What started off as mutually following and liking each other's posts on Instagram has blossomed into a beautiful friendship! Haha all corniness aside, we here at Yoseka are big fans of everything CY is involved in--and he's involved in so much in the fountain pen and stationery community.
We first came to know CY through religiously tuning in to the podcast, Tokyo Inklings, he hosts every week with fellow fountain pen fanatic, Jacob (@fudefan). Their interesting conversations got us through many early morning order-packing sessions, and we often found ourselves turning the volume way up on our speakers to hear CY and Jacob over the crinkly sounds of our Kraft paper.
From listening to the podcasts, Neil and I and our team members felt like we were getting to know CY like a close friend and every week, we'd find ourselves subtly shook at some insightful comment or prediction CY would make about the future of Sailor, or some new development at Pilot. We knew we had to befriend him in real life!
You can read more about CY and how he came into the fountain pen world on his website and blog, Tokyo Station Pens. One of the many hats that CY wears in the fountain pen community is that of nib grinder! If you follow him on his Instagram account, you will see that many have sent their pens to him to be ground into specialty nibs and from time to time, he also lists his personal collection up for sale as well.
When CY told me he would be visiting the States this summer and was looking for a location to host his nib grinding caravan, I did not hesitate to offer up Yoseka! We are so excited now that the date is approaching and we hope that a few of you will jump on this rare opportunity of meeting CY for your consultation and getting to watch him work on your nib and customize it to your liking!
Here are some answers for questions you may have about the event:
When and where?
- Thursday, August 18th from 1pm to 7pm
- Yoseka Stationery: 63 West Street, Brooklyn, NY
- Sign up
What does it mean to have your nib ground?
- After you've picked out a fountain pen nib and found your perfect nib size, you can take customization to the next level by re-grinding your nib and altering the shape of your nib, which can produce dramatic changes in your writing.
- You can read more about nib grinding in this very thorough post written by Jaclyn Myers on Well Appointed Desk
What do I need to have my nib ground?
- Bring a fountain pen with a wider nib. A nib grinder needs to have something to start with since in most cases the nib will be ground down to another shape. Broad, Double Broad, Coarse, Music, Stub and Zoom nibs are good examples of nibs that can be ground into another shape.
What are my options?
- CY has a list of grinds and prices available here. He is best known for his Naginata grind which requires a starting point of BB, Coarse, Zoom or Sailor Music.
Can CY fix my bent nib?
- CY can tune your nib (make it smoother, wetter, flow better) and yes, he can fix a bent nib! He can also readjust a misalignment.
What can I expect on the day of?
- CY will be taking over the front counter of Yoseka. During your appointment, you'll sit with CY for the consultation, watch and chat as he makes adjustments to your nib and he will continue to tune until it is writing how you envisioned. Our shop will be open during the event so you are welcome to shop before/after your appointment.
Where do I sign up?
- Each appointment is 25 minutes long and you can sign up here!
What do I do? There are no more slots!
- Come anyway! CY might be finished with an earlier customer ahead of schedule, or he can take your pen to work on in the evening and have it sent back to Yoseka for pick up at a later date.
Meet CY!
We are so excited about this event and hope to see some of you and your pens there!
