Nakaya, yes or no

[Trom]

I don't know enough about Nakaya or Platinum to say, but since QM2 brought it up...

 

Some of those who dislike Nakaya do so because their nibs are plain ol' Platinum nibs, nibs that can be found on less expensive pens. Which is to say, the advantage of a Nakaya over a Platinum is the handmade bit of art that is the body of the pen. That doesn't bother most folks (including myself), but it's an occasional source of disappointment with someone who buys a Nakaya and finds out that it's not fitted with a nib handmade by Shinto fairies, "just" a Platinum nib with a custom Nakaya imprint.

 

Would that mean that a Platinum pen writes the same as a Nakaya? Same writing experience?

 

Basically, yes -- though Nakaya claims to tune the nibs just right for your style of writing (they provide a questionnaire). I say "claims" only because neither my experience, nor that of a significant number of others, has reflected that. It was not until John Mottishaw's involvement that my Nakaya wrote properly.

 

I encourage you to search for Nakaya threads, and read all the positive and not 100% positive comments before making a decision.

 

Thanks!

[ianmedium]

Well, I am biased I guess as I have one but yes, they are worth it, yes they are all they are hyped to be and yes get one, you won't regret it!

I was looking at a MB 149 and a Pelikan M1000, both lovely pens in their own right and nothing wrong with them. However, and this is hard to put into words but I will try.

 

The Pelikan and MB are mass manufactured product, again nothing wrong with that, I love my MB.But, at this sort of price scale I wanted more! The Pelikan, though lovley left me cold and the MB was too similar to the one I already own.

The Nakaya on the other hand is a constant reminder of what craftsmanship and attention to detail is all about. The knowledge when using it that it is hand made by a small commited group of artisans with utmost care and consideration to how it works for the client is something very special indeed.

In my review I used a car analogy, MB and Pelikan are like Mercedes or BMW, fine cars, well built and will give a lifetime of service. A Nakaya is like a Bentley or Rolls royce, there is that feeling of being connected in some way to the person who built it, you can feel the life force that created it, it is personal, I just did not get that with the other pens I looked at, as good and great as they are!

 

There is something about the way the nib writes as well, really smooth but still able to communicate and give feeling as you write (be aware that the Nakaya medium is like a very fine waterman fine)

Then there is what this pen does to your senses. there is a smell to a Nakaya, yes, a smell! It reminds me of when I was in India and visited a tea plantation, so fragrant! Then the feel of natural tree sap lacquer and ebonite in the hand, it is organic!

 

This is not about a Nakaya being better but more about it being different, being of days gone past, a slower pace of life, more care and consideration, that is how this wonderful testament to the artisans craft makes me feel when I use it!

Sorry If I have ramble'd a bit but this is what it is like to have one. Hope that helps!

Edited February 27, 2009 by ianmedium

[Strang]

I have a Nakaya Art Model. I love it, plain and simple (not the pen.) I also have a Platinum Maki-e which I love. I got a fairly straight forward medium nib on the Nakaya and that is what is on the Platinum as well. They are both great writers and they both write like mediums, not finer than European or American mediums. I don't know if that makes them atypical or not. I do not regret paying for and waiting for the handcrafted Nakaya. It is an excellent pen and the favorite of many excellent pens that I own. And I hope to get another some day. But you need to make sure you love the design and the art before you buy one of these. If you buy one just for the name I suspect you will be disappointed.

[Robert]

Trom,

 

I'm not getting a sense of what turns you on so much about Nakaya's. Which model - and they are various - grabs hold of you and says "You can't do without me"? How will you decide? If you're thinking you want to do this because others are enthusiastic, I'd wait a while and get clearer on what the attraction really is.

 

As previous posters have indicated, the appeal of the Nakaya, to those of us who have taken the plunge, isn't primarily about functionality, it's about aesthetics. I have one Nakaya and a few Platinum 3776s and the nibs are functionally identical, tuning aside. But there was one model that spoke to me (the Decapod) and when I ordered it from John Mottishaw, I made sure the nib would work for me. It does, but the marvel of that pen is all about the beauty of it. It's not an "exceeds all others" kind of phenomenon.

 

 

[archie001]

Well, I am biased I guess as I have one but yes, they are worth it, yes they are all they are hyped to be and yes get one, you won't regret it!

