Palisades Fountain Pens: Japanese Urushi and Maki-e Artistry Across Five Collections

Introduction

Palisades is a sister brand to TWSBI built around a clear goal: offer Japanese-made urushi and maki-e fountain pens at more accessible prices. That word is relative here, since genuine high-end lacquer artistry is never cheap, but the line makes a level of decoration usually reserved for ultra-exclusive releases available to a wider group of collectors. The pens reviewed here range from around $1,300 to $1,400 for the majority, with some models reaching well above that.

Every pen in the lineup is produced by artisans in Wajima, Japan, and each collection has its own personality: the silk-like spirals of the Yuzen line, the coin seals and piston fillers of the Kaga line, the faceted carvings of the Octagonal line, and the twisted eight-facet Oblique models.

What the Pens Have in Common

Across the collection, the pens share an 18 karat gold two-tone nib branded Palisades but produced by Sailor. Nibs are offered in fine, medium, broad, zoom, and music points. Most models are cartridge converter fillers with a Sailor-compatible converter included; if you prefer cartridges, you will need Sailor-brand cartridges with their wider opening. The Kaga models are the exception, using a piston filling system instead.

Because these are high-end unique offerings, stock availability varies. If a model you want is not listed, it is worth reaching out to ask when it might return.

The Yuzen Collection: Silk-Like Spirals

The Yuzen models are built on an ebonite base and use a dry urushi technique to create a silk-like wavy, delicate spiral surface. Each is a limited edition of 33 pens, with the artist’s signature near the base.

Yuzen Sapphire Cumulus

The Sapphire Cumulus is the standout color of the group. Its vibrant sapphire blue is far from flat: the twisting design carries visible texture and subtle nuance from every angle, a look that draws easy comparisons to some of the most sculptural acrylic pens on the market.

The spiral surface rewards close inspection. Where a flat blue pen fades into the background, this one keeps drawing the eye back as the light shifts across the ridges.

It is an easy favorite for anyone who wants a lacquer pen with genuine depth of color and movement in the finish.

Yuzen Copper Cumulus

The Copper Cumulus applies the same cumulus treatment in a coppery red exterior. The material has real depