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Maki-e Sumiko Portable Writer Fountain Pen
蜘蛛 Spider and Web

Nakaya has created Spider and Web fountain pen by using the traditional "Sumiko" (charcoal powder) technique. This pen tells a story, the ending of which is not resolved. Butterfly is not captured except in the art of the urushi. It is a tale of contrasts, predator and prey, light and dark, capture and escape, sinister and inviting.

Note the differences in surface texture between the black gloss of the web and the flat black background.

On the grip section, a craftsman used gold powder as the base then painted a butterfly with Urushi lacquer and sprinkled with gold powder and rubbed with black and white Urushi. Finally it is polished using the ("togi-dashi") technique. We are told that there is a flower painted under butterfly.

Each time I open this pen, I get a tiny little thrill to see butterfly still outside the web.

This pen arrived as a Portable size Writer (with clip) with a matte finished silver clip. This pen is beautifully crafted and delightfully inventive. It is top quality Maki-e.
Web and spider were painted using a thin brush and then polished ("togi-dashi") after dusting with gold and silver powders. Spider has an appearance of solidity because of the "Taka-Maki-e" technique, the metal placed on the surface of the lacquer as gold dust.The web is silver. Black and yellow urushi lacquer are applied, raising up the design referred to as ("togi-dashi"). It has thickness - relief.

Note the matte finish on the silver clip.

We provide a Platinum converter used to fill this pen with ink in either the simple form or the painted "goldfish" design for an additional $25.

The Nakaya nib, imprinted Nakata, the family name of the manufacturer is made of solid 14K gold.

Each of these nibs is suitable for our customization to extra flexible. The medium and broad tip can be customized by us into cursive italic, stub or oblique points.

 

Tip sizes as reported by Nakaya:

Super Extra Fine, 0.18 to 0.24mm. Especially suited for fine numbers and characters, suitable for bookkeeping.
Extra Fine, 0.24 to 0.28mm. For fine numbers and characters, suitable for students' note taking.
Fine, 0.28 to 0.34mm. For general fine characters, suitable for students' note taking.
Medium, 0.34 to 0.44mm. Smooth writing, suitable for general writing.
Broad, 0.44 to 0.54mm. Suitable for manuscript, address writing.
Extra Broad, 0.66 to 0.86mm. Suitable for those who love broad writing.

Please see our own tipping size page for comparison with other nib tip sizes.

For an additional $80.00 for the single tone and $125 for the two-tone we can provide the double slit music nib. It is much like a stub with a generous ink delivery. See the Nakaya nibs page for more details.

The heavy decorative rice paper, simple solid softwood shipping box and fabric pouch make a lovely presentation for Nakaya Urushi pens. Sensible and elegant packaging have been a hallmark of Nakaya.
 
Price: $4600.00
We have only one of these in stock. Getting another will take months.

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