With its basket mesh pattern delicately woven on top of ebonite, Nakaya's Kago-amime (Basket Mesh) Araishu fountain pen provides a textural and visual writing experience. Bright orange-red peeks out from beneath the mesh overlay for a unique writing experience.
Employing ancient basket weaving techniques and fusing them with modern shapes and colors, Nakaya has produced an innovative model to add to its line of writing instruments.
In 1924 Platinum, Nakaya's parent company, produced a pen called the "Tou-amime" which was made of rattan tubes woven in a basket pattern over the cap and body. Nakaya's Kago-amime Araishu fountain pen replicates this look but uses black shaved bamboo instead of rattan to produce the intricate mesh weave. This is laid on top of ebonite which is painted with a burnt orange Araishu Urushi lacquer. Even with its innovative look, the Kago-amime pen remains true to Nakaya's tendency to favor materials found in nature.
This is a fairly lightweight mid-size pen that will be a comfortable fit for most users. It most closely resembles the Piccolo model in terms of size and weight, although assumes a very different shape with its cylindrical cap and barrel, along with its flat cap ends.
The woven bamboo pattern on the finish has several names, commonly known as a hexagonal weave, triaxial weave, and basket weave. In order to form this pattern bamboo strips are crossed in horizontal, vertical, as well as diagonal directions -- the same method used to strengthen bamboo baskets. This is a time-intensive process that is completed by hand. Araishu lacquer peeks out from beneath the weaving, offering subtle pops of orange color much like a slip underneath a dress.
Black details on the cap bands and the flat cap ends complement the woven "corset". The top cap end is almost oversized in nature while the bottom one is narrower than the pen body, creating harmony between the diameter of the gripping section and the pen's tail. This is a well-balanced fountain pen.
Nakaya pens ship in a solid softwood shipping box decorated with Japanese Kanji script and lined with decorative rice paper. A fabric pen "kimono" and starter box of Platinum brand cartridges are also included, making this pen a lovely presentation item. Sensible and elegant packaging has long been a hallmark of the Nakaya brand.
Nakaya pens are individually handcrafted in a process that requires a minimum of three to six months and often much longer.
Sensible and elegant packaging have been a hallmark of Nakaya. All Nakaya pens come packaged in handcrafted finery, as painstakingly constructed as the pens they protect. The heavy decorative rice paper, simple solid softwood shipping box and fabric pouch make a lovely presentation for Nakaya Urushi pens.
Unless requested otherwise, each pen or nib you purchase from us will be carefully examined, tested, and optimized for your personal writing characteristics before it ships.
