Opening this winter
A penn is not bought. It is cut for the hand that will hold it.
We cut reed pens to your nib angle, cook our own soot ink, and burnish paper the slow way. Four items open the shop. Put your name down and you will hear first.
Lot One
The four that open the shop
Each lot is cut, cooked, or burnished in one run, then the run closes. Numbers are the order they leave the bench.
Java reed pen, cut to your angle
Seasoned three years, cut at the qatt you name. Ships with a bone qat'ah for the second cut.
From 34
Java reed pen, cut to your angle
Seasoned three years, cut at the qatt you name. Ships with a bone qat'ah for the second cut.
From 34
Lamp-black ink, one cooking
Soot, gum arabic, and a long stir. Thirty bottles from a single pot, then the pot is done.
18
Ahar paper, burnished by hand
Sized with starch, dried flat, then run under agate until the surface refuses to bleed.
26 for 25 sheets
Walnut pen case
Holds four pens and a bottle upright. Lacquered inside, oiled outside, no hardware.
95
How a pen is cut
Three cuts, in this order, no going back
The shoulder
The reed is opened at a long shallow angle so the ink has somewhere to sit. Cut it short and the pen runs dry mid-letter.
The shoulder
The reed is opened at a long shallow angle so the ink has somewhere to sit. Cut it short and the pen runs dry mid-letter.
The slit
One press splits the nib down the centre. It has to stop exactly where the shoulder ends, or the two halves will spread under pressure.
The qatt
The tip is trimmed against the qat'ah at the angle your script needs — flat for thuluth, oblique for nastaliq. This is the cut you cannot take back.
Questions
Can I order before the shop opens?
No. Lot One is cut in a single run and every piece goes to the list in the order names came in. Adding your name is the whole queue.
Can I order before the shop opens?
No. Lot One is cut in a single run and every piece goes to the list in the order names came in. Adding your name is the whole queue.
Do you cut for left hands?
Yes. Say so when you order and the qatt is reversed. There is no extra charge and no extra wait.
How long does a reed pen last?
A season of daily practice, then it wants re-cutting. We send a qat'ah with every pen and instructions for the second cut.
Do you ship outside the country?
Not for Lot One. Ink is a problem at customs and we would rather solve it properly than lose your parcel.