Urushi lacquer finishes lend fountain pens unparalleled beauty and depth. No wonder that this ancient Japanese art has become so popular both among fountain pen enthusiasts and Western pen makers, especially in recent years. The numerous techniques offer almost unlimited possibilities for artistic expression. I’m delighted to see that contemporary urushi artists not only try to master the traditional methods but keep experimenting and innovating as well. I think we live in an age of urushi renaissance and I’m happy that I can be part of it.
Below are my urushi coated fountain pens made by artists Jan Lesy, Michał Kulka and Vivek Kulkarni.
The pens from left to right are:
- Penmeester.be Wet & Wise Sake Ishime Negoro-nuri with Bock #6 steel broad nib
- Penmeester.be Ranga Bamboo Heki-tamenuri with Bock #6 14k medium stub nib ground by Anabelle Hiller (a.k.a. Opus Cineris) and a golden ginkgo roll stop also by Anabelle
- Penmeester.be Osprey Milano Ao-tamenuri with Osprey steel fine nib
- Tamenuri Studio Kind of Blue – Blue in Green with Santini 18k white gold fine nib
- Tamenuri Studio Blue Waves with both a Jowo #6 steel broad and a Bock #6 steel fine nib unit + section
- Urushi Studio India Shamshir Metallic Blue with Jowo #6 steel fine nib
I’ve been asked which one was my favourite. I really can’t say. I like them all.
I like the Ishime Negoro-nuri for its looks and that it’s not like a typical ishime.
The Bamboo was a long project and it reminds me of the lovely people who collaborated on it, looks great, shape is great, nib is great.
I like the colours and also the base pen of the Ao-tamenuri.
I have a soft spot for the Blue in Green because of the reference to my favourite jazz musician, the subtle beauty and also the never ending story of trying to fit a Santini nib into a bock housing just right 😄
The Blue Waves is a total eye candy and has a nice tactile feel (It’s not a 100% mirror polish because it would have affected how the complex layers come through).
The Metallic Blue is very elegant, I like the form and most of all I just adore those colours.