Two Japanese Pens Done With The Kamakura Bori Technique

[PenHero]

Hi, folks!

 

I took this photo for the cover of the Pen Collectors of America magazine, the Pennant, for the Winter 2006 issue.

 

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/PENNANT_1280_01.jpg

 

This shot is two Japanese pens done with the kamakura bori technique, where the design is created by carving it into the layers of urushi lacquer applied to the cap and barrel, c1930s.

 

Featured in the Winter 2006 Pennant article, "Collecting Japanese Pens," by Stan Klemanowicz

 

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/PENNANTCoverWinter2006.jpg

 

These are some of the most interesting pens I have ever seen. It was great fun to see them and photograph them.

 

Thanks!

[visvamitra]

Nice.

[Betweenthelines]

Beautiful, and they look really satisfying to hold in a tactile sense.

[VivienR]

Wow! Wonderful pens!

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks!

 

Was looking in my archives and found this additional shot of these two pens, so am posting as a throwback photo!

 

Two Japanese tsui-shu kamakura bori fountain pens c. 1932-1935. The cap and barrel designs are done using the tsui-shu kamakura bori technique. Urushi lacquer is applied in many layers over an ebonite cap and barrel and the design is then cut into the finished pen by the artist, c. 1930s. The makers are unknown, but there were many small pen makers in Japan in the 1930s who crafted unique art pens in small shops adding jobbed parts such as clips, trim and nibs. In some cases, the pens were sold without nibs and the pen shop would fit a nib to the pen to suit the customer’s writing style. The left hand pen is an eyedropper filler with a safety shut off feature and has a pine tree design and the deeply layered urushi lacquer is a more uniform color, with the texturing of the carving giving dimension and shading. The nib is a Northstar number 4. Northstar, Taisendo and Co. of Tokyo, Japan was a high quality pen maker in the 1930s. This pen was likely made c1932-1935. Japanese eyedropper pens work by unscrewing the nib section and using an eyedropper to drip ink into the pen barrel. The nib section is then screwed back onto the barrel to form a seal. At the base of the barrel is a seam, the handle of the cut-off valve, a long post inside the barrel that extends up to the base of the nib feed facing into the barrel. When the valve is screwed all the way flush with the barrel, the post cuts off ink flow to the feed, effectively starving the section to stop writing. Any ink left in the feed will eventually be used up until the valve is opened. By slightly unscrewing the valve, ink flow is released to the feed and the pen will write normally. The right hand pen was lacquered in at least two colors and high contrast was achieved as the top color was cut away to reveal the birds in flight. These pens were Featured in the Winter 2006 Pennant article, “Collecting Japanese Pens,” by Stan Klemanowicz.

 

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/TwoKamakuraBoriPens_2048_01.jpg

 

Thanks!

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks!

Another view of the kamakura bori fountain pen with the birds in flight pattern!

This is a Japanese tsui-shu kamakura bori fountain pen with a carved birds in flight design c. 1932-1935. The cap and barrel is done using the tsui-shu kamakura bori technique. Urushi lacquer is applied in many layers over an ebonite cap and barrel and the design is then cut into the finished pen by the artist, c. 1930s. The maker is unknown, but there were many small pen makers in Japan in the 1930s who crafted unique art pens in small shops adding jobbed parts such as clips, trim and nibs. In some cases, the pens were sold without nibs and the pen shop would fit a nib to the pen to suit the customer’s writing style. The cap and barrel were lacquered in at least two colors and the high contrast was achieved as the top color was cut away to reveal the birds in flight. This pen was Featured in the Winter 2006 Pennant article, “Collecting Japanese Pens,” by Stan Klemanowicz.

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/TwoKamakuraBoriPens_2048_02.jpg

Thanks!