Let's go simple to start.
Eboya is the last company still making ebonite (hard rubber) blanks in Japan. Ebonite was one of the first materials used for fountain pens but just as now, the color selections were pretty limited.
In addition to supplying rod stock to other fountain pen makers, Eboya also makes a few pens that are sold under their own name. Those pens are mostly the work of one man and so the numbers and styles are limited. The common trait to them is their clean simplicity and connections to Japanese culture.
The first Eboya pen I bought was called a Natsume. A Natsume is the
vessel that powdered green tea is stored in for a Tea Ceremony.
As you can see, it is a simple pen, unassuming, made from two toned dark blue ebonite with lighter blue veins running through it. It is the smallest size fountain pen Eboya makes; about the same size as the Pelikan 200/400, Pilot Custom Heritage 91 or Sailor Pro Gear Slim.
My next Eboya was one of their largest pens, a Yatate. A yatate was the
Japanese container that held a carbon ink block and brush and originally made from bamboo but later brass or bronze, often in the shape of bamboo. It was an early equivalent of a fountain pen.
Later I ordered a medium sized Eboya Houju (Gem) (and more recently a medium sized Natsume as well) that has the simple lines of the Natsume but with rounded ends instead of flat ones.
The Eboya fountain pens use simple generic Bock nibs and feeds, without even custom engraving or masking but are then tuned by the master to work flawlessly.
Everything about Eboya pens is classic Japanese/Buddhist/Taoist/Shinto minimalism but carried out to perfection.
From the top: small Natume, Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear, medium Houju, Sailor King of Pen, large Yatate
