Mike It Work

[crussell]

I know that Mike Masuyama, Mike it Work, is a known quantity around here, but wanted to add a bit of praise.

 

I recently sent Mike three pens with various issues to be worked out, leakage, stoppage and just plain bad performance. The pens were returned in about 2 months, which seems lightning fast for reputable nib work, and the results were first rate.

 

The leak stopped, and Mike wrote me a very detailed description of his findings. The performance of the nib on the same pen was tweaked, and it went from being a good writer to being extraordinary. I spent a good deal of time last night just doodling with it, to feel how great the nib worked.

 

He also fixed the pen that I set aside because it would stop writing at inconvenient moments that required public tinkering, which brought unwanted and embarrassing attention. I can now run out a full converter in rapid fashion with no issues at all.

 

The best moment came from a titanium nib that was dry and scratchy. (I figured it was the material, and haven't touched another titanium since buying this pen.) It put a line on paper, but I tended to press hard trying get a suitable amount of ink from it, and the nib never felt right touching paper. This pen probably had the worst nib in my collection. I expected it would be made usable, but it's now in my top 3, smooth, wet and I can save the pressure for line variation, which makes this a completely different instrument. The nib now greatly exceeds my expectations, and really convinced me of Mr. Masuyama's abilities.

[jimhughes]

I agree. My experiences with Mike parallel yours. Great person to work with, courteous, quick to reply and always gives you a full diagnostic eval of the problems and the corrections. Jim

[Lady Spencerian]

+1

Add me to the list of Michael's fans. He works magic.

[Ghost Plane]

Anyone who can look at my cryptic notes and decipher what I REALLY want from a nib is a magician. Mike gets my pens regularly

[rcarlisle]

I just saw Mike at the Dallas Pen show. I had a brand new Waterman Exception that skipped badly. I also wanted to convert it from a stub to a cursive italic with thinner thin strokes. I also had a medium Vanishing Point that I wanted ground to a cursive italic. I sat with him for 30 minutes and he got my pens fixed and customized for me. They write beautifully now. Just the way I like my nibs. He would have me try it out first and then work on it. He was great. If you can catch him at a pen show do not pass it up. You will save the shipping and handling and 30 minutes is a lot better than two months. When I saw that he would be at the show this year in Dallas I wanted to be sure to get there and see him. I saw how long his ( and most good nibwrights) backlog was. I also heard him talk to people and tell them that what they needed done was not doable in just half an hour. He asked if he could take it home and work on it. He did not want to do a shoddy repair.

[Ceilidh]

I had him do a cursive italic on Saturday as well. I wasn't sure which nib would work the best for that, and Mike helped me narrow it down and choose the right one. It's wonderful, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Chatted with the charming Mrs. Mike while he worked. Delightful experience.

[Chris Chalmers]

Yes............Mike does lovely work!!! He reground three MB WEs for me last year - turned three 'fine' nibs into quite exceptional cursive italics - and all have personality - as MB nibs are rarely identical.

 

[zoirusha]

Hi,

Long time lurker, first (or second?) time poster. I had dropped my Namiki Falcon on its nib, and also the barrel on my Pilot Custom was malfunctioning. I found Mike it Work Matsuyama's info on this website, and I highly recommend him highly! He did both repairs perfectly on time as promised, and the repair cost was very fair. Also very good, smooth communication via email. Highly recommend him. Again, if anyone needs his email it is mikeitwork@gmail.com

[Ghost Plane]

[vannesspen]

Vanness sends customers his way regularly- What a talented man!

[Regolf]

I have known Michael for many years and he truly cares about the work that he produces. I have never had a moment's problem with any work that he has ever done for me or my customers.

 

Dick

[tinta]

I'm extremely impressed with the 0.95 mm. stub that Mike ground for me.

Before contacting Mike, I was confused about how the stubs or cursive italics lay down their wide & narrow strokes. (This, despite reading Richard Binder's excellent information on nibs, a number of times).

Mike patiently answered my questions & even provided a couple of diagrams to clarify how he achieves these special grinds.

Writing with this stub surpassed all my expectations.