Thinking about buying a Nakaya...

[Doug C]

I feel I need to quality my earlier statement a little bit about my fine nib being scratchy.

 

It is, but then again, I am a left handed underwriter, which means I push the nib around the page more than most.

 

I have held my Piccolo in my right hand to simulate the 'normal' writing style of most (pulling more than pushing), and it is much less so.

 

My medium Decapod doesnt have the same issue, and they are both great to use.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Doug C

[tknechtel]

Thanks again to everyone, particularly skipwilliams, feiye and Tony - your descriptions of your pens and the experience of writing with them give me a real sense of what I would be looking for.

 

I think you're all nudging me towards finally taking the plunge... (but not for several months until I've saved some money!)

Tom

[roger3]

Did you see any Nakaya pens in briarwood? Is it as gorgeous in reality as it is on the nibs.com website?

 

I just received Briarwood, last week and it is far more gorgeous in reality. The pictures, as good as they are, are not representative of this pen. As a reference I also have an Omas AM87 in briarwood, a true beauty in its own right but the Nakaya is stunning!

[Blade Runner]

I wouldn't recommend buying an Urushi pen if you really, really have to post them. You'll end up scratching the finish, IME, it's not bulletproof. Buy a pen that's long enough to use unposted.

I agree. A posting ring or little mark on such a finish would kind of bug me.

[FrankB]

gambosen asked:

 

"Did you see any Nakaya pens in briarwood? ..."

 

I am with roger3 on this one. My first Nakaya was/is a briarwood, the dark variant, and it is lovely. It has darkened a bit with some age and use, almost like a fine briar pipe. And, like pipes, it is rugged and very durable. I love wood as a pen material and this Nakaya is a wonderful example of what a wood pen can be.

 

I got mine with a unique BB stub nib and it has been a great writer out of the box. The nib is fairly rigid, which I personally want with a stub nib.

[gambosen]

gambosen asked:

 

"Did you see any Nakaya pens in briarwood? ..."

 

I am with roger3 on this one. My first Nakaya was/is a briarwood, the dark variant, and it is lovely. It has darkened a bit with some age and use, almost like a fine briar pipe. And, like pipes, it is rugged and very durable. I love wood as a pen material and this Nakaya is a wonderful example of what a wood pen can be.

 

I got mine with a unique BB stub nib and it has been a great writer out of the box. The nib is fairly rigid, which I personally want with a stub nib.

 

Great so everyone thinks that the briarwood is BETTER than the pics on internet. Well I am currently spending a lot of my idle time ogling those pics .....

[RevAaron]

Oh, ethernautrix, don't taunt us so- what nibs do you like more than that on your Nakaya?

[globetrotterjon]

I finally took the plunge and got a Decapod from John Mottishaw's place. It arrived (one of the few actually in stock). The finish is lovely, very, very hand made feeling. The Decapod I have is the orange/brown color - which I really like - not the traditional black/red urushi but very reminiscent of the red ripple Waterman's of the 1920s. The pen is a very nice length...to my mind, long enough to be a fine desk pen, but not so long as to be impractical for slipping in a jacket or shirt pocket. The nib is springy and flexible - it's a medium, but frankly, medium is more toward fine on this - consistent with the general trends among Japanese pens. If you're looking for a bolder signature pen, I would suggest a broad or double broad nib. I am experiencing some issues with ink flow - hopefully to be resolved when I get in touch with CFP early next week. I can't imagine it's much more than capillary effect with the converter. My only really structural beef is the converter itself - given the high end nature of these pens (and this is a relatively cheap Nakaya), I would expect a better converter, or better yet, a straight piston filler. The Namiki Bamboo, for example, has an outstanding converter as do my Bexleys. I've just never been a cartridge guy so I imagine the 10 cartridges that came with the pen will nestle in the lovely presentation box with the silk kimono the pen arrived in.

 

Ink flow issues aside, I find the Nakaya a nice departure from the mass production feel many modern pens have. The finish (and I would imagine even more so with classic urushi) has a lovely hand applied feel to it; the pen warms nicely in the hand with use, and the decapod design keeps the pen, posted or unposted from rolling around your desk top.

 

I'll provide an update once we get the ink flow issue addressed.