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Kop Vs Custom Urushi/845 Vs Nakaya Vs Izumo


penzel_washinkton

  

102 members have voted

  1. 1. KoP vs Custom Urushi vs Nakaya vs Izumo

    • Sailor King of Pen
      26
    • Pilot Custom Urushi / 845
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    • Nakaya
      33
    • Platinum Izumo
      8
    • Others
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Maybe someday but not soon.

Thanks in advance.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

(exhaling) OK ladies and gentleman.

 

Right now I am compiling a list of my grail pens particularly from Japan and would really appreciate your input.

I don't know how I got into this mindset but I really am researching seriously in determining a grail pen and it is between the four brands/pen type mentioned in the thread title. My plan is that IF sometimes in the future I visit Japan, I will be doing some pen hunting and pull the trigger on my grail pen (adjusting to future conditions of course).

 

The price limit will be at max around $1100 so it will narrow down some of the model in the brands line up. I really wanted to include Namiki (Emperor) but $2000 is just too much of a stretch for me.

 

I believe that most of them are similar in size (the Izumo being smallest out of the bunch) so I would not count them as a deciding factor. All are Urushi lacquered except the KoP at the price range although it is not a deciding factor for me.

 

If you could provide the pros and cons of your preferred pens compared to the others in the list, please do share and thanks a lot!

So, I emailed David from figboot and got a reply on a comparison of how custom urushi, montblanc james dean and KOP writes. Hope this helps.

 

 

When you are comparing pens, things like nib size and personal preference makes a huge difference. In addition, the James Dean is somewhat flashy compared to the other two, which are more tame. In the most general terms, with medium nibs, the Pilot is more smooth, the KOP is more precise, and the MB is between the two.

/d
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After trying the KOP first hand, I would have to say, that being last on this list does not do the KOP any justice.

 

It is really hard to imagine that the Izumo writes better than the KOP.

 

At the moment, I think the KOP even beats the pilot custom urushi in terms of nib smoothness. The caveat, it that in my sample, the KOP is medium and the pilot is medium fine.

Edited by salmasry
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  • 2 weeks later...

Despite Nakayas and Izumos being far prettier and more interesting in designs, for me the writing experience of the KOP ebonite and Custom Urushi have blown them out of the water because of their size, weight and balance, ink flow, and wonderfully springy nibs. KOP ebonite with a medium nib I would say is the best writing Japanese pen I have ever used.

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I have recently acquired the KOP and the Pilot Custom Urushi. Prior to Custom Urushi, the KOP is a clear winner over the rest of what I have. Once I have tried the Custom Urushi, I can say the King has been displaced if only by a whisker.

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Despite Nakayas and Izumos being far prettier and more interesting in designs, for me the writing experience of the KOP ebonite and Custom Urushi have blown them out of the water because of their size, weight and balance, ink flow, and wonderfully springy nibs. KOP ebonite with a medium nib I would say is the best writing Japanese pen I have ever used.

 

Exactly, I can not get over how smooth the KOP ebonite pen with medium nib writes, it is a dream pen in every aspect of writing.

 

When I compare the writing experience using the same Sailor black ink in both the KOP medium and the Pilot custom urushi medium fine, the KOP comes way ahead. It might not be fair to compare medium nib to a medium fine nib, but this has really changed my outlook on fountain pens completely. All my previous pens were fine or medium fine nibs, as I was not impressed with the 1911L mediums I got for my daughter, now I know better. Perhaps she was right all along to choose medium nibs .

Edited by salmasry
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> how smooth the KOP ebonite pen with medium nib writes

 

Isn't it the same nib in all Sailor KoPs?

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> how smooth the KOP ebonite pen with medium nib writes

 

Isn't it the same nib in all Sailor KoPs?

Should be, but I only know the ebonite version, so I can not really claim that I know how the others write.

Even then, I have one sample of the KOP ebonite, so I am not sure if they are all like that.

 

The reason perhaps I am careful not to generalize, is that I have seen the same 21K size nib on 1911L, behave differently based on whether it is 2 tone on Realo sigma, vs white gold on 1911L, vs gold on 1911L in terms of tuning, feedback, ...etc.

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> same 21K size nib on 1911L,

It is not the same.

See here for a graphical overview: http://www.sailor.co.jp/pdf/brand-feature.pdf

 

Sailor has a 21K in small (1911 standard size), in middle (1911L) and in big (KoP size).

