Saturday - September 15, 2007

The most delightful Nakaya Chinkoku. 

Two days ago, I acquired my first Nakaya. And just like any fangirl, I am bringing on the unboxing shots.

A plain box, made with textured off-white handmade paper.

Inside, a simple box of light wood, bearing Japanese characters and a red stamp.

The pen came with its own kimono, a dark blue fabric sprinkled with gold squares.

Finally, the Nakaya Chinkoku. Layers of red lacquer, incised with the Housoge (flower of paradise) motif, with Sumi (charcoal) embedded in the pattern.

It is the Piccolo size, and does not come with a clip. 

The nib is Nakaya's own Elastic extra fine. It has curved cut-outs underneath the nib's shoulders. While it is not "flexible" in the vintage sense of the word, the elastic design makes it "give" more when it contacts the paper. The Chinkoku technique is also applied to the grip.

Where I applied more pressure to the nib, the line doesn't broaden as much as darken. Singapore Sepia, one of the dozen Noodler's Inks specially made for the Singapore market, is a pale purplish brown. 

Last night, I installed the Platinum goldfish converter - a secret amusement. 

Today is the second day of the Y&R regional CD workshop. The Chinkoku will see a lot of use. I will try not to write anything too silly or mundane with it, as it is so beautiful.