A Literary Crawl Through the World of Nakaya Fountain Pens

Posted on by Laura

Nakaya Decapod Shiro Tamenuri

A Tale of Three Nakayas.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the end of the summer. It was the beginning of fall. It was when I had the chance to use three Nakayas.

Nakaya Number One was a devastatingly attractive Decapod I got at DC, almost on a lark. It had only one issue: the nib. Yes, the nib was wonderful, but it was a very crisp oblique italic, so it was wonderful for someone who wasn’t me.

I sold it at San Francisco to an awesome person with artistic talent and great handwriting. It was meant for him. And I felt good about seeing it go to him. But I did love that pen. So I felt a twinge of … self-sacrifice, maybe? However, I knew that “It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before.”

Then Nakayas Number Two and Three arrived, bringing us to …

(click Page 2 below to continue)

Pages: 1 2

20 thoughts on “A Literary Crawl Through the World of Nakaya Fountain Pens”

  1. Great post! And you are so right, regardless of how beautiful they are (and those are), a glorious pen still has to perform. I have often looked at my writing with an expensive pen and saw it was trailing off into unintelligible signs, and in my hand, many have appeared to become perversely animated, and to go wrong and crooked, and to stop, and splash.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. You’re going to sell your pair of Shus and be left with no Nakayas? Horrors! How could we let our heroine suffer so?

    Bring them by my table at the Ohio Show. I’ll have 10 or 12 Nakayas there including a Decapod and a Decapod Twist on which you might like the nibs. Perhaps we could arrange a trade? That way you’re not actually using money to buy a Nakaya, right?

    Only trying to help!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you!

      And for the excellent Odyssey allusion! I wish I’d thought of that! Though obviously I was dashed on the rocks, never to see Ithaca’s shores. But there’s still time to save yourself. Remember Dante: “Abandon hope, ye who enter here.”

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Why didn’t you just change the nib on that Decapod? I thought most Nakayas had the same sized nib one could easily swap out? You surely would have found someone to change nibs with…

    Like

    1. No. Nakaya has gone through two nib, feed and section designs, and they are not interchangeable. So there’s no guarantee I could have swapped nibs. Not to mention the expense and time. So I chose not to pursue that.

      Like

      1. Thanks, didn’t know that. I’ll keep it in mind if I ever have the chance to get a Nakaya. But first I’d have to hold one in hand, which is (hopefully) not going to happen soon.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Love this, if only for the literary references. The Nakayas do nothing for me on screen and I hope I never meet one in real life that tries to change my mind. I’ve never really believed that other literary reference – ‘tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

    Liked by 3 people

  7. I love that Decapod. It is beautiful, but I understand about the fact that it’s no good having a beautiful pen that you don’t like writing with. You were still brave to let it go though…..

    Liked by 3 people

    1. It was just too crisp an italic for my horrible handwriting. The buyer, however, made it sing, and he is an amazing artist and great guy. It was meant for him, not me.

      But, yes: sob. 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

  8. An absolutely brilliant post – insightful, humorous, filled with all that buttery, literary ambiance. Almost makes me forget you bought that horrid orange pen. Zounds!

    Liked by 3 people

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.