I was looking at a MB 149 and a Pelikan M1000, both lovely pens in their own right and nothing wrong with them. However, and this is hard to put into words but I will try.

 

The Pelikan and MB are mass manufactured product, again nothing wrong with that, I love my MB.But, at this sort of price scale I wanted more! The Pelikan, though lovley left me cold and the MB was too similar to the one I already own.

The Nakaya on the other hand is a constant reminder of what craftsmanship and attention to detail is all about. The knowledge when using it that it is hand made by a small commited group of artisans with utmost care and consideration to how it works for the client is something very special indeed.

In my review I used a car analogy, MB and Pelikan are like Mercedes or BMW, fine cars, well built and will give a lifetime of service. A Nakaya is like a Bentley or Rolls royce, there is that feeling of being connected in some way to the person who built it, you can feel the life force that created it, it is personal, I just did not get that with the other pens I looked at, as good and great as they are!

 

There is something about the way the nib writes as well, really smooth but still able to communicate and give feeling as you write (be aware that the Nakaya medium is like a very fine waterman fine)

Then there is what this pen does to your senses. there is a smell to a Nakaya, yes, a smell! It reminds me of when I was in India and visited a tea plantation, so fragrant! Then the feel of natural tree sap lacquer and ebonite in the hand, it is organic!

 

This is not about a Nakaya being better but more about it being different, being of days gone past, a slower pace of life, more care and consideration, that is how this wonderful testament to the artisans craft makes me feel when I use it!

Sorry If I have ramble'd a bit but this is what it is like to have one. Hope that helps!

 

This is indeed true. That gives Nakaya its soul and character and when you have it on your hand you have the feeling of how artists and technicians have worked together to bring the pen to its existence...wonderful! For me Nakaya is a different pen!

[desmonte]

the marvel of that pen is all about the beauty of it. It's not an "exceeds all others" kind of phenomenon.

 

I am finding that this is so true. I lusted after a Nakaya for many moons, and I now I have it I often find myself gazing at it in wonderment, it is such a thing of beauty. Is it better than my Danitrios? No, I get different things from them but I get pleasure in using all of them. And , in the final analysis, reliability and consistency are important to me, and all my pens provide this together with an individual bit of something special!!

 

Desmond

[Doug C]

I hate to do this again, since I have mentioned this before (and I hate to break up this love fest, part of which I belong to), but both of my Nakayas are decidedly average writers.

 

I love them, but neither one are particularly smooth. I don't mean they have tooth like you might find on an Aurora. They're both just a little rough, which means I will eventually have to have them worked on again. One came from Mottishaw, and the other from the factory, so there is no way to blame one or the other.

 

They do start every time, but if I were blind folded, as they stand now, I would have to put them squarely in the middle of the pack of my pens, purely from a writing standpoint.

 

 

Not to say that they won't one day be at the top of the tier. I just wanted to provide a little perspective on just how much the aesthetics play in how much people love these pens, myself included.

 

I can hear the boo's now.....my ears are burning.

 

 

[ianmedium]

I hate to do this again, since I have mentioned this before (and I hate to break up this love fest, part of which I belong to), but both of my Nakayas are decidedly average writers.

 

I love them, but neither one are particularly smooth. I don't mean they have tooth like you might find on an Aurora. They're both just a little rough, which means I will eventually have to have them worked on again. One came from Mottishaw, and the other from the factory, so there is no way to blame one or the other.

 

They do start every time, but if I were blind folded, as they stand now, I would have to put them squarely in the middle of the pack of my pens, purely from a writing standpoint.

 

 

Not to say that they won't one day be at the top of the tier. I just wanted to provide a little perspective on just how much the aesthetics play in how much people love these pens, myself included.

 

I can hear the boo's now.....my ears are burning.

 

No Boos here, we can only tell the truth of experience and this is yours and in such is accurate feedback! A couple of things I did notice with mine were that with Mont Blanc ink the pen did have more tooth, with J.herbin smooth as butter but still with feel, also that has amplified in using clairfontain paper.

 

Though in context out of the box for me the Nakaya was considerably smoother than the waterman. the Mont blanc was not a fair comparison for me as, A. it is a wider nib and B. it is 6 years old and has written miles so I guess it smoothed itself down over time.

