaya pens, as much I like Platinum as a fountain pen brand.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I used to have the Auroras in the picture below. The only one left is the sterling silver 80th Anniversary pen on the far right, which is not an Optima.


Meanwhile. my Nakaya collection has grown and grown. I have so many I sell my extras at two shows each year to help fund my purchase of still others. A recent Nakaya arrival (bottom photo) may be the most beautiful pen that I own and is my current favorite.


Does that tell you how I feel?



http://www.fototime.com/%7B46BAAF2F-EE02-4A12-82A7-44C9CC784F1B%7D/origpict/AUpdate.JPG


http://www.fototime.com/%7B79627F39-D4A5-4453-9614-E303858DE0F6%7D/origpict/1.png
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I read your query not as which is "better", but are you likely to enjoy an Optima?

 

I have half a dozen of them among 100+ pens. Their ages extend back from recent to the early 90s when they were apparently more fragile yet all are pristine. I have never broken a pen in use, any pen. Were I to slash my total number of pens then Optima(s) would remain among the minimum set. I find them good writers which are very comfortable, very practical, and attractive. Like buying a Pelikan M800, it is simply a very good pen so the rest is whether you like the style.

X

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praxim - exactly. No intent here to rank one over the other. I'm just going through that phase where I still have some exploration to do, but for the most part, I know what I like. I look at some of the pens I bought to get to this point and wish I had put that money toward something I now know that I prefer. So I guess I'm becoming more cautious in my exploration. Thankfully I have found someone locally with an Optima, and will check it out this week. I'm also moving back to the NCR in time for the DC show, so that should help. I appreciate everyone's input.

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The only thing that draw me to a point beyond my Pelikan M800s is a Nakaya. Exquisite works of art in addition to being an amazing writer. I guess my vote is obvious.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It depends what you want. I prefer Optima to Nakaya. What I like about Nakaya is that Urushi lacquer is very scratch resistant. I like how Optima is a great writing instrument and is not made to be unnecessarily long or heavy when capped. You can see on the pictures that uncapped it is longer than Sailor King Pro Gear or Pilot CH 92 while capped looks much smaller.

I have their flex nib that is very smooth fine nib, I consider it a stiff nib but with two hands you can flex it without springing the nib.

post-117416-0-23920800-1558892866_thumb.jpeg

post-117416-0-55350900-1558892880_thumb.jpeg

Edited by vonManstein

Inked: Sailor King Pro Gear, Sailor Nagasawa Proske, Sailor 1911 Standard, Parker Sonnet Chiselled Carbon, Parker 51, Pilot Custom Heritage 92, Platinum Preppy

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Love my optimas. I have six. Sold off my Nakaya because I find I prefer pens that I can change nibs easily.

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Aurora is missing from my small collection. So are Nakaya and Namiki. I’ve tried an Ipsilon once and it struck me as perhaps one of the best steel-nibbed pens on the market. Never tried a Nakaya yet. One thing is for sure: should the moment ever arrive, then I’ll try before I buy. I don’t think a choice like this can really be made without trying the pens.

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I like the Optima and find it very comfortable and very light. Avoid buying second hand due to the issues of auroralide shrinkage in the early batches that led to cracks in some. The nibs have feedback, but not as significant as Nakaya's. They do a mean crisp stub (the italic is reputably sharper again). The 'hidden ink chamber' is a load of nonsense. You screw down the piston to extrude the last portion of ink due to the high rod that takes ink to the feed. The design makes it something of a pain to clean. Hard to compare it to the Nakaya as they are both very different beasts.

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They do a mean crisp stub (the italic is reputably sharper again).

 

 

I have two Aurora gold Stub nibs, and I'm sorry to say neither of them are all that crisp. The steel Stub nib on my Monteverde Rodeo Drive is crisper, and so are the CM nibs on my Pilot MR and Plumix pens.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I bought my Optima (black w/ST) at INK (Minneapolis Pen Posse, I think it was 2009), and I found it to be "perfectly perfect."

 

But then Nakaya took over (I'd bought one in 2008, but didn't "get it" (the rave over the nibs) until I exchanged the nib at the LA Pen Show, 2010), and as experience grew over time, I realized that my favorite pen model was the Piccolo. The Optima was similar enough in size and shape, but the bit of flare at the top of the nib section started to niggle at me. I haven't used the pen in six or seven years, outside of occasionally inking it up to experience its perfectly perfectness. But that wee bit of flare, just a bit fatter or something than the Piccolo's flare, detraccts from the perfectness.

 

I took a chance on Nakaya, because I was persuaded by the gorgeous photos on this forum and my first Nakaya was $250, not the starting price of $550 today. (Now that I have experience with Nakaya and if I were in purchasing mode, I wouldn't hesitate to buy Nakaya--still love them--but I have to admit, Pilot nibs are my favorite, and my favorite Pilots cost less than my first Nakaya.)

 

Still, both pens, Aurora Optima and Nakaya, hold their value (not really sure about Optima, cos I haven't followed Aurora), so if someone couldn't try one first, selling it at a slight reduction (what I'd consider a "trying fee") shouldn't be too difficult.

 

 

 

 

 

I used to be rah! rah! rah! Get one! Get it! But now I'm more likely to urge caution. Temperance. If you already have, say, a dozen or 20 pens that you love using... and you're not a collector (more strict definition of the word), then no need to rush into another purchase.

 

Although... I did jump to buy Nakayas before each price increase, and I have no regrets.

_________________

etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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If you already have two Nakayas and the choice is another Nakaya or an Optima, why not try the Optima?

It's a lovely pen, in size, weight, balance, ergonomics, quality of materials, writing experience.

fpn_1559490510__p1080966-3_aurora_optima

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