July Update

It's been a quiet few months in pendom for me of late. Work, art and friends have been taking up more and more of my time. But, there are some small tidbits of (old) news to share...

• Pilot Iroshizuku Autumn Inks
  Three gorgeous new inks came out several weeks ago, and I must say that the Autumn edition is my favourite Iroshizuku release so far. With the gorgeous red-orange fuyu-gaki, burgundy-brown tsukushi, and subdued brown tones of yama-guri (which is a match for Penman Mocha, by the way), Pilot couldn't really miss this time around.
  However, I expect others will be less pleased with the Autumn range than I am, because in pendom, blue ink *still* reigns supreme, and I am in a distinct minority because I don't care for blue ink - at all. ;)


• OMAS Princess Scarlet Red
  A second Scarlet Red Princess will join my collection this month, taking my Princess total to six. Scarlet Red is my favourite OMAS celluloid after the beautiful Saft Green.


• Nakaya Piccolo IV
  By now, I should have already ordered my fourth Nakaya Piccolo, but I just can't decide on a design. I have several designs of my own creation short-listed, but love them all equally, so I keep dithering between them and never choosing.
  In the meantime, I have decided to order a Aka-tame Desk Pen. No design motifs, just that classic lacquer with a rose gold SEF nib.

Nakaya Piccolo III - Review

I have just posted the review for my third Nakaya :

• Piccolo Chinkin Palmet - Shu with Colored Powders

Nakaya Piccolo III - Photo!

So this morning I woke up to a fantastic post by SJM1123 in a recent thread on the FPN about Japanese lacquerware decoration. The post links to a wonderful database of techniques, including Chinkin, which is what I chose for my third Piccolo.

I was so inspired by the videos that I got the camera out and started snapping away. Here is a teaser from the shoot:


I couldn't find my remote cable release and I was all in despair over the lighting quality... but I think they turned out OK.

Nakaya Piccolo III - Update

I forgot to post this Nakaya update earlier (which in itself is an amazing occurrence), but my third Nakaya has been completed, and photos are available on the Nakaya website.

The pen will remain in Japan for some time yet, until the design of a new rose gold nib is complete.

The normal Chinkin technique of engraved line work into highly polished lacquer has always seemed too much of a visual contrast to me, so I opted for the subtler approach of line work into a unpolished Shu urushi body. The unpolished finish is akin to a 'satin' finish.

In a couple of months I will be starting talks with Nakaya for a fourth Piccolo, one with a completely custom design. I don't expect to see it until 2010, however, my tradition of at least one exquisite Nakaya a year is something which I love. I never mind waiting for pens like these. :)

Photo © Nakaya Corporation.

Nakaya Piccolo III - Update

My third Nakaya Piccolo will be residing in Japan for several weeks longer. I decided to wait until the new Super Extra Fine nib design is ready. It is a prettier nib, IMO.

Good things come to those who wait. :D

Nakaya Piccolo III

Today I heard from Nakaya - a wonderful email arrived with a photo of my latest custom pen, which is almost complete! The colours are perfect, and all that is left to do now is to decide on the most suitable nib finish.

I am leaning toward Pink Gold, but if we don't agree that is the best match, I will probably choose the two-tone nib.

Very exciting stuff! :)

Third Nakaya

I am about to sign-off on the design for my third Nakaya Piccolo!

I'm very excited about this special order... but I won't be revealing any details - all I will say is that it will feature the Chinkin / Chinkoku technique.

Happy, happy, happy!

Nakaya Piccolo II Update

I can't believe I forgot to post this, but the Nakaya website has been updated with the details of the Special Order Piccolo I received in October!

Special Order » Original Color » Olive Green Tamenuri.

Nakaya Piccolo II

Earlier this week my spectacular Special Order Nakaya Piccolo arrived! It is gorgeous.

A full Review has been posted over at the Fountain Pen Network. :)

Very Exciting Pen News!

Well, exciting for me at least! Here is a summary of pens I am expecting...

1. A second Nakaya Piccolo Cigar! Special Urushi finish, 14K SEF nib.


2. A stainless steel Platinum, exactly like the one shown in this post.


3. A cute Waterman Lady Charlotte.


4. The Fountain Pen Network 'Limited Edition' Bexley.


5. TEN (10) pens from Richard Binder, which I sent to him for nib customizations - I may have them by the end of this week!

Last week I also received two beautiful Japanese pens from the lovely Mr. K. The first was a small Pilot lever-filler, in a gorgeous red celluloid with a firm XF 14K nib. The second was more special... an unusual stainless steel Sailor with a rather exquisite arabesque-like motif. The motif is machined(?) all over the cap, barrel and section. The detail is quite incredible and perfect, and the nib is a 18K White Gold F.

No Pens = Wrong

In what can only be termed as a cruel twist of fate, the arrival of my Nakaya has removed all thoughts of other pens from my mind. My Urushi Piccolo is seriously special, and certainly perfect - but this perfection has been my downfall.

I no longer crave more pens.

It seems appalling to admit this. It seems wrong! So very, very wrong!

There are no pens coming in the mail. There are no exciting eBay snipes. There are no eBay blurry-pictured, bargain-priced mystery pens! There is *nothing*.

The only pen news on my horizon is the fact I have ten (10!) fountain pens set aside to send to Richard Binder. Will some of these ten pens return with nibs so delightful that my interest is rekindled?

I for one, bloody well hope so. Frankly, the whole situation is highly disturbing and odd.

Pen Ramblings

More of an update today... no new news to share. :)

Firstly, my Nakaya Piccolo. It is incredibly perfect - I love this pen so, so much.

Next, my Aurora Mini Optima. Not long after I bought it, I felt the ink flow was a little too much. The wonderful Pamela B sorted it all out, and in a roundabout way also gave me the opportunity to have an Extra Fine stub nib ground for the pen. I’m really looking forward to getting it. :)

Two cute Pilot 78G's arrived from HisNibs today - a Teal and a Cinnabar with Fine nibs. Being Japanese this means they are more like extra-fine nibs, and so far the dip-test has indicated these pens are winners! Lovely service from Norman, as usual. :)

Perhaps it's just the combination of the EF nibs and dry-writing pens that I use, but my FPN Special-Edition ink isn't really so brown at all. In fact, it's a middle-of-the-road dirty red-orange. I can see with a wet writer that the colour would deepen, but really, there's a heck of a lot of red in there.

Nakaya Urushi Cigar

I took some good photos of my new Nakaya today, and have posted a comprehensive review over at the Fountain Pen Network: Nakaya Urushi - Cigar Piccolo

Enjoy!

My Nakaya Arrived!

I picked it up this afternoon and it is exquisite! I think I will be buying a second one next year. :)

The Kuro-Tamenuri (Blackish-Red) Urushi finish is stunning...

More on this beauty later. :)

I've Sinned Terribly...

God help me, I was innocently cruising around the internet not two hours ago, when I saw it. "It" is a Nakaya Piccolo Blackish Red Tamenuri fountain pen with a 14K Extra Fine nib! I wrote about here, and I was going to get the Nakaya next year, but when opportunity knocks...!

Anyway, it will be here via FedEx in a couple of days - joy!

*Happy Dance*

So, I've sinned terribly by buying the Nakaya not three weeks after my Aurora, but what the hell - you're a long time dead. :)

Nakaya Pens

In my endless pursuit of super-fine nibs, I have looked several times at Nakaya pens. Their selection certainly is tempting, especially since the Danitrio Urushi pens I want are not available with EF nibs.

Hmm... a Nakaya Piccolo may be my Christmas present.