Nakaya
Nakaya Portable Cigar Fox with Harvest Moon
Nakaya Portable Cigar Fox with Harvest Moon
One of the most lyrically beautiful Maki-e designs yet created by Nakaya, the Fox with Harvest Moon fountain pen utilizes a masterful combination of Tame-sukashi and Yakou Maki-e techniques. The applications of subdued colors reinforce the quiet reflection of the fox observing the harvest moon.
In Tame-Sukashi technique, layers of clear, smooth Urushi lacquer are applied over this painted motif - it is similar to Tame-Nuri technique, in which lacquer is applied over a solid color. So, in time and with normal wear, the underlying imagery will become more prominent.
The moon, fox, and its footprints are created using Tame-sukashi technique, and layers of Shu urushi are also utilized so that the body of the fox rises in very slight low relief over the surface of the barrel. Sprinkles of silver powder are used to detail the mane of the fox.
Very fine Yakou Maki-e work is used to create the effect of the dark black grass against the urushi background. The attention to detail in each aspect of this design makes this a particularly memorable and evocative fountain pen.
The Nakaya Cigar Portable Fox with Harvest Moon fountain pen can be furnished with any of the standard range of Nakaya 14k single-tone nibs in your choice of tipping size. Plated and two-tone nibs are also available at a premium cost.
These 14k nibs are well-suited to customizations including Stub, Cursive Italic, or 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.
Unless requested otherwise, each pen or nib you purchase from us will be carefully inspected, tested, and optimized for your personal writing characteristics before it ships.
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Customization Guide
Stub
 
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Above is the same size nib after a regrind to Stub. A regrind to Stub is often a good place to start for your first customization. Â A Stub nib provides broad down-strokes and narrow cross-strokes while writing, and is less position-sensitive on the paper than the crisper and slightly more demanding cursive italic.
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Cursive Italic
 
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More demanding, but also providing crisper edges and more line-width variation, is the very popular customization to Cursive Italic. This also provides broad down-strokes and narrow cross-strokes, but is also more position-sensitive in terms of how the pen is held and requires more skill on the part of the user. This is a common customization for artists and calligraphers, but is still smooth enough to make for a good everyday writer.
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Formal Italic
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Formal Italic is an even crisper and more demanding customization than either cursive italic or left oblique, and is usually utilized for calligraphy and by the most experienced users. This provides broad down-strokes and narrow cross-strokes, with even crisper corners and edges than a cursive italic - this is an extremely position-sensitive customization.
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Left Oblique
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 Commonly used for signatures and correspondence, the Left Oblique customization provides broad diagonal strokes and narrow cross-strokes, and like a cursive italic, is more position-sensitive and demanding than a stub. The whole pen must be rotated to the left in order to write smoothly, without skipping. The "Left" in Left Oblique refers to the cut of the nib itself, and does not refer to the handedness of the writer. |
Architect's Point (Also for Arabic and Hebraic writing)
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A more exotic regrind is that to Architect’s Point. Named after the style of writing used by Frank Lloyd Wright, this regrind is the opposite of cursive italic, and provides for broad cross-strokes and narrow down-strokes. This also tends to be a particularly useful customization for those practicing Arabic or Hebraic calligraphy. |
Spencerian
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Perhaps our most popular customization, but also one of the most advanced, the Mottishaw Spencerian Customization has gained special attention from being featured in a customer's YouTube video which has now received over twelve million views! The Spencerian starts from a semi-soft 14k nib and adds additional flex and a regrind to needlepoint to create a specialized writing point used for copperplate calligraphy. For more details, visit our special Spencerian page.. |