(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
Ahhhh. Nakayas. Nobody warned me that buying one Nakaya would lead to buying another and another and another. I honestly thought I might own one or two at most because they are freaking expensive. But then I scroll through the Nakaya listings at Nibs.com, swallow hard, contemplate the beauty, and rationalize why I must have another one.
The Nakaya Shinobu in blue is a pen I've coveted for a long time. I was entranced by the fern pattern carved delicately into the ebonite. One evening, depressed over signing my terminal contract as a professor, I pressed the "buy" button on the Shinobu at Nibs.com. The next day, remorseful, I sent an email, requesting that they cancel my order. But during the pandemic, no one was monitoring emails, and two days later, I received confirmation that my pen with its special elastic nib was ready to ship. What's a girl to do--send it back? Are you kidding???
All Nakayas come in a softwood box lined in red velveteen and wrapped in a pen kimono.
When I removed the Shinobu from its kimono, I gasped, stunned, as always, by the craftsmanship and beauty. I took the pen into our Florida Room to see it in sunlight. It glows as if it were lit from within.
The base color of the pen is black urushi. Nibs.com describes the crafting process:
Many stages go into making the special surface of this pen. First layers of urushi lacquer are applied over the natural hard rubber. Then the pattern is hand engraved into these layers followed by an application of blue pigment, first applied then removed leaving traces in the carved crevices.
Look at the exquisite details:
Even the grip is carved:
I was excited to find the Shinobu in the Neo Standard, a model I did not yet own. The Neo Standard is lightly tapered at both ends, and the barrel has a subtle curve.
This is a medium-sized pen, measuring 5.9 inches/150 mm capped and 5.3 inches/135mm uncapped. You cannot post the cap. Although the barrel at its widest is about 15 mm, the grip is only 10 mm. Ebonite pens are not heavy. The Neo Standard weighs 24 grams capped and 20.5 grams uncapped and inked. The pen is perfectly balanced in the hand.
I chose a medium soft, two-toned nib and requested the elastic modification. An elastic nib is created by cutting out notches on each side of the nib. This customization gives the nib a bounciness similar to a paintbrush. It lends the nib some line variation, but not as much as a flex nib.
Out of all the different nib styles, the elastic nib is my absolute favorite. It is like writing with a paintbrush, but with much more control. The nib makes writing soothing and pleasurable. It's meditation with a pen!
The base price for a Nakaya Neo Standard Shinobu in blue is $1,800. Yup. This baby is expensive. You will pay more for a two-toned vs. single-toned nib, and the elastic modification adds $100 to the total (_so_ worth it!)
I was lucky that Nibs.com had this pen in stock when I decided to click "buy." A pen like this can take twelve or more months to arrive if it is not in stock. I promise that it's worth the wait, though!
(I purchased this Nakaya Neo Standard Shinobu in blue with my own funds.)
