Hakase Cw15C - Initial Impressions

[rpsyed]

http://i.imgur.com/R9qfTpB.jpg

*I apologize for the poor quality iPhone photos taken in my poorly-lit apartment -- I'll borrow a dSLR to get some decent ones before I do a full review.

After 13 months my Hakase is finally here! Since I ordered it last December, I've been anxiously awaiting this little ebonite barrel with a cocobolo shell. My model is called CW15C, which stands for cocobolo wood, large size nib, flat-top and solid 14kt pyramid barrel stopper band (no plating here!)

For those unfamiliar with Hakase, I'd highly recommend watching the Masters of Fountain Pen series video on Harumi Tanaka. The current craftsman of Hakase is Ryo Yamamoto but he builds pens using the same techniques as Harumi Tanaka, who retired 6 or 7 years ago.

Since I ordered it last December, I've been anxiously awaiting this little ebonite barrel with a cocobolo shell. I was so excited to receive it when I checked the tracking to find it was out for delivery yesterday but I wasn't home to sign for it. Today, in between appointments, I rushed to the post office, where I almost had to leave before getting my package so I wouldn't be late to class. Not entirely relevant, but I think some FP-users might appreciate this: On Tuesdays, the novelist Salman Rushdie is my professor and I think he's an FP user! Today, he was holding on to what looked like a vintage vest pen. I didn't see him uncap it but I'm fairly certain it was a vintage FP. I'm going to have to ask him about it next week, if he brings the same pen.

http://i.imgur.com/6fGCwto.jpg

Arrived in the pretty wrapping paper.

http://i.imgur.com/kcO9APs.jpg

The nibs on the large size Hakase pens are #15 size Pilot nibs, with the Hakase double-nib logo embossed on it. Similar to the nib on the Custom 823, Custom 845 and several other pens. The smaller Hakase pens use either a #10 Pilot nib or a Sailor nib.

http://i.imgur.com/U2we1XT.jpg

Box is just like the pawlonia wood boxes used for Nakaya and Danitrio pens. The calligraphy on the box is supposedly done by Ryo's mother.

http://i.imgur.com/iQPsQOL.jpg

The pen came with a Con-70 converter and was wrapped in very delicate tissue paper.

http://i.imgur.com/tj4Fzak.jpg

Not sure how many leads the cap has but at least one of them causes the grain to line up when capped. I know Hakase does the same pattern matching on their clipped pens, so the finial of the wood or ebonite matches that of the main part of the cap.

The wood has an oil/wax finish and feels wonderful to the touch. The cocobolo blank Ryo chose is incredibly beautiful with a gorgeous grain pattern.

http://i.imgur.com/CneyRtV.jpg

Nib is about equal to a #6 size nib. From top: Danitrio Mikado, Edison Pearl, Hakase CW15C, Hooligan kingwood/titanium pen.

http://i.imgur.com/nXjS9Ei.jpg

From top: Danitrio Mikado, Eboya Kyouka (medium-size), Hakase CW15C, Hooligan kingwood/titanium pen, Edison Pearl.

Now to ink this up ....

Edited February 1, 2017 by rpsyed

[Sabin]

If you like it.. enjoy it..

[Nikolaos]

Wonderful pen ! I would love to know what pen(s) Salman Rushdie uses. He's a great writer.

 

Enjoy your new Hakase

 

NIkolaos

[zaddick]

A beautiful pen. I look forward to a more detailed revirew.

 

May it bring you many years of happiness. Should you ever tire ofnit, look me up for a trade. I am still missing a Hakase experience on my FP journey.

[nekomuffchu]

Nice write up, your new Hakase will make those lectures even more enjoyable

 

Please post more pics when you have the time.

[da vinci]

Great write up of a great pen.

 

Really looking forward to receiving mine in the not too distant future.

 

The selection of pens photographed with the Hakese is also very interesting!

Edited February 1, 2017 by da vinci

[rpsyed]

  On 2/1/2017 at 3:41 AM, Nikolaos said:

Wonderful pen ! I would love to know what pen(s) Salman Rushdie uses. He's a great writer.

 

Enjoy your new Hakase

 

NIkolaos

 

Thank you! I'm going to do my best to find out. I'm quite curious.

  On 2/1/2017 at 4:29 AM, zaddick said:

A beautiful pen. I look forward to a more detailed revirew.

 

May it bring you many years of happiness. Should you ever tire ofnit, look me up for a trade. I am still missing a Hakase experience on my FP journey.

Thank you! =]

 

I need to use it for longer to tell how much I'll enjoy it but the signs so far are really good. The workmanship is impeccable, everything feels solid and well-made. The nib is beautifully tuned and a joy to put to paper. I ordered a plain medium nib. Filled with Sailor Yama-dori, it is glassy smooth.

