This Is Awesome. A Brand New "broken" Nakaya

[bphollin]

I think it looks great. This is on my short list of Nakayas. For a customized finish, the price isn't that bad.

 

But then again I like Lamy pens, so, you know.

[karmakoda]

Considering the pen takes six months or more to produce, the price is OK.

Distressing people and things is a talent I have, so I wonder if Nakaya allows some input into the creative design process?

 

Oh, and I like Lagavulin and Bruichladdich, keeping it all on the Isle.

Edited August 18, 2012 by karmakoda

[Rosser]

I think it's beautiful!

[Tberry010]

Wasn't too sure about the style of this pen until I saw the real item in Atlanta. Then Lisa let me write with it, and my grail list changed!!

 

There are other Nakaya's, but there is something about this pen, maybe only in person, that just looks, feels, and most important, writes right.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Theft proof. No one is going to steal a broken pen. :notworthy1:

 

Shabby chic

Edited August 19, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I have a Negoro-nuri pen from Nakaya, but mine is smooth and does not have the "cracks." There is a certain charm about them. It feels like an old friend of sorts, and you know that not that many people would think they are worth that much at first glance.

 

Dillon

[andru]

I like seeing the layers underneath. It's kind of like a demonstrator urushi pen--you get to see what's deep down on the inside.

Nice perspective!

 

Lisa, that's funny, I was looking at the photos when your collection was on exhibition (I forget where), and noticed the damage, but assumed it was the result of some sort of accident. Very dramatic aesthetic!

 

I used to carve sculptures from clay, and age them myself ("Soil & Polish" was my motto, referring both to the origin of the material, and the ageing process). Fired, unglazed clay is very stark and begs for some sort of finishing treatment. I had fun trying all kinds of things to give them an organic, worn appearance, and it always involved plenty of handling so I didn't consider it a cheap trick.

[79spitfire]

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6056/6294506874_a129fbd30e.jpg

 

I have five other Nakayas to distress myself (plus one on the way if it ever gets here (past eight months waiting... (*taps foot*)).

So is Nakaya employing you as their official spokesperson yet??? They could at least spiff you a new pen once in a while....

 

:roflmho:

 

Just think you could be in a picture add, (just like Johnny Depp) Holding one of the pens and looking contemplative, and best of all you could also be the photographer!

Edited August 19, 2012 by 79spitfire

[chris burton]

Great looking pen. Just think how much more awesome it'll look in thirty or forty years. Take a photo of it every day for the next decade and string them together in a video. :-)

[elysee]

But that doesn't look aged, it looked like you dropped it, badly.

 

I agree with you! And, what a shame to do that on purpose to such a lovely finish! Definitely not to my liking -- I am careful with my pens so that they do not end up looking like that. I would never consider paying $900 for a pen that someone has abused on purpose via the "painstaking and time-consuming" "weathering process".

[watch_art]

I think it looks freakin awesome. I'd take this over any of the other Nakayas. It's just cool.

[lovemy51]

i have a distressed cracked barrel P51 with a bent nib and cap dinged to the max if any one wants it for $500??!!

 

oh, sorry. i should post this in the classified.

 

 

Mona Lisa with a scar -imagine that, Da Vinci.

Edited August 19, 2012 by lovemy51

[Sblakers]

I actually have this pens brother. John had two of these as far as I understand and I got the other one. This is my favorite Nakaya pen. You really need to hold one and see it in person to really see how amazing this finish is.

[ethernautrix]

I am sure there are people who do like this aesthetic on its own merit.

 

Yeah. Like me.

 

If only Parker would make one -- the urushi finish over hard rubber and this cracked finish which appealed to me as soon as I saw it. Maybe I'm as cracked as the pen, but I wouldn't be so cracked as to tell others that their aesthetics are rubbish and criticize them for spending their hard-earned money on what pleases them. Parker doesn't make this design. Sheaffer doesn't make this design. Neither does Waterman, Lamy, Montblanc, or any of the others. I don't care that it's Nakaya, but who else makes it? I care that I like the look of the pen; I like how the pen writes.

 

The cracks in the pen and the color of the finish resonate with experiences and memories from another time in my life. It's very personal and elevates a very wonderfully-writing pen into a work of art. I don't expect anyone else to understand that. But I do expect adults to understand that people have different aesthetics and desires, and just because you (universal you) can't see it from other than your own perspective doesn't make you the arbiter of beauty and value for everyone.

 

And it's none of your business how much I spend on pens.

