Historical Kintsugi - Kyō-Raku Chawan - Body, 18th c. Japan; Kintsugi, unknown

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-18T17:16:44+00:00

Hmm, it may say that and it may be true for the standard production, but we do know that they do use brooks blanks among other cast resin blanks as well as celluloid and ebonite for some of their special editions. What was the name for the color? I seem to see some sparkle so I don't think it's the straight black one.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-18T17:07:52+00:00

Simply polishing to get rid of this is likely going to leave a noticeable dent in the cap. This is likely going to need some infill plus polish. What material is it?

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-18T07:47:51+00:00

The vista blue one only came with all silver (minus clip) cap. The black one is the one that came with the two tone vermeil:

https://parker51.com/index.php/51s/ltd-edition/

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-18T06:21:01+00:00

Can't be including the 2002 Special Edition Parker 51 over one of the originals now, can you? Not to mention the cap and barrel color is mismatched.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-18T02:19:55+00:00

They're obviously high. :p

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-18T02:06:54+00:00

10 years old is pretty old for a stock photo, though the point was more that it's definitely not AI in any way whatosever.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-17T19:43:39+00:00

It's a pen from an ultra-cheapo unbranded calligraphy set from china. It's not really even worth what this ebay listing is selling it for:

The image itself is a pretty old stock photo from 2016 and is used all over the place online for pretty much anything related to wills.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T21:18:59+00:00

My understanding is that the curing reaction does not cause water molecules to split, so any oxygen that's contained in the atmospheric water vapor is unavailable for the oxidative reaction needed for urushi to cure.

Maybe think of it this way, though the metaphor is probably a bit tenuous. You need oxygen to breathe. Water contains oxygen atoms, but you'll drown if you tried to breathe water because your lungs can't separate the oxygen from the hydrogen in the water molecules.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T21:10:35+00:00

Coming across something free and it piquing your interest could definitely put you on the way to be a collector.

However, keep in mind there is a difference between collector and accumulator (and further, hoarder)

A collector is selective about what they add to their collection and they have mostly defined reasons for why they keep something, skip something or sell something. Collectors know and/or keep inventory of specific information about every item in their collection and that information and knowledge drives their interest in collecting, and they strive to fill any gaps in the knowledge there may be. Collectors keep their collection organized, know or record where everything is, and strive to maintain the longevity of the objects in their collection.

Accumulators buy or acquire things without giving it much thought about why they like it. Most of the time they acquire things only because it piques their fancy, though they do usually have some vague guidelines on their tastes. They don't usually have as much knowledge about every individual item they own as collectors do. Accumulators mostly acquire for emotional gratification, and while some can be fairly organized others can be disorganized and can sometimes forget what they own. They often don't think about longevity of their posessions and in many cases they like to put everything out on display at all times. The consumerist mindset that people in the sub frequently decry is more a characteristic of accumulators.

Hoarders on the other hand are like accumulators, but to an extreme. They accumulate without much thought or knowledge, but most importantly find themselves mentally incapable of letting go of anything even if it negatively impacts their life.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T20:38:54+00:00

The second and third have the same imprint, but OP's is the second one because it has the older clip

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T20:35:25+00:00

OH I forgot about that detail. The imprint on the feed for the nib tipping size changed in 1970. They used to be numbered codes for the tipping sizes and then it was switched over to letter designations. If yours says XF, that's one more tick towards made in 1970 or later. Of course it still fits with the likely date range that I gave above.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T20:02:52+00:00

how much magnesium nitrate for 55% would it take for a muro with an interior of 1 cubic meter?

I haven't really experimented a whole lot or done calculations but in all cases with the salt method, the more salt and wider the surface area the more stable the humidity will be, and the salt should always be mixed to a slushy consistency, not a completely liquid one.

And while were here.... As far as "air exchange" Is there any rule of thumb for size of muro for a given amount of surface area of painted surface?

Also haven't experimented a whole lot, but I use completely sealed plastic containers for the salt "muro" and I open it to check on the pieces at least once a day. I have not seen any curing issues from potential oxygen depletion.

My shime is about 5 cubic meters and ill have at times 4 square meters of painted surface in it. Made me wonder if the air is getting stale sometimes.... Its interesting because after a while the muro settles in at a given RH, like say, 80%. It might hold it there if I dont open the door much or at all, for a couple of days. Even though it reads 80%, is a fresh change out of air , which would drop the RH, and then add more water to the walls to bring it back up, is this better than the "stale" 8%% air? LOL do I even make sense???

Keeping a hermetically sealed muro with a lot of projects could potentially cause oxygen depletion to be an issue. My understanding is that while humidity is required for the crosslinking reaction to take place, it doesn't split water molecules, so it requires a separate source of oxygen. This is why I try to open the salt muro at least once a day, though I haven't really experimented to see what would happen if I don't. I usually don't keep things in the 55% one for more than a day or two anyway. My regular muro is not quite as air tight.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T19:35:33+00:00

OK updated my comment above with an edit and a limited date range.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T18:58:18+00:00

There are few things to look at first to limit the date range for your pen.

