#nakaya

The following is, according to @dduane,"Old man shakes fist at unpleasing-and-overpriced-pen-shaped cloud," so YMMV about any or all of it. :->

*****

As anyone who reads my blog will know, I'm interested in - among other things - history, movies, fantasy, cats and fountain pens, all of which get at least a mention in this post..

That's probably why, a couple of years back, a friend pointed me at a Montegrappa Limited Edition pen. Of course he may just have been curious to hear my reaction, and believe me, he certainly did. This post is the short version. :->

*****

The other day I saw it again, and was even more... Whatever the diametric opposite of "impressed" is, because mere "unimpressed" doesn't pack enough punch.

That Viking longship is both a display stand and a storage box, and I already knew the figure is the pen. Despite being described as "a perfect reproduction of a Norse soldier in miniature", historical Vikings didn't dress like that. There's plenty of evidence proving historical Vikings didn't dress like that. And yet...

IMO it's just ugly.

It's also $16,348 at current Rate of Exchange, so Expensive and ugly.

There's a gold version too, which on the website is "price by request", so I went looking elsewhere and here's what I found.

That converts to $224,959.82, so Way More Expensive.

And still ugly.

Some pages of the Montegrappa website are like a glimpse into the lifestyles of the Rich and Tasteless, showing a skewed talent for making expensive things look gaudy and cheap.

Maybe they're a gilty pleasure. (ouch)

Their sensible pens, however, are much more appealing and way less expensive (though most are still far from cheap). This is the Magnifica.

This is the Elmo 02 in "Croda Rossa".

And this is the Venetia in "Vintage Conifer".

I like them because they're shaped like what they're meant to be, as well as looking comfortable to hold and use. The Venetia is especially attractive. If King Thranduil of the Wood-Elves used a fountain pen, it would be one like that.

*****

Nakaya pens are also at the understated other end of the style-scale to exuberant, extravagant or execrable "Limited Edition" stuff, and here are three of my favourites.

"Cigar decapod twist" kuro-tamenuri (black top lacquer over red base lacquer)...

..."Cigar decapod twist" aka-tamenuri (solid dark red over red)...

...and "Cigar" tamesukashi neko (translucent dark red over red and maki-e gold cat)...

...which is a bit more elaborate, but no need to guess why I like it. :->

*****

They are a dream I have.

Because yeah, they're expensive too.

Nakaya Dorsal Fin ll ( Kuro-tamenuri model)