Namisu Nova Minimal Fountain Pen on Kickstarter

[RNHC]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...l-fountain-pen

Looks pretty nice. I am really tempted to order one. It ticks off a lot of boxes for me - clean design and metal. But then again, F nib is not offered and no clip.

Why is titanium pen so heavy? I thought it was a lighter, stronger alternative to steel. When I think titanium, I think light. Titanium version of this pen seems heavy. Same thing happened with Tactile Turn click pens. I was really interested in titanium version until I saw the weight.

[mtnbiker62]

I have the Nexus pen from their previous Kickstarter project. I got it in aluminum with the titanium nib, and I really like the pen. This one just isn't different enough from the Nexus to attract me, but if I didn't have the original, this one would definitely be of interest. As far as the weight issue of the pen, titanium is lighter than steel, but heavier than aluminum, and the two versions of the pen are aluminum and titanium. The problem with/advantage of titanium is the properties of the metal. I worked in the bicycle industry for a few years when titanium bikes were all the rage, and we faced the same issue. An equivalent amount of titanium will be lighter than steel, but it will also be more flexible. As a result, more titanium was needed to give a bike the same stiffness as a steel bike, thus (at least partially) nullifying the weight advantage. There are other properties of titanium that make it attractive (corrosion resistance, for instance, or resistance to grain changes due to flexing), but weight is not usually going to be the reason you would pick titanium.

[ChrisC]

Oh wow...looks like a metal Nakaya. Based on the price, I'm guessing the bodies and caps are machined in China or another developing country, but the nibs are Bock. Very clever. Metal pen is a metal pen, whether made in Germany or in China. The nib is where the difference can really be felt.

[RNHC]

Metal Nakaya is a great description. The price is not bad either. Another possible issue is that the pen looks cylindrical and may roll around. What does Nakaya do to prevent its clipless pens from rolling around and, for example, rolling off the desk?

[Jon Szanto]

Metal Nakaya is a great description. The price is not bad either. Another possible issue is that the pen looks cylindrical and may roll around. What does Nakaya do to prevent its clipless pens from rolling around and, for example, rolling off the desk?

May? MAY?

I've already predicted an influx of reddit posts with students crying about their bent and mashed nibs as these pens roll off the desk. As to the Nakayas, just do a search on "roll stopper" - many clipless brands of pen have options for a small decoration that serves to keep the pen from rolling on the desk. Very often it becomes a design element of it's own, and some makers allow you to specify, or even supply, some object to use in this manner. But a super-smooth, totally-rounded cylinder pen? Roll on...

[Oblique and Inky]

I don't really understand why this isn't called a Nakaya copy. It feels as if someone has traced around a picture of a Nakaya they've seen in a trendy magazine and made a shiny desk toy.

As for being "a small design studio situated near Edinburgh in the United Kingdom",Edinburgh is in Scotland. Though I suspect the people they want to buy this are the feart wee souls who soiled their breeks and voted naw. Buy a Jinhao, a Jowo nib unit and a decent convertor, and give the money saved to a foodbank.

[ChrisC]

I don't really see the problem with the similarity to Nakaya. Also, the statement about Edinburgh being in Scotland, and not in the UK, is a political point that does not belong in this thread and is irrelevant to the topic. We have a political forum in the "Lounge" section for such discussions.

[RNHC]

The Namisu Nova shape is a bit more tapered but it does look very similar to Nakaya Piccolo Titanium. If you are into watches, you know there is a literal deluge of Rolex Submariner "homages" or copies from multiple brands in the market. If you prefer, you can think of it as a poor man's Nakaya - same material and similar design for one-tenth the price.

How does the "roll stopper" work? Do you glue it onto the pen? I am not sure if I like the idea of a "charm" permanently fixed to my pen cap.

[mhosea]

I don't really understand why this isn't called a Nakaya copy.