 

Sorry if it sounds like I'm addressing only you, de-pen-dent -- most of it was addressed generally outward.

 

"Best wishes" indeed, Krishna. The sarcasm drips heavily like molasses.

[de_pen_dent]

If only Parker would make one -- the urushi finish over hard rubber and this cracked finish which appealed to me as soon as I saw it. Maybe I'm as cracked as the pen, but I wouldn't be so cracked as to tell others that their aesthetics are rubbish and criticize them for spending their hard-earned money on what pleases them. Parker doesn't make this design. Sheaffer doesn't make this design. Neither does Waterman, Lamy, Montblanc, or any of the others. I don't care that it's Nakaya, but who else makes it? I care that I like the look of the pen; I like how the pen writes.

 

The cracks in the pen and the color of the finish resonate with experiences and memories from another time in my life. It's very personal and elevates a very wonderfully-writing pen into a work of art. I don't expect anyone else to understand that. But I do expect adults to understand that people have different aesthetics and desires, and just because you (universal you) can't see it from other than your own perspective doesn't make you the arbiter of beauty and value for everyone.

 

You misunderstand. My point wasn't to be the arbiter of beauty and value for everyone (I realize that your post wasn't directed at me, btw), nor was it to belittle your - or anyone else's - choice.

 

My point was more a general comment on how *some* [emphasis on "some"] people's preferences are affected by not just the object under consideration, but also the back story. This is true not just for pens but also art, bicycles, etc. So the fact that this is a Nakaya, the fact that the styling of the pen references Japanese cultural values, etc. may also contribute towards people liking this look, compared to a pen by BubbaJohn's Pens with no backstory.

 

Nor did I intend this to be a pejorative - no one collects objects in a vacuum: their story, history, etc all play a role. So of course, for some people, a pen with a "story", ala the Nakaya, is going to be more attractive than a mass-market pens. For others, the aesthetic is enough. And yet others don't find the appeal (I am in that last category when it comes to this pen, but am also in the first category with some hobbies, and second category with yet others, so far be it for me to cast stones).

 

I was making a statement about about what goes into preferences, not attack your choices. This is a relatively touchy subject, and I was trying to discuss it in abstract. Apparently I didn't do a very good job.

 

And it's none of your business how much I spend on pens.

 

My favorite quote is "I spend most of money on wine, women and toys - the rest I waste" - so I agree with the sentiment above

 

In peace,

V.

Edited August 19, 2012 by de_pen_dent

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

There are indeed some people who like these things on their own merits. Beauty is to the eye of the beholder, and this is certainly radical and not everyone's cup of tea. This is a certain style that takes time to make, and thus the cost goes up. I have one of these that doesn't have the "cracks" but is worn all the same, and I really like it.

 

Dillon

[minimax447]

+1 Krishna.

(If it ain't broke, break it.)

I accept that it is a matter of taste but paying to buy something new faked up to look vintage is a fad I just shudder at. No matter how good the pen. If you want that look buy something genuinely old and vintage with some real history. True, it won't actually cost so much but there will be money available for repair and tuning. It is nouvelle cuisine, an awful lot of nothing on a big white plate. Leave a restaurant hungry and it has failed.

[liapuyat]

Ethernautrix, your pen is gorgeous. I like it. It doesn't look broken to me. It's part of the design to show the layers of lacquer underneath the smooth surface.

[karmakoda]

Over the years of enjoying this wonderful Network, certain contributors have consistently charmed us with their character, writing creatively with originality, wit, humor, and a positive exuberance while generously sharing their adventures in fountain pens and life.

Imagine.

Thank You Lisa, the pen is beautiful.

[mhosea]

Maybe I'm as cracked as the pen, but I wouldn't be so cracked as to tell others that their aesthetics are rubbish and criticize them for spending their hard-earned money on what pleases them.

 

Indeed. I initially made a generic and negative comment about pre-distressed new items, but at the time I was thinking of it as an un-bought product and asking myself why I didn't want it. I wasn't thinking about anybody else. But then realizing that you loved it, I thought it might be worth loving somehow. I cannot come all the way, it seems. I still would much prefer it if these irregularities were regularized a bit, even if random in some way, if only to synchronize the fact that they're in fact intentional with their appearance. Maybe it's just my nature, but I think maybe it's also coming from a quarter century as Mr. Fix-it, being brought broken things by my distraught children (and wife). I think it has imbued jagged edges with negative emotions. It's a theory, anyway. Oddly, having liked it or not, the experience of considering the matter has had the same effect on me as a good piece of art. Maybe that is proof enough of something.