Author Archives: DELively

Nakaya Cigar Portable Kuro-Tamenuri–Longish Term Review

In honor of Fountain Pen Day, a fountain pen review I’ve been putting off for a while.

I had intended to buy my grail pen later, but then one came available online for a surprisingly good price. After careful consideration of five minutes or so I decided that if the pen was available when I visited a couple days later, I might buy it.

I’m still not sure if I wanted it to be there when I got there or not. But it was there and I liked it enough to buy it. Then I had it fixed.

Nakaya pens are grail pens for a large number of pen addicts. They are handmade from ebonite (hard rubber) and hand coated with Japanese wakashi urushi lacquer. This gives them a rich look that other pen makers have a hard time duplicating. (More on that later.)

Mine is a Cigar Portable Kuro-Tamenuri (Black “pool” lacquering process, which doesn’t sound that sexy). Despite the name, it looks mostly black, except for areas where the months of coating and polishing revealed the red urushi layers.

The capped pen. You can see the red layers where the cap meets the barrel.

The capped pen. You can see the red layers where the cap meets the barrel.

Another view, with more red layers exposed.

Another view, with more red layers exposed.

It wasn’t my first color choice for my grail pen, but I’ve learned to  like the predominantly black look because it’s a pen that can be used in business or or in public with out attracting much attention, except from fellow pen addicts.

It has a 14K gold broad nib that has a nice bit of flex to it, although I have to be careful not to spring it. It is 150 mm long without the cap and 165 long with the cap. Like all Platinum based nibs, it has a lot tooth. One reviewer described the feeling as how a pencil feels and sounds as it moves across paper. At 20 grams, the pen is surprisingly light, even when inked.

Detail of the nib.

Detail of the nib. (Yes, it says, “Nakata” not Nakaya, after the founder of the company.)

Because I bought it used, the nib still had the influence of the former owner. I took it to the Nakaya staff at a pen show and they fixed the nib (and replaced the feed) free of charge.

The only things that annoy me about the pen are that, because it has internal metal threads it can’t be used eye-dropper style and that, because it is a cartridge/converter pen, it doesn’t have a great ink capacity. This latter complaint is the deal breaker for a great many pen addicts. For the same money, I can get different pens with more ink capacity.

Also, because the version I got has no clip, it has to be placed carefully or it will roll off the table.

That said, there is something about the look and feel of a Nakaya that can’t be matched by other pens. They feel warm when you pick them up.

I understand why some people don’t like them, or more accurately, don’t prefer them. but it all works for me.

 

 

Retro 1951 Tornado EXT Custom Fountain Pen–Long Term Review

If it weren’t for the nib, I wouldn’t own this pen any more.

I’ve written before about my problems and pleasures with the Retro 51 Tornado EXT that I got from Massdrop and I have to admit, I’m surprised that I not only still own it, but that I still use it regularly. For some reason, I can’t quit it.

The Retro 1951 Tornado EXT on a Field Notes Byline. The ink is Stone Road of Gion.

The Retro 1951 Tornado EXT on a Field Notes Byline. The ink is Stone Road of Gion.

I still hate the narrow, slippery section. I’ve been disappointed that regular use hasn’t made it any less slippery. It’s not as off-putting as the scrawny neck on other pens, but it’s still annoying.

I mostly keep it because I like the nib too much to part with it. The medium Schmidt nib is terrific. It’s smooth and wet enough that it handles even relatively dry inks, such as Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion with little trouble. It also works well on different types of paper.

The pen itself has held up well. It hasn’t developed any creaks or loose bits, despite being dragged around in a Nock Co. case almost every day since I bought it. The herringbone finish hasn’t worn off either.

Because the nib is good, the pen gets used mostly for testing different kinds of ink. It’s also great to use as a lender pen for people who’ve never used a fountain pen before. The steel nib can handle inexperience better than a gold nib can.

A close-up of the Schmidt nib and Stone Road of Gion ink.

A close-up of the Schmidt nib, the slippery section, and Stone Road of Gion ink.

If it weren’t for the section, this pen would be in my top five writers. Because of this I’m tempted to send it to a pen maker for a section modification. Until then, I’ll keep using it and hope the slipperiness wears away.

 

The Course You Choose May Not Be Your Own

Our oldest is at the phase of her high school career where her high school is forcing her to make choices. These choices also effect She Who Must Be Obeyed and me.

