Attainable Urushi - Pilot's Urushi Lacquer Pens Under $1,000

I'm very excited to be writing this article, because it's about something I especially love. When I first learned about Urushi lacquer pens, they were something I never thought I would actually own, but I got my first one, a Pilot Ishime, this past September. It was a pen I'd been admiring for several years, and I will never forget how thrilled I was to remove the cover of the softly textured outer box, lift the lid of the traditional Japanese paulownia wood presentation box inside, and reach out to touch my extremely special new pen. Although the Ishime isn't inexpensive, it's not in the same elevated price range as most Urushi lacquer pens, such as the incredible Namiki maki-e and chinkin pieces I wrote about in my article in November.  Ishime, along with the Pilot Custom 845, the Namiki Nippon Art collection, and the Pilot Vanishing Point Raden, are in a category I would call "attainable."  Yes, I would need to budget for them, but they are all under $1,000. If you have never owned an Urushi lacquer pen, and have wondered about them and why they are so revered, this article is for you. 

What is Urushi, and Why is it Special?

Urushi lacquer (漆) is an extremely durable and lustrous material made from the sap of the Urushi tree (Rhus vernacifera), a deciduous tree found only in Asia.  This natural varnish was discovered about 5,000 years ago in ancient Asia and introduced into China on lacquerware in the Han Era (BC 206-AD 220), then introduced into Japan during the Asuka Era (1,300 years ago).

In Japan, the raw sap originally had a practical use as a hard protective coating, but Japanese artists created their own style and perfected the art of decorated lacquerware during the 8th century, developing elaborate techniques that have been handed down as traditional crafts and continue to be used today to make a wide variety of beautiful (and often functional) art objects, including Namiki fountain pens, which are the highest regarded traditional Japanese fountain pens in the world.

[Pictured:  Namiki Nippon Art Chinese Phoenix, $800.]

Namiki is named for Ryosuke Namiki, the founder of Pilot Corporation.  The company was originally formed as Namiki Co., Ltd. in 1918, and its most prestigious writing instruments are still branded Namiki in his honor. All Namiki pens are made with Urushi lacquer, as are many of the most exceptional pens that are branded Pilot, such as the Anniversary Collection, Custom Urushi, Custom 845, Vanishing Point Raden, and Ishime.

Pilot's Urushi lacquer pens and artisans were put in peril by several recent natural disasters.  On January 1, 2024 a major earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula, and triggered a fire in the town of Wajima, which is famous for its lacquer artistry. The same area was overtaken by massive flooding this summer, on par with the flooding that the Asheville, NC area of the US recently experienced. None of Pilot's artisans were killed in these horrible events, but many buildings were destroyed, and artisans lost their homes and workshops full of specialized tools.  A huge number of Urushi trees were destroyed as well, and there is now a shortage of Urushi.  Pilot only uses Japanese Urushi, and won't compromise by sourcing it from other areas, so this makes the Urushi pens we are still able to receive even more precious.

Pilot has a good reason for insisting on Japanese Urushi.  The sap is highly affected by environmental factors, and sap collected from one location is very different from sap collected at another.  The sap may vary in color, or contain more or less urushiol, the oily mixture of organic compounds that oxidize and polymerize in the presence of moisture and allow it to form into a hard lacquer.

To extract Urushi sap, the harvester makes shallow cuts into a 10-15 year old tree's bark, which triggers the greyish yellow sap to flow to fill the cuts.  These droplets of sap are carefully scraped with a sickle from the bark and collected in a bucket.  This is no maple syrup sap! The urushiol in liquid Urushi sap is poisonous to the touch, and even breathing the fumes can be hazardous. Urushiol is the same oil that causes a rash if you touch poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, and Urushi sap is around 65-80% urushiol. But, Japanese Urushi harvesters have refined the technique over many millennia, so they know what they are doing, and, fortunately for us, the Urushiol is usually only an irritant in its liquid form.  Once the finished Urushi lacquer has hardened, allergic reactions are rare.

As described by Pilot in the leaflet they include with their Urushi lacquer pens, this incredible substance was prized for its strength even before its use as a varnish was discovered.  "The flint arrowheads found all over Japan dating back to the Stone Age were mounted on bamboo poles by wedging them into a crack formed at the end of the shaft and then binding the joint with the bark of the wisteria vine, and the stone head was fixed in place with Urushi lacquer.  However, only the part of the shaft that had been impregnated with Urushi lacquer remains today," an amazing testament to the longevity of this material.