 

 

  On 2/1/2017 at 6:47 AM, nekomuffchu said:

Nice write up, your new Hakase will make those lectures even more enjoyable

 

Please post more pics when you have the time.

Thank you! Not sure I'll be taking my Hakase to school for lecture notes yet. Maybe in the future though ...

 

I definitely will! I plan to do a full review after I've gotten to run a few cycles through the convertor.

 

  On 2/1/2017 at 6:52 AM, da vinci said:

Great write up of a great pen.

 

Really looking forward to receiving mine in the not too distant future.

 

The selection of pens photographed with the Hakese is also very interesting!

 

Thank you very much! =]

 

Ooh, exciting! Which model/material did you decide to go for?

[mk2579]

Beautiful pen... great to see Hakase fountain pen reviews. I saw that YouTube video- magical to watch the craftsman at work...

 

I've been mulling a wood pen for a while, might go the stylo art route- their flame green looks nice. Hakase out of my price range.

 

Also, Salman Rushdie is your professor?!!

[amk]

I am really impressed by the pattern matching. That kind of detail is not at all easy to do.

[da vinci]

  On 2/1/2017 at 10:06 PM, amk said:

I am really impressed by the pattern matching. That kind of detail is not at all easy to do.

Agreed - it's very impressive, and attention to detail like this makes Hakese stand out (and perhaps a little more expensive..)

[da vinci]

  On 2/1/2017 at 6:55 PM, rpsyed said:

 

Ooh, exciting! Which model/material did you decide to go for?

 

I think it is a GV15 - cigar shaped ebony model, clip and the #15 pilot nib in a 0.8mm stub..

[mongrelnomad]

Gorgeous! Not that I'm surprised

 

Can't wait till you try Ryo's nib-grinding...

[danrodcard]

Wow! nice collection

[rpsyed]

  On 2/1/2017 at 8:45 PM, kunju123 said:

Beautiful pen... great to see Hakase fountain pen reviews. I saw that YouTube video- magical to watch the craftsman at work...

 

I've been mulling a wood pen for a while, might go the stylo art route- their flame green looks nice. Hakase out of my price range.

 

Also, Salman Rushdie is your professor?!!

Thank you! Goodness, I've watched that video more times than I can count at this point ...

 

 

Yeah! He teaches a small seminar class (about a dozen students) each year at NYU. I'm lucky to have gotten into his class. I know there's a large waitlist for it each year. Basically, Rushdie and everyone else sits around a rectangular table, and he assigns a book to reach each week. During classes, he starts off talking about the book, the author, the main themes, etc. and then opens it up to class discussion. Just listening to him talk is incredibly fascinating; it's a fun class.

 

  On 2/1/2017 at 10:06 PM, amk said:

I am really impressed by the pattern matching. That kind of detail is not at all easy to do.

 

  On 2/1/2017 at 10:46 PM, da vinci said:

Agreed - it's very impressive, and attention to detail like this makes Hakese stand out (and perhaps a little more expensive.. )

Me too! It's a really nice touch and shows just how much time and care goes into each pen.

 

  On 2/1/2017 at 10:55 PM, da vinci said:

I think it is a GV15 - cigar shaped ebony model, clip and the #15 pilot nib in a 0.8mm stub..

Ooh, that sounds beautiful! You're going to love it =]

 

I've got a couple ideas for another Hakase sometime in the future but it'll be a while from now ...

 

  On 2/1/2017 at 11:01 PM, mongrelnomad said:

Gorgeous! Not that I'm surprised

 

Can't wait till you try Ryo's nib-grinding...

Haha, I think I've read the reviews of your Hakase pens a good half-dozen times each by now ... thank you for helping to push me over the edge into the Hakase pool =]

 

  On 2/2/2017 at 12:31 AM, danrodcard said:

Wow! nice collection

 

Thank you very much!

[hawpunch]

Simply beautiful and its nice to welcome another Hakase owner ! Enjoy it in good health. I just ordered a Hakase flat-top in Amboyna burl with Urushi coating and I'm excited to take this journey again. It will be a nice addition to my Hakase African Ebony .

[dms525]

Congratulations, Razi! That is truly a work of art. Looking forward to your comments after writing with your Hakase for a while.

 

David

[rpsyed]

  On 2/2/2017 at 9:38 PM, hawpunch said:

Simply beautiful and its nice to welcome another Hakase owner ! Enjoy it in good health. I just ordered a Hakase flat-top in Amboyna burl with Urushi coating and I'm excited to take this journey again. It will be a nice addition to my Hakase African Ebony .

Thank you! I've been writing it with it nonstop the past couple days, and man it's amazing how just nice the nib writes -- very smooth, never a hard start, never a skip, ink flow stays moderately wet and consistent.

