Izumo Fountain Pen. The barrel is hand-made from ebonite. This is given a finish of Urushi lacquer – a most traditional of Japanese techniques. Urushi is a natural lacquer and five coats are each painstakingly applied, allowed to harden and polished in turn. A final coat is wax-polished, rubbed with pulp paper and oil polished – all repeated three times. The resulting rich, deep finish is highly prized and can be seen on many Japanese craft pieces. The Tamenuri process is used to imbue a subtle red hue to the barrel and cap where they meet.

The 18k gold bi-colour nib is the usual supreme quality.

Izumo is presented in a wooden giftbox imprinted with the Izumo logo and includes a special fabric pen pouch. Please note that the pouch may diiffer in design from what appears in the photograph.

Supplied with a converter for use with bottled ink. recommends Fountain Pen Ink, though of course any quality bottled ink can be used. Also takes ink cartridges.

154mm long, 18mm diameter and 34.5g in weight. recommends that you do not post the cap on the barrel when writing as this can damage the lacquer.