People describe nib master Chinyi Chow, known by his nickname CY, variously as a mad scientist” and an aesthetic engineer.” CY is a world citizen, comfortable in many countries and cultures. Born in Taiwan and raised mostly in Hong Kong, he received his secondary education in the United States and attended university in France.
In high school, CY encountered the concept of Homo faber, or Man the Maker.” He describes the impact of this philosophy as helping steer his personal and professional life.
“| am obsessed with the idea that humankind advances because of our inclination to create,” CY says.
His first memory of using a fountain pen was during a summer semester when he attended a handwriting camp.” This calligraphy class provided bladder-fill fountain pens, which CY remembers as fun but an absolute mess that got ink everywhere.”
Later, inspired by classmates with fountain pens, CY saved money from part-time jobs and purchased a Montblanc 145 with an OM oblique medium) nib. The nib was a challenge, but he liked its unusual characteristics and learned to write with it. It became his sole writing instrument for the next seven years. With it, he learned that a writer must master technique to properly use different nib styles. Eventually, he purchased a Sailor pen with a Naginata Togi nib, made by Sailor’s master nib craftspeople in the tradition of Nobuyoshi Nagahara.
After being disappointed at the lack of interesting stock nib options available from pen manufacturers, CY decided to grind and craft nibs to provide options for people beyond standard fine-medium-broad choices. He felt, and continues to believe, that fountain pens are the ultimate writing instrument because they can be infinitely personalized.
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Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Show Your Summer Style
The newest Visconti Homo Sapiens, Iris Garden, is a tribute to the beautiful irises that bloom each spring in Florence, Italy's Iris Garden.
Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better
SUZANNE C. LEE tests Dan Keller's wood and metal reading and writing accessories and finds her childhood dream desk come to fruition.
Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company
With his skills in design and eye for details, Rich Paul crafts pens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Fathoming the Unfathomable
The new Kanilea Pen Co. Blue Moana fountain pen and Mau Loa cap band are inspired by the ocean's depths and universal interconnectivity.
Truphae: Flexibility Is Key
This young pen shop is writing a new chapter in retail pen sales by finding unique ways to foster community.
"Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction
Creative writing typically blends what we know and experience with what we invent and imagine.
Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V
The end of World War II ushered in a new era, with plastics technology opening the way to better and less costly products of all sorts.
The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers
What do G-men, mobsters, and tampons have in common? The two most epic fountain pen heists in history.
The Other Articles of Impeachment
\"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment...\"
The Road to Recovery
A recent trip to Wajima, Japan, by TACCIA's Shu-Jen Lin shows tragedy in the present but hope for the future.