Nakaya Sumiko Questions

[Namo]

Hi fellows fpners.

 

For several years, I am playing with the idea of getting a Nakaya. I just love the nibs. The only thing really holding me back is what makes them beautiful pens: the urushi laquer. This just does not get along with me, and Nakaya doesn't sell pens in naked ebonite.

 

It seems that the sumiko finish is a mix of urushi and pigented black ink and that this finish does have a distinctive feel, very different from the regular urushi. Can anyone tell me up to what point this is true? What is the difference? And how does this feeling compare to bare ebonite?

 

Thanks a million to everyone.

[whichwatch]

What is it about the urushi finish that doesn't work for you? Is it the glossiness and/or the glass smooth texture? Or perhaps something else?

 

Sumiko and the somewhat similar but less expensive matte black hairline finishes are both matte finishes that are without the super smooth glossiness of Nakaya's Urushi finishes. They both have a very nice feel in the hand.

 

There are also Ishime Kanshitsu finishes, which have a carved like surface that to me are the best feeling of all Nakayas.

Edited October 12, 2019 by whichwatch

[Namo]

What is it about the urushi finish that doesn't work for you? Is it the glossiness and/or the glass smooth texture? Or perhaps something else?

 

Sumiko and the somewhat similar but less expensive matte black hairline finishes are both matte finishes that are without the super smooth glossiness of Nakaya's Urushi finishes. They both have a very nice feel in the hand.

 

There are also Ishime Kanshitsu finishes, which have a carved like surface that to me are the best feeling of all Nakayas.

I find regular urushi kind of slippery. Thanks for the answer!

[ridiculopathy]

It's not a great comparison, but it's like the matte-ness of a Lamy 2000 without the brushed finish. It's very different from the more commonly seen polished urushi.

[Namo]

It's not a great comparison, but it's like the matte-ness of a Lamy 2000 without the brushed finish. It's very different from the more commonly seen polished urushi.

If it feels like it's nice enough. I have a vintage 2K and with time, the brushed part get reduced. Thanks!

[whichwatch]

I find regular urushi kind of slippery. Thanks for the answer!

 

Then definitely consider Matte Black Hairline or Sumiko, or one of the Ishime Kanshitsu finishes. I don't find any of them to be slippery at all.

[nekomuffchu]

I have Nakaya in both urushi and sumiko finishes, the urushi is tactile from the oil in your fingers, the Sumiko feels dry and doesn't transmit as much feel when writing.

[Namo]

Thank you everyone for your answers.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Namo

[MartinPauli]

"Sumiko Shiage" is Urushi lacquer mixed with "Charcoal" powder to achieve a matte surface.

Lierally Sumi = Ink, although Japanese ink was traditionally made from Pine Carbon, not Charcoal

[ethernautrix]

I have a matte black/hairline Piccolo and I hae handled sumiko Nakayas, and they're both "warm," senuous, smooth, velvety, and I would say that sumiko is just more so than the matte black.

[Namo]

Martin: viele Dank. Useful info about the process from someone who knows.

 

ethernautrix: first hand impressions from the queen of Nakaya users, many, many thanks. Actually, I am possibly aiming at a desk pen, and keep reading your accounts about that model. I've been willingly enabled...

[ethernautrix]

(Smiling) The once-upon-a-time queen of Nakaya. Still my favorite model (the Piccolo Cigar).

 

I love the Desk Pen. It is rather unwieldy for week-long bike tours, although if I still used the hardcover Moleskine-copycat or Rhodia notebooks, then I'd carry the Desk Pen in its silk sleeping bag inside a double Quiver pen case that fits the aforementioned notebooks.

 

But my writing gear has changed a bit, so Desk Pen spends most of its life in the Pen Valise. But it has my favorite finish, the kuro-tamenuri, with a kanji character by Ernest Shin. This is my extra special Nakaya.

 

Maybe I'll change my writing habits again, so that I can use this pen more often. Yeah.