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Presenting my new Danitrio Bamboo Story in modern negoro-nuri in shu roiro-migaki. This is a model I’ve considered for a long time. One that held me back before is the cap band, I used to think it was a bit out of place. Then there is the size, which is…not small ha ha. Also perhaps the finishes I’ve seen were not compelling enough to win me over some other pen. Lately, however, I’ve done a deeper dive into Japanese pen history and Danitrio history, in particular. One thing I found was that cap bands like the one seen here were/are quite common on high-end urushi pens. Somehow that settled me on that matter; it’s a conscious design choice not some compromise to protect the cap on a suboptimal design or something. Even more recently, I stumbled upon a page on Dantrio’s website showing all the finishes available in the Bamboo style pen range. My eyes immediately settled on this very finish, the modern take on authentic wabi-sabi wear patterns. Then, incredibly, not a few days later on an unplanned visit to my AD this very pen was available! I’ve you’ve ever seen vintage urushi, especially food dishes, they will show wear similar to this but honestly earned. The Japanese admire these changes in appearance due to honest use thus the aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi. I’m also quite fond of the red or shu polished urushi color and luster as well as its variants. The Japanese also admire bamboo and its many fine properties so this pen is Japanese aesthetics through and through even though there is not a more immediately accessible pictorial maki-e design on the pen. Let’s get this size thing out of the way right away. It’s a big pen, a huge pen even. But it’s not heavy due to the ebonite body and the section is cleverly designed to give an easy grip. And don't get excited by the clip as it won't fit in any normal shirt pocket. Maybe pants pockets. One really can write very easily with this pen. Interestingly, I talked with someone recently who mentioned that they were so used to the size the Pelikan M800 grip section their smaller diameter pens had fallen out of favor. I echo this sentiment but on a pen like this, which could swallow an M800 whole the concept of a large grip section takes on new meaning. I’m not sure but I reckon small hands need not apply, but your mileage may vary. You can see the Bamboo Story resting next too another colossus of a pen, the Danitrio Junikaku. Almost unbelievably the Bamboo Story is bigger, longer anyway. The section has a smaller diameter and the barrel is also not as girthy. Both pens hold about 5 ml of ink so not much chance of running out soon. Interestingly, this pen did not come with a glass eyedropper as had been the standard. The paulonia wood box contained instead a 5 ml syringe fitted with a long blunt tip needle, which is actually a nice swap. A ummm bigger issue than the size for writing is that neither pen fits a standard pen pouch or case. Luckily, I have a bunch of large size Danitrio and Taccia cloth pen pouches that will accommodate this pen. Typical for the larger Danitrio pens it is an eyedropper filler, that is, it’s a Japanese eyedropper filler with a removeable section that can be sealed by a piston that runs through the barrel to a blind cap. The blind cap is truly invisible on this pen when screwed in, which is a testament to the design and execution of this handmade and hand finished pen. Unscrew it a few turns and ink flows freely to the ebonite feed that supplies the large #8 nib. This nib is a stub that writes a juicy but not too wet line. The urushi-shi is Kosetsu (Tatsuya Todo). I have several pens from this master and find his signature and kao elegant. His high-end work is truly spectacular and awe inspiring. I’m honored to have some of his work even if more modest.