The design is clearly a copy of Nakaya's. Sure. One can call it "inspiration" if one prefers. A rose by any other name... Bexley has their Imperial, Edison their Pearl. Pretty standard stuff. I'd spring for the titanium one with a titanium nib just for the novelty of it both pen and nib being titanium, but I currently don't like metal grip sections all that much for anything more than jotting a sentence or two, so I thought better of it.

[mhosea]

How does the "roll stopper" work?

The Nakaya roll stoppers appear to be affixed in the same manner as a clip.

http://www.nakaya.org/en/gallery.aspx?clip=Stopper

I love the Panda, BTW.

[Jon Szanto]

How does the "roll stopper" work? Do you glue it onto the pen? I am not sure if I like the idea of a "charm" permanently fixed to my pen cap.

They can all be different. I've known people to affix an object to a smooth pen with glue or adhesive. I believe the maker of Scriptorium pens (can't remember her name) offers a service that, if you send a piece of jewelry or other piece, she can permanently put it in place with pins and other ways. I've recently seen the 3D pen that I have come out in new versions; while mine has a clip of... unusual design, these other pens are very minimal and utilize one simple shape on the cap to keep the pen from rolling; ingenious that the three chosen shapes complement the three shapes of the pen body:



Anyway, there must be an infinite number of ways to have one element on a pen that keeps it from being a rolling object. I might not feel a need for such on a pen that would never leave my home desk, but I brought it up in light of the many students that may chase this design for use in class.

[Pendel]

Kudos to Namisu for responding to the demand. When Nakaya or Hakumin or Danitrio charge high prices for urushi pens which are very labor and skill intensive to produce, I get it (and I get the pens whenever I can find them used!). When Sailor and Namiki go well north of 1K for basic urushi colors on KOP and Yukari, I cringe and ignore these. Yet when Nakaya prices a machined titanium Piccolo at 1K, I say that it is an open invitation for companies like Namisu to show them up for price gauging. Especially so since Nakaya's nibs are equivalent to Platinum President nibs which can be had on moderately priced pens. My capitalist self does believe that Nakaya is free to price their pens any way they want, and if they can sell them at that price, then this is their market value. Namisu is a voice of the market, and while I do agree that the shape and the size of the pen is an amalgam of the Piccolo, Long Piccolo and Naka-ai, it is not exactly a copy of any one of these, and so "homage" to Nakaya is probably a good term to describe the Nova. I don't know if I can still pick one of these up at this late date, but I will certainly try. :-)

[dneal]

Although I recently had a "pen purge", I kept a couple of Nakayas (to include a Naka-Ai). When I saw this on Kickstarter, I pulled the trigger on a few of them. They're supposed to be here any day.

[writingrav]

My Namisu Nova arrived yesterday and I must say it far exceeded my expectations. I signed up for their kickstarter project way back in September more on a whim than with any though of getting a good pen. Surprise! It is a lovely looking pen (I got the aluminum) with a heck of a good broad nib, very smooth and appropriately juice. I am very glad I bought this pen.

[dneal]

I got mine as well. A titanium one with titanium EF nib, a black aluminum one with a M steel nib, and a silver aluminum with EF nib (for the wife).

The shape is of course similar to a Nakaya Piccolo or Naka-Ai. The Nova is a little longer than the Piccolo and a little shorter than the Naka-Ai. Very comfortable and well made, the titanium has a bit more heft than the aluminum models

Here are some quick snapshots

[sgtstretch]

The photos I've seen of them look pretty sharp. I kinda want one now.

[dam]

They seem quite nice and the price seems right. I almost want one as well. Homage or not, it looks well made. It's not like I can splurge on a Nakaya right now.

[top pen]

At £28 I'm tempted, just emailed them asking weather they would let me try one at there design studio (I'm in the same city) it will be interesting to see if I get a response.

[Pendel]

I just posted my review of the pen in the "Pen Reviews" section.

:-)

http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....anium-Titanium