Japanese Pen Brag Page

[ShortRound131]

Wow that is a beautiful pen. Unfortunately way out of my price range for now.

I am definitely wanting to stay within the $150 (us) price range. Thank you for the suggestion though.

 

If you are considering a Sailor pen, I can vouch for the Sailor Pro Gear Realo Classic Fountain Pens 20th Anniversary Red & Black limited edition (88 pens).

 

"Pro Gear" is short for "Professional Gear." Pragmatically, it means the pen's tips are flat, instead of rounded like in Sailor's 1911 series pens.

 

I think "Realo" is a portmanteau of "reliance" and "locus." Sailor wanted a name that represented the company's core concepts or values. I can never remember that, and have to look it up every time. Practically, "Realo" means the pen is a piston filler.

 

So, to round out your collection from the big three Japanese pen companies, the Sailor Pro Gear Realo is a pretty neat pen. A piston filler black and red pen with flat tips.

 

classic-fountain-pens-sailor-pro-gear-realo-red-black-LE-angled.jpg

 

Mine is always inked up with Sheaffer Skrip Blue, and I always carry it with a Pilot Custom 912 (currently inked up with Iroshizuku Fugu-Shogun), and a Platinum 3776 Century Nice Pur (currently inked up with Binder Burgundy).

 

Very bespoke – especially if you get a custom grind from John Mottishaw.

 

Something to consider, if your looking to round out your clutch of Japanese pens.

 

[MYU]

Some older Sailors.

 

I still drool over these Sailor Egyptian fountain pens. Just beautifully done. Sure wish I'd made the effort to buy one of these some 8 years ago. They've gone stratospheric... too expensive for my blood now.

 

Same thing for Nakaya. Back in 2010, there were some great prices relative to the quality and artistry. I've not even looked... for fear they've gone through the roof, even with the beneficial USD to JPY exchange rate.

 

 

Lately I've been using a Pilot Custom 845 with broad nib, that writes more like a medium. So smooth and consistent. Beautiful stately instrument, perfect for an executive or top level official.

 

But my weapon of choice remains the Pilot M90. It was such a fantastic evolution of an innovative pen. I just wish Pilot had followed through with their original planned production, because cutting it early meant costs went up significantly. So many people (including me) bought theirs at around $150... and now it commonly sells for $500~600 new.

[tartuffo]

again, nothing to brag about , I just wanted to bump this thread; this is Nakaya's most affordable pen, a Briarwood or if you prefer, it's one of Platinum's more expensive pens because they are identical except for the name on the nib but this nib, a "bb" is extra special thanks to John Mottishaw's cursive italic grind .

 

http://i.imgur.com/kOSbyxT.jpg

 

practicing from Lloyd Reynolds excellent book, Italic Calligraphy & Handwriting .

[zaddick]

again, nothing to brag about , I just wanted to bump this thread; this is Nakaya's most affordable pen, a Briarwood or if you prefer, it's one of Platinum's more expensive pens because they are identical except for the name on the nib but this nib, a "bb" is extra special thanks to John Mottishaw's cursive italic grind .

 

http://i.imgur.com/kOSbyxT.jpg

 

practicing from Lloyd Reynolds excellent book, Italic Calligraphy & Handwriting .

Great writing and a lovely pen.

[stan]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

[Algester]

http://imgur.com/lADy8Mnl.jpg

not I would brag about it and its been with me for quite some time trying to like it... so far it's been a good writer also a lame excuse to try out my new camera lens

[pollandakuma]

*drools* tartuffo, dat sheen and dat handwriting...

[zaddick]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

Both are lovely stan, but the blue is my favorite. Thank you for sharing.

[mallymal1]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

Very nice.

[ehemem]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

 

 

Stan, who is the urushi artist? Does he (or she) take commissions?

[Betweenthelines]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

Awesome. Please post to the urushi thread!

[cunim]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

If we have a good urushi person in Canada, I'd like to know.

[tartuffo]

Great writing and a lovely pen.

 

thank yu Zaddick "in the S F Bay area" - wish I was there instead of in this East Coast humid heat wave.

 

*drools* tartuffo, dat sheen and dat handwriting...

 

the sheen is easy ( Sargasso Sea ) the handwriting takes a little practice : )

[stan]

If we have a good urushi person in Canada, I'd like to know.

'We' do not have a good urushi person in Canada.

My acquaintance does makie artwork for jewelry, combs, brushes and the like.

Studied in Japan and Southeast Asia, he is Canadian and resides in Canada.

Makie is not the least expensive process for decorating ens.

[mchenart]

Two Seirei-nuri's by Pilot, but generations apart. The black one is a modern Yukari model, while the red one is a 1970's edition.http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF3249_zps4ad30527.jpg

 

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF3246_zps573c36f8.jpg

[mehandiratta]

Two 'custom' made urushi clad pens.

Pen blanks are from America.

Nibs from Japan.

Urushi artist trained in Japan. Lives in Canada.

Beautiful pens...

who is the artist...???

[cunim]

 

Makie is not the least expensive process for decorating ens.

Understood, Stan, but one for which there is a market. Waiting lists for current suppliers are long and the results are a bit generic. People do urushi, but focus on the process of lacquering as opposed to the art of maki e. Wouldn't it be great to have traditionally schooled artists taking commissions for designs? I had a chess set made that way and enjoyed the experience.

 

You can buy a predefined design from Namiki or Danitrio, and know your artist but you have had no input. Or you can talk to Nakaya to refine a cartoon, but you don't really know your artist. You are buying the company as opposed to the artist. At those prices, we could ask for more.

 

What if someone like Bernard Lyn (or you) didn't just sell pens, but also used custom project specification to link buyers to artists? I guess the reward would be agent fees? Sigh. There's probably not enough artists left for that to work.

[MYU]

Two Seirei-nuri's by Pilot, but generations apart. The black one is a modern Yukari model, while the red one is a 1970's edition.http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF3249_zps4ad30527.jpg

 

 

 

Wow, those are beautiful! I've seen that red one before on a capless (Pic #1, Pic #2). I thought it was some prototype, but I see that it must have been a limited run. Seller in Japan wants 500,000 JPY for his red Seirei-nuri capless!

[AltecGreen]

Understood, Stan, but one for which there is a market. Waiting lists for current suppliers are long and the results are a bit generic. People do urushi, but focus on the process of lacquering as opposed to the art of maki e. Wouldn't it be great to have traditionally schooled artists taking commissions for designs? I had a chess set made that way and enjoyed the experience.

 

You can buy a predefined design from Namiki or Danitrio, and know your artist but you have had no input. Or you can talk to Nakaya to refine a cartoon, but you don't really know your artist. You are buying the company as opposed to the artist. At those prices, we could ask for more.

 

What if someone like Bernard Lyn (or you) didn't just sell pens, but also used custom project specification to link buyers to artists? I guess the reward would be agent fees? Sigh. There's probably not enough artists left for that to work.

Danitrio does custom work. It does take a while to get to the top of the list.

 

 

My custom Danitrio Genkai pens based on a Shindo Labs theme. They were made to match my stereo equipment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cunim]

Danitrio does custom work. It does take a while to get to the top of the list.

 

 

My custom Danitrio Genkai pens based on a Shindo Labs theme. They were made to match my stereo equipment.

 

 

 

How cool is that? Designing a pen to match something important to you. My compliments.