Apologies for not being clear:

 

The middle sized 21K nib, used in the 1911L, is shared amongst the 1911L in gold, the 1911L in white gold and the Realo sigma in 2 tone gold. I have about 8 pens in MF and F of these 3 pen-models, all with the same middle 21K nib size, and the feedback and tuning among them vary significantly.

 

The word "same" refers to the 3 1911L middle size versions of the nib, not to be mixed with the KOP size version of the nib.

 

I was using this data point: which is the variation of the nib performance of the 1911L sized nib as an indicator that if we sample different pens among the KOP sized nib, we might get different performance as well.

Edited by salmasry
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OK, I see what you you mean. Isn't it often the case?

I have two Bock #8 F, both write differently, same goes for my two MB149 nibs. I don't remember how it is with my two KoP nibs. They all show individuality. :)

All these nibs are tuned by hand, there might be some slight differences due to that???

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OK, I see what you you mean. Isn't it often the case?

I have two Bock #8 F, both write differently, same goes for my two MB149 nibs. I don't remember how it is with my two KoP nibs. They all show individuality. :)

All these nibs are tuned by hand, there might be some slight differences due to that???

 

 

I think we agree that it is more prudent to specify that the model of the KOP we have tried ( was : ebonite + medium) , as we are not able ot generalize with resepct to other KOP nibs such as the pro gear version, ...etc.

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I just had a traumatic pen collecting experience. Within the past year I rounded out about a dozen favorites I keep inked all the time. Its been many months since I thought of buying a pen. I really have enjoyed a number of fine pens.

 

Out of nowhere I get an email from Tokyo Pen Shop Quill reminding me that over a year ago I inquired about a Pilot Vermillion 845 with a Waverly nib. Now they have it and its mine for the lowly cost of $600. After sleeping on it I responded and declined the offer. I suspect I'll regret the decision some day but I literally had stopped buying pens when my 24-pen case filled up. My biggest fear is if I sprung for the 845 another 23 pens would not be far behind because obviously I would need another case. I suppose if this month I had not already sprung for an even more expensive folding knife I may have made a different decision. What a painful existence we live.

 

45912497211_dae0bd9f51_k.jpg

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I just had a traumatic pen collecting experience. Within the past year I rounded out about a dozen favorites I keep inked all the time. Its been many months since I thought of buying a pen. I really have enjoyed a number of fine pens.

 

Out of nowhere I get an email from Tokyo Pen Shop Quill reminding me that over a year ago I inquired about a Pilot Vermillion 845 with a Waverly nib. Now they have it and its mine for the lowly cost of $600. After sleeping on it I responded and declined the offer. I suspect I'll regret the decision some day but I literally had stopped buying pens when my 24-pen case filled up. My biggest fear is if I sprung for the 845 another 23 pens would not be far behind because obviously I would need another case. I suppose if this month I had not already sprung for an even more expensive folding knife I may have made a different decision. What a painful existence we live.

 

45912497211_dae0bd9f51_k.jpg

 

Good for you. I have found that at some point it comes time to acknowledge 'I have enough', especially when you have pens to fill each writing need. Besides, I sincerely doubt it would compare to that lovely Yukari you have there!

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Good for you. I have found that at some point it comes time to acknowledge 'I have enough', especially when you have pens to fill each writing need. Besides, I sincerely doubt it would compare to that lovely Yukari you have there!

 

Exactly. I have a nice nib selection, a nice mix of vintage and new, various filling mechanism designs, multiple countries represented... My Yukari (yes, it is indeed fantastic) and KOP Pro Gear are inked at all times to provide a taste of Japan. I think if I have any regret is that I've walked away from a Waverly nib. I've never used one, but understand they are a joy to use. I suppose my nagging issue with the Vermillion 845 is that one poster early on said the red/black/gold squared off design alluded to or was reminiscent of a doorman or elevator operator, and so that is always the first thing that pops in my head when I see one. Now I can go back to counting my money that I still have. ;)

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I had a Custom 823 with a WA nib. Wrote more or less like a smooth M. Sold it, dont miss it one bit. I don't think you missed out on anything Tseg.

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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Thanks zaddick, I'll take your good judgement and rest well tonight.

 

But you reminded me, I also have my 823 Fine inked up, so a 3rd Japanese regular contributor in my accumulation.

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