Urushi collection is done in a number of batches between June and October, and each harvest has its own special name and purpose. Only about 200 grams of sap can be collected from each tree.  After collection, the sap is filtered and allowed to sit so that the water content can gradually evaporate, giving the substance greater viscosity. This can take as long as two or three years when done naturally. The aged Urushi is refined, and pigments can be added to create colored Urushi.  The mixture is strained through washi paper to remove impurities.  Each stage in the process takes time, as the Urushi is allowed to blend and continue to evaporate.  When it is ready to use, the Urushi is applied to an object (such as the ebonite or brass barrel of a pen) in thin layers to varnish it.  After a pen or other object is lacquered, the Urushi needs to cure in a humid chamber for 12 to 24 hours to allow the urushiol to polymerize and form an extremely durable, clear, glossy, waterproof, and beautiful substance that can last for centuries as long as it can keep absorbing moisture from the air.

The hand-applied Urushi lacquer finish withstands corrosion from water, acids, alcohol, and temperature changes, and has a totally different feel in your hand than a resin or metal pen does.  It looks shinier, more expensive, and nicer than acrylic.  The colors look deeper and richer, and you will notice that the material looks and feels more "real," if that makes sense.  It warms to your touch and has a depth of color that can't be replicated.

[Pictured:  Pilot Ishime in burgundy, featuring the kawari-nuri maki-e technique to create variation in texture. This $800 pen is made from Urushi lacquer over brass.]

Pilot developed the use of Urushi lacquer in fountain pens in order to create durable and beautiful pens that didn't turn brown and lose their luster over time the way ebonite pens from the early twentieth century did.  This technology was known as "Lacquer Naito," and was patented in Japan and the USA.  Our Pilot rep, Bill Pearcy, told me that Urushi "likes for you to hold it" because it absorbs the oils from your skin, and they actually keep it nice and moist, like a cigar that you keep in a humidor to keep it from drying out.  Many Urushi lacquer pens, especially the exquisite maki-e and chinkin ones, are so beautiful that they may seem more like art objects than pens that you'd actually use to write with, but Bill says, Urushi "really likes to be used!"

Since this article is all about Urushi pens under $1,000, you shouldn't hesitate to use them. That's what they were made for, and they will bring you years of writing pleasure!

Custom 845

Pilot Custom 845 retails for $950, and it's the most expensive pen I'll talk about in this article. It features the same #15 size nib as the Custom 823 and Custom 743, but the nib is a gorgeous two-tone 18K, rather than 14K, and the pen is much more expensive because the ebonite core and Urushi lacquer finish are far more precious than resin.

This pen is the little brother of the spectacular Custom Urushi, Pilot's flagship.  The Custom Urushi is a very large 6.1" $1,600 pen that comes with an equally large #30 nib, but, at 5.75" long, Custom 845 is by no means small.  Its nib is impressive in its own right, and, other than its body size and nib size, this pen is exactly like the Custom Urushi. 

I had the opportunity to borrow our Pilot rep Bill Pearcy's Custom 845 for three days while I was at the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show this past weekend, and it was hard to give it back to him on Sunday.  I loved using Bill's pen, and would love to own one myself.  This pen may be a little too large for you if you have small hands, but to me, it's the perfect size, and, when I use one, I write with the cap set to the side rather than posted.  So does Bill.  If you have a large hand, it can be securely posted, and the balance is perfect either way.  

I used Bill's pen as if it were my own, and carried it in my pen case while I was at the show.  At the "Pen Shows After Dark:  Vintage Edition" gathering I attended on Friday night, I pulled out the Custom 845 to scribble with while listening to the speakers as they shared why they love collecting and using vintage writing instruments.  I admit, I was a little antsy to try the vintage pens rather than just hear about them, so having the Custom 845 in my hand satisfied my desire for the relaxing pleasure of writing with an amazingly smooth nib after a long, exhilarating, adrenaline-filled day.  I let my friend Kim try the pen as well, and she whispered to me in amazement, "Yours?!"  I wrote, "It's Bill's pen.  Pilot Custom 845 (urushi)," and felt a little like I was back in school passing notes during class.

