(exhaling) OK ladies and gentleman. Right now I am compiling a list of my grail pens particularly from Japan and would really appreciate your input. I don't know how I got into this mindset but I really am researching seriously in determining a grail pen and it is between the four brands/pen type mentioned in the thread title. My plan is that IF sometimes in the future I visit Japan, I will be doing some pen hunting and pull the trigger on my grail pen (adjusting to future conditions of course). The price limit will be at max around $1100 so it will narrow down some of the model in the brands line up. I really wanted to include Namiki (Emperor) but $2000 is just too much of a stretch for me. I believe that most of them are similar in size (the Izumo being smallest out of the bunch) so I would not count them as a deciding factor. All are Urushi lacquered except the KoP at the price range although it is not a deciding factor for me. If you could provide the pros and cons of your preferred pens compared to the others in the list, please do share and thanks a lot!