I’ve been a bit incommunicado lately – some things have happened at work which have left me a bit pre-occupied and distracted which means I haven’t really been thinking about blogging etc. To make up for it, I’ve got a little treat today – the Nakaya Naka Ai in Kuro Tamenuri.

I bought this pen last year as a gift to myself for finishing my Masters degree up, which was quite a treat. I ordered this pen from Classic Fountain Pens (nibs.com) in the US. A little plug for Classic Fountain Pens – not that they need it from me, they offer a free nib adjustment to your taste upon purchase, free international shipping for pens over US$550 and for Nakayas, which typically have a long wait time, they don’t charge you until the pen is ready for shipping. I also like how transparent their stock levels for Nakayas are which helps if you are keen to purchase one without the long wait time. Just a note – their availability chart doesn’t get updated all that often so it may not always reflect the current stock levels.

To the pen – the Naka Ai model is an exclusive model to Classic Fountain Pens and is my favourite of the lot (with the exception of the Dorsal Fin 2). Compared with the long piccolo (from Aesthetic Bay), the cap is about 1/3^rd of the way through the pen, which means that the pen body itself is longer comparatively – which I love. It makes me feel like I’m writing with a wand. The Kuro Tamenuri finish is black over red, so hints of red show through in the edges. The finish is superb on this pen – the lacquer is smooth but the pen warms up a little when you are using it (due to the ebonite underneath), which means it provides traction and the pen isn’t slippery when using it. It means that, coupled with how light the pen itself is, the pen is very comfortable to use during long writing sessions.

I choose a standard broad nib for my Nakaya, which writes very well. This particular nib has a slight scratch in its horizontal strokes (going right), which is a little annoying but it only occurs on certain angles so its avoidable. Nakaya nibs come in a multitude of colours and sizes and you can pick and choose based on your preferences. Colours other than the standard gold will cost from $50 to $100 more, depending on the option, however all nibs sizes except the music nib have no additional charge.

Image from Engeika

The only thing that sort of lets down this fantastic pen is the converter. It uses the standard platinum converter, which if you have had any experience with it you will know, is a flimsy bit of plastic. The piston is quite stiff and needs regular greasing to keep it working well. The good thing about it is that you can completely disassemble it so when you do need to service it, its easy enough to do. From a cleaning point of view, Nakaya’s can be cleaned with the bulb in the Platinum fountain pen cleaner set, so you needn’t be frustrated with the rubbish platinum converter.

I love this pen. When I received my first Nakaya I wondered if I could just use Nakayas from then on – that’s how much I love it. The wait time can be a bit long even on the standard plain models, but I think its worth the wait.