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Ready to purchase Japanese pen


Tanglewood

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(edited to include more info re. aesthetic prefs)

 

I am a long-time Italian pen fan. I am ready to try something new, and have decided that Japan will be my stop on the Grail Pen express. The pen must have the following characteristics listed in order of importance:

 

1. An extraordinary writer, one that gives a reliably sensuous, expressive, smooth eperience.

2. It must be beautiful. The beauty must convey an elegance and facility of mind. I know that beauty is a personal aesthetic - thus, here's the sort of thing that has captured my eye so far: The Nakaya LE (I think) displayed on nibs.com that is a carbon-based black with a spider butterfly motif. That, for me, has grail properties. Alas, I do not want to spend 4000+. The ascending dragon featured just above or below it I find beautiful as well, just not as deeply and primitively compelling. I am drawn to Maki-e and Urushi finishes - I am generally drawn to the Japanese aesthetic. I am longing to experience the contrast between Italian opulence and Japanese introspection. Winedoc has posted photos of some Danitrios that have halted my breathing for delicious brief intervals. And, on a lighter note, some time ago he posted photos of pens with urushi finishes and hand paintings of nature related themes - I remember the frog in particular. I really liked those pens.

3. It must (unfortunately) have a clip; I plan to use it as a daily writer. My current daily writers are both Omas FPs; both old style celluloid paragons, one of which is the saffron blue. Take from this that the pen need not be modestly understated - yet it should not knock my relatively insensate patients unconscious.

4. I write all day and a lot. It would be wonderful if the pen held a lot of ink. Notice though, this is in the 4th position on the list :)

5. It should not be unusually large - the Aurora Optima has best suited my hand thus far. I think the critical issue is balance. It must be a well balanced pen without its own gravitational field.

6. I would like to keep the price under, say 1200. Do not hesitate to mention somewhat more expensive pens. Do not hesitate to mention considerably less expensive pens, if they fit the bill.

 

Feel free to pm me if you have a pen in mint condition you wish to sell, that also meets the above criteria.

 

Thanks in advance!

Leesa

Edited by Spinto
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1. An extraordinary writer, one that gives a reliably sensuous, expressive, smooth experience.

 

- I have had the good fortune to own three different makes of Japanese pens in various models. I can say from my , albeit short, experience that Sailor and

Danitrio write well straight out of the box. Nakaya nibs are somewhat of a hit and miss out of the factory. Namiki is also somewhat hit and miss.

 

2. It must be beautiful. The beauty must convey an elegance and facility of mind.

 

- This is quite subjective and only by looking at different makes and models will you, and only you, be able to say.

3. It must (unfortunately) have a clip; I plan to use it as a daily writer. My current daily writers are both Omas FPs; both old style celluloid paragons, one of which is the saffron blue. Take from this that the pen need not be modestly understated - yet it should not knock my relatively insensate patients unconscious.

 

- All the major Japanese manufacturers offer a clip in varying styles and materials

4. I write all day and a lot. It would be wonderful if the pen held a lot of ink.

 

- Two words; Eye Dropper. And that narrows your choices a bit because not all manufacturers offer eye dropper pens.

5. It should not be unusually large - the Aurora Optima has best suited my hand thus far.

 

- Again, varying styles and sizes are available to you

6. I would like to keep the price under, say 1200. Do not hesitate to mention somewhat more expensive pens. Do not hesitate to mention considerably less expensive pens, if they fit the bill.

 

-Plenty to choose from in that price range from the makers I mentioned in the first answer

 

 

Hope I've helped in your quest. And, whatever Japanese pen you decide to buy, it will be an experience. :)

Edited by jpr

Ah, that fresh ink on paper look!

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I am a long-time Italian pen fan. I am ready to try something new, and have decided that Japan will be my stop on the Grail Pen express. The pen must have the following characteristics listed in order of importance:

 

1. An extraordinary writer, one that gives a reliably sensuous, expressive, smooth eperience.

2. It must be beautiful. The beauty must convey an elegance and facility of mind.

3. It must (unfortunately) have a clip; I plan to use it as a daily writer. My current daily writers are both Omas FPs; both old style celluloid paragons, one of which is the saffron blue. Take from this that the pen need not be modestly understated - yet it should not knock my relatively insensate patients unconscious.

