This past Friday I had the opportunity to head over to The Gentleman Stationer in Nashville for an appointment with Matthew Chen. For those unfamiliar with Matthew, he’s a nib doctor or nibmeister who studied abroad in Japan where he was able to get extensive guidance from Yukio Nagahara, whose father Nobuyoshi Nagahara created the Naginata Togi grind for Sailor. Yukio has since granted Matthew permission to offer the same specialty grinds, including the Kodachi and Uranagi that he’s become known for in the fountain pen community.
I was particularly interested in the Uranagi grind because I wanted something that would workk well for taking work notes in my Plotter Narrow. The Uranagi is essentially a Kodachi flipped upside down. When writing normally, the front side of the nib puts down a thin hairline similar to a needlepoint. Flip to the reverse side and you get a brush like line stroke. Matthew also notes that the reverse side runs slightly drier than a standard Kodachi, which produces even finer hairlines at the ends of strokes.
This combination is perfect for how I take work notes. I use the reverse side to write headlines and callouts, text I want to stand out when scanning a page. I can then flip back to the front for my regular writing. That fine needlepoint line works beautifully with the smaller block-style lettering I use on the narrow Plotter sheets where space is at a premium.
A question that comes up a lot in this hobby is: what nib and what size should I have ground? For me, I brought Matthew a Kaweco Piston Sport with a steel double broad nib. I love Kaweco Sports for their form factor and portability, but I’ve never been a fan of their wider European style nibs so bringing him this pen made perfect sense.
What was once a pen I rarely reached for has become one I love and use all the time, especially for travel. The compact size of the Sport paired with the versatility of the Uranagi grind makes it an ideal everyday carry for work notes on the go.
t’s funny how a single grind can completely change your relationship with a pen. The Kaweco Sport has been in my collection for a while, but it always felt too broad for how I write. Now it’s become one of my most used pens.
If you’re curious about specialty grinds but haven’t taken the plunge yet, I’d encourage you to start with a pen you’re not fully in love with, maybe something that’s almost right but not quite. That’s where grinds like this can be a great option. They can take a pen that doesn’t fit your writing style and transform it into something that feels like it was made for just for you.