Nakaya Fountain Pen

May 27, 2007

I am absolutely delighted with my Nakaya which I purchase from them at the Chicago Pen Show the beginning of the month. I had originally wanted a smaller bodied pen from them, but by the time I got to them my options were limited. I did buy the smaler of the two Urushi cigar style bodies with a soft fine nib. Shinichi Yoshida (http://www.nakaya.org/eman.html) fine tuned the nib for me while I watched. The nib is incredibly smooth and responsive to my hand. I have to admit that the body is to large for my hand, as I typically use Pelikan M300 size pens. Over the weeks since I have had it, my hand has adjusted to the size of the body and we are getting along very well.

I would buy another pen from them in a heart beat. I would love to have the pen they call the Sumi-Apparition or one in that style.

I see my relationship with the pen flowering nicely.

June 8, 2007

MMMM.... dreamy looking pens all! After looking at their site, I am much impressed with their work - especially their maki-e collection! Sigh...

Drooling aside, do they visit shows often? Which ones?

Also, does anybody have a copy of their writing preference survey thingy?

June 22, 2007

Do they come in Stub nib widths ?
Hi TMLee,

I bought my Nakaya with a B Stub nib, and it gave me lots of headaches. It skipped badly, and sending it back to Japan was out of questions due to local taxes. I kept on using it with a variety of inks and papers, and after a long time it has become a reliable writer. In retrospect, if I were to order another Nakaya (which, for me, is highly unlikely) I would not order a stub; I would rather choose one of their medium or fine nibs, which everybody seems to enjoy (almost) out of the box, and I would send it to a nibmeister.

Alejandro

Hi A ...

Sounds like an unpleasant experience despite the claims that they are very personal and go thru lengths to meet yr requirements. It can't be that they are not good at stubs right ? After all , aren;t they supposed to be craftsman?

I prefer <B> nibs and am mulling over whether I shld go the 'safe' route with their standard production nibs or risk 'trouble' with nibs they don't normally do.

Do you have a Dani Densho Flexy stub? I have one , so how does it compare when they talk about flex? I have no idea how elastic are thier elastic nibs.

TIA

August 11, 2007

I have a couple Nakaya pens with a medium (non flex) nib, and they write great as well (but of course different than the soft fine). The mediums were butter smooth right out of the box, and I like them very much, but my favorite Nakaya nib is the flex fine. The flex fine likes a light touch on the start of the stroke, but I find I can press on the latter part and get some nice variation. If I don't press, I can use the soft fine to get a very fine line, great for trying to fit a lot in a small area for note taking.

-- Gordie

Hi Gordie ...

I am a little confused ...

in yr post above , u mentioned ...

"medium(non flex)" = you mean their standard nibs right ?

"soft fine" = their soft nib range (as per their Nakaya webpage order form) created as a response to foriegners' requests

"flex fine" = do you mean the elastic nibs with the cut-out sides ?

I am mulling over whether to get a soft nib or an elastic nib as per their nib choices available.

How do I decide ? I need some guidance here. TIA.

August 11, 2007

Hi A ...

Sounds like an unpleasant experience despite the claims that they are very personal and go thru lengths to meet yr requirements. It can't be that they are not good at stubs right ? After all , aren;t they supposed to be craftsman?

TIA

Alejandro's experience was much the same I had. I just sent it to a nibmeister and the problem was solved for $43 plus insured shipping; I think the total was about $50 and it was worth it.