The White Nakaya

[whichwatch]

 

                    Shiro Tamenuri has long been one of my favorite Nakaya finishes.  Every time I see it I think of Milky Way candy bars.  I was disappointed when Nakaya discontinued it a few years ago.  This past November Nakaya annnounced a one-time special run of two finishes - Shiro Tamenuri and White (Shiro).  Each would be produced in three models (Portable, Long, and Piccolo) in both Writer (with clip) and Cigar (no clip) versions, with 5 pieces of each finish/shape/configuration for a total of 60 pieces.  I ordered one each color Portable Writer and set about waiting.  Today

 

My Shiro Tamenuris

 

 

 

the new pens arrived.  They are of course flawless and write beautifully.  The Shiro Tamenuri was everything I hoped for and will join the other Shiro Tamenuris in my collection.  To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect when the other was described as "white".  And now that I have it in hand, my reaction is.....   meh.  I guess I'd call it tan.  Plain tan, with no hint of pink as is often seen in these shades.  I assume it is the base coat of Shiro Tamenuri before the brown top coat is applied, but I am not sure of that.  I was limited to two pens in my order, and these Portable all sold out.  My conclusion on this new finish?  I wonder if Nakaya will allow me to exchange the Shiro for a Shiro Tamenuri Long.

 

 

[Wadude]

Congratulations! A truly outstanding collection, Whichwatch. I love how the Shiro-tamenuri looks in the portable model’s spherical barrel end. How do you think this year’s finish compares to your older Shiro-tamenuri pens? Did the older pens become lighter with time?

 

As for the “white” model, I do think there is a certain feminine, understated elegance to it, although it doesn’t really compare to the deepness of color in the Shiro-Tamenuri finish. Hope they let you exchange it to a pen more to your liking.

[whichwatch]

18 minutes ago, Wadude said:

How do you think this year’s finish compares to your older Shiro-tamenuri pens? Did the older pens become lighter with time?

 

 

Thanks!  The new Shiro Tamenuri is quite identical to the others.  In the group picture I posted, I think you can see that the Dorsal Fin 1 on the left has lightened quite a bit compared to the others.

[teeitup418holes]

The white almost glows underneath. Really nice! Thanks for sharing. 

[jandrese]

Cool pens. There really is no way to make urushi totally white since even the best stuff has an amber tint. The white is exactly what I would have expected. Personally, I have to kinda force my brain into liking it. It is different, however, and that is cool. 

[como]

@whichwatch: I know what you meant by the “meh” color, but perhaps with time it’s something different and special that will grow on you? I prefer this off-white than very bright white, personally. Also if you cannot exchange it, could you consider adding some Kanji to make it Stand out a little bit more, perhaps maroon color characters?

[whichwatch]

Actually it has been growing on me.  It is quite unlike anything else I have seen from Nakaya and certainly stands out from the crowd of many dozens of Nakayas  in my collection.  It does make a nice pair next to the Shiro Tamenuri and unless Nakaya decides to put these into production, which I sort of doubt, there will only ever be 30 Nakayas in this finish.

 

I was really only joking about asking Nakaya if I could exchange it.  I wouldn't expect them to take back a pen they had sold, and shipping it from US to Japan and then having another shipment coming this way would be a bit much.

 

[Wadude]

It’s certainly a very nice pen. Beauty in simplicity. To me, it conjures the image of a very elegant Japanese lady who will always have an embroidered handkerchief on her pocket, who will take her granddaughter to Ginza and smile kindly when she asks for kakigoori, while exclaiming: “あら、あら...”