4. I write all day and a lot. It would be wonderful if the pen held a lot of ink.

5. It should not be unusually large - the Aurora Optima has best suited my hand thus far.

6. I would like to keep the price under, say 1200. Do not hesitate to mention somewhat more expensive pens. Do not hesitate to mention considerably less expensive pens, if they fit the bill.

 

Feel free to pm me if you have a pen in mint condition you wish to sell, that also meets the above criteria.

 

Thanks in advance!

Leesa

 

Hi Leesa. Not sure if you will consider the new Sailor Realo which is a piston filler. This new pen should not be too expensive. Sailor nib is also consider smooth and reliable. :)

Other pens available for sale:

 

Pelikan : Keep a watchout here, M805 FPs, M400 and M405 FPs,

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I'm sure you'll find in Winedoc's posts pens well fitting to your request in term of style (with 1,2k to spend I think you should able to get something really nice, probably some of simpler Maki-e).

See just for samples these or these.

 

On a utilitarian side and if you do not want something that "looks japanese", I would suggest you to check the Pilot Custom 823 (in Black or Amber).

 

Stylish but subdued, huge ink capacity and great daily writer, much cheaper than 1,2k.

Have a look in the reviews forum, there are several.

Also this is a very good one.

 

In case you wonder, I have the amber one :D , am waiting for the black one (damn postman :angry: ) and will receive the clear one in october B), so my suggestion could be perceived as "a little biased".

 

Nib was great "out of the box", but if you want something special in term of personality I think you should better get in touch with Richard (for instance), as factory nibs choice is very limited.

Edited by enricof

Ciao - Enrico

Diplomat #1961

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo288/enricofacchin/poker-3.jpg

Daddy, please no more pens - we need food, clothes, books, DENTISTRY...

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Leesa

 

Japanese quality control is second to none, so whether you choose a fountain pen from one of the major manufacturers - Platinum, Namiki / Pilot, Sailor, Tombow, or specialist hand-made fountain pen from Hakase, Danitrio (USA / Japan), and Nakaya you will not be disappointed. Before contemplating purchasing a Japanese Fountain pen, it might be advisable to investigate each of the manufacturer's website to see what physical shape and dimensions (small - large), design (cigar shaped etc) , nib size / width ( small - massive, broad to ultra fine, soft flexible - hard or a specialist nib) and body material and artwork (celluloid, resin / plastic, silver, metal, maki-e or urushi coated, watercolor design, radon etc ) interests you. In truth with $1200 you could purchase or commission just about whatever pen you wish and the experience finding the right pen can be memorable and enjoyable, especially if you go the route of a unique hand made fountain pen. To help I've linked you directly to the various websites of the main manufacturers, so although some are in Japanese (you can use google translation for most of the websites), they give an idea what can be purchased.

 

http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/products/fountain/fountain1.html (Platinum)

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/penshop/1189106/ (Sailor's Japanese Pen shop)

http://www.pilot.co.jp/products/pen/index.html (Pilot / Namiki)

 

http://www.nakaya.org/eindex.html

http://www.danitrio.com/

The link to Hakase can be found on the stuck thread.

 

I'm relatively a novice myself and found the choice initially to be bewildering, but given time and help from other FPN members I've found the right selection each time. So once you've wittled down your choice and asked more questions (we're all a friendly and helpful bunch here on this forum), hopefully you will find your holy grail pen. Good Luck !

Shane

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Meeting points number 4 and 5 at the same time will really limit the choices in pens. Point number 4 is the one that really limits your options with relation to modern Japanese pens.

 

Of the modern Japanese pens, the Pilot 823 and the Danitrio eyedropper pens hold a large amount of ink. The new Sailor Realo only holds 1 mL so it is not much better than a converter in terms of ink capacity. The Danitrio eyedropper pens are large. You will have to try them to see if they fit your hand. The Mikado and Genkai are larger than I prefer. The Genkai is the size of a flashlight. The Pilot 823 is not a small pen. It is significantly longer than the Optima but probably about the same girth.

 

I would suggest taking a look at vintage Japanese pens. Prior to the 60's, Japanese pens came in a much larger variety of filling systems including eyedropper, lever fillers, twist fillers, switch fillers, etc. Also, the pens, say pre-1955, come in urushi, maki-e and celluloid. I would recommend a Japanese eyedropper pen with shut-off valve in celluloid. Something like a classic Pilot R pen. The nibs come in steel and gold. The steel nibs are incredible and many have full vintage flex. Actually, most vintage Japanese pens I own have some level of flex. Here is an example of what I'm talking about.