 

I did love mine in the way it wrote right out of the box and it is simply improving on the experience as the days go by ( I fill a moleskin journal with small handwriting each month so the pen gets a fair amount of use!)

 

Maybe send your back to John and he can fix it? It is great to have a balance of opinions to base a decison on, I know that is what swayed me in the direction of the Nakaya!

 

[ethernautrix]

I love how my Nakaya Piccolo Cigar looks -- black with my name in red kanji.

 

But I'm not impressed with the nib at all. It's squeaky and dry-ish.

 

BUT... I know I can send the nib to a nibmeister and have been considering having the nib ground to a Fine Stub. Hmm....

 

It isn't a pressing concern as I have all these other pens I'm enjoying, such as the Edison Pearl and Aurora Optima and... so on...

[Bearcat]

I love how my Nakaya Piccolo Cigar looks -- black with my name in red kanji.

 

But I'm not impressed with the nib at all. It's squeaky and dry-ish.

 

BUT... I know I can send the nib to a nibmeister and have been considering having the nib ground to a Fine Stub. Hmm....

 

It isn't a pressing concern as I have all these other pens I'm enjoying, such as the Edison Pearl and Aurora Optima and... so on...

 

 

I have to agree. They are beautiful, hand-crafted pens. But the nibs just don't do it for me. I have only tried a few, but they were all disappointing writers. Check out the Danitrios as an alternative.

 

 

Cheers,

 

--Doc

 

 

[Doug C]

I love how my Nakaya Piccolo Cigar looks -- black with my name in red kanji.

 

But I'm not impressed with the nib at all. It's squeaky and dry-ish.

 

BUT... I know I can send the nib to a nibmeister and have been considering having the nib ground to a Fine Stub. Hmm....

 

It isn't a pressing concern as I have all these other pens I'm enjoying, such as the Edison Pearl and Aurora Optima and... so on...

 

 

Ethernautrix said it all..

 

I like them well enough to keep them (and probably get more), but I have plans (don't we all) to find the time to send them off to a nibmeister and have them perfected.

 

If you look at the balance of comments here, about 80% are overwhelmingly positive, with a few that have some reservations. That says you have a pretty good shot at getting a great pen without doing anything to it at all.

 

 

[Siv]

They do start every time, but if I were blind folded, as they stand now, I would have to put them squarely in the middle of the pack of my pens, purely from a writing standpoint.

 

I have a number of Japanese pens, icluding 5 Nakayas and none of them (to me) are inspiring in their writing performance. Don't get me wrong, they are great performers, but the writing performance isn't so wonderful that I have to write with the pen constantly AND I have never experienced a pen that was. Now the feel of the urushi and the look of the pen I do feel inspiring and that is what keeps my Nakayas in my hand constantly.

 

I would be interested to hear what pens perform better than Nakayas - I wonder if I already have experienced these pens and am not smart enough to be able to tell the difference!

[ethernautrix]

I would be interested to hear what pens perform better than Nakayas - I wonder if I already have experienced these pens and am not smart enough to be able to tell the difference!

Right off the top of my head, with no hesitation: Aurora Optima, Montblanc Hemingway, Edison Pearl, Sheaffer Flattop OS, Parker 51... and that's why these are in my daily rotation and the gorgeous Nakaya Piccolo Cigar is not. (The Hemingway was recently taken out of rotation, actually -- for a breather while I delight in the others.)

[Trom]

I would be interested to hear what pens perform better than Nakayas - I wonder if I already have experienced these pens and am not smart enough to be able to tell the difference!

Right off the top of my head, with no hesitation: Aurora Optima, Montblanc Hemingway, Edison Pearl, Sheaffer Flattop OS, Parker 51... and that's why these are in my daily rotation and the gorgeous Nakaya Piccolo Cigar is not. (The Hemingway was recently taken out of rotation, actually -- for a breather while I delight in the others.)

 

Would you say that the Edison Pearl looks like the Nakaya Piccolo? And it writes better?

Which nib do you have on it, if I may ask?

[Trom]

They do start every time, but if I were blind folded, as they stand now, I would have to put them squarely in the middle of the pack of my pens, purely from a writing standpoint.

 

I have a number of Japanese pens, icluding 5 Nakayas and none of them (to me) are inspiring in their writing performance. Don't get me wrong, they are great performers, but the writing performance isn't so wonderful that I have to write with the pen constantly AND I have never experienced a pen that was. Now the feel of the urushi and the look of the pen I do feel inspiring and that is what keeps my Nakayas in my hand constantly.

