review title:
Subject
It's a joy to write with - or would be if I could stop looking at it.
By: James Picht
Submitted: 10/12/2021
Overall
What is your opinion of the quality of this item?
This pen is beautifully crafted and lovely to behold. It glides effortlessly and smoothly across the paper, the maki-e is superb. There's almost nothing to not like about it. Except, of course, the price. A superb writing instrument could be had for less than a tenth the price - a Pilot E95S, for instance - but it wouldn't be quite this beautiful. Most of the price is for the work of art, not for the writing tool.
The Japanese medium nib supposedly writes like a European fine nib. I don't agree; it's finer than a European medium, but it isn't fine. If that matters to you, order the fine nib. I'm using Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai ink, a blue-black that I like very much. It dries quickly, and I've had no problem with smearing or bleed-through with standard notebook paper. This pen is larger than my other pens, but nicely balanced. The cap is lined and you can supposedly post it; I sure wouldn't, and it's big enough that you really don't need to.