Sailor Bespoke King of Pen Ebonite Iro-Miyabi Fukaai

[jandrese]

Here is my new Sailor Bespoke King of Pen Ebonite Iro-Miyabi Fukaai with broad nib. A most excellent writer with a unique fine stone urushi finish aka ishime-nuri. Fine as in quality but more so in execution; its a fine grained pontilated finish that is pleasantly tactile and mercurial of color. Pictured along with the Sailor is a Nakaya with a much larger grained ishime-nuri finish. The name fukaai refers to dark blue, and it can look that way, but also light blue and greenish blue. Blue is an unusual and modern color for urushi. This pen is most unexpectedly interesting. 

 

 

[Wadude]

A beautiful, unique finish for a classical pen. Congratulation! Hope you enjoy it. I quite like Ishime, specially for the section. Makes for a comfortable grip that does not slip.

 

I am a bit curious for a comparison: how do you find Sailor’s Ishime Kanshitsu technique as compared to Nakaya’s?

[Driften]

Congrats... you got a really cool pen

[jandrese]

2 hours ago, Wadude said:

A beautiful, unique finish for a classical pen. Congratulation! Hope you enjoy it. I quite like Ishime, specially for the section. Makes for a comfortable grip that does not slip.

 

I am a bit curious for a comparison: how do you find Sailor’s Ishime Kanshitsu technique as compared to Nakaya’s?

You are correct, the grip is quite positive. Also, the surface is essentially matte, the texture blocks most of glare and shininess. 

 

As for how the Nakaya and and Sailor ishime finishes compare I will comment a little. I'm no stranger to ishime having many traditionally finished Japanese wares done in the stone or ishime finish in my possession. In Japan I've also examined saya or the scabbard for the Japanese sword finished with ishime by acknowledged masters.  I've even tried my hand at the technique to mostly good success, that is, for an amateur. 

 

While both can be said to have ishime finish, and while I was not privy to their fabrication I believe the Nakaya and the Sailor were done with two different techniques. The Nakaya is, as you mention, kanshitsu ishime whereby crushed urushi is seeded on the surface to create the texture. In this case the kanshitsu powder was relatively coarse for the size of the object. The Sailor was, I believe, finished with crushed charcoal to create the texture. Using Google translate on the Japanese website for this pen is equivocal on kanshitsu-fun versus crushed charcoal by mentioning them both. Beyond that, the individual particles are much smaller on the Sailor. The larger particles on the Nakaya both join together across the surface with greater continuity but also stand further off the base. Handling the Nakaya feels smoother unless one were to catch a particle with a fingernail; there would be more bite. The Sailor is rougher but the texture is so finely grained it feels pleasantly grippy without going overboard. The Nakaya is also more glossy due to a combination of the texture technique, urushi used, and subsequent polishing. 

 

Basically, they are different. If one had to assess the quality of the workmanship there are things to commend on both pieces. Both also fall short of being masterworks. The Sailor, however, seems to have a slightly elevated quality about it than the Nakaya. Both are good enough to stand on their own, and are good enough to be distinctive of the artist. That is, I believe an informed observer could tell who finished the pens. 

[jandrese]

1 hour ago, Driften said:

Congrats... you got a really cool pen

Thanks. I agree!

[msum]

How does one obtain such a pen from Sailor?

[jandrese]

2 hours ago, msum said:

How does one obtain such a pen from Sailor?

I bought mine from a Sailor authorized dealer.

[Toll]

Congratulations! The pen is very beautiful—love the color! 

[Maki-eMagic]

18 hours ago, jandrese said:

You are correct, the grip is quite positive. Also, the surface is essentially matte, the texture blocks most of glare and shininess. 

 

As for how the Nakaya and and Sailor ishime finishes compare I will comment a little. I'm no stranger to ishime having many traditionally finished Japanese wares done in the stone or ishime finish in my possession. In Japan I've also examined saya or the scabbard for the Japanese sword finished with ishime by acknowledged masters.  I've even tried my hand at the technique to mostly good success, that is, for an amateur. 

 

While both can be said to have ishime finish, and while I was not privy to their fabrication I believe the Nakaya and the Sailor were done with two different techniques. The Nakaya is, as you mention, kanshitsu ishime whereby crushed urushi is seeded on the surface to create the texture. In this case the kanshitsu powder was relatively coarse for the size of the object. The Sailor was, I believe, finished with crushed charcoal to create the texture. Using Google translate on the Japanese website for this pen is equivocal on kanshitsu-fun versus crushed charcoal by mentioning them both. Beyond that, the individual particles are much smaller on the Sailor. The larger particles on the Nakaya both join together across the surface with greater continuity but also stand further off the base. Handling the Nakaya feels smoother unless one were to catch a particle with a fingernail; there would be more bite. The Sailor is rougher but the texture is so finely grained it feels pleasantly grippy without going overboard. The Nakaya is also more glossy due to a combination of the texture technique, urushi used, and subsequent polishing. 

 

Basically, they are different. If one had to assess the quality of the workmanship there are things to commend on both pieces. Both also fall short of being masterworks. The Sailor, however, seems to have a slightly elevated quality about it than the Nakaya. Both are good enough to stand on their own, and are good enough to be distinctive of the artist. That is, I believe an informed observer could tell who finished the pens. 

Beautiful pen, and I really enjoyed reading your analysis of the ishime, most interesting! 

[25_15_3]

Very nice. Wish they came with the NT nibs instead as I like those much better than the usual M or B nibs. Maybe a nib swap will do...