Nakaya
Nakaya Portable Cigar Whale and Wave 2
Nakaya Portable Cigar Whale and Wave 2
An extraordinary example of contemporary Maki-e technique, the Nakaya Portable Cigar Whale and Wave 2 is individually hand-finished using a variety of different urushi lacquers and precious materials.
A work of art on its own terms, the Whale and Wave 2 is also an exceptional and highly practical writing instrument that can be fitted with any of Nakaya's solid gold 14k nibs. Our complimentary nib set-up process and optional nib customizations tailor the writing experience to your individual preferences.
Nakaya's Maki-e artists utilize a wide variety of techniques to realize the complex motif expressed on this pen. Details in the silver powder waves have been finished with lines in gold, which is also used for the whale's eyes.
Sumi charcoal is used for the whale's body, which is then finished with black urushi lacquer, while the image of the sun has been created in Akebono technique using green and red lacquers combined with more gold powder. The background has also been realized in Akebono technique, with additional use of gold plate and powder.
As with all of Nakaya's Maki-e pens, this is a handcrafted work of art which requires months of skilled work to be produced. Each pen is individually finished, and no two pens will ever be exactly alike.
Couldn't load pickup availability
Customization Guide
Stub
 
|
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.
|
Cursive Italic
 
|
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.
|
Formal Italic
 |
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.
|
Left Oblique
 |
 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)
 |
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
 |
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.. |