Platinum
Platinum Izumo Galaxy Starlight Raden
Platinum Izumo Galaxy Starlight Raden
The Platinum Izumo Galaxy Starlight Raden fountain pen is a showcase for this meticulous form of Maki-e art. Each pen requires a minimum of six months to be produced. Normally provided with only limited nib choices, we can make it available to you with your choice of Platinum 18k solid gold nib.
Our complimentary nib tuning adjusts optimum pressure and ink flow to your own personal preferences. Platinum 18k nibs also make excellent starting points for many of our exclusive nib customizations - choose the Broad or Extra Broad points for best results with our popular Architects Point customization.
A traditional craft technique with a centuries-long history in Japan, Raden Maki-e technique involves the careful application of raden shell over multiple layers of natural urushi lacquer. The shape and structure of the pattern of raden flakes on the surface of the pen is considered vitally important - the Maki-e artist will even use a tool to adjust the position of individual pieces of raden shell to ensure a harmonious design.
A strong outer layer of clear urushi lacquer protects the Maki-e work and allows this pen to function as a superb every day writing instrument. The provided converter allows it to use any bottled fountain pen ink, and the Izumo model can also use convenient Platinum brand disposable ink cartridges.
Each pen ships in a special softwood presentation box with kanji style artwork on the front. A fabric pen kimono and complimentary ink bottles is also included. We are an authorized Platinum dealer.
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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. 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.. |