Purchased this pen a few weeks ago and I have been reaching for this pen every single day. It is such a joy to use. The weight and size of the pen is perfect for my hand. The nib was checked and tuned by Anabelle to perfection. One thing to note, conventionally, Japanese nibs tend to write one size down compared to European nibs. I ordered a Medium and to my eye, it writes just like a European medium nib. Thank you Appelboom!!
After a lengthy wait period, I finally received this beauty. The wait was under stable, as urushi coated pens, for the last few years, have been getting harder to get. The pen itself is extremely understated, even in the red urushi. I find it to be so well balanced in the hand that the slight weight increase over a plastic pen is barely noticeable, even for lengthy writing sessions. The nib I chose is a medium nib, and it is butter smooth. While pricey, I find it to be worth it, as I got a solidly built pen that I don't have to baby and will last years, versus a plastic pen that you always have to be careful. It also came with a lifetime warranty, so extra peace of mind.
My Yukari Royale has an EF nib, that I initially found too scratchy. This disappointed me, as the price would suggest excellence. But, I did find the shape and heft to be very satisfying, so I stuck with it. After a while I started adjusting my grip to the pen's sweet spot, and this completely changed my first impression. I understood that the nib wasn't suffering from misaligned tines, or anything of that nature, it is just very responsive. The nib and the body transmits the tactile sensation of putting ink on paper in a very nuanced manner, and it seems like I can feel minute details in texture of the paper as the nib travels across it. This might just be in my head, but it still changes the way I write into a slightly slower, but much more focused and deliberate technique, that I find thoroughly enjoyable. If you're at that point where spending this amount of money on a fountain pen doesn't completely freak you out, I can't recommend the Yukari Royale enough.
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