 

I would be interested to hear what pens perform better than Nakayas - I wonder if I already have experienced these pens and am not smart enough to be able to tell the difference!

 

I second your question.

 

I read all the comments and they are great. Difficult to decide now. It seems best to see and feel one in person. Does anyone know if they are for sale in Europe?

 

[pencilx]

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

I have tried the Nakaya in Extra Fine and Elastic Fine, the fine nib from Pilot, the fine and extra fine from Sailor.

For fine and extra-fine nibs, it is hard to quantify which is better, because they tend to differ in 'sensitivity' or in terms of feedback.

It pretty much depends on what the user is accustomed to.

 

 

Personally, the Nakaya is a great pen. It's a piece of art and almost all fountain pen users can appreciate its beauty.

But if your main focus is on the nib, then I'd say that Sailor would be a better choice.

[Frits B]

I read all the comments and they are great. Difficult to decide now. It seems best to see and feel one in person. Does anyone know if they are for sale in Europe?

You might try http://nakaya.styloplume.net/ for more info. How's your French?

[Trom]

QUOTE (Frits B @ Mar 1 2009, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I read all the comments and they are great. Difficult to decide now. It seems best to see and feel one in person. Does anyone know if they are for sale in Europe?

You might try http://nakaya.styloplume.net/ for more info. How's your French?

 

Merci!

[ethernautrix]

Would you say that the Edison Pearl looks like the Nakaya Piccolo? And it writes better?

Which nib do you have on it, if I may ask?

I prefer the Edison nib to the Nakaya nib.

 

When I bought the Piccolo Cigar a year ago, I ordered it with an EF nib which was far too fine. So I switched it out (with no problems, no hassles) for an F. The nib is very squeaky and feels too dry. I'm pretty sure it's my fault for choosing a nib that is incompatible with my writing style, and I know I could fix the issue by sending the nib to a nibmeister for tweaking. Eventually, if it starts to bother me enough, that's what I'll do.

 

I ordered the Pearl with an F nib. I liked using it well enough with Pelikan Blue-Black, but now that I've filled the pen with J. Herbin Perle Noire, the writing experience is as it should be -- pure writing with a subtle underlying joy that encourages more writing.

 

 

As for writing better -- it's subjective. I'm sure there are plenty of folks around here who have experienced or might experience the opposite. But for me, yes, the Pearl has been trouble-free from the start, and I happily endorse the acquisition of this pen.

 

And now Edison Pens (Brian Gray) offers the nib in rhodium. Oh the temptation...!

[ianmedium]

Would you say that the Edison Pearl looks like the Nakaya Piccolo? And it writes better?

Which nib do you have on it, if I may ask?

I prefer the Edison nib to the Nakaya nib.

 

When I bought the Piccolo Cigar a year ago, I ordered it with an EF nib which was far too fine. So I switched it out (with no problems, no hassles) for an F. The nib is very squeaky and feels too dry. I'm pretty sure it's my fault for choosing a nib that is incompatible with my writing style, and I know I could fix the issue by sending the nib to a nibmeister for tweaking. Eventually, if it starts to bother me enough, that's what I'll do.

 

I ordered the Pearl with an F nib. I liked using it well enough with Pelikan Blue-Black, but now that I've filled the pen with J. Herbin Perle Noire, the writing experience is as it should be -- pure writing with a subtle underlying joy that encourages more writing.

 

 

As for writing better -- it's subjective. I'm sure there are plenty of folks around here who have experienced or might experience the opposite. But for me, yes, the Pearl has been trouble-free from the start, and I happily endorse the acquisition of this pen.

 

And now Edison Pens (Brian Gray) offers the nib in rhodium. Oh the temptation...!

 

 

 

 

I think you bring up something important here with Nakaya NIbs, they are very fine compare to others, reading what I did about the subject I plumped for the medium and was glad I did! The medium is more like, hmm thinking on it and looking at my waterman fine, a extra fine in comparison, I have a fine Mont Blanc and that is more like I would imagine a broad Nakaya to be.

I wonder if this might be the root of the problem, people getting fine Nakaya and it is simply too fine for everyday writing?

Edited March 2, 2009 by ianmedium