Looking At Five Entry Level Maki-E Pens And The Mythos That Produced Them.

[jar]

I thought it might be fun to look at five examples of entry level Japanese Maki-e fountain pens. Entry level in this case does not mean cheap but rather what I might call reasonably priced. One we have already looked at in the comparison of East-West Maki-e fountain pens, and as I mentioned there, the basis of all of these examples is a design initially placed using silk screening that is then finished by hand.

So here are the five pens.

From Top to Bottom: Platinum Modern Cranes & Mount Fuji; Pilot Nippon Art Dragon descending from Clouds; Platinum new #3776 Sansui; Sailor 1911 Oshidori and an older Platinum #3776 Poppies.

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The first one we will look at again is the Platinum Modern Cranes & Mount Fuji. It is slightly slimmer than the others, uses a snap cap and has a different style medium width 18K nib.

http://www.fototime.com/6EE89CDFEE5095A/large.jpg

The imagery, two red crowned cranes flying with a snow capped Mt Fuji in the background is one of the most iconic images found in Japanese art. The red crowned crane is seen as a symbol of faithfulness, of long life and is the bird of happiness. It is also one that was almost hunted to extinction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the 1920 it was estimated that less than two dozen red crowned cranes were left in Japan. Gradually the numbers have increased as they were protected and their habitat secured and today's population is over 1000 birds.

In this depiction the two birds of happiness are seen flying over the hills against the snow capped Mount Fuji.

The next pen is a Pilot/Namki Nippon Art Dragon & Clouds. Here we can see the Japanese (three toed) Jade Dragon descending from the clouds. Dragons also played a big role in myth and religion in Japan. This dragon is associated with rain and agriculture and is partially hidden in the cloud since the belief was that to see the whole dragon was to die.

The nib is 14K fine and there is a slight gold cap rim. The cap is threaded and the design lines up between cap and body.

http://www.fototime.com/BB53E53520EE7B5/large.jpg

 

 

Next we return to Platinum for a recent threaded cap and slip-n-seal technology #3776 with a broad 14K nib. The imagery is Sansui, reflective landscape.

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http://www.fototime.com/A67E13EEE49DACC/large.jpg

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There is no banding on the cap and so the images flow without interruption between the cap and barrel, The cap has several threads and so the alignment changes with a different picture formed each time. The boats move on under the reddened sun past islands and trees.

The fourth pen is a 2005 Sailor Oshidori (Mandarin Ducks). They symbolize life long attachment and faithfullness.

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http://www.fototime.com/072ECAA1C10F639/large.jpg

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The pen is the large 1911 size, has a 14 K H-F nib and was created by Kosen Oshita, a fourth generation Maki-e artist. On the body you can see a pair, the male and female while on the cap we see a second male preening.

 

The final pen we will look at today is another Platinum. This one is a much older #3776 with the slip on cap and a long tined narrow shouldered 14K medium soft nib. The imagery in this case is red poppies, Hinageshi, and they represent fun loving and sharing; certainly appropriate for fountain pens.

http://www.fototime.com/B9B72BE76975787/large.jpg

 

 

So there we are, five glimpses into Japanese art and culture.

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[Lam1]

Nice post and photos. Thanks for posting this.

 

In terms of quality of the Maki-e, would you say there is one that is better?

And overall, which one do you prefer? (And why?)

 

Do you have a photo of the pens uncapped (and not posted) side by side?

[jar]

Remember that these are Maki-e style, the patterns are initially placed on the pen using silk screening instead of being hand drawn. That means there will be far smaller differences between samples than in traditional full Maki-e. Given that consideration I see little or no difference between the quality of the Maki-e itself between the different pens.

 

The brightest and most eye catching IMHO is the Platinum Modern Maki-e. I like the symbolism of the Oshidori the best.

 

I must admit that I know far less about Japanese pens and have far less experience with Japanese pens than many folk here and so everything I post is based on a really small sample size (I have far more pens from Sheaffer or ST Dupont or Montegrappa or Montblanc or Parker or Waterman than from all of my Japanese pens combined). But, keeping in mind the relatively small sample size, I have found that my Platinum pens have had the most consistently good nibs, next comes my Sailor pens and Pilot/Namaki has been the least consistent in quality of them all.

 

Of those five pens I can't say I have a favorite; they are all quite good.

 

I don't have a picture of the five together uncapped but will try to get one this afternoon.

[dogpoet]

Very nice review of some beautiful looking pens..

You don't see the terms "maki-e" and "entry level" used together very often, do you?

[jar]

Very nice review of some beautiful looking pens..

You don't see the terms "maki-e" and "entry level" used together very often, do you?

 

Not as often as we should and too often such products are dismissed as "just silk screening".

 

First, silk screening originated in Asia, China most likely, and has been used to create fine art for over 1000 years.

 

Second, silk screening on a curved surface adds to the difficulties of registration and more so when it is not a simple cylinder but an object with compound curves like a fountain pen body.

 

Third, each color requires a separate screening process.

 

Next, to register designs that line up across two different objects held together by threads requires additional precision.

 

Then there is the final step of hand finishing the object.

 

If you look for example at the Pilot/Namaki Nippon Art Dragon descending from the clouds you can see a great example showing all the steps and problems listed above.

 

http://www.fototime.com/AF8AFDDF72C1AC4/large.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/630931CC5466DD3/large.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/6A01C395F2A7EF5/large.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/BB53E53520EE7B5/large.jpg

 

That they can produce products like these pens that sell for the modest increased price over the non-Maki-e versions of these pens is remarkable IMHO.

