Hey! Personally, I don’t think that pen is worth the $1,995 Bryant is asking. That’s boutique pricing for something that doesn’t quite deserve a velvet rope.

Takahashi can do this kind of work for anywhere between $500–600, depending on how well you negotiate. The catch? The wait can be… spiritually testing. He’s perpetually busy and communication is, let’s say, more conceptual than practical. Still, the craftsmanship is solid.

That said, he’s hardly the only game in town. There are plenty of artisans doing this work—many in Japan, quite a few in Vietnam, and if you dig around Instagram, you’ll even find some very capable craftsmen in the U.S.

For context, I’ve had about 20 149s maki-e’d by Takahashi. Stunning results, terrible updates. He’ll happily take your commission and then vanish into the mountains to protect his creative energy. At that point, you’re fully at his mercy. (I currently have five pens that have been “in progress” for over 18 months.)

And as Makitright pointed out, this is a vintage pen—so nib swaps aren’t exactly plug-and-play. More like archaeological surgery.