A Closer Look At Some Cat Themed Fountain Pens

In a previous post, we looked at two fountain pens, a high-end Namiki Chinkin and an affordable German Online pen for under US$ 25. This one.

Today, we dive into everything else in between. In fact, some of these fountain pens are highly sought after by collectors and are pretty hard to get even on the pre-owned market.

1. Le Chat Pen By Tools To LiveBy

This Taiwanese retailer started out importing the best stationery they could find from all over the world. Eventually they produced their own fountain pen, both designed and made in Taiwan, and it’s an absolute everyday writing gem.

It features a smooth enamel baked finish, the cap posts with a click and the built in clip prevents the pen rolling. Overall the pen has a great heft. The star of the show is of course the nib, which is etched with an adorable cat face.

Approximate length:
Capped: 5 3/8″
Posted: 6 1/16″
Widest point diameter: 3/8″ diameter

Fine nib (Asian Fine is generally smaller than European Fine). Comes in an artistic box with one cartridge of black ink and takes standard cartridges. There’s a black and white version. You can purchase this pen here for US$47 from LittleOtsu.com and check out the official website of Tools To LiveBy here. Stocks are limited until they produce another batch.

2. Sailor A.S. Manhattaner’s NY Artists Guild Fountain Pen

This iconic series by the Japanese brand Sailor is comprised of 5 different designs featuring kitties in New York City. Each pen is cute, whimsical and quite distinct from each other. The tips of the pen caps also feature a cat shape design but the nibs (Fine) are plain nibs. Artwork is by Takashi Kuge, who spent 20 years in NYC and specializes in drawing cats. Given that these were released to the market on Jetpens more than 10 years ago, it’s pretty much impossible to find any in new condition. Your best bet would be to search for them pre-owned, but be prepared to pay a high price as there are serious aficionados still on the prowl for them today.

I found two nice reviews of the pen from two enthusiast blogs here and here.

Kuge has a couple of Japanese art books on Amazon and if you’re a fan of his artwork, the links are shown below.

Twenty Years In New York

Maverick Kuma (This is the touching story of a cat who died young)

3. Nakaya Pens – Cat Series

This article would be incomplete without the mention of Nakaya pens, who have made a series of cat themed pens using old school urushi and maki-e techniques. Like Namiki to Pilot, Nakaya is the fine, luxury and 100% handmade division of Japan’s Platinum Pen Company. So these are definitely exquisite and expensive, be warned. The good news almost all of them are available (since they are custom handmade upon your order and payment). Take a look at some of these amazing works of art.

Cat On A Double Cherry Tree [No.11104] starts from US$4,400

Available here on Nakaya.org

Cat With Balls Of Wool (Chinkin Technique) [No.17008] starts from US$3,600

Available here on Nakaya.org

A Cat By Kuniyoshi Utagawa (Based On His Woodblock Print) [No.11085] starts from US$4,000

Available here on Nakaya.org

Nakaya.org takes direct orders and has so many customization options to match the pen to your own handwriting style that you might not know or have never considered before. First you get to choose your design of clip or stopper for the pen cap. Then you move on to nib size, design and finish. After that, it’s your dominant hand, writing grip, writing style, pressure, lettering size and even writing speed. Your exact details will be taken into consideration in the crafting of your pen. Nakaya doesn’t mess around. This is truly a bespoke experience, just short of flying to Japan and ordering a pen in person. They accept orders worldwide and you can pay via credit card, paypal and even bank remittances. How long does it take? It takes as long as it damn well needs to. Seriously though, after you fill out the order customization form, Nakaya will send you a confirmation email with your estimated delivery time before you make the final payment.

There are numerous other models including the following and starting from US$1,000:
Cat Enjoying The Moon [No.17008]
Cat [No.16006]
Scary Cat Behind Broken Shoji [No.11074]
Three Cats [No.19007]
Cat Paradise [No.17009]

Find them all here at Nakaya.org

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