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A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance
- taeric 9y agoI bought a pack of fountain pens last year. Plastic, so cheap feel in many ways. Though, it has been a long time since I used a pen that wasn't plastic. The few gimmick wooden ones actually feel more cheap. A "plus" for these, they are easily refillable and use the same ink as the "parallel" pens that are fun for calligraphy. link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058NN9FC https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058NN9FC
- lisper 9y ago> I bought a pack There's your problem right there. You can get very high quality fountain pens for a LOT less than the $5k that a Nakaya pen costs. But they aren't sold in packs.
- taeric 9y agoApologies for not making it clear, the pens I have are quite nice to write with. I recommend them quite heavily for anyone that does not care for standard pens you get most anywhere else. Are there easy to get high quality pens elsewise? Probably. But these really are good entry level pens that give me delight to use.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- AhtiK 9y agoMaybe try to get a Lamy Safari, <20€/$28. Takes both prefilled cartridges or fill it by yourself with a converter Z24/Z28. Plastic body feels solid, especially the matte variants (like Charcoal Black).
- grzm 9y agoArticle title: "How a Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Writing-Tool Renaissance" Edit: Thanks for updating!
- sctb 9y agoThanks! We updated it from “Fountain Pens”, which is just on the spare side.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- lisper 9y ago> “You can feel something when you hold a Nakaya that’s different from all other pens” Yes, it's the money draining out of your pocket.
- KC8ZKF 9y agoI enjoy a good fountain pen. If you are interested in an inexpensive practical fountain pen, you should look into the Lamy Safari. It is easy to maintain, writes smoothly, and feels good in the hand. It is my every day pen. Quick drying "document" inks are also good for everyday use. They don't fade or smear.
- tolien 9y agoUsed to use Parkers and Watermans (Watermen?), got a Safari a few years ago and upgraded to a 2000 (rather more expensive piston-filler). Now I've got 3 (in a mix of nibs and stainless steel/Macrolan).
- sg47 9y agoWatermans is correct. Lewis Waterman invented the capillary fountain pen.
- gjvc 9y ago+1 for the Lamy Safari. It's an excellent writer, and if you lose one (an everyday hazard with an everyday pen), it's going to have cost you about 20 USD. See also Sailor and TWSBI for good everyday fountain pens.
- RedOrZed 9y agoEven as a left-hander, the Lamy Safari just writes so well, it's a joy.
- DanielleMolloy 9y agoI can't believe that Lamy Safari is still on market. I used mine up to Abitur (German A-levels) and must have bought it almost 20 years ago. By the end of grammar school I found Online Rollerball, which is a ballpoint pen with standard ink and ink cartridges. I still buy the latter from time to time. As for ballpoint pens, during stays in Japan I accumulated a small collection of multi-color ballpoint pens with extra thin tips, most of them from Mitsubishi. Small sketches and notes tend to look a bit tidier and the thin Japanese pens made for kanji writing are superior for this. Also changing colors is quite nice for note-taking.
- gjvc 9y agoVeblen goods. Nothing new here.
- jwilk 9y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good Veblen goods are types of luxury goods for which the quantity demanded increases as the price increases, an apparent contradiction of the law of demand.
- coldtea 9y agoSo, when one saw their S.O. they should also say, "a human, nothing new here"? The story is about the particulars, not about what class of economic products it is.
- mmmpop 9y agoHahah pesky capitalists am I right? adjusts teashade glasses
- dizzystar 9y agoOh my, this brings back memories that still impact me today. Growing up, finding that perfect pen was sort of a hobby and artform. I suppose part of it was growing up in the 90s, trying to do Pen & Ink drawing, calligraphy, and writing all day. The current analog is searching for the perfect keyboard. While wasteful on first blush, it truly is the most utilitarian decision you can make when measured for optimizing tools. There really is something horrible about cheap pens, and nothing is worse than a pen that looks expensive yet writes cheaply... for those who don't know what I'm talking about, when lines matter, little things like skipping, shaking, and uneven lines become massive aggravations, no matter how minute they seem to a casual observer. With all that said, I'm not so into writing implements that I'd want to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on a pen. I'd need a lot more convincing to believe that extra money is worth it. I still like the article.
