on saleNamiki Nippon Art Maki-e Fountain Pen - Golden Pheasant

Smooth and consistent writer

This beautiful pen is slightly smaller in length and girth than I expected it would be, and the pheasants are well rendered, though they didn't stand out as well as I expected them to. The nib is the absolute highlight of the pen: Handsomely detailed in the Pilot/Namiki tradition, with the same smooth nib one expects and with a generous ink flow. The pen is pleasing to hold and write with. I do not post my pens, especially those that are coated with urushi, of which I own several.

I ordered from another retailer as it was out of stock on this site, but I figured I'd write a review here for people looking at Namiki's products on Gouletpens. -It's a resin pen, so you might want to try a microfiber cloth if you buy this item so that you can clean any smudges on the body. It doesn't come with one.-This pen is meant to be used; there is a bottle of Namiki black that comes with this pen, and it is a very rich and wet black (it shades similarly to Noodler's black). You can ink up this pen right out of the box. Take care to properly flush the pen AND the converter if you wish to switch inks (syringes help!) as you might inadvertently cause the pen to skip or write dry.-The nib is gorgeous, stamped to resemble Mt. Fuji's snowcap. The filler hole is at a good spot as well, so you don't need to submerge much of the nib to fill the pen. This keeps ink off of the section, so you won't get as much on your fingers.-The threads are INCREDIBLY smooth, and the cap always threads into the same spot to better show off the design. I find that the section will occasionally come loose from the body, which isn't a big issue as it doesn't happen often and is fixed by simply hand-tightening it a little.-The con-70 converter has a massive capacity and is very easy to use once you figure it out. You might need a syringe and some pen flush to effectively clean it out, though.-I got a Medium nib on my pen. It is very smooth and wet, especially when inked up with the included Namiki Black.

The pen is a miniature work of art, with an incredible amount of detail in the design on a very small scale. The pen has more weight to it than you would expect from its size. The nib is one of the smoothest I've used - even better than the Visconti Dreamtouch. It's a joy to write with and has quickly become my favorite pen.

This pen is a beauty. I like the design over the other Nippon Art pens because the wings of the two birds allow for a dynamic quality and a 360 degree presence that allows for a satisfying symmetry - at least to my eye. The heart-shaped leaves seemed to be too much in pictures, but in person they create a nice effect being so evenly spread across the negative space of the black background. The nib is a dream to write with - very buttery. The pen overall doesn't seem to dance across the page in the way some of my other pens do. My Pelikan 800 for instance often writes on its own and I need to keep up with it, like Mickey in Fantasia. I thought maybe this is because the Namiki is a bit too short or light. But comparing the two the Namiki is actually slightly longer un-posted (I would never post a lacquer pen). But the Pelikan is slightly, maybe?, heavier (again, un-posted). The girth of the two is the big difference. The Namiki is not as wide as the Pelikan by a good margin. Maybe the super smooth nib needs a bigger grip to better control my movements? Who knows? I've only been writing with it for 3 or 4 days. Again the nib is wonderful and with some adjustment I hope to grow into the Namiki.A note: I have small hands so the issue of width seems odd. Maybe I simply need to become acquainted with the pen's personality. Then again maybe I just discovered a preference for larger grip-sections. The Con-70 is super easy (and fun) to use with a large capacity. I know some say the box is cheap. To that I say, "whaaaaa?!". The box is made of a light wood, but who can blame them? It is something they would have had to put extra effort into doing and I love it. The wooden box is inside a nicely designed cardboard box with a front that drops don't to make accessing the inner box easier. The presentation of the pen when opening for the first time is a joy.Overall: 9/10 - someday I want a Namiki Emperor or Yukari!!