At hour oldest’s school 11th graders are required to choose the course of study that will carry them to the course of study they hope to follow in their university careers. Against the better judgement of She Who Must Be Obeyed our oldest thinks she wants to follow the physics course.

Although I think this is a good idea there are a couple of issues: 1) her study habits are not the best; 2) math is not her best subject and physics requires lots of math; 3) the math will reach a level where all SWMBO and I can do to help her is clap our hands and lead cheers to inspire her; 4) She seems to think we’ll hire a tutor to help her; 5) I get the feeling she’s chosen it because one of her friends is going to choose it; and 6) I’ve got the vague sense that she’s chosen it because SWMBO is against it. In fact, this choice has prompted a couple long arguments between the two.

Either way, I encourage our oldest to choose a more difficult path, and physics is a good jumping off point for other kinds of science, but I also realize (as does SWMBO) that there’s going to be a lot of fighting over rules and study habits. This means there may be an iPhone 6 available for purchase sometime next year and that my WiFi is about to get a serious password upgrade.

 

Karas Kustoms RETRAKT Pen–Long Term Review

Discount codes can be dangerous things.

I passed on the original Kickstarter for the Karas Kustoms RETRAKT pen. I didn’t like the monotone design with the only options being solid aluminum, copper or brass (unless you bought two and mixed and matched).

Eventually, though, Karas Kustoms began offering the design with different colored barrels which piqued my interest. When a generous holiday code came available, resistance was finally futile. I quickly moved it into my work carry and for over a year now it has marked positive and negative points, and yellow cards and red cards (more on that in a future post) for my students.

I chose the grey barrel which, until the recent turquoise version, was often lauded as the version of the pen people had to get. I have to concur, though, with the complaint that the grey is not photogenic which often makes people frown at a picture and go “well, I’m sure she has a great personality”. However, in person, the grey is a terrific color that looks sharp without being too flashy.

The Karas Kustoms RETRAKT pen.

The Karas Kustoms RETRAKT pen. This is about as good a shot of the grey as I could get.

The two tone look reminds me of the Parker Jotter ballpoint pens members of my family used to use–and for all I know may still use–but the RETRAKT is fatter which makes it more comfortable for me to use long term.

I bought the version that takes Pilot G2 gel refills (along with many others). It is 5.625 inches long and weighs around one ounce. It uses the common Schmidt push button mechanism which has held up well in over a year of regular use.

The only real complaint I had was a minor one: the refill tip didn’t stick out far enough. It didn’t effect writing much, except that from my usual writing angle, I couldn’t see the tip of the refill.

This works perfectly well, but it doesn't look right and that bothers me.

How it looks out of the box. This works perfectly well, but it doesn’t look right and that bothers me.

Luckily, Karas Kustoms includes a length of thin plastic tubing owners can cut to help make refills fit properly. After some trial and error, and no small amount of swearing and cursing the names “Karas” and “Kustoms” I managed to get it looking the way it should.

This is how it's supposed to look.

This is how it’s supposed to look. Also, note the machining marks in the grey. 

The problem is, now I’m afraid to open the pen for fear I can’t get everything back together properly.

The anodizing has held up well, but since it mostly stays in a case, it hasn’t received a fully brutal treatment. Also, because I’m used to the “turns” on my Tactile Turn pens, the RETRAKT sometimes feels slippery.

That said, it’s a pen I’d recommend for non-pen people. It feels like a work pen and not like a show pen. It may be pricey compared to it’s Parker counterparts, but it’s easy to use with cold hands and with gloves.

Also, for pen people, it’s a good pen to have on hand for those inevitable moments when someone asks to borrow a pen.

 

 

Marks and Malaise

Finished the final marks for the Sunday classes I teach, then couldn’t be bothered to do much else of anything.

This is as predictable as getting a migraine and/or a cold on the first day of a vacation. However, in the case of the post-marking, end-of-term malaise, I often horrify myself enough by what I don’t do the first day that I end up doing something the next day.

Today, though, I ran through a bunch of small projects and even managed to sell some ink. What I didn’t do was write very much, but I also didn’t play much. It was just a day to sit and do very little but what could be accomplished without having to actually get up and go get it.

In the end I did a few things that were actually useful, including some writing and some organizing. Tomorrow is another day, of course, but I’ve said that before.

A Murder Without Blood

I hacked off a student’s head today. In my defense, he’d knocked the nose off one of my students and I was exacting revenge. He also should never have allowed me to get hold of his sword.

