Namiki Nippon Art Review

[@anthonyvieni4894]

This is why I love this channel you’re not only a user of fountain pens and inks but an enthusiast as well which makes these reviews or in this case sharing a pen from your own personal collection even more fun to watch….

[@FigbootonPens]

Thanks for watching!

[@user-br3sl9go3b]

I feel the same way as you do, Anthony. I love his enthusiasm. I wait anxiously for every one of the reviews. I enjoy David so much. He's a real star in the fountain pen world in my eyes. He's bookmarked in my top three reviewers. He provides wonderful entertainment and valuable information. But his opinions are often enough not up my alley. That's the case regarding this pen: small nib; only normal, acceptable writing performance; small pen; cartridge converter; plastic feed; high price (haha, I wonder what the $200,000 Pilot pen he refers to looks like and who would have paid that much for it). Also, I can't imagine why anyone would put the grossly overpriced, run-of-the-mill Kenro Industries Esterbrook Esti pen in a tray comparing this Pilot Namiki and a Sailor 1911 and a Mont Blanc 146.

[@alanpareis734]

Thanks for taking the longer time to present this one. A gorgeous one and a maki-e I could afford....hmmm.

[@deborahbloom4624]

Yes, the Great Wave is also one of my favorite images. There is actually a silver coin of this image (some colored versions exist as well). I have the coin in my collection, which is as close as I will get to owning the image.

[@osirisgolad]

The #20 can be found in the Chinkin and Yukari Royale collections, as well as some specific pens in the Urushi collection, I believe. They're the same grip-to-tip length as the #15 nibs, but they are a bit less wide at the wings and the little tip portion of the nib is less long in relation to the body than in the #15 nibs. The feed used to be different too, though I believe some of the models now use the standard Pilot feed like the Nippon Art collection does.

[@thomascampanis]

I believe the cap has a felt liner to protect the artwork when posting the pen. I'm curious to see if you took a look in the cap if there is indeed a ring of felt around the interior of the cap's base.

[@neknim]

You should check out the Platinum Procyon Maki-e. The Plover on the Wave model seems to draw inspiration from The Great Wave Off Kanagawa as well.

[@cabritanascimento2706]

Thanks for the presentation. It's a beautiful pen, I'm going to buy one just like it. It is already the second time that your presentations have influenced me. I also bought a Benu dragon's blood.

[@lll19977]

Hello David! Was wondering if you could do a review of Organics Studio Nitrogen. Thanks in advance!

[@1952Obiwan]

I am guessing this pen would be identical in size to the Pilot Custom 74, unless I am mistaken, which also features a #5 nib.

[@icarusonice2350]

What an absolutely stunning pen!

[@jubilee285]

Hello David - I believe the reason why you didn't get any documentation is because the large box is not standard to your pen. The lower priced Namiki models, which is the majority, if not all of the Nippon Art series (including the brass #10 models), is meant to have a smaller wooden box, which doesn't include the ink bottle. It is only with the more expensive maki-e models like the chinkin with the #15 bicolor nibs that the larger box comes standard.

[@PenFriends]

That is correct in some regions, but in other countries the nippon art range does come with the larger box.

[@jubilee285]

@@PenFriends ah, I see.

[@freddupont3597]

The box is Paulownia which although soft, is a hardwood; softwood being wood from coniferous trees.

[@fernandochinarro4676]

Thank you from Spain 😊

[@ashutoshbhonsle9391]

Could you please share a picture of the pen put in the shirt pocket, I want to see if it fits in the pocket?

[@floundericiouswa5694]

14:29 is that a falcon vermillion?

[@FigbootonPens]

Yah...during editing I realized I neglected to identify that pen. It's a Stella 90S...or as it was sold in the US, the Stargazer. It is no longer in production, but I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on one.

[@scarletcloack4853]

What a beautiful pen, I found it funny when you said that you were surprised at the size of the pen, and as someone with big hands (with my ring size being 10/11) I can say that to me pens are almost always smaller that I imagined, and as I have a heavy hand it's harder to have long writing sessions when my hand cramps from holding on to the teeny pen.

[@PenFriends]

The nipon art range should come with documentation. Try reaching out to cult pens :)

[@e.michaelkessler6921]

Random observation from a Japanophile: In addition to picking up on themes in "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa," the red depiction of Mount Fugi seems to be from "Aka Fugi."

[@e.michaelkessler6921]

... and the birds seem to be from "The Ideal Wave," another of the 36 views of Fugi series.

[@gio87vr]

The great wave of Kanagawa is from Hokusai, not Housaki...

[@uqox]

I practice calligraphy and often when I see a pen from Namiki's Urushi collection I fantasize about them releasing one of these pens in a 1mm 18K stub nib, so that I can produce art with art. Every time I see one of these pens carefully demoed I have a feeling of reverence for the artisans that create these pens. I have never felt as if the price tag is unreasonable because of the time and craftsmanship that goes into creating these pieces of art that can be used daily if you wish. Although I don't see myself having a budget to afford this pen, I still appreciate the detailed review.