 

I would recommend looking at Kamakura Pens eBay store. Ron Dutcher's description of pens are very good and very educational in terms of pen history. Just don't bid on that Platinum Presidential pen or the Pilot Ultra 500 up for bid right now. :P

Edited by AltecGreen

2020 San Francisco Pen Show
August 28-30th, 2020
Pullman Hotel San Francisco Bay
223 Twin Dolphin Drive
Redwood City Ca, 94065

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That sounds somewhat familiar to me...

 

I have been an Italian user for quite a time before stepping into Japanese pens. I used Delta and Omas as a regular basis, writing all day with them... It would be interesting to know which nibs do you use on Omas pens, that would also help.

 

Due to your hand, I would go for a medium size pen, like a Danitrio Takumi, which you can find in quite a lot of finishes, ranging from the less costly Urushi finishes (they will catch you!) till the most ellaborate and costly Maki-e ones (not reccomended as daily writers...). They are CC fillers, but can be used as eyedroppers, which gives a lot of ink inside. If you are used to M, F, EF or EEF nibs, they will write for the whole day for you, or perhaps for the whole week (EEF) with just one converter of ink. The nibs are Bock, so they may be the same feeling as Omas nibs.

 

If you go for bigger pens, eyedroppers, they may be too big for you, but they are a pleasure to use and hold a ton of ink (4 to 4.5 cc of ink), I mean Danitrio in Mikado ir Genkai size or Namiki in Emperor size (but they are much more costly than Danitrios) .. again a matter of taste.

 

My advice, just drop a line to Winedoc and ask him as an "impatient patient"... he will sure give you useful answers to your questions (seems we are all in the same profession :blink: ).

 

Now you have a very good chance to get a very nice pen in a wonderful Maki-e finish for an unbeatable price, the Fellowship pen (Danitrio). I have one fitted with an EEF nib and it is a real dream. If the Aurora and the old Paragons fit in your hand, this will also sit perfectly in your hand and tastes...

Here you have a lot of photos of this pen FELLOWSHIP PEN PHOTOS

 

Hope it helped to "confuse" you just a bit more... :D

Edited by Jopen
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3448/3377063898_1eaf38aeda_o.jpg

The Danitrio Fellowship

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Japanese pens are more about reliability than looks, so you're more likely to get a functional user than a voluptuous beauty if you go Japanese. I like the Pilot Custom 823, but the styling might not suit you. It is smooth and holds a lot of ink, though, without being oversized.

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You have been given some excellent advice so I'm not going to add any writing. What I am going to do is show you some pictures of Japanese pens in your price range...

 

Sailor King of Pen

http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/sailor/kingofpens_crosspoint.jpg

 

Namiki Yukari Royale Urushi

http://www.worldlux.com/products/namiki/_pens/yukariroyaleurushilacquer/fullsize4.jpg

 

Nakaya pens

http://www.nakaya.org/dimension2.jpg

 

Danitrio

http://www.stylophilesonline.com/images/04-05/04urush7.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4371168844_35ba5fb338.jpg

Danitrio Fellow, Nakaya Nutter, Sailor Sailor (ret), Visconti Venerator, Montegrappa Molester (in training), ConwayStewart Champion & Diplomat #77

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Thanks to all who have responded. I am learning lots. The photos are especially appreciated. The excitement is percolating - which will it be?!? - my first Japanese pen. Yeah!

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By the way, those photos are not mine - they are just linked from elsewhere on the net.

 

Here are some of my photos of pens in your price range :)

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2649/3893171065_e197afcf8d_b.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3254/3144328589_2e90795a88_b.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3528/3853873159_b16ab1967e_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4371168844_35ba5fb338.jpg

Danitrio Fellow, Nakaya Nutter, Sailor Sailor (ret), Visconti Venerator, Montegrappa Molester (in training), ConwayStewart Champion & Diplomat #77

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I think most of the advice so far is excellent, but want to add that, although some people may have found Nakaya nibs ordered from Japan "hit or miss" (all of mine have been hits), the Nakayas ordered from nibs.com are nibmeister-guaranteed...

Danitrio Fellowship

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Thank you Kay. Helpful to know.

I think most of the advice so far is excellent, but want to add that, although some people may have found Nakaya nibs ordered from Japan "hit or miss" (all of mine have been hits), the Nakayas ordered from nibs.com are nibmeister-guaranteed...

