Danitrio boxes are heavy. Between my black handbag and a Danitrio box, entire universes collapse into singularities.
All my previous Danitrio pens came in a plain black box. This one is deep red with “Urushi” and “Mikado” silkscreened on the cover. My new arrival, though, is no Mikado. (Danitrio’s Mikado size is simply too large for me to use. I am a size queen only until some point.)
Any coffin jokes should be laid to rest just about now. (A passing thought: should I commission a funereal box for my ashes with urushi and maki-e work? Or is that taking my passion for this craft too far?) Inside is a pen rest, a cleaning cloth, and the Iwahada-nuri.
Several months ago, Kevin posted a new batch of Danitrio pens with experimental urushi finishes. He also ran a poll to find out which of the new finishes people liked. The Iwahada-nuri came in second, after the Gin bokashi nuri.
Masayuki Hariya, the artist, attempted to recreate a rocky surface on the ebonite Takumi body. It is rocky, yes, but also metallic, like pyrite that melted and reformed and melted again. Those who are used to water-smooth urushi finishes can find that this textured approach takes getting used to. Running my fingers over and around it, I imagine the offspring of a volcanic rock and a feather.
I asked for a flexible stub nib. Figuring out which ink to use in the Iwahada-nuri took a few minutes, but Noodler’s Golden Brown seemed like a good match.
The lyrics are from River of Orchids by XTC, from Apple Venus.
