Pilot Namiki Emperor Fountain Pen – Black Urushi

This stunning fountain pen comes from the Urushi Collection within Pilot’s Namiki Emperor Fountain Pens. This is an oversized fountain pen boasting a large Pilot Size 50 nib on a beautifully polished reflective black Urushi lacquer finish.  Japanese Urushi art is one of Japan’s traditional decorative art forms. The Urushi lacquer process is performed using the sap harvested from the Urushi lacquer tree and has been historically used for its preservational and protective properties because the material becomes extremely durable once hardened. Ancient artifacts such as arrowheads, bowls, combs and jewelry have been preserved only in the parts that have been coated with Urushi. Objects that have been lacquered with Urushi are valuable due to the labor intensive process of Urushi as well as the value of Urushi itself. Urushi trees take about 12 years to reach maturity for harvest and harvest time occurs over the span of several months and seasons, the purity and quality of the sap differing depending on harvest season. Each tree yields just 250 ml to 300 ml of sap and after harvesting, the tree needs to be chopped down and takes another 10-12 years till the next harvest.  This fountain pen is made of Urushi lacquered ebonite with one of the largest size barrels of any fountain pen. The body of this fountain pen glistens beautifully due to the use of the Ro-iro Urushi Shiago technique that requires the repeated rubbing of raw lacquer after being polished with charcoal. While its Urushi lacquer gives this pen everlasting durability, its ebonite material allows it to remain light and comfortable to hold even while being an oversize fountain pen.  Length: 6.8 in (17.3 cm) #50 18K Gold nib with Namiki engraving and black lacquered feed  Eyedropper filler with shut-off valve Eyedropper included Polishing cloth included Bottle of Namiki Blue ink included Comes in a velvet-lined wooden box with Namiki branding Lifetime warranty under Pilot  More Pilot/Namiki Fountain Pens More from the Pilot Namiki Urushi Collection Refunds are not accepted on this pen once it has been used with ink. Please carefully inspect the pen upon receipt.