- arkitaip 9y ago"The current analog is searching for the perfect keyboard." Sounds like we have been on a similar journey (typing this on a Corsair K95). I still enjoy finding a really good pen, but they rarely cost more than 10-20 usd and I mostly use them for sketching UI. If only there was a keyboard equivalent to The Pilot G2 0.7.
- dizzystar 9y agoI'm fond of felt-tip pens. I used Liquid Expresso pens back when I was a bike messenger. Every secretary would try to steal them, and often beg me to leave one for them.
- HakureiSec 9y agoOh my, another G2 fan. I used to write with Cello Maxriters but at some point they became too thin and uncomfortable for me. Then I discovered G2 0.7 – and for the next 8 years (2 in high school and 6 in the uni) I refused to write with anything but them. When I couldn't find refills I just bought new pens (plural). Eventually, they started to miss from the local shops but at the same time, I started to write less with a pen and more with a keyboard. I still have packs of red, black and even green refills in a box somewhere in my house.
- nabla9 9y agoNakaya pens are prime example of Veblen good - luxury goods for which the quantity demanded increases as the price increases. The old desire of building your identity around what you own instead of what you do is not going anywhere. Good for them picking up the extra money people have. Of course Nakaya pens are good writing pens, but the quality of pen as a tool levels around $50-$70 price mark. Extra is just collecting expensive shit. I have Japanese fountain pen that costs $60 and any more expensive pen I have tested is no better, just different. Good nib and mechanism is not rocket science. https://www.twsbi.com https://www.twsbi.com
- winter_blue 9y ago> The old desire of building your identity around what you own instead of what you do is not going anywhere. Good for them picking up the extra money people have. That's really spot on. We could have an incredibly fulfilling life while living frugally. Writing books, making art, creating new software, doing research, etc. Creating and understanding yourself better can be healing. Physical possessions like this pen is just so vain, shallow, and meaningless. Some of the happiest peoples' lives are built around shared experiences.
- cthalupa 9y ago>making art >this pen is just so vain, shallow, and meaningless. I hope you can see the contradiction here. These pens are the result of skills honed over time by people who are masters of their craft. These aren't mass produced items, and they will tailor basically every aspect of the pen to the customer. You're paying for the artistry, quality, and customization. These things are more expensive when not mass produced. Would I buy one? Not unless I just had a bunch of money that I had nothing else to do with. But for someone who talks about making art being a fulfilling venture, it doesn't make sense to scorn something that many people consider art.
- Retric 9y agoI find such things horribly wasteful even if I had unlimited disposable income. Run out of reasonable purchases and you can always just donate the rest. Remember, it's not expensive because that's what it costs to make it's expensive because that's what it takes to sell them.
- dmourati 9y agoI have a Nakaya. I bought it to celebrate a promotion at work. It is far and away my most expensive fountain pen. I have pens ranging from $1 to $750. I use the Nakaya daily and enjoy it.
- tachion 9y agoWhat other quality pen could one recommend if I would like to get one and not spend a fortune on ones like these? By no means they look and feel probably great, but I'm simply not in their target market. However, from my young years I remember owning few Parker pens, few Pelikan and one or two Waterman. I remember enjoying ones with a 'buttery smooth' writing feeling most (don't really know how to describe it other way) and hating scraping pointy ones. I don't care about gold finish at all, but solid wood or not-cheap plastic would be great.
- godelski 9y agoLamy Safari [1] is generally considered a good "starter" pen. I love them and they aren't too expensive. It is big enough that it is hard to lose, so if you keep it for like a year or two+, it'll end up being cheaper than ballpoints. You might want to look at different nibs though, to find the right amount of fineness you want. [1] https://smile.amazon.com/Lamy-Safari-Fountain-Pen-Charcoal/dp/B0002T401Y https://smile.amazon.com/Lamy-Safari-Fountain-Pen-Charcoal/d...
- c5karl 9y agoI've been using disposable Pilot Varsity fountain pens. They're perfectly decent, medium nib pens that write smoothly. I've never had one leak or stain my fingers, and you don't have to mess with refills. I had given up on fountain pens, as I always had problems with them clogging or leaking or just not being able to find refills. The Varsity has me using fountain pens again. At about $2/per, there's no reason not to give them a try to see if you like them.
- godelski 9y agoPersonally I like refilling the pen. It is a lot cheaper and you get better inks.
- mcguire 9y agoYou can refill Varsities, although it's apparently a learned skill. Check YouTube. On the other hand, there's Platinum Preppys. I've been using one converted to an eyedropper much of the time for nearly a decade.
- huntie 9y agoI used to write with a fountain pen a lot, they're really nice to write with. Most of my writing now is math though, and I've found that fountain pens aren't the best for that. I really like the Sakura Pigma Micron pens though. I think that they're made for artists, but I've found them really nice as a general pen. I specifically get the 05.
- AhtiK 9y agoWhich angle can you still use to reliably write with an 05 Sakura Pigma Micron? I had one and had to hold it almost upright, otherwise started to skip and scratch. Copic Multiliner SP range didn't have this issue. Maybe I just had a defective/dried up Micron.
- huntie 9y agoI've never had issues with writing. I've doodled with one occasionally, and have run into issues then. Checking it now, it seems fine at a 45d angle. It does require more pressure at smaller angles, but my normal writing pressure feels fine. I normally write at a 70d angle for reference. I didn't know Copic made pens. I've heard really good things about their markers so I'll have to try one out.
- Moru 9y agoI believe kids in Germany are still learning to write with fountain-pens.
- nabla9 9y agoEverybody should learn to write using either fountain pen or at least good gel ink pen (like 3-5€ Pilot G-2 gel ink pen). Using standard ballpoint pen makes you hate handwriting. The idea of fountain pen is to put the pen down on the paper and move it around without the need to press the pen against the paper. Invention of ballpoint pen was move backwards in ergonomy and most people don't realize that this happened, they just hate writing in general.
- glormph 9y agoThank you, I had to scroll down to this comment to realize why people cared about fountain pens. I think I have without knowing it preferred pencils, and the use/availability ratio of pens in my home/workplace is so low that I have never thought of buying one.
- seszett 9y agoIn France as well, though less often than in the past. Most pupils stop using them later on once they are allowed to use roller pens, though.
- Moru 9y agoI stopped with pencils as soon as I learned to type on a mechanical typewriter in school. Well, as much as I was allowed to, teachers were much happier when they were able to read whar I wrote :)
- pluma 9y agoGerman here. The second we were allowed to use ballpoint pens, I stopped using fountain pens. The same goes for writing in cursive. As a result my cursive looks like a fourth-grader's.
- vr46 9y agoPilot Capless: The greatest fountain pen ever
- bulkan 9y agoSailor 1911 standard: greatest fountain pen ever.
- mcguire 9y agoParker Vacuumatic: greatest fountain pen ever.
- zimpenfish 9y agoNot just because it's a great fountain pen but also the sheer engineering gall of its construction.
- Clubber 9y agoI have a Montblonc fountain pen that was my father's and made in West Germany :). It's neat to write with, but extremely messy (I'm a lefty). I wrote a few sentences with it about 20 years ago and haven't used it since. Honestly, I'd like to try a feather and inkwell just to see how people wrote way back when, but haven't ever gotten around to it.
- killjoywashere 9y agoIn other news, it's been shown that in a world rising income inequality, selling bespoke goods to the rich is still a viable way to make a profit. Helps to include a lot of words explaining the provenance of the bits and pieces.
- numanumakid2017 9y agoI dont write anymore. I type almost everything. Today i cant write my rent check without feeling fatigue in my hands.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- vikiomega9 9y agoI'm surprised there's no mention of Hero fountain pens. They were cheap and really good workhorses. I used them for a long until switching to gel ink pens when I started college.
- Animats 9y agoThat's an ad. Don't know how they got it into Bloomberg, but that's an ad.
- im3w1l 9y agoPg has a good explanation http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html
- parineum 9y agoI expect there are a lot of craftsmen anticipating the [anachronism] renaissance at this very moment. Most of them will be wrong and I guess we'll write about the ones who guessed right. I don't see how this company is an example of anything but survival bias. Hindsight makes them geniuses.