 

Ooh, exciting! That Amoyna burl pen sounds like it will be an amazing pen. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of an Amboyna burl pen. What trim options did you go for?

 

I've got a couple ideas for another Hakase but it'll be at least 6 months or so before I probably put in another order, maybe longer. Thinking of a pen that incorporates white buffalo horn for part of the barrel. Maybe rosewood with white buffalo horn for part of the barrel.

 

  On 2/3/2017 at 3:38 AM, dms525 said:

Congratulations, Razi! That is truly a work of art. Looking forward to your comments after writing with your Hakase for a while.

 

David

 

Thanks, David! I'll definitely put together a review after I'd had a chance to use it a bit.

[hawpunch]

  On 2/4/2017 at 1:10 AM, rpsyed said:

Thank you! I've been writing it with it nonstop the past couple days, and man it's amazing how just nice the nib writes -- very smooth, never a hard start, never a skip, ink flow stays moderately wet and consistent.

 

Ooh, exciting! That Amoyna burl pen sounds like it will be an amazing pen. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of an Amboyna burl pen. What trim options did you go for?

 

I've got a couple ideas for another Hakase but it'll be at least 6 months or so before I probably put in another order, maybe longer. Thinking of a pen that incorporates white buffalo horn for part of the barrel. Maybe rosewood with white buffalo horn for part of the barrel.

 

 

Thanks, David! I'll definitely put together a review after I'd had a chance to use it a bit.

 

I agree! My Hakase writes smooth and I love the wetness of the pen. It's not a firehose but it's not dry either.

 

Mr. Yamamoto has some sample pens in Amboyna burl with urushi coating at http://fp-hakase.com/products/pterocarpus/88185.html. The pictures show that Amboyna burl has a wonderfully complex pattern that is deep and rich...I'm hoping the piece that he selects for me will be pretty close to the ones pictured. The fact that it will have urushi coating on top is icing on the cake.

 

I'm glad that you are enjoying your Hakase. it only gets better as the pen conforms to your writing style. I have mine with me all the time .

 

Aloha!

[rpsyed]

  On 2/4/2017 at 3:05 AM, hawpunch said:

 

I agree! My Hakase writes smooth and I love the wetness of the pen. It's not a firehose but it's not dry either.

 

Mr. Yamamoto has some sample pens in Amboyna burl with urushi coating at http://fp-hakase.com/products/pterocarpus/88185.html. The pictures show that Amboyna burl has a wonderfully complex pattern that is deep and rich...I'm hoping the piece that he selects for me will be pretty close to the ones pictured. The fact that it will have urushi coating on top is icing on the cake.

 

I'm glad that you are enjoying your Hakase. it only gets better as the pen conforms to your writing style. I have mine with me all the time .

 

Aloha!

 

Ooh, I messed up in typing initially. I meant to say I had never seen a picture of an Amboyna burl pen in the flat-top model. I'm sure it'll be gorgeous =] Are you getting the teardrop clip or the scroll clip? I think the flat-tops usually have the scroll clip but I've seen a picture of a flat-top Hakase with the teardrop clip and it looked really nice!

 

Good to hear! I expect it will get lots and lots of use over the following years =]

[mongrelnomad]

  On 2/4/2017 at 3:05 AM, hawpunch said:

 

I agree! My Hakase writes smooth and I love the wetness of the pen. It's not a firehose but it's not dry either.

 

Mr. Yamamoto has some sample pens in Amboyna burl with urushi coating at http://fp-hakase.com/products/pterocarpus/88185.html. The pictures show that Amboyna burl has a wonderfully complex pattern that is deep and rich...I'm hoping the piece that he selects for me will be pretty close to the ones pictured. The fact that it will have urushi coating on top is icing on the cake.

 

I'm glad that you are enjoying your Hakase. it only gets better as the pen conforms to your writing style. I have mine with me all the time .

 

Aloha!

 

I have one of those. Amazing pen...

 

  On 2/4/2017 at 1:10 AM, rpsyed said:

Thank you! I've been writing it with it nonstop the past couple days, and man it's amazing how just nice the nib writes -- very smooth, never a hard start, never a skip, ink flow stays moderately wet and consistent.

 

Ooh, exciting! That Amoyna burl pen sounds like it will be an amazing pen. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of an Amboyna burl pen. What trim options did you go for?

 

I've got a couple ideas for another Hakase but it'll be at least 6 months or so before I probably put in another order, maybe longer. Thinking of a pen that incorporates white buffalo horn for part of the barrel. Maybe rosewood with white buffalo horn for part of the barrel.

 

 

Thanks, David! I'll definitely put together a review after I'd had a chance to use it a bit.

 

 

My Hakases are, all, the smoothest writers I own, and I have never seen their character and sheer consistency replicated. Ryo is a masterful nibmeister.