As my mind wandered slightly away from the very knowledgeable but somewhat long-winded vintage pen experts, I wrote on the note paper provided at our table, "Perfect nib!  I love the weight and size in my hand.  The nib is beautiful.  It needs such a light touch."  This was something I noticed again and again as I used the pen over the course of the weekend.  Later, I wrote with it at an impromptu gathering of friends after hours on Saturday night, marveling over how different it felt compared to the similar-sized Pelikan Toledo M910 I had just filled.  The Toledo is much heavier, with its silver damascened decorative sleeve, and, while both pens have incredible nibs and feel amazing in different ways, the ebonite and Urushi Custom 845 seemed to float over the page, writing almost as if by magic. I love the sensation.  This pen feels effortless to me, and it wrote perfectly with every stroke, no matter how quickly I jotted down notes or how carelessly I held it. I could imagine writing with it for hours and never getting tired.

I think part of the reason the pen feels so amazing is the Urushi lacquer.  It seemed to disappear in my hand and almost become part of me as it warmed to the temperature of my skin.  The finishing technique that is used on Pilot's Custom 845 and Custom Urushi is the same one used on Namiki's highly revered Urushi Collection, which you can read more about in my Namiki article.

I asked Pilot for more information about the process used to create this beautiful lustrous finish, and was fascinated by the answer, "After undergoing multiple lacquering processes, the final finishing technique determines the appearance of the completed piece. There are various finishing methods, but one of the most common techniques used for the glossy lacquerware we often see is called 'Nuritate' (塗立). In this method, the topcoat artisan applies lacquer and allows it to dry, completing the piece. This technique alone creates a beautifully lustrous finish and requires a high level of skill. However, for an even more refined result, an additional step can be taken to achieve a mirror-like smoothness and deep gloss—this technique is called 'Roiro' (蝋色)." I am grateful to Aiki Takatoo for this detailed description! The beauty achieved by this technique must be seen in person to truly be appreciated, but I think you can get an idea of how special it is if you look at the photos I took of the Custom 845 pens outside under natural light.

I adore both the black and vermillion versions of this pen.  The black one is an absolute classic, elegant and perfect.  I love black pens, as evidenced by my recent lighthearted induction into the Black Pen Society at the Baltimore Pen Show. There's just something about the crispness and elegance of black. Black tie, black cars, black and white film, black leather... all have a je ne sais quoi that appeals to my sense of style. I own and appreciate many solid black pens.  However, I have to admit, it's the vermillion Custom 845 that I really yearn for.  The rich, deep red color is just stunning, and this pen is at the very top of my wishlist right now.

The Custom 845 is available with a Fine, Medium, Broad, or Double Broad nib, and I got to try all four at Pilot's table with Iroshizuku Rikka ink at the Baltimore Pen Show.  They are all wonderful!

First I just wrote samples to compare the four, then recorded my feelings while using the nibs.

The new Double Broad nib, just released in January, was especially fun to play with, and blew me away.  I'm not usually a Double Broad kind of person, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  Although it's not dramatically broader than the Broad nib, I definitely noticed the difference in look and feel. 

I actually loved every single one of the Custom 845's nibs.  At first, I thought my favorite was the Medium because it was so expressive, but, after using Bill's Fine nib pen throughout the show, I think I'd choose a Fine if I bought one for myself, just because I tend to gravitate toward the precision of a Fine.  Choosing a nib is definitely a matter of personal preference, though, so think about what nib size you tend to love most in other pens before selecting a Custom 845 nib.  

One of my favorite online customers, Jim, whom I've helped guide in his fountain pen journey, recently bought a Custom 845 at my suggestion.  Jim was kind enough to write to tell me how much he loves his pen.  When I told him I was working on an article about the Custom 845, he provided me with a wonderful review! I asked if I could share it, and he graciously said yes, so here is Jim's letter verbatim:

Here’s how I got into pens... and my Pilot Custom 845 Urushi mini review. 

Last October, when immobilized and on the couch after knee surgery, I started bored-scrolling my iPad.  Next thing I knew, I had fallen deep into the fountain pen rabbit hole.  Though I had never used a fountain pen before, I was attracted to both their beauty and mechanics of inking and operation. A great combination, form and function.  And while not the cheapest hobby to stumble into, better than in ’23 when laid out on the same couch by Covid and I ended up with a boat.  When possible, I like to have a single source for purchasing items as I get to know the purveyor and they get to know me.  Thus, my emails to you asking for guidance and direction.  Thank you for your patience, it’s appreciated and valued.

When I told my wife about my new hobby, her response was, “Fountain pens, you?!”  I understand her incredulity.  When I addressed our Christmas Cards one year, a friend asked if we’d hired a local first grader to do the envelopes.  My handwriting is not the best and, honestly, has been deteriorating in recent years due to a lack of exercise.  That said, my scrawl has not dimmed the enjoyment I receive from using my pens.  I now try to write more than I type and the intentionality a fountain pen engenders has actually started to improve my script’s legibility.  That said, I am still typing this note to you for clarity!  There are limits after all.

Since I live in Marin County, which is connected to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge, and am a loyal Pen Boutique customer, I can never use a pen before purchase.  Feedback?  Medium fine nib?  I guess I’ll find out if I like it when the pen arrives.  That’s where having a purveyor who knows me comes in handy.  My latest purchase, the Pilot Custom 845 Urushi, which was encouraged by you, was a home run purchase.  I love it.

Anyone can write with fountain pens.  I’ve proven that.  Yet, there is still an art/skill to moving the pen across paper that enhances the experience and the result.  I am at a development stage where a wetter, smoother writing instrument helps compensate for my lack of technique.  I do not have the game for the Sailor Pro Gear with the m/f nib I purchased.  The Pro Gear feedback brings my writing to a halt mid-word as my angle of attack is, apparently, inconsistent with what the pen demands.  Periodically I’ll uncap it and give it another (unsuccessful) go, hoping my recent practice will finally allow me to enjoy, rather than be thwarted by, the feedback. The Pro Gear has become a litmus test for assessing my penmanship skills that I have yet to pass. And here’s the mini review....

No such problem with the Pilot Custom 845.  Purchased with a medium nib and loaded with Pelikan ink, it writes like Bud-dah!  The nib glides across the page like an Olympic figure skater after the Zamboni smooths the ice.  I always write with my pens posted and the 845 is perfectly balanced for this.  And I have yet to lose the posted cap, a double bonus. Because I never try a pen before purchase, what initially attracted me was 845’s design.  It is as elegant as it is beautifully spare.  The vermillion lacquer is gorgeous, deep and satisfying in hand.  That it is actually sourced from trees is one of those “is-it-really-true-and-if-so-how-cool-is-that” elements to the pen’s design. There is a cultural honesty to the lacquer that I love.  It’s not a gimmick designed to sell pens, but a technique honed over centuries. And the simple gold and black banding sets-off and enhances the deep luster of the vermillion. The engraved script on the banding and clip, it tells you what you need to know--it’s a Pilot 845 Custom Urushi made in Japan--and no more.  Just like the pen’s design, a bit spare but perfectly so.  This is a pen whose aesthetics and performance are in perfect balance. I love this pen and it loves me.

Be well and thanks as always for your guidance!

Thank you, Jim!  I'm sure you'll have many more years enjoying your beautiful Pilot Custom 845!  Maybe you'll get to love that Sailor Pro Gear, too, or maybe not.  As always, a fountain pen is very much a matter of personal preference, but Jim's love for the Custom 845 is pretty clear.

Let's jump from the Pilot Custom 845 to something very different:  the Namiki Nippon Art Collection, a charming and wide-ranging line with the same smaller dimensions as Namiki's Yukari size (5.6" long).  Nippon Art fountain pens are $800, and rollerballs are $630.  This collection features classic Japanese subjects depicted against black Urushi lacquered backgrounds, using the most simple maki-e technique, Hira Maki-e (Flat Maki-e), which dates back to the end of the 12th century.

To create Hira Maki-e, the decorative pattern is drawn onto the dark rich Urushi coating, which has been layered over the pen's brass core, and then gold dust and other metallic powders are sprinkled onto the surface while it is still wet. Another Urushi coating is applied to secure the powders, and then the surface is rubbed with lacquer-soaked cotton until it is polished and flat.  This collection is signed with the Namiki maki-e artisan group name "Kokkokai."

Although the pens are less expensive than all the other Namiki pens (the next one up is $1,500!), and are the only Namiki pens with 14K gold nibs rather than 18K gold, they are still exquisitely hand-finished maki-e, and I love the minimalist style. I showed a new customer, Joe, these pens in the store today, and they blew him away.  He had come in to look at a much more expensive undecorated Urushi lacquer pen, but seeing the maki-e details on the Nippon Art pens in person made him fall in love with the collection.  He kept commenting about how incredible the artistry is, especially after I pointed out that you can feel the texture of the artwork, hand painted by Namiki's elite Kokkokai masters. He also marveled over the richness of the colors in these pens, and remarked over how much more impressive they are in person than in stock photos.  Joe came very close to buying a Golden Pheasant, although he ultimately decided on a larger pen to fit his hands.  I love the size of these pens, but they are smaller, and Joe was looking for something the size of a Namiki Yukari Royale, Pilot Custom Urushi or Sailor King of Pens.

