$50 Maki-E Diy (1St Attempt)

[AtilaYang99]

Hi folks

I am super new to this hobby. Since I recently completed my first project I would like to post it here and get your eyes on it. Like many of you, I too found the Japanese maki-e fountain pens amazingly beautiful yet very out of my reach price-wise. I had some experience assembling car model kits, so I thought since I already have the spray paint and sandpaper and all that stuff, why not treat a fountain pen just another car model and do some experiments on it?

 

And here's the outcome! Quite honestly, I am pretty happy with the result, although the wood finish I was using doesn't seem super scratch-resistant.

 

Another major issue is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of cheap clip-less fountain pens out there for me to work off. If you folks have any suggestions, please let me know! I bought this one off eBay:

 

Cheers!

 

[usk15]

Impressive!

[zaddick]

Your pen looks good. It is a good exhibition of your skill. You can also try ebonite pens as the base and maybe protect with a clear coat.

[fountainpen51]

It looks very good, you can try the pens of Ranga in ebonita, they are very good prices and usually make offers for this forum. Currently they have one open for any kind of their pens.

[SoulSamurai]

Amazing work, the pen looks lovely!

[Holon]

Impressive!

 

Maybe a Moonman M2 is a good pen for this too, but it's clear acrylic.

In general many indian pens come in a clipless version.

[Tas]

[amberleadavis]

WOW

[alexwi]

Wow! Beautiful work!

 

Could you post references to the process itself? Looks like something I'd like to try some day.

 

Alex

[AlohaLani787]

I find it absolutely stunning!

[fountainbel]

Impressive work of art, bravo

My sincere congratulations !

Francis

[Hibro]

Nice job. How did you make this and what did you use to make it?

[inkstainedruth]

Somehow I had missed this thread before now.  Anyone know if the OP is still around?  I particularly like the detailing on the fish.  

And it would be really interesting to know what was used to seal it; my problem with maki-e work -- besides the nosebleed prices however warranted they are for the exquisite workmanship -- is the urushi generally used to finish/seal the work; because YES - I AM that allergic to urushiol oil (which is the same stuff that is in poison ivy).  I don't care how much people will swear up down and sideways that it's "cured"....  I'll get a reaction and it will likely go systemic on me in a matter of a couple of hours -- just like the last time I had poison ivy (three runs of steroids and  $400 US water bill for that quarter).   And would not wish that on my worst enemy....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth