Manu Propria - Clip

[Manupropria]

Since a while I was thinking about a practical anddifferent clip to be used on my urushi fountain pens.
Since my pens are rather large, regular clips cannot do.
This is a clip that is glued directly on the cap. The glue is urushi lacquer and a very strong adhesive also used for "Kintsugi" mending broken porcelain.
The clip is cast in Beryllium bronze. This special alloy can be hardened after finishing to a hardness of Vickers 140, almost as hard as steel.
In the same time it can be used as a clip and as a stoper.
It took a lot of experimenting to find the riht shape.
I wanted the clip to look like an origane (soritsuno, kaeritsuno are some of the alternative names) - a small hook that fastened onto the underside of the obi (sash) and kept the sword saya from moving around too much when drawn. They were not used universally - presumably to the owner's taste, and were more common on wakizashi than on longer swords.

Best regards,

Martin
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[manoeuver]

Whow!

[Crazyorange]

Oh man....your killing me. You make very beautiful pens. Already put on the Grail list.

[Lady Onogaro]

These are gorgeous pens, and you've done a great job of photographing them to show off their beauty.

[ethernautrix]

The clips look nice.

[elderberry]

I really like the pens and the photos but I find the clip to be somewhat too small. Also it's really pretty low on the cap so it might be impractical if you really wanted to clip the pen to your shirt pocket.
But what do I know, I really prefer clipless Urushi pens. ;-)

[Manupropria]

Hi Elderberry,
Thank you for your thoughts.
Actually the clip is no more than an option for those who insist on a clip.
The idea was to find a solution to be used on any style and size of pen. The first pen is 20 cm long, actually a desk pen and on this pen the clip is positioned to clip it on. I personally prefer clipless pens as well.

Cheers,

Martin

[da vinci]

Impractical it may be, but I have to say it looks good :)

[amk]

I have to say I don't like the putting of clips on your marvellous pens, nice though the clip is. It looks better on the second pen I think; it really spoils the simplicity of the first one. On the other hand the clip itself is very fine.

Have you considered the possibility of an accommodation clip? The only modern manufacturer to go that route is Kaweco with its little Sports. I don't know though if an accommodation clip would possibly scratch or mar the urushi finish.

[tandaina]

I definitely prefer your pens without a clip as well, I think your built up roll stoppers are much more balanced and fit the pens better, but that's just personal taste.

[Manupropria]

Thank you very much

amk, I fully agree. I like my pens better without clip but it is an option. The clip can also be decorated, set with diamonds or engraved, just for those that would like. Accomodation clip is not so good for urushi lacquer surface, except it is matching perfectly.

Tandaina, thank you I also prefer the roll stopper but to make the little snails takes almost as much time as the pen itself.
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[amk]

Oh, I *love* the snail.

Why do people want clips anyway? Urushi is far too good to be allowed anywhere except my desk! :-)

[Manupropria]

Maybe some thought about how strong and robust urushi is.
Urushi has been used for centuries on all kind of things to protect and to decorate the surface. Urushi has been widely used on armors and weapons that were used in battles. Urushi was and is burned into the surface of iron water kettles and other iron objects. Urushi was applied on saddles and stirrups, arrow and bows. Very commonly on table ware for daily use. In China urushi was appllied on ship hulls to prevent of snails and shells grow on and applied to the walls of water reservoirs to keep them clean. 7000 year old urushi objects have been found still in perfect condition.
Urushi definitely des not like sun light but we don't talk about damage when an urushi pen lies in the sun for a day once a while