Letting one of my Nakayas go...
The internet! It has made my pen collection larger and more diverse than it would ever have been without. In fact, without the internet I may never have encountered the kinds of pens I'm really into and not started accumulating any at all. You see things, you want to have them (happens to me all the time anyway), it's a curse as well as a blessing. A few days ago, however, someone posted a pen for sale which I've wanted for quite a long time - and wanted to trade for something I, incidentally, had and would not miss too much!
I like my Nakayas, but they will be here for a long time (or so I hope). I'll always be able to get a new one and there are others to play with. But getting one of those grail pens by trade, that opportunity wouldn't occur all the time.
Enough text - here's the pen which is getting a new home soon. The pictures are not of the usual quality because I only had access to a phone camera, but it should give an impression.
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| Nakaya Portable Writer tame-sukashi "Black Turtle" |
It's a Portable Writer with a tame-sukashi design which is called the "Black Turtle". I love tame-sukashi, the subtlety of it and how you still can perceive a shimmer when moving the pen in the hand. This was my first tame-sukashi pen (I have now two left) and has become my least favorite one, mainly because of the clip. It pains me to admit it but I haven't written with that one for at least a year.
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| Nakaya Portable Writer tame-sukashi "Black Turtle" |
The Montblanc Agatha Christie I'll be getting in return (plus something extra which I'll put to good use as well) is my first and probably only pen of that kind. It was issued years before I had an intense interest in fountain pens so of course I missed it and prices have skyrocketed since then. So I've watched it from afar... until lately.
Thank you, Internet! Offline, finding an opportunity like that would've been much more unlikely.
Agatha is currently inked with Iroshizuku yu-yake, her broad nib being a smooth and luscious writer. No pictures just yet because I'm redecorating my photo space this weekend - and not willing to ruin the experience with phone pictures again - but soon. (I also haven't forgotten about the pictures of the Pelikan Sunlight!)
Have you ever traded pens or something else? What was it? Are you still happy with it?
I've never traded a pen, but I'm happy that you snagged the LE! I'm not sure if I'd ever give up one pen for another...perhaps with a smaller pen that saw less usage! Or if someone brought an M90 to the table ;) Thanks for the fantastic photos!
ReplyDeletePen&Design
Pens, they come and go. Unless they have some kind of sentimental value I really don't think any pen is indispensable. Even grail pens. I'll probably miss them in the short term, but I'll move on, maybe one day I'll buy it back. Ha...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Agatha~~ :-)
I've never traded a pen as well. But looking for the possibilities, it is really to find decent fountain pen users. Also the nibs of the pens get used to their previous owners. Their way of writing is also shaping the pens. How is the pen that you bought? Is it good to write?
ReplyDeleteBtw great photos, gorgeous pens and lovely blog.
Thanks. :) Glad you are enjoying it!
DeleteAbout the nibs, well, I haven't bought (or traded) a whole lot of used pens yet but they've all been in great shape up to now and the nibs haven't been more troublesome than brand new ones. In fact when it comes to "shaping" a nib I think you'd rather need decades of writing (all day, every day) than months or years. Not only is nib tipping pretty hard stuff, also I haven't found it easy to bend a gold nib. Would you believe it if I told you that I tried to gently bend two slightly misaligned tines into shape with no success at all? The force I applied was considerably stronger than usual writing pressure and still didn't do anything. So, well, I think it's more the human adapting to the pen - or finding the right pen/ink/paper combo - than the other way around...?
Enough rambling! Yes, I like the Agatha. Within my (slim) "collection" of Montblancs I've had some annoying nibs, but when they're good they're like nothing else. This one is definitely one of the better ones. More details to come later. ;)