Sailor - King of Pens | Japanese Classical Performing Arts Shakkyo

Inspired by Shakkyo, one of the most celebrated plays of Noh, this fountain pen captures the spiritual intensity and refined beauty of traditional Japanese performing arts. Set against the legendary Stone Bridge of Qingliang Mountain, the story unfolds through the powerful presence of the lion spirit, a symbol of strength and divine protection. Peony blossoms, long associated with nobility and grace, are delicately woven into the narrative, echoing the harmony between nature and the sacred that defines Japanese aesthetics.

At the heart of Shakkyo lies the lion’s wild and mesmerizing dance, a breathtaking display demanding extraordinary technical mastery. The elaborate masks and sumptuous costumes, shaped by centuries of Buddhist influence, reflect a culture deeply connected to ritual, symbolism, and reverence for the natural world. Every element speaks of balance: movement and stillness, power and restraint, spirit and form.

Each piece is decorated and meticulously brought to life with urushi lacquerware techniques, combining the traditional urushi techniques of Maki-E and Raden. The deep black ebonite barrel is enhanced with mother-of-pearl and abalone shell raden, creating a shimmering with the gold sprinkles contrasting. The result is a fountain pen that feels both artistic and timeless - a delicate piece of functional art unfolding in front of its owner. A treat reserved for the very few - King of Pens Shakkyo is a limited edition of only 38 pieces world wide.

The presentation is completed by an exquisite gift box crafted using Hakone marquetry, a traditional woodworking technique developed during the Edo period. Created by meticulously assembling different types of natural wood into intricate geometric patterns, the box itself is a work of art, a tribute to Japanese craftsmanship and a timeless expression of heritage.

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An Amazing Pen

A vacuum filler pen with the ink capacity of an eyedropper filler!
I like pens with large ink reservoirs, because more is better, especially if I'm away from my ink stash. Eyedropper fillers offer the highest ink capacity, but...if you don't have a way to shut off ink flow between reservoir and nib unit, you run into "burping" issues, which can get very messy, especially if you can't see if there's ink in the cap. The solution was either a vac filler, or a "Japanese eyedropper", both of which have a plug attached to a rod that can be screwed into the opening between ink chamber and nib unit, sealing it off. My Opus 88 and Visconti Homo Sapiens have a total ink capacity of around 3.5ml. The Monster G5 has an ink capacity of 7ml. That's like 10 Standard International Short cartridges! That means most casual users might fill their Monster 2-3 times per year. Using a Fine nib, one complete fill lets you write 450 A4 pages, or about 54,000 words. Hopefully, you REALLY LOVE the ink you filled it with, because you'll be looking at that ink for a long, long time!
But not only is the ink capacity huge, the pen itself is pretty amazing, as well. The Kraken filling system, a clever variety of a vac filler system (with an improved shut off valve) that prioritizes ink capacity, is virtually unparalleled in modern pens currently on the market. The Ultem (or clear Acrylic) body of the pen is polished to crystal clarity, the metal is highly corrosion resistant titanium, and the #8 steel nib is smooth as glass.
I'm cheap, and boring, so I do most of my fountain pen writing on plain copier paper, which allows the ink to spread out, letting a Fine nib make a line like a Medium nib. I also like to use Pelikan 4001 Königsblau, because I got a good deal on the 1,000ml bottle of ink from my favorite online seller. The combination of cheap(er) paper and ink pairs really well with the Monster's #8 nib and feed; my Fine nib makes a line comparable to a Japanese Medium nib, while keeping the color richly saturated. Using standard European 5mm quad ruled paper, the nib writes thin enough to be perfectly legible. I do have to write a bit slower, though, because the generous ink flow also means longer drying times, and writing too quickly can cause smearing issue. That's a me-problem, not a pen-problem.
The nib itself is stiff, but very smooth, meeting or exceeding the smoothness of all of my JoWo #6 steel nibs. In my opinion, the combination of nib and feed make this one of the best general purpose pens you can buy, because it will work reliably on a wide variety of paper, and a wide variety of inks. As with all demonstrator type pens, avoid "high maintenance" inks, like permanent/document/waterproof inks (and Baystate Blue), because unless you're a professional writer/author, that ink is going to stay in your pen for at least a month, and your pretty clear tank may become stained permanently.