Joe was especially tempted to buy a Nippon Art Collection pen after I told him that the whole line has been discontinued by Pilot Japan. When the Kokkokai artisans are needed to produce other designs, existing models are eliminated to make way for new ones, so the remaining pieces gradually sell out and are no longer available. In the case of Nippon Art, Pilot only has a few pens left.  Fortunately, we have recently been able to get ahold of a complete set of the remaining designs, and I am delighted to have them all in stock at the time this article is being released. 

The ones still available, in extremely limited quantities, are Chinese Phoenix, Dragon with Cumulus, Crane and Turtle, and Golden Pheasant.  Dragon with Cumulus and Golden Pheasant are available in both fountain pen and rollerball, but only fountain pens remain for the other two designs.  If you like any of the pens in the series, snag them now.  Sadly, they won't be around for much longer.

The Nippon Art fountain pens feature Pilot's #10 size nib, and are available in Fine or Medium, although some nib sizes are already sold out in each design.  This is the same nib used in the Pilot Custom Heritage 912, but features the Namiki logo and silhouette of Mt. Fuji. They come in Pilot's exclusive presentation boxes made from pale paulownia wood with a traditional Japanese look, and an outer protective box with a beautiful paper covering. And, like the other pens in this article, the fountain pens come with Pilot's large size CON-70 converter, which gives them an ink capacity rivaling that of many piston-fillers.

I had so much fun bringing all the Nippon Art pens home with me and photographing them next to my window.  The natural light brought out the exquisite beauty of the designs, and I noticed details I had never seen before!  I was amazed by the textures in the hand-painted maki-e designs.  The raised clouds and water details on some of the pens are very subtle because they aren't depicted in a contrasting color, so seeing them come alive in the sunlight was a delight!  I also love lightly running my fingers over the surface of the pens and feeling these features.  The Nippon Art pens are truly a treat for someone like me who is attuned to delicate particulars. 

Each pen has details I adore, from the swirling ripples of water depicted on the Crane and Turtle pen (this duo represents good fortune and longevity), to the unusually cute green Japanese water dragon racing ahead of billowing clouds in stormy dark grey, gold, and white on Dragon with Cumulus. The dragon stands for good fortune and power, but the look on his face just makes me want to hug him!  Can you hug a dragon?

Here's how the fountain pens write!  The rollerballs come with black ink and a fine point and are as wonderfully smooth as you'd expect.

I made a video for Instagram of all the pens, and you can see many more details in that than in my still images. Enjoy!  

Ishime

As I mentioned in my introduction to this article, the Pilot Ishime was the first (and, so far, only) Urushi lacquer pen to join my personal collection.  I fell in love with it the very first time our Pilot rep, Bill, came to our store a few months after I started working at Pen Boutique, and described how the "stone path" pattern is hand-drawn into the cap and barrel while the lacquer is wet, creating a design resembling Japanese cobblestones. It's such a unique looking and feeling pen, and knowing that the harmonious but organic looking geometric pattern is drawn by an artisan's hand really impressed me and made the Ishime feel special.  I learned at a Pilot store event several years later from a favorite customer, David, that Ishi Mei literally translates as "stone eye."

Like the Nippon Art Collection, Ishime has been discontinued by Pilot Japan, so we will only have this pen while supplies last.  Fortunately, Pilot has more Ishime stock remaining than for the Nippon Art Collection!  We don't keep every color of Ishime at Pen Boutique at all times, but we can get them quickly from Pilot Corporation of America's headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, so don't hesitate to call or email our customer support team at 410-992-3272 or support@penboutique.com to order any of the colors or nib sizes, even if we show them as out of stock. The only Ishime variation that is completely sold out with Pilot is Black in Broad, but we have one in stock in our store at the time of my writing this article!

It baffles me that we don't sell more of this pen. It's so cool and unique, but I think a lot of people don't realize how special it is. It makes a big difference to experience Ishime in person, and see and touch the amazing texture. The feel of the surface reminds me of a cat's tongue, and is both stimulating and relaxing to touch. The three-dimensional design is also captivating to look at as it catches the light in different ways.  My favorite time in the day is when the late afternoon sun shines through my window and hits the Ishime on my desk, bringing out every highlight and shadow.

[Pictured:  my own burgundy Ishime and a Raden Stripes Vanishing Point on my desk.]

