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Thread: Manu Propria Pens - Value of Unique the Piece

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    Default Manu Propria Pens - Value of Unique the Piece

    Recently there was an auction on Yahoo Japan, on a Sailor Susutake Fountain Pen with Nagahara Eagle, that was sold for CHF/USD 16'400.-. Built from Bamboo and silver and gold fittings, the end pieces with Abalone inlays. I felt challenged to try to rebuild this fountain pen unfortunately without the original nib. Remember, MP Pens are all completely hand made Unique Pieces

    Best regards,

    Martin

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    Default Re: Manu Propria Pens - Value of Unique the Piece

    I remember reading about Susutake Bamboo several years ago at the "other" fountain pen forum. A very rare and unique product. For those here who have never heard of Susutake, I copied and pasted an explanation and description posted by FPN member mchenart:

    "Why make fountain pens out of bamboo? According to the official Sailor PR blurb, susutake (smoked) bamboo is a 'special type of bamboo obtained from the roof timbers from old traditional thatched-roof style houses most of which are in excess of 150 years old. The surface of the bamboo is naturally coloured to a deep red brown from continuous exposure to the smoke of the irori (a traditional Japanese sunken fire/hearth).' From that, we gather that the material is rare and expensive to source. In addition, because of the organic nature of the bamboo, it comes in vastly different widths and lengths, thus making it quite difficult to shape into pens.

    One thing about susutake bamboo that becomes immediately apparent is that, after long years of sitting above a slowly burning stove in rural Japan, the bamboo has darkened into a beautiful honey brown colour- dark underneath, and a lighter brown facing upward. It has a patinated, aged and almost antiquish appearance that is very attractive. And because of the long 'curing' process, the bamboo has become very tough and stable. The legendary nib-meister Nobuyoshi Nagahara was instrumental in the creation and development of the Sailor susutake line, having personally worked on and tuned the nib of each pen before his retirement. The pen in the bottom of the photo was made by him, an 18k gold plate on which the meister's name is inscribed is attached to the barrel. Judging from the old style Sailor nib, I would put its date of manufacture at around 2000 or earlier. You will notice a deep dark gash on the barrel that looks almost like a deliberate chisel mark. Knowing the intrinsic nature of susutake bamboo, this 'birth mark' should not be regarded as a flaw as such, but rather a unique virtue. One thing I have also noticed from older susutake pens is that Nagahara-san often used whole sections of the bamboo material (with nodes on both ends) to form his pens. Sometimes he would even leave the crown and tail ends unfinished, as in this example. The nib is an MF grade Naginata-Togi (long sword).

    After the revered master's retirement and passing, his son, Yukio Nagahara, has taken over charge of making susutake pens at Sailor. While many pen lovers still prefer to buy susutakes by his father (if they can find them), yet Yukio's offerings are nothing to sneeze at. The attention to details, the respect of the old bamboo material and the beautifully worked dark wood ends are still there- no doubt, the result of long years of apprenticeship under his father. Since the cross section of a bamboo stick is seldom a perfect circle with the same circumference, one can imagine the difficulties of fitting the metal rings onto the cap and barrel of each pen. The dark wood ends have to be individually hand carved and polished as well to make them fit perfectly. All these require painstaking care and patience. Having other duties such as supervising the production of Naginata-Togi nibs, Yukio Nagahara could only allocate so much time on the susutake pens. So the production is obviously rather limited."

    All the Best.
    Bucket list - walk the Camino de Santiago again

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    Default Re: Manu Propria Pens - Value of Unique the Piece

    Excuse my ignorance/ confusion but is the first photo from Japan and the last of your pen?

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    Default Re: Manu Propria Pens - Value of Unique the Piece

    The first 2 Pictures are showing the original auctioned pen, the later pictures show the pen I have made

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    Default Re: Manu Propria Pens - Value of Unique the Piece

    Yours looks like it is much more comfortable to use. That step down on the original looks painful!
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