Nakaya Long Piccolo in Ama-Iro with a Cursive Italic Reversible Grind by Mark Bacas: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Back in May, I purchased a Nakaya Long Piccolo in Ama-Iro from my friend Rick Liebson. It came with a luscious BB nib. The Nakaya Long Piccolo is a body shape produced only for Aesthetic Bay, so nabbing one of these isn't easy. Plus, Nakaya stopped producing pens in the Ama-Iro finish in 2019. I was thrilled to add such a unique pen to my Nakaya collection.

The Long Piccolo is significantly longer than the regular Piccolo, measuring 5.9 inches/150mm in length capped as compared to 5.1 inches/130mm for the regular Piccolo. Uncapped, the Long Piccolo is 5.1 inches/130mm in contrast to the regular Piccolo, which is 4.6 inches/116mm. It's not a heavy pen at all, weighing only 19.7 grams inked and unposted (posting Nakayas is not recommended).

On the left is the Nakaya Piccolo Watching the Moon Cat. On the right is the Nakaya Long Piccolo in Ama-Iro.

Otherwise, the Long Piccolo has the same design elements as the regular Piccolo: conical finials, a body that tapers slightly outward in the middle, and a noticeable step-down from the barrel to the grip.

The Ama-Iro finish is gorgeous. It's sky blue, but with a grey cast that keeps it from being too bright.

The nib started as a double broad (BB). Unfortunately, I failed to take a photo of the nib before I had it ground. I did write with it in my journal, and, although it was smooth as silk, it was too broad and mushy for my handwriting.

I sent the pen to Mark Bacas and we discussed possible grinds. Originally, I thought the BB might make a good Predator nib. But Mark advised me to consider a reversible grind: double broad cursive italic with the nib in normal position, and fine with the nib upside down. Just look at this amazing nib now!

The BB cursive italic is smooth and forgiving yet offers a precise writing line with lots of character.

The reverse is also smooth, and the fine line it produces is the perfect width.

You can see the line width difference between the two sides here:

This nib is so much fun to use, and the ability to have a BB cursive italic and fine line with just a flip of the nib makes it versatile.

If you're interested in nib grinds that go beyond the normal options (Cursive Italic, Italic, Oblique, etc.), be sure to check out Mark Bacas's site. I now own two pens with his special nib grinds (a Predator and this Reverse Grind) and I keep both inked all the time.

(I purchased the Nakaya Long Piccolo and got the Reverse CI grind from Mark Bacas with my own funds.)

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Zebra Clickart Knock Sign Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

These Zebra Clickart pens have all the joy of a felt-tip marker with the convenience of a clicky pen. The 6mm tip is fine enough to use for writing or sketching, while the side of the bullet-shaped tip also works for coloring and filling in. They're very versatile and perform better than I expected.

The pen body is in white plastic with a molded roll-stop, but no clip. I wish they had clips, but the lack of one does mean they fit more nicely into overstuffed pen pouches. Since this pen is available in 36 colors, your pen pouch is bound to need all the extra room possible. The tip of the pen is conical in plastic the color of the pen's ink, and the clicky knock is also in the ink color, so you can easily see what color you're selecting from either end. The clicky knock has a very satisfying click. An A+ on the fidget scale.

The felt tip is a fine bullet shape. The tip makes a nicely thin line, and holding it at an angle creates a bolder line. It has the feel of a marker, with that familiar feedback and scritchy sound.

I was skeptical about a click marker's ability to not dry out, and even more surprised to see these don't have any sort of trap door that closes off the tip when it is retracted. The tip just retracts, chilling there in the barrel, open to the air. The secret lies in the ink, according to the specs. It will apparently not dry out for a year, so long as it is kept retracted when not in use. This magical ink absorbs moisture from the air, so it may not work as well in arid climates.

The ink performs beautifully on paper, with rich colors and good coverage. It does feather and bleed a bit on cheap copy paper, though--like just about any marker will. I think these would be excellent for sketching and art, perfect for coloring books, and super fun for planner decorating. I have blue-green, peach-pink, and dark brown here. They cost $1.65 in open stock, or $41 for a set of all 36 colors. I think that's a very good value and I definitely want all the colors.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Galen Leather Co. x Kaweco Sport Fountain Pen Review

I think it is common knowledge at this point that any mention of a Kaweco Sport Limited Edition is my “You had me at hello” moment. And who is the latest to take advantage of that? My good friends at Galen Leather, that's who.

They sent me a stack of items that have been, and will be, reviewed on The Pen Addict. Most were parceled out to the review crew, like Sarah's recent look at the Slip-N-Zip, but I pulled rank on one item. Specifically, the Galen Leather Kaweco Sport in Cognac.

Galen created their own custom packaging for this pen.

Look, I have soft spot for this pen. What can I say? I mean that literally. What can I say that haven't already said about this awesome pen. Over and over and over again. It's the best and most fun pocket fountain pen on the market.

The interesting thing about this pen is that it is my first translucent barrel Kaweco limited edition. There was a standard issue Ice Sport release a few years back, but I don't recall another see-through LE. I feel like I have to be overlooking something obvious so please let me know. (Update: I knew it!) Regardless, this is my first, and I'd wager that it won't be my last.

Galen Leather nailed the color on this collaboration. As a primarily leather goods company, a brown hue makes perfect sense, but I'm not sure a solid brown plastic would have delivered the richness in color that Cognac does. It is warm and bright, yet fits in perfectly with the many different shades of leather Galen offers.

And I even love the gold trim and accents!

The one question I had was which ink I was going to use with it. Specifically, which short international cartridge will I pull from the stash that would compliment this pen the most? I discounted any blue right out of the gate, and even oranges didn't make it past the first cut. Then I saw the winner for this initial journey: Graf von Faber-Castell Olive Green.

It's as good of a match as I was going to get with what I had on hand. The only competition in my mind would have been a purple ink, but alas, I had none around. Put some on the list! And I'll need them, too, as I see myself using this wonderful collaboration for quite some time.

Thank you Yusuf, and the entire Galen Leather team, for sending me this pen. You can get yours for $30 directly from Galen, but move quickly if interested - only Medium, Broad, and Double Broad nib sizes remain!

(Galen Leather provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!