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A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

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Re: A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

#31

Post by Xophmeister »

tachion wrote: post #25

What 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 w…

Lamy make pretty nice fountain pens. I have a Lamy 2000 (my go to fountain pen) and a Lamy Dialog (I think; the one with the retractable nib, which is a neat trick).

Re: A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

#32

Post by coldtea »

winter_blue wrote: post #21
nabla9 wrote: post #19

Nakaya 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 collect…

> 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…

>We could have an incredibly fulfilling life while living frugally.

And we could also live frugally while appreciating things of beauty and craft like those pens. I know people who don't have a car (and aren't rich) but chose to spend $5000 on art, or such things.

>Writing books, making art, creating new software, doing research, etc.

Well, if you have the money -- even enough to live with--, what would be the need of this frenetic activity? Writing books, making art, doing research etc?

This seems vain too, in the "me, me, me, I should put my name out there, be known in the future, etc" sense. It's only that certain civilizations haven't been trained to recognize this as vein. What if you don't create anything? Who said people have to? Why not just enjoy life? Work if you have to, have fun with friends and family, have some nice food and drink, walk, etc.

Re: A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

#35

Post by AhtiK »

huntie wrote: post #30

I 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.

Which 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.

Re: A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

#37

Post by c5karl »

godelski wrote: post #26
tachion wrote: post #25

What 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 w…

Lamy 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/d...

I'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.

Re: A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

#39

Post by Emma_Goldman »

coldtea wrote: post #32
winter_blue wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> We could have an incredibly fulfilling life while living frugally. And we could also live frugally while appreciating things of beauty and craft like those pens. I know people who don't have a car (and aren't rich) but chose to spend $5000 on art, or such things. > Writing books, making art, creating new software, doing research, etc. Well, if you have the money -- even enough to live with--, what would be the need…

The point is that the desire to climb the status ladder by purchasing conspicuously expensive, useless commodities is generated by a pretty deformed set of social relations. It is a product of a very shallow capitalist culture, and has the effect of wasting productive capacity that could in the counter-factual be used to help people who need it.

It's also philosophy 101: self-realisation is who you are and not what you own. Go read Marcus Auerelius, Erich Fromm, etc.

Re: A Japanese Pen Maker Anticipated the Fountain-Pen Renaissance

#40

Post by arkitaip »

dizzystar wrote: post #12

Oh 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 to…

"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.

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