Ensso Puma Urushi Review: A Japanese Urushi Fountain Pen With a Gold Nib at an Unusual Price

Introduction

When a company surprises you, it usually means they shipped something you did not expect. That is exactly the case with this new release from Ensso, a Los Angeles based company known over the years for quality, reasonably priced offerings. The Ensso Puma Urushi is a limited-edition urushi fountain pen made in Japan, and it launches at a price point that genuinely stands out in this category: $395 for a finished urushi pen with a Bock 14 karat gold nib.

Urushi pens are often rather expensive, because the labor involved is significantly greater than a standard pen offering. Cutting straight to the chase, that is what makes this release intriguing, so let us go over what you actually get.

What Makes This Pen Special

The pen arrives in a long, narrow wooden box with a soft feel that is characteristic of Japanese packaging. The wood is paulownia, which is very light and not very dense. Inside there is a simple felt sleeve, and inside that sleeve sits the pen itself.

The Puma model is one Ensso has released before in different materials, including aluminum, brass, and resin. This edition is made from ebonite with a urushi lacquer exterior, which puts it in very different company from those earlier versions.

Design and Finish

The specific lacquer treatment used here is called kuro-tamenuri, which means multiple vermilion layers sit at the bottom, followed by translucent black layers on top. The result is a rich glossy black pen with hints of the vermilion showing through at the edges of the threads, the cap, and the barrel. Overall it reads as a stark black with just a hint of red, and that little touch of vermilion peeking through the edges is one of the nicest details on the pen.

These pens are produced in Japan, specifically in Joboji, located in the northern part of Honshu. That region matters: around 98% of the urushi lacquer used in Japan is imported from China or other countries, and Joboji is known as the leading producer of domestic lacquer, accounting for about 60% of Japan’s current production. The lacquer sap’s main component is urushiol, and higher urushiol content indicates higher quality. Chinese lacquer typically contains around 60%, Japanese lacquer from other regions around 65%, but Joboji lacquer contains about 70 to 75%, making it some of the highest quality lacquer produced today.

Each pen takes about 6 months to complete, as the urushi layers take several days to air dry in specific natural conditions. This is a limited edition of only 50 pens, available exclusively on the Ensso website.

Parts and Features

The Puma Urushi is a medium-sized cigar-shaped pen. The top of the cap is rounded, angling up until about half an inch before the end of the cap. The pen carries no external branding or engraving, which fits expectations for an urushi pen; some urushi pens carry the artist’s signature, but this one does not. The transition between the cap and barrel is minimal and fairly smooth, and the barrel is straight for about an inch before tapering down to a rounded end.

The cap twists off at about three-quarters of a rotation. Underneath sits a very nice Bock number 6, 14 karat gold nib, engraved with the kanji symbol for urushi as well as the number of the pen. It is unusual to see a pen’s edition number engraved on the nib, and it looks good here. The nib is only available in fine. The feed is plastic, and the section begins with a short steep flare before angling up to the threads, where the vermilion treatment is again visible.

The cap can post, but it is not recommended. It is not overly secure, and more importantly, posting an urushi pen without cushioning material inside the cap risks damaging the finish over time. The pen is plenty long enough to use unposted and is fairly light.

Filling System

The Puma is a cartridge-converter pen that accepts standard international cartridges, and a converter is provided in the box. Another nice touch is that the pen is also designed to be used as an eyedropper: an O-ring is installed at the end of the section. If you do convert it to an eyedropper, a small amount of silicone grease on the threads is still a sensible precaution.

Writing Performance

Writing with the fine 14 karat gold nib is pleasant, though it is firmer than expected for a 14 karat gold nib. It is not overly smooth and carries a fair amount of feedback, though it is not scratchy in normal use. Ink flow is decent for a fine nib, and the feed keeps up just fine during fast writing. Reverse writing gets the job done, but it is a little scratchy and picked up a bit of paper fiber in testing.

The writing samples were taken with Diamine inks: Communication Breakdown, a maroonish red with a green sheen similar to Sailor Grenade but with slightly more sheen, and Oxblood. Both looked well in this pen.

Buying Advice

If you are looking to own your first urushi pen, or you want to add another to your collection at what feels like a very reasonable price, this is an easy recommendation to check out on the Ensso website. The combination of a Japanese urushi finish, a gold nib, and a limited run of 50 pens at $395 is an attractive package for collectors and first-time urushi buyers alike.

Conclusion

The Ensso Puma Urushi delivers a genuine urushi experience, with a kuro-tamenuri finish made from high-quality Joboji lacquer and a 14 karat gold nib, at a price that makes this craft traditionally far out of reach. Its firmer nib and unsuitable posting are worth knowing about, but for anyone curious about urushi pens, this limited edition is a compelling place to start.