Hakase Pens For $1000 Or Less?

[Sketch and Doodle]

Which Hakase pen should I get for around $1,000 or less? I have sold a few pens and have about $1000 budget.

 

Buffalo Horn is out of budget and I'm not into Celluloid Jade either.

 

Ebonite? Cocobolo Wood? African Ebony? Rosewood?

 

I'm not familiar with any of the materials.

Could you enlighten me with the differences of those, pros and cons?

 

Real user opinions would be appreciated.

[shuuemura]

I've seen the cocobolo wood selling on eBay for about $999 (second-hand but in pristine condition) from Alan Gross (no affiliations etc.). I did the math on a brand-new one and it was about $1,100 new from Hakase, without all the gold furniture and only a gold-plated brass clip.

 

I owned a cocobolo wood flat-top pen for a brief two months before passing it on. It was a great pen but it was slightly too short for my taste. The wood that Hakase used in that pen was beautifully figured and the workmanship was flawless. The rippled ebonite that Hakase uses for the section was amazingly polished as well.

 

Ebonite will not stain with ink, an important consideration for a daily user where the barrel and cap might come into contact with ink. Wood bodies can stain with ink because they are left unfinished, unless you purchase a urushi-finished pen which will be way over your budget. Hakase uses ebonite for section construction in wood pens to avoid ink staining when the section is dipped into ink.

[Sketch and Doodle]

Thanks, Shuuemura!

It looks like Cocobolo is a little too woody for me. Maybe African Ebony with more dense and dark wood might suit me better or Ebonite.

 

African Ebony GW10A is ¥110,000 (U.S. $931)

http://fp-hakase.com/products/ebony/gw10a.html

 

Ebonite Red&Black ¥70,000 (U.S. $592)

http://fp-hakase.com/products/ebonite/fb10a.html

 

I kind of like to get Nakaya long Piccolo for just a little more than $600.

I really like Nakaya portable cigar for it's most smoothest nib ever.

 

I wonder if Hakase is anything like it.

 

It's either Long Piccolo or Hakase entry level.

[Keyless Works]

Do those pens have the same Pilot nibs as the pens that cost $2k+ ?

[Sketch and Doodle]

Do those pens have the same Pilot nibs as the pens that cost $2k+ ?

Do you mean Hakesa pens that cost upward $2000 uses same nib as Pilot?

 

Btw, how do you like Romillo Essential #9? Was it an Italic?

Mr. Romillo will replace my Sil #9 to "NEW" Essential #9 with eyedropper filler and a solid lentil. This is the beginning of the long wait. Can't wait!

 

Whoever said that you will eventually get all Nakaya, Hakese, and Romillo.

[Keyless Works]

I recall from looking at the site that they use different nibs for their lower end models. The 15 size Pilot 14kt nibs are the ones that you get on the higher end but the cheaper models have steel nibs (or so I thought) and I was wondering if $600 gets you the nicer 14kt nib.

 

I love my Romillo...I ran through 4 tanks of ink before moving it out of rotation which I think is a record for me. I want to get a #7 at some point...but I think a Hakase is more likely to be next.

[shuuemura]

Hakase use both #10 and #15 14K nibs from Pilot, as well as a midsize 14K nib from Sailor (probably same as the nibs found on the midsize 1911).

 

http://fp-hakase.com/spec.html

 

IIRC, Hakase only work with gold nibs. The African Ebony GW10A and Ebonite Red and Black that you linked to use the #10 nib. The price of the Cocobolo pen I quoted was for one with a #15 nib. I prefer larger nibs, but YMMV.

[daintydimsum]

The ebony is a beautiful wood, I use mine daily and love it.

[Sketch and Doodle]

It's hard to imagine how they feel in your hand as I'm not too familiar with wood material or the colours especially when they cost so much.

Maybe I better stop obsessing Hakase and just get a Nakaya long piccolo and customize with kanji. Maybe someone post some photos please.