[@cate7777]

Maybe someday I will have such an artful pen to make my own art with... Using either words or to sketch with. 🤔

[@mojavejoe190]

That pen is so amazing that holding it would probably make my hand shake.

[@rroymorenoo]

Hokusai happens to be my favorite artist and that pen looks more like “the big wave” by the same artist katsushika hokusai, which in my opinion is even better that the Great wave off Kanagawa (you see a peaceful green island and birds behind the stormy waves)

[@rroymorenoo]

Just google “ the big wave katsushika hokusai” and you’ll see what I mean.

[@RL-fe6dw]

Hello David, beautiful pen with a thorough review as always. Perhaps you should get the Yukari Royale for the next one as that one is using the #20 nib and has a similar girth to the 149. Anyways, the Nippon Art series are not using the #5 nib as you mentioned. They are using #10 nib as shown on the Namiki website. There are 4 Namiki nibs, #10 14k for the Nippon Art, #10 18k for the Yukari, #20 for the Yukari Royale, and #50 for the Emperor. While the Chinkin can be either #10 or #50.

[@FigbootonPens]

The Namiki site has this pen listed as using a #5. (www.pilot-namiki.com/en/collection/nippon-art/mt-fuji-and-wave/). Others in the series utilize a #10, though.

[@PenFriends]

@@FigbootonPens it is number 10 but equivalent to a number 5 in western terms.

[@FigbootonPens]

@@PenFriends I have a #10 in my collection. I compared the nibs, and this one is smaller. Other pens in this collection utilize a #10...but this one does not.

[@PenFriends]

@@FigbootonPens my apologies! I was lead to understand that they were number 10 on various shops!

[@RL-fe6dw]

@@FigbootonPens thanks for clarifying that up. I also just realized that you mentioned that yours is made from resin, while I thought all the Nippon Art pens are made from brass.

[@Carrot81]

Really beautiful pen.... I wish i can have the opportunity to own such a piece of (functional) art one day.

[@ghatzidakis]

Which has a better nib, this or Custom 845? I am currently between these two, and their retail price is almost the same in my country. Any thoughts?

[@FigbootonPens]

@@ghatzidakis They both provide an excellent writing experience...so you really can't go wrong with either.

[@CufflinksAndChuckles]

Very clever Japanese flag in the background!

[@suou7938]

the cube?

[@SeraphimKnight]

The thing with ukiyoe is that tons of reproductions of famous pieces get made over the years and for something as famous as The Great Wave Over Kanagawa it was redone many many times in the 150+ years since it was originally released. It wouldn't be surprising if Money got his hands on one of those copies since they're not very had to come across. The original copies are what's really sought after, though skilled carvers can make some really good reproductions.

[@andreaiacolina]

Beautiful pen.

[@peteazouz6072]

Beautiful pen, thank you for showing us it. I have a Nippon art of my own (the Dragon with Cumulus model - my daughter is obsessed with Dragons, so I hope to pass it down to her one day), they really are superb and very functional pens, but the maki-e hole is one to venture into with caution for sure. Pilot also has / had it's own line of maki-e pens, both the modern maki-e line which is screen printed I believe, and then they had others which were made by the kokokai artisan group, I have one which is the makie-e matsu model (not sure if they are still making them, as I haven't seen them listed for some time now), which offer a slightly lower price point around $300-400 or so, and are a similar size to the Nippon art series.

[@shinji6999]

Wow the Pen looks marvelous!!!! And man I love your videos, especially when you talk about the art and share with us how you got exposed to it. By the way I really loved the art work with the Terdis!!

[@basicdose.9872]

Love mount Fuji.

[@Snick3927]

Nippon line is $750 in most US retailers…(less from Japan on eBay)…

[@archivist17]

It's a beautiful pen, and I can easily understand why you were drawn to it.

[@ericmiller6828]

These pens are beautifully crafted wonders - but for me the wave and Tartarus wins the prize for “most likely for Eric to buy soon.”

[@NatiiixLP]

Doesn't purchasing a Japanese pen from a British retailer cause a brutal price inflation for the buyer? Usually, I see all Asian pens on American sites for about 70-85% of the price in Europe, so I'd imagine the double shipping and customs fees that have to be paid would be rather significant in this case. That's why I've always avoided buying anything from the US and having it imported into the EU. On the other hand, while the shipping is expensive and somewhat slow, buying directly from Japan is fairly hassle-free and free of customs fees, depending on where exactly you reside in the EU. Since GB isn't in the EU any more, even purchases from GB are now about as bad as from the US in terms of customs fees on products above 130 GBP, which isn't difficult to exceed with fountain pen purchases.

[@FigbootonPens]

No brutal price inflation on this specific model out of the UK. Free shipping to the US as well. No complaints.

[@ahmedabdulla3063]

Japanese test is amaizing

[@carlharrison9503]

Not First

[@KahsoonRalphHua23]

first! =)