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Spinto,

 

To further help you (off the cliff......), I've prepared this convenient size comparison of Japanese pens. For reference, I've thrown in an OMAS Paragon and an Aurora Mare.

 

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3921269529_1c3ae7da20_b.jpg

 

 

 

The pens from left to right:

 

1) Danitrio "Sakura Fubuki" - Takumi sized body

2) Danitrio Octagon

3) Nakaya "Byakko" custom pen - Nakaya Portable writer sized body

4) Danitrio FPN Fellowship Pen

5) Pilot Silvern Koushi

6) Pilot Super Series Ultra 200

7) Sailor Precious Wood-Ebony

8) Vintage Shiseido celluloid pen (same company that makes cosmetics)

9) Pilot MYU-500BS - the infamous black striped MYU

10) vintage Daimaru celluloid pen - this pen is 4.25" capped

11) OMAS celluloid Paragon in Saffron Blue

12) Aurora Optima-Mare LE

2020 San Francisco Pen Show
August 28-30th, 2020
Pullman Hotel San Francisco Bay
223 Twin Dolphin Drive
Redwood City Ca, 94065

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You are AMAZING!!! Thank you very VERY much. As I have learned more about these pens over the last couple days, I have come to uderstand that they can be LARGE. In addition to urging me off the cliff, your size comparison photo is a great gift that has arrived at a perfect time. Wow. I owe you one. :)

 

Spinto,

 

To further help you (off the cliff......), I've prepared this convenient size comparison of Japanese pens. For reference, I've thrown in an OMAS Paragon and an Aurora Mare.

 

 

<a href=" P1000907 title="P1000907 by AltecGreen, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3921269529_1c3ae7da20_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="P1000907" /></a>

 

 

 

The pens from left to right:

 

1) Danitrio "Sakura Fubuki" - Takumi sized body

2) Danitrio Octagon

3) Nakaya "Byakko" custom pen - Nakaya Portable writer sized body

4) Danitrio FPN Fellowship Pen

5) Pilot Silvern Koushi

6) Pilot Super Series Ultra 200

7) Sailor Precious Wood-Ebony

8) Vintage Shiseido celluloid pen (same company that makes cosmetics)

9) Pilot MYU-500BS - the infamous black striped MYU

10) vintage Daimaru celluloid pen - this pen is 4.25" capped

11) OMAS celluloid Paragon in Saffron Blue

12) Aurora Optima-Mare LE

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No problem. I'm good at helping people over the cliff. My nickname in grad school was 'evil thing'. A name coined by the wife of one of the post-docs in my lab.

2020 San Francisco Pen Show
August 28-30th, 2020
Pullman Hotel San Francisco Bay
223 Twin Dolphin Drive
Redwood City Ca, 94065

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have fallen for the Mae West design.I know the Mae West proper is no longer in production. But, there are pens available that have that voluptuous shape; e.g., Winedoc offered a Danitrio Koi Maki-e not long ago that had that shape. I would very muh appreciate it if you could tell me how the size of those pens compare to the ones you've pictured for me in your hand-dandy size comparison chart. Where would it fit in the line-up, if you know

Thank you very much, in advance.

Leesa

Spinto,

 

To further help you (off the cliff......), I've prepared this convenient size comparison of Japanese pens. For reference, I've thrown in an OMAS Paragon and an Aurora Mare.

 

 

<a href=" P1000907 title="P1000907 by AltecGreen, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3921269529_1c3ae7da20_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="P1000907" /></a>

 

 

 

The pens from left to right:

 

1) Danitrio "Sakura Fubuki" - Takumi sized body

2) Danitrio Octagon

3) Nakaya "Byakko" custom pen - Nakaya Portable writer sized body

4) Danitrio FPN Fellowship Pen

5) Pilot Silvern Koushi

6) Pilot Super Series Ultra 200

7) Sailor Precious Wood-Ebony

8) Vintage Shiseido celluloid pen (same company that makes cosmetics)

9) Pilot MYU-500BS - the infamous black striped MYU

10) vintage Daimaru celluloid pen - this pen is 4.25" capped

11) OMAS celluloid Paragon in Saffron Blue

12) Aurora Optima-Mare LE

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I have two Nakayas, and as much as I like them, their nibs don't even come close to the quality of the Dantrio nibs I have. They are mediocre at best.

 

I would go for a Takumi size Danitrio.

 

One of the great things is that Kevin will take care of any issues you'll have.

the Danitrio Fellowship

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