[Diderot]

Nice pens and an informative review.

Many thanks.

[J85909266]

Thank you for the beautiful photographs of these pens. I agree that the modern Platinum seems to be the most visually appealing.

 

I had no idea you also dabbled in Japanese fountain pens.

[Lam1]

Remember that these are Maki-e style, the patterns are initially placed on the pen using silk screening instead of being hand drawn. That means there will be far smaller differences between samples than in traditional full Maki-e. Given that consideration I see little or no difference between the quality of the Maki-e itself between the different pens.

 

The brightest and most eye catching IMHO is the Platinum Modern Maki-e. I like the symbolism of the Oshidori the best.

 

I must admit that I know far less about Japanese pens and have far less experience with Japanese pens than many folk here and so everything I post is based on a really small sample size (I have far more pens from Sheaffer or ST Dupont or Montegrappa or Montblanc or Parker or Waterman than from all of my Japanese pens combined). But, keeping in mind the relatively small sample size, I have found that my Platinum pens have had the most consistently good nibs, next comes my Sailor pens and Pilot/Namaki has been the least consistent in quality of them all.

 

Of those five pens I can't say I have a favorite; they are all quite good.

 

I don't have a picture of the five together uncapped but will try to get one this afternoon.

 

Thanks, Jar.

 

I understand that these are "Maki-e style" (some folks even refuse to use the word Maki-e when referring to them). Regardless, I find some of them very attractive and have actually been looking at some of these pens.

It's good to know that they are all good.

[jar]

Thank you for the beautiful photographs of these pens. I agree that the modern Platinum seems to be the most visually appealing.

 

I had no idea you also dabbled in Japanese fountain pens.

I have a few, three older 90s faceted Vanishing Points and some other Japanese pens.

[proton007]

 

Not as often as we should and too often such products are dismissed as "just silk screening".

 

First, silk screening originated in Asia, China most likely, and has been used to create fine art for over 1000 years.

 

Second, silk screening on a curved surface adds to the difficulties of registration and more so when it is not a simple cylinder but an object with compound curves like a fountain pen body.

 

Third, each color requires a separate screening process.

 

Next, to register designs that line up across two different objects held together by threads requires additional precision.

 

Then there is the final step of hand finishing the object.

 

If you look for example at the Pilot/Namaki Nippon Art Dragon descending from the clouds you can see a great example showing all the steps and problems listed above.

 

That they can produce products like these pens that sell for the modest increased price over the non-Maki-e versions of these pens is remarkable IMHO.

 

I believe the low pricing is only reflective of the mass production of the design, even if it is the same quality as handcrafted maki-e.

 

This means that the design itself has to be made suitable for silk screening, and hence there might be some techniques which will not be used.

 

But either way, it still is maki-e.

[amk]

Fascinating post. I think it's easy to be sniffy about prints, and that happens in the western art tradition, too. These pens are delightful and I now know a lot more about the meanings of the maki-e motifs.

 

Is there any difference in durability between the entry level and higher end maki-e, do you know?

[DanceOfLight]

Very informative post in addition to excellent pictures. Thank you. Reading your post reasserted my belief that, it is indeed a complex procedure to get the different "layers" registered on a complex object like a 3D paraboloid pen barrel. Getting it to a point that is comparable to non Maki-e is even more credible.

[proton007]

 

Is there any difference in durability between the entry level and higher end maki-e, do you know?

 

If by durability you mean the resistance of the design towards scratches etc, I wouldn't think there's going to be any difference because the design is covered in several layers of Urushi.

[2brothers]

Is there any chance you could please post a picture of the pens beside each other with caps off?

 

Thank you for the great comparison!

[jar]

Is there any chance you could please post a picture of the pens beside each other with caps off?

 

Thank you for the great comparison!

As I said above, I will try to get that shot, but we've been mostly cloudy and drizzle here. This afternoon is supposed to be sunny and near 90F (32C) and I may get a chance.

 

AbE: Okay, got a couple pictures.

 

The Platinum Modern has by far the longest section. All pens lined up (kinda) on the end of the section for reference.

 

http://www.fototime.com/8A4AFFCD49207E0/large.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/4A8C6C5D30A5AAC/large.jpg

HTH

[Lam1]

Jar, thank you for the pictures of the pens side by side without cap. That confirmed my suspicion that probably only the pilot and possibly the modern platinum would be a good fit for me, the others seem to be a bit too small for my hands. Pity, because they are all very beautiful. Congrats on the wonderful collection.

[siddr90]

Thanks for the amazing photos! Really tempted to buy the Namiki / Pilot!

[Water Ouzel]

I agree that the modern Platinum seems to be the most visually appealing.

 

They're nice writing pens, too.

 

I've got a Modern Maki-e, and a couple 3776 series pens (no Sailors so far), and it's 18K nib is significantly softer than the 3776's. Which is not to say that they aren't pretty nice, just different.

[IndianElf]

Thanks for the review jar. I'm very tempted. Can you give a rough estimate of the prices they sell for?

[jar]

Thanks for the review jar. I'm very tempted. Can you give a rough estimate of the prices they sell for?

The pens series shown range in prices from around $100.00 to over $600.00. That may not seem "entry level" but for maki-e it really is. There are some pens sold at even lower prices as maki-e but in those cases what you get is synthetic lacquer and machine painted pens.