Ishime is 5.38", and has a nice weight to it and a very solid feel in your hand. Its underlying body is brass, and its unique texture is created using kanshitsu-fun, a fine powder made by grinding dried lacquer film using a mortar. The lacquer film is made by applying a thick layer of Urushi lacquer to a glass plate or similar surface and allowing it to dry, then peeling it off.

These Urushi granules are separated by size, and the fine kanshitsu-fun powder is sprinkled onto a layer of wet Urushi lacquer that has been applied to the body and cap of the pen in a thin, even layers, using a brush.  The Kanshitsu powder sticks to the wet lacquer.  As the powder is sprinkled onto the pen, the artisan taps the pen so that extra powder will fall off and the Kanshitsu will settle evenly onto the wet lacquer. When the pen is entirely covered in an even layer of the fine powder, the stone path pattern is hand drawn onto the cap and barrel using the Kawari-nuri—"unique painting"—technique while the lacquer is still wet. This is done by the same artisans who do the maki-e work.

Kawari-nuri describes the effect of creating variation and disturbance, and reflects the Japanese aesthetic value of wabi-sabi (侘び寂び), which focuses on the acceptance and appreciation of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete in nature.  I love this idea, and knowing it makes me value my Ishime pen even more strongly!  The eroded and uneven look and feel of the pen's surface has a soothing and mesmerizing organic quality, and I often find myself reaching for my Ishime when I want to calm my mind and focus my thoughts.  I like to have it with me when I know I will be dealing with challenges and need to keep a clear and level head. 

I was surprised at the show when I handled all the Ishime pens and realized there is variation in the texture from pen to pen!  The navy blue pen in the Pilot team's collection had a less rough texture than the others, and my own pen is a little rougher than some of the others. I asked Bill if it was because they had been handled a lot at pen shows, and he said, no--the Urushi is very strong, so it never gets worn away.  It's just part of the natural differences, and further illustrates that these pens are handmade.  I love that!

Although the texture of the Ishime is what makes it truly special, it's only half of the reason why I love mine so much.  From the moment I picked it up and wrote with it, the nib blew me away.  It just immediately felt perfect to me. I own many Pilots, but had never had an 18K #10 nib before, and I immediately noticed the subtle difference between this nib and the 14K gold on my other nibs.  Regular 14K gold Pilot nibs are incredibly smooth and always feel great, but this nib just feels more luxurious somehow.  It's only slightly softer, but that softness gives it a slight bounce and smoothness that instantly raised my Ishime's nib to favorite status and makes me reach for it again and again, just to experience the pleasure of using it.  Although it's an expensive pen, I carry it with me often and use it even for mundane tasks like notes and checklists when I'm in the store, elevating my everyday life. The nib barely even needs to touch the paper to write.

I also compared the Ishime nibs and the Custom 845 nibs.  Although the 845 nib is larger (#15 size vs. #10 size), the experience is very similar. The pens themselves feel quite different, of course, but the differences between the nibs were really too subtle for me to differentiate.  They are all amazing.

Don't tell my other pens, but my Ishime is my favorite pen.  I hate to choose favorites, and I have many others that are very, very special to me, are beautiful, and give me unique writing experiences, but... my Ishime is in a category of its own.

Vanishing Point Raden

There is one more Urushi lacquer Pilot/Namiki pen I wanted to include, but I'm not going to write as much about it, because, 1) this is already very long, and, 2) I've written an extensive article about the Pilot Vanishing Point already. Please check out that article if you'd like to learn more about these iconic pens.

The three pens in the breathtaking Vanishing Point Raden collection have the exact same profile as the other pens in the Standard Vanishing Point series, use the same 18K gold nibs, and even weigh the same. However, while they are functionally identical to regular Vanishing Points, their premium materials make them stand apart.

Using the Japanese raden technique, each pen is meticulously adorned with shimmering hand-carved slivers of nacre (also known as mother-of-pearl) that are peeled from the inside layer of an abalone shell. This resilient and iridescent material is an organic–inorganic composite produced by some molluscs, and is the same material that pearls are formed from. The slivers are embedded into Urushi lacquer, so the elevated durability and beauty of the finish transforms the Raden Vanishing Point into a work of art.

As the raden catches the light, the luminous mother-of-pearl pieces change colors when viewed from different angles, showing shiny flashes of violet, turquoise, sky blue, green, and fuchsia. It's impossible to capture the full glory of raden in a still image.

[Top to bottom: Water Surface, Stripes, and Galaxy.]