[Algester]

As for me I's like the african ebony... i just dont have the budget for it but anyway the best way to get your hakase pen is a trip to Tottori, Japan more than just beyond e-mail... That or schedule a chance to meet your pen maker when he goes to tokyo since Hakase pens arent that well documented

Edited November 22, 2014 by Algester

[Sketch and Doodle]

As for me I's like the african ebony... i just dont have the budget for it but anyway the best way to get your hakase pen is a trip to Tottori, Japan more than just beyond e-mail... That or schedule a chance to meet your pen maker when he goes to tokyo since Hakase pens arent that well documented

That would be the best if I can afford the money and time. but in real life it's highly less likely going to happen.

 

What about Sailor Ebony pen? Are they any good?

http://www.nibs.com/sailor-precious-woods-kokutan-ebony.htm

[Algester]

Ahh sure defenitely sailor ebony is fine but eh... I'm still undecided if sailors are really for me I find their nibs to be very scratchy if not scratchy one hell small of a sweet spot considering a lefty like me I write differently...

But if your getting it from John then defenitely you should more or less be insured But i'm not saying I'm lusting over that usagiya lumiere...

[dasnet]

You can try ebony from Stylo-Art. They have Sailor and Pilot nibs.

[Sketch and Doodle]

You can try ebony from Stylo-Art. They have Sailor and Pilot nibs.

I went their site but only in Japanese. Not much help!

[brahe]

Do yourself a favor and buy a Hakase.

All the others are good alternatives but they are not a Hakase.

One of these days (years) you are going to buy one anyway.

Why don't you do it now?

Treat yourself to one.

Bram

[Algester]

Ok if you want to know about the wood materials the only thing your going to look at is the patterns that make up the wood that will be turned into the pen all hakase pens made of wood are lined with ebonite to give it extra rigidity but beyond that your call your choice the more exotic nib designs that designate their 80 year anniversary are in #15 size since pilot made them its as big as a nib found in the 823 and 743 and are more expensive than the more subtle designed pen next this being a hakase pen can be made edison style IE bespoke but I think the limits are only it has to be made available in their pen catalog (IE the form and shape of the pen) and just mix and match from there the length of the pen however you can specify which then can be ground and or tuned to your writing style...

I havent seen anyone have a trully bespoke Nakaya here in the forums (as I imagine they all get their Nakayas from John Mottishaw) though but I may have a hunch people in Japan have their own bespoke Nakayas

[daintydimsum]

I went their site but only in Japanese. Not much help!

 

A bit of careful searching and also google translate are your friends:

http://stylo-art.com/?mode=f10

[Sketch and Doodle]

Do yourself a favor and buy a Hakase.

All the others are good alternatives but they are not a Hakase.

One of these days (years) you are going to buy one anyway.

Why don't you do it now?

Treat yourself to one.

Bram

I know I don't want to settle for anything less.

[Sketch and Doodle]

 

A bit of careful searching and also google translate are your friends:

http://stylo-art.com/?mode=f10

Thank you! This helps browsing better.

[Sketch and Doodle]

Ok if you want to know about the wood materials the only thing your going to look at is the patterns that make up the wood that will be turned into the pen all hakase pens made of wood are lined with ebonite to give it extra rigidity but beyond that your call your choice the more exotic nib designs that designate their 80 year anniversary are in #15 size since pilot made them its as big as a nib found in the 823 and 743 and are more expensive than the more subtle designed pen next this being a hakase pen can be made edison style IE bespoke but I think the limits are only it has to be made available in their pen catalog (IE the form and shape of the pen) and just mix and match from there the length of the pen however you can specify which then can be ground and or tuned to your writing style...

I havent seen anyone have a trully bespoke Nakaya here in the forums (as I imagine they all get their Nakayas from John Mottishaw) though but I may have a hunch people in Japan have their own bespoke Nakayas

I'm not really into bespoke Nakaya but personalized Nakaya with Kanji? I just like the shape of Long Piccolo though.