Today was the final class of the first term of the classes I teach on Sunday. Because it falls on-or-near Halloween, it is a tradition that part of the class is spent at a Halloween Party.

In the past I’ve borrowed a jacket to become an FBI agent but the first time I went my students got their invitations the morning of the part, which meant they couldn’t prepare costumes.

Today, though, we got notice in time for my students to prepare costumes. (I went as a cranky, ugly old teacher which, well, yeah.)

At one point, one of my students, who was dressed as a clown/harlequin lost her clown nose. I blamed the closest student, who happened to be dressed in a schoolgirl outfit complete with sword and gas mask. I threatened to burn down his town if he didn’t shape up. (Note: I do not know why that idea popped into my head.)

Somehow he decided it was a good idea to wave his sword rather than striking me with it. I disarmed him and went into a karate pose and promised to hill him and his family. (Actually I just did a dramatic pose and a dramatic sword strike whilst he did an impressive pratfall to the ground.)

There is a set of photos, but I can’t post them. Now I have a few days to rest before I start with the next class. Sigh.

 

Almost Completely Useless

On Thursday, I predicted to a colleague that I’d get a migraine on Friday. I knew this because it was the first day of a long holiday.

As predicted, I got my migraine aura and quickly took medicine and coffee. Despite this treatment, my body still punished me for the migraine. I spent most of the day caught somewhere between sloth-like and slug-like.

I did manage to get outside to buy some clothes and feed our youngest, but then I came back home and returned to sloth-like, slug-like mode.

That means it’s early to bed, especially as I’m working tomorrow. I did rough out some reviews for future topics here, and also weighed the pros and cons of doing NaNoWriMo this year. (Short version: It’s cons all the way down this year.)

But more on that in a future post.

 

 

 

Butt in Chair With Boring Translator Speak

Marking essays is hard enough as your eyes and brain glaze over after several badly written works. However, when you throw in online translator based writing you get something that looks like English but isn’t and that induces headaches surprisingly quickly.

Today I worked out the final marks for my evening class. That task involved marking a few essays I’d either recently acquired or had put off marking for much too long.

The problem with translators is that students think they produce English when what they actually produce is 90% gibberish mixed with occasional brilliance (rather like this blog, at least with the gibberish part…)

I find I can only make it through a few machine translated essays before I need a break involving coffee and or a game based on WW2 era tanks.

Eventually I finished (both essays and tanks) and managed to get everything entered in the spread sheet. Now I get to relax. At least until Sunday, when I’ll have more final marks to prepare.

 

 

A Phone and a Pen Addict

I taught three classes today and phoned them all in. I was present but not active, which suited my students just fine.

After a shortish morning, I met a fellow pen addict and her husband on the occasion of their second visit to Japan. (Note: they are in transit to other places and have given themselves a long layover in Tokyo.) I bought ink on behalf of someone else and she bought ink and a pen on behalf of herself.

After that I ate too much and marked too little. By the time I got to my evening class I was already ready to be done. I managed to pull something together–mostly a final exam of sorts–and then managed to trick the students into marking it.

It was not my greatest moment, but they all were happy with their scores. Now I have to do final marks.

But first, it’s way past my bed time.

Hump Day Usually Hurts

It is an odd quirk of my schedule that I have three of my worst classes on Wednesday. This is offset by having a shorter than normal schedule, but not by much.

I open with my worst “upper level” JHS 1 class. They’ve been loud all year, and it only got worse after they picked up students from the lower level after summer vacation. One student is especially obnoxious in a confrontational way and he leads a small pack of other students. Today, though, the pack were actually pretty good. It was other students who caused trouble.

After a break for an early lunch, I meet the contender for my worst class. They are also JHS 1s and are also confrontational. This attitude got a lost worse after the reorganization and there are times where I’ve had complete classroom collapse. Luckily, the class is right before lunch and, since I’ve already eaten, I just keep them around a while.

Today, however, they were pretty good as I plied them with a game of bingo that included stamps for early victors and scrawled versions of my initials after that.

Then I have real lunch break, during which I prep for the next day.

After real lunch, I have my worse HS 2 class. They are dominated by two American Football players who like to put on shows. The worst of the pair has been struggling the last few weeks as he’s been expected to do a solo project, rather than leech off the hard work of a partner. Because of this, he feels compelled to put on a show that involves no sitting in his assigned seat and making a joke of me telling him to get back in it.

I ignored him and started listening to other students do their speeches. He just played with his phone.

Luckily the day ends early on hump day.