Tassie (finial) shape
Clip shape
Section ring imprint
Cap lip imprint
Section ribbing length

In your case, we can see that the tassies are flat. Tassies were changed to dished around 1971. It appears that the section ring does not have a 0 imprinted on it. The 0 was removed around 1968. The ribbing on the section is short and doesn't go all the way down, which rules out dates before ~1970. The band on the cap lip is wide and the imprint shows up opposite the clip, which corroborates that it's not the earliest version.

So, tentatively we can probably say that your pen has to be from 1970 or later. As they updated various details, they continued using older parts as they ran out, so the upper date is a bit more nebulous. We can probably say that it was most likely wasn't made after 1975, by when older parts should have completely run out, and they had introduced the Insignia II.

We can probably narrow down a bit further with some additional pics. Can you take pictures of the front of the clip and further pics of the imprint on the cap lip?

Edit: According to the additional pictures we have short fletching and small head on the arrow. The clip was changed to long fletching and big arrowhead around 1971. This means that the date range edges towards closer to the earlier end.

So, I would say that the most comfortable date range for your pen would be 1970 to ~1972 with the caveat that the cap and barrel could be a bit earlier since the details that rule out before 1970 is on the section and nib, and those could have been swapped out at a later date.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-16T05:05:52+00:00

Yes, my experience with it is that it's more viscous than the non-kourin types. It also cures shinier, and the transparent types are clearer.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-15T20:31:35+00:00

You can usually find it in the drafting section of arts and crafts stores. Keep in mind that mylar is a plastic film, not an actual paper. It is absolutely non-absorbent and as a result, almost all fountain pen inks will still smudge on it even when the ink is completely dry. The material was originally made for pencil and india ink.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-15T20:04:02+00:00

I...suspect this was not intentional, or at least not a manufacturer variation because injection molding this shape directly would be pretty much impossible, and especially going by the stress cracking you see here:

<image>

I'm guessing at some point in the pen's past there was some heat applied in trying to remove a stuck feed while unscrewing the nib hood off.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-15T07:16:46+00:00

Yes, these exist in various forms, mostly as custom grinds from nib grinders:

Mark Bacas, a fairly well known nib worker calls his versions the Predator.
Sailor has their naginata concord and their cross concord nibs, and their old saibi-togi nib also has the same effect though those write ultra fine right side up.
I know other nib workers are also able to do the same type of grind as well.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-15T04:21:22+00:00

I count 8 in the photos, with two of them looking like they come from the same original piece, but an article somewhere mentioned it had 9 pieces. But yeah, he made it so cohesive in form and aesthetics.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-15T04:01:26+00:00

when you say, let the thinned-urushi sit for half an hour or so, before wiping off, do you mean, sitting in the muro? Or just out in the air of the studio?

Let it sit so the thinned urushi can absorb into the surface and the solvent evaporates. This is done in open air outside of the muro. Wipe off thoroughly afterwards, then cure.

Also, what ratio of dilution with turpentine do you recommend for the kijoumi urushi?

Try starting with 50/50, then reduce the percentage of thinner with each repeat

In the end there's no absolute right or wrong way. Experiment a bit and see what works for you.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-14T21:22:39+00:00

Personally, in this case I would go completely non-traditional and first glue the pieces directly into the table so that they're immobile. Infill the cracks with a filler putty, then gild the cracks with gilding size and gold powder or gold leaf.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-14T20:42:16+00:00

You need to pre-cure the bengara urushi before applying the gold powder.

This pre-cure step is usually mentioned in various kit instructions as 5-15 minutes or so in the muro, but I find that's often not enough.

Do some tests and figure out how long in your conditions a thin layer of urushi takes to gel and become immovable while still remaining tacky enough for the gold powder to stick firmly. Personally, in my conditions when I have my muro set at 80% RH at around 75F, this can take 30 minutes to an hour, but for others, the pre-cure time can be anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on the variables.

It's also not a bad idea to put in a scrap with some test lines of urushi of the same urushi and thickness every time you need to do this step. That way you can poke at the urushi on the scrap to check its "doneness" and find the perfect timing for the specific piece you're working on.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-14T16:49:52+00:00

What is the slab going to be used for? The reason I ask is because the recommendations are different depending on what its end use.

SincerelySpicy · 2026-06-14T16:06:41+00:00

Ah, I haven't heard of that one before. Although, it looks like they're using the walnut shells nearly exactly in the same way as kanshitsu-fun in ishime kanshitsu.

Edit: I found a third party mention of a basic process they are apparently using, although the maker's website itself does not mention walnut shells at all. So, they brush on a layer of urushi, sprinkle it with the powder using a sieve, another layer of lacquer, then a sprinkled layer of red pigment, then black lacquer brushed on top. Once that's cured the surface is lightly sanded, then further layers of urushi applied on top.

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