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A Nakaya Lightning Strike At Dc

whichwatch

By whichwatch
in Japan - Asia

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whichwatch

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I’m always on the prowl for nice pre-owned Nakayas, and success at a pen show for me is often measured by how many and which Nakayas I manage to find and add to my collection. But I really wasn’t ready for what I consider to be quite a stroke of luck at the recent DC Pen Show.

 

Upon arriving at the show, I headed directly to one of my favorite sources. He had a few Nakayas on his table, including one still in its box marked with a finish with which I was unfamiliar: Sumiko Gold.

 

I know that Sumiko is a lovely finish made by mixing charcoal powder with urushi. I have several at home, and the feel they provide in your hand is wonderful. But I had never heard of Sumiko Gold and perhaps best of all, this one was a Decapod, which is a Nakaya shape that always draws attention. I moved in for a closer look.

 

As soon as I took it out of its kimono, I knew that I liked it. The smooth matte black surface was accented by thin gold colored trim rings at the top of the body and bottom of the cap.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B5017A9F0-6215-401B-B84E-09B04F88CBF8%7D/origpict/s1.jpg

 

Nice! But I wasn’t quite ready for what I saw when I removed the cap. Rats! I hate metal sections. But wait! This pen was so light the section couldn’t possibly be metal. And it wasn’t. The section was ebonite painted in a maki-e style with gold paint. Quite a looker, and man, did it feel nice in my hand.

 

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BBE4DD988-5E06-4992-8137-77B620DDE620%7D/origpict/s2.jpg

 

 

 

A quick check of a Nakaya website revealed that this is actually a currently available piece. The price was acceptable, but it is an expensive pen and I somewhat reluctantly decided to leave it behind and move on.

 

A very short time later, I was negotiating to buy a few Nakayas I had found on another dealer’s table when out of the corner of my eye in an adjacent pen case I saw something that looked familiar. “What’s that one?” “Another Nakaya” the friendly dealer replied. But not just any Nakaya. Here’s what I saw:

 

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BA5499274-819F-4479-8463-119FB3BC150B%7D/origpict/s5.jpg

 

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BCB7073E8-2D0C-441A-8F74-E52B21839F4A%7D/origpict/s3.jpg

 

 

No big whoop, right? So it’s another of the same pen, but this time with a clip, right? Well, no. This one was a Mini Decapod, a seldom seen shape that was discontinued a number of years ago and has largely disappeared from circulation. Also in the same Sumiko Gold finish. And best of all it had a BB nib, a size I dearly love both for its great writing as well as its suitability to have ground into almost anything one might desire. I happily paid the dealer his asking price, and negotiated a deal on the other three Nakayas. You know what happened next.

 

I may have set a land speed record hightailing it back to the first dealer, where the full size Decapod in Sumiko Gold was patiently waiting for me. Wait, what? Also a BB nib???!!! What are the chances of THAT?

 

People ask me how I did at the DC Show. I just smile.

 

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BD2E85F28-7882-4CC8-B078-3044515BAFEC%7D/origpict/s4.jpg

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PAKMAN Ancient Artifact

PAKMAN

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Fun! Congrats!

PAKMAN

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

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That's a very attractive pen. Congratulations. (Nakayas are way out of my budget, and I can't trust that I won't have an allergic reaction to the urushi -- but I can admire them from afar....)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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dlddr New

dlddr

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Posted (edited)

I'll trade you my soul for that first pen

 

*Edit: I just re-read the post and saw that the first pen is still in production. I went over to Nakaya website and found out that my soul is worth about $1,500 USD. What a day

Edited by dlddr
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LeakyInk Near Mint

LeakyInk

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Beautiful pens, love seeing Nakaya Pens I don't think there is one I dislike. Congrats, great get. Too bad I don't have enough body parts to sell on the black market to afford just one, let alone two or even a group of them.

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whichwatch Collectors Item

whichwatch

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Hey Whichwatch which were the other 3 Nakayas you negotiated ? How about a picture of those 3 as well.

 

I'm currently away at the San Francisco Pen Show but will try to get a picture for you when I get home after the weekend

 

THanks!

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