Jump to content

Nakaya Seems Determined To Disappoint Me


jmccarty3

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 79
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • jmccarty3

    13

  • sarahfar

    9

  • Algester

    6

  • BMG

    5

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Is the ascending blue dragon also to be discontinued? The nibs.com web site says nothing, but this is really an Ao-tamenuri finish.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

But this is the whole point of a tamenuri finish! The inherent variability of these finishes should have been made clear to customers before they ordered, and if they weren't willing to accept it, they should have been encouraged to order another finish. Now the idiots who complained that "my pen doesn't look exactly like the picture on your web site" have cost us two beautiful finishes.

 

I have to deal with this sort of problem in my medical practice all the time. It's called managing expectations. Sorry for the rant.

 

I agree completely, sometimes people think that manual labor can reproduce the exact same thing every time... It's madness! Even someone specialized in reproductions of art can't do that.

 

I love the Ao-tamenuri finish... there wasn't in my plans to buy a Nakaya in the immediate future, but it is sad that I now know I won't be able to do so.

 

I guess I'll have to speed up my plans to buy a Dorsal Fin in matte black before they're also gone...

Edited by coppilcus
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just found out they're not going to make the pen pillows any more. What's next?

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am eyeing that Ao-tamenuri desk pen that nibs.com has. I have always been fond of the color...though there are so many other pens that I clearly need....Namiki Yukari Eagle, Montblanc Agatha Christie, Hakase something or other....

Just found out they're not going to make the pen pillows any more. What's next?

Good riddance I have a one and a three pen pillow and I never use them. Plus the quality was much lower than that of their pens. I have rough air bubbles in my single pen pillow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. Wonder why not.

 

:puzzled:

 

Yeah... John just had other priorities. I didn't pry. Just something non-pen show to do.

 

As for Nakaya... I have heard for several years that once these old craftsmen die, that's it! No more Nakaya! Maybe "retire" is a better word. I'm not surprised that production seems to be slowing down. I'm glad I have the pens in the finishes that I want and don't want any more (although, you know... there is room for a kuro Piccolo Cigar, hahaha, but no urgency, no coveting, no yearning).

 

I don't know if what I heard about no apprenticeships is true. Maybe at the time it was true and then that changed. I don't know. But this isn't a huge production factory, and these pens aren't made from molds and automation. It's one of the factors for the starting price's being so high.

 

When it comes to Nakaya, I wouldn't wait around if there is a model and finish that I really, really want. Most other brands and models can wait. Probably. You know. And if the sky is NOT falling, at least I'd have the Nakaya I really wanted. (Where "I" could be "you.")

_________________

etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like wise, but expensive, advice.

 

I disagree. Lisa's advice is very wise, and it is a real bargain at the price she charges. ;)

 

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm also sad to hear that the Shiro-tamenuri is being discontinued. I've had a pen in that finish on the back burner for a while waiting for a more opportune time budget wise. Well...I broke the bank today and put in an order for a Decopod Writer in Shiro-tamenuri. I'm sure the guilt I feel for exceeding the budget will pass in time...at least one can hope.

post-36725-0-00279700-1441407555.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Or manage your desires so that you don't want the Nakaya so much. Whatever works!

 

Managing certain desires well seems to result in managing other desires less well. :blush:

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi y'all,

 

For the record, here is the email from Nakaya verifying that the pens are urushied in Wajima. I had asked to visit their office in Tokyo, and was politely but very firmly told that was not possible. Oh well! :rolleyes:

 

The email is from July 14, 2015.

 

 


Thank you very much for your inquiry again.


We are sorry our craftsman are not able to

meet you because our pens are all painted in Wajima,

famous as the city of Urushi, which is about 600km

away from Tokyo.


We are sorry we are not able to meet your expectations.



Sincerely,

Yoko KONO (Ms.), Nakaya Fountain Pen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

輪島塗
my only lead... well so most likely they make the ebonite bodies in Tokyo and then fly to Wajima City for months at a time huh.... if one of them decides to retire well...
and then the Urushi manufacturer... well thats one thing I dont want to think about any further

Edited by Algester
Link to comment
Share on other sites

From my approximation, it seems they have combined Heki and Shiro into one shade and call it Heki. In other words, the early model Heki's were quite green in the under color, but have become progressively more and more tan-ish as the years have gone by. Now, I would guess, the newer Heki's are so close to the Shiro's that they figured they might as well nix the less popular one.

 

These are just my guesses based on what I have observed.

 

 

This was my experience as well. I bought a Heki piccolo cigar last year, and sent it back due to the colour. It was not that nice aged copper green colour like the times of yore. It was a tan-ish blah under colour. I was not impressed. The Ao-Tamenuri I bought was also not the colour I expected; came out as a yucky swamp green rather than turquoise like it's described as.

 

I personally think that they have peaked, and are not as great as they were back in 2006-2012. My last 3 Nakaya's had weird little defects in the finish. I know they're supposed to be handmade by old craftsmen, but to me these were imperfections. I don't know..... I guess I just couldn't justify the cost anymore.

Just my opinion though.

Edited by Legal Eagle

Current Favourites

Pen- Pilot Custom 74

Ink- J.Herbin Emerald of Chivor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Shiro Decapod cigar arrived yesterday--the color looks perfect to me. Haven't had a chance to ink it yet.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

This was my experience as well. I bought a Heki piccolo cigar last year, and sent it back due to the colour. It was not that nice aged copper green colour like the times of yore. It was a tan-ish blah under colour. I was not impressed. The Ao-Tamenuri I bought was also not the colour I expected; came out as a yucky swamp green rather than turquoise like it's described as.

 

I personally think that they have peaked, and are not as great as they were back in 2006-2012. My last 3 Nakaya's had weird little defects in the finish. I know they're supposed to be handmade by old craftsmen, but to me these were imperfections. I don't know..... I guess I just couldn't justify the cost anymore.

Just my opinion though.

 

Defects or simply expected variability in a handmade product? In either case, the urushi lacquering is outsourced to craftsmen in Wajima City, not done by the Nakaya people in Tokyo. If it is defective, I suppose Nakaya has the final QA responsibility.

 

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And they're not alone. Someday a long in the blue with a music nib or the most gushing BB stub will be mine. Someday, oh yes. It will. Many many years from now. Sigh...

And the nib with which you will be most happy is a music Mottishaw'd oblique italic. Delicious.

Edited by Remedial penmanship
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...