Sailor KOP Kaga Teal Blue fountain pen * Sailor urushi

Description:

The Sailor KOP Kaga Urushi fountain pen is available in 12 colours, from a bright Sunflower yellow to a stylish Slate blue. Each pen is handmade in Japan and has Sailors 21kt gold nib in size M or B. These pens belong in the Sailor’s regular lineup but are not always around.

Urushi lacquer is a natural material made from the sap of the Rhus Vernicifera trees, which only grow in East Asian countries. Commonly, these trees are called varnish trees. The deciduous urushi trees take 15 years to reach maturity, and the urushi they produce is very limited. The urushi sap is harvested between May and October, cleaned, stirred and mixed with pigments to form the lacquer.

When Urushi is hand-applied to the pen's surface and kept in high humidity, it slowly sets into a hard, durable, and lustrous finish that is waterproof and resistant to most other materials. Up to 12 separate coatings of urushi must be fully cured, dried, and burnished before the next application. The total process can take two to four months to finish a fountain pen.