Hefty, and Awesome

The Copper Sentry is one of the heaviest pens on the market. However, I find that hand fatigue is hastened more by grip section than the pen's overall weight. Moreover, the pen is back-weighted, with the center of gravity resting on the web of your hand between thumb and index finger, which makes the business end of the pen much easier to move across the page. The grip section of the pen is made from PVD coated stainless steel, and tapers from around 13mm to 11.5mm in diameter, making it ideal for a large pen.
The finish is flawless and free of blemishes and tarnish, but it will accumulate micro-scratches over time. However, unlike coated or painted pens, these scratches will me much less noticeable, because there is no bright shiny metal to contrast with the colored coating.
The nib is JoWo #6 compatible, meaning that the nib unit has the same type and size of threads as a standard JoWo nib unit, and you can most likely put a different type of JoWo #6 type nib into the nib unit. However, if you do that, be extremely cautious when putting the cap back on your modified pen; if the new nib sticks out a bit further than the original nib, there's a chance that the inside of the cap may touch/damage/destroy your new nib. And I can not tell the difference in performance between the Gravitas nib and a "genuine" JoWo #6 steel nib. The nib is smooth, with barely the hint of feedback, and ink flow is absolutely perfect, even with Pelikan 4001 Königsblau ink, which is dry enough to cause ink flow problems in some of my other pens.
The clip...is still not present on Gravitas fountain pens. And there is no roll-stop, either. So...that does limit your options in how you transport your pen, and the handy black single pen zippered pouch the pen is delivered in may become your default storage and carry option. If you're considering a pen sleeve, get one with a folding flap, to prevent the pen from sliding out of the sleeve.
Last item: ink capacity. Gravitas pens are designed for Standard International cartridges and converters. Converters hold 0.5ml, Standard International Short cartridges hold 0.7ml, and Standard International Long cartridges about 1.2ml - 1.4ml. You can "refill" cartridges with bottled ink using a blunt tip ink syringe, which gives you almost as much ink capacity as a standard piston filler pen. With a little practice, you can refill your cartridges without making (much of) a mess ;-), but keep a paper towel handy, just in case.

Great service - from management of expectations, communication, delivery speed and quality packaging...and the friendly handwritten notice by Ema that did not go unnoticed.
Thank you!

A solid upgrade to the Entry line

This is a nice upgrade to the original Aluminium body / steel section Entry. The capping experience is much more premium, and the whole pen feels premium too. The weight is exactly the same as the old one (both 24g on my scales inked and unposted) but the balance is more traditional as both body and section is Ti rather than a heavy steel section with light alu body. Also raw Ti has a slightly tacky feel so the section is grippier than the black coated steel which is helpful. I enjoy the high quality minimalist look of it a lot. The gravitas extra fine nib is also, unexpectedly, a joy. It is a little broader and wetter than I was expecting but has a touch of very pleasant feedback. I’m glad I got the EF as I think the F may have been a bit too much for my diary with normal paper.

For those looking to use this as a platform for swapping in Jowo nib units be aware that whilst the threads are the same the section is precision machined to fit the body of the gravitas/kanwrite nib unit which is a hair slimmer than most Jowos. Therefore some Jowo nib units will just about squeeze in and work fine, while others will not fit at all. So far two out of the three i’ve tried have fit with a little encouragement initially, but a third has not. I expect I can get that nib working in it by swapping it into a nib unit which does fit. So not the end of the world and I can use my other nibs but not a perfect fit for all Jowo nib units. I’m glad that the Gravitas nib is nice. Also note that I think the converter nipple is a hair thicker on the gravitas nib unit as the included converter is tight on that nib but loose on my Jowo nibs, so best to swap to a standard converter when swapping nibs, and vice versa if you put a gravitas nib in another pen, use the gravitas converter too, as my normal jowo nib converter is too tight.

Excellent customisation and personal service

Emy kindly fitted my initials to my new HomoSapiens Bronze Age. Matched the trim colour perfectly. Looks great. Emy’s personal attention to my emails and request etc were fabulous. I can highly recommend Pen Venture.

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Sailor - King of Pens | Japanese Classical Performing Arts Shakkyo | Limited Edition |

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