Namiki

For the neighborhood, see Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama. For a Japanese component manufacturing company, see Namiki Precision Jewel Co., Ltd..

Namiki is a Japanese brand of fountain pens and other writing equipment. Namiki is most famous for their maki-e (lacquer work) designs on urushi.

Overview

Namiki is the surname of Ryosuke Namiki, the founder of the Pilot, named as Namiki Manufacturing Company until 1938 when it becomes Pilot Pen Co., Ltd.. The brand name Namiki came to fame in the early 20th Century when Dunhill retailed in the west the Maki-e pens produced by Pilot under the brand Dunhill-Namiki. This partnership has continued to the present day (occasionally Namiki makes a Limited Edition for Dunhill) although Namiki has always been owned by the Pilot.

Namiki's higher ranges include the Emperor, Yukari Royale, and Yukari, and this is the brand used by Pilot to sell their the high valued Maki-e pens all over the world.

Namiki fountain pens and non-disposable Pilot fountain pens share the Pilot/Namiki proprietary ink refill cartridge, with inks available in several colors. Converters of both the piston type and squeeze type are also available to allow Namiki and Pilot fountain pens to be filled from ink bottles.

The curve-sided Namiki ink bottle has an inner inkwell to keep the nib steady during filling and also to allow almost the last few drops of ink to be taken from the bottle into a pen.

See also

• Pilot (pen company), the manufacturer of Namiki fountain pens

External links

• Namiki, the corporate site
• (Japanese) Namiki Maki-e fountain pen, the Japanese corporate site at Pilot Corporation
• More about Vanishing Point Pens from Penpedia.com
• Namiki fountain pen
• Kamakura Pens
• Velvet Pens