The write way to do it
21 Aug 2012 9:38 AM IST
A fountain pen was a prized possession even a decade back. But thanks to computers and easy to use gel pens, not too many of us use fountain pens anymore, forget thinking about things like ink flow and the angle at which we hold the pen.
In this tech-savvy world, who possibly cares about the beauty of a pen, the ink flow or the way the nib is, and at what angle the pen is held at? We are just so over fountain pens, or so we thought. Apparently, not!
There are still lovers of the smooth writing that a fountain pen offers. At a recently-held event at a pen store in a Saket mall, people gathered to get the nib of their fountain pens fixed.
Nib specialist Yukio Nagahara flew down from Hiroshima, Japan for the occasion. Nagahara has been the nib-maker for Sailor pen in Japan and came to the city to work on restoring and repairing nibs of all kinds, old and new.
Also on display were 22 special edition pens from the brand at the William Penn store.
‘Collecting beautiful pens is similar to collecting great pieces of art work. People who do not understand art would not be able to understand the frenzy that is there of collecting great art pieces that cost lakhs. In a similar fashion, someone who is not into writing and by that I mean writing with a fountain pen, will never understand the beauty that these pens have to offer,’ said Anita Paily, deputy general manager, William Penn.
Customers from all over India had set prior appointments with Nagahara and were there to get their nibs fixed. Nagahara has a particular style of functioning. He first understands the person’s writing technique and how smooth, broad or thin the person would want the pen nib to be — considering the most intricate details such as the angle at which the person holds the pen — and then works on it.
Somebody who wants to use the pen for sketching would want the flow to be thicker and slightly rougher and the person who uses it only to sign documents with it would want it to be very smooth and thin. He considers all this and accordingly works on the nib right in front of them. And of course, none of the customers left disappointed.
Yukio learnt the technique and skill from his father Yoshinobu Nagahara who has been a nib specialist with the same brannd for over 60 years. Nagahara junior has been associated with the brand for the past five-six years. He believes that fountain pens remain as important as they were before.
‘There are still many who define themselves with the pen they carry in their pockets and how well it writes. These workshops also have promoted the use of fountain pens. Everyone must have at least one beautiful fountain pen to define their own writing style and let it define them,’ said the nib-master.
In this tech-savvy world, who possibly cares about the beauty of a pen, the ink flow or the way the nib is, and at what angle the pen is held at? We are just so over fountain pens, or so we thought. Apparently, not!
There are still lovers of the smooth writing that a fountain pen offers. At a recently-held event at a pen store in a Saket mall, people gathered to get the nib of their fountain pens fixed.
Nib specialist Yukio Nagahara flew down from Hiroshima, Japan for the occasion. Nagahara has been the nib-maker for Sailor pen in Japan and came to the city to work on restoring and repairing nibs of all kinds, old and new.
Also on display were 22 special edition pens from the brand at the William Penn store.
‘Collecting beautiful pens is similar to collecting great pieces of art work. People who do not understand art would not be able to understand the frenzy that is there of collecting great art pieces that cost lakhs. In a similar fashion, someone who is not into writing and by that I mean writing with a fountain pen, will never understand the beauty that these pens have to offer,’ said Anita Paily, deputy general manager, William Penn.
Customers from all over India had set prior appointments with Nagahara and were there to get their nibs fixed. Nagahara has a particular style of functioning. He first understands the person’s writing technique and how smooth, broad or thin the person would want the pen nib to be — considering the most intricate details such as the angle at which the person holds the pen — and then works on it.
Somebody who wants to use the pen for sketching would want the flow to be thicker and slightly rougher and the person who uses it only to sign documents with it would want it to be very smooth and thin. He considers all this and accordingly works on the nib right in front of them. And of course, none of the customers left disappointed.
Yukio learnt the technique and skill from his father Yoshinobu Nagahara who has been a nib specialist with the same brannd for over 60 years. Nagahara junior has been associated with the brand for the past five-six years. He believes that fountain pens remain as important as they were before.
‘There are still many who define themselves with the pen they carry in their pockets and how well it writes. These workshops also have promoted the use of fountain pens. Everyone must have at least one beautiful fountain pen to define their own writing style and let it define them,’ said the nib-master.
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