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Nakaya

Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Sumiko

Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Sumiko

Regular price $1,095.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $1,095.00 USD
Our price Pre Order

Designed by Nakaya master pen designer Shinichi Yoshida in collaboration with John Mottishaw, the Naka-ai, with its peaked ends and tapered body, combines many of Nakaya’s most distinctive design features in a single model. ""Naka-ai"" has the meaning of middle or in-between, and brings to mind the Middle Way of Buddhist practice with its emphasis on balance, integrity, and centeredness. Appropriately enough, the Naka-ai occupies a midway position between Nakaya's smaller Piccolo series pens and the longer Deskpen - this is a pen that will be a very comfortable fit for most pen users.

The double slit Music nib is available at an added premium, as are plated nibs in Pink Gold, Rhodium, Ruthenium, or Two-Tone.

Similar in appearance to the Matte Black Hairline but achieved through a very different and much more time intensive process, the Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar in Sumiko finish is an elegantly minimalist and modernistic fountain pen. Multiple layers of Sumi charcoal ink are applied over a period of months to create the smooth dark surface of this pen.

Like all Nakaya Urushi pens, each Naka-ai pen is made of hand-turned ebonite hard rubber. The Sumiko surface is then cured and stabilized over a lengthy period. The natural substances used give this pen a warm, comfortable feeling in the hand.

Nakaya pens can be filled with bottled fountain pen ink using the provided converter and can also use Platinum brand ink cartridges. Hand-painted Maki-e converters are also available. We recommend Platinum Carbon Black ink as a particularly appropriate complement to this finish.

Unlike Nakaya's Urushi finish, the Sumiko finish is matte and quite soft to the touch. The softly peaked end caps of the Naka-ai showcase the textured Sumiko surface.
Though the whole range of Nakaya nibs is made available, the sleek ruthenium-plated nib makes an excellent counterpart to this dark, sleek writing instrument.
These 14k nibs are well-suited to customizations including Stub, Cursive Italic, and Left Oblique, as well as the modification for added flex.
Nakaya pens ship in a solid softwood shipping box decorated with Japanese Kanji script and lined with decorative rice paper. A fabric pen ""kimono"" and starter box of Platinum brand cartridges are also included, making this pen a lovely presentation item. Sensible and elegant packaging has long been a hallmark of the Nakaya brand.
Nakaya pens are individually handcrafted in a process that requires a minimum of three to six months and often much longer.
Unless requested otherwise, each pen or nib you purchase from us will be carefully examined, tested, and optimized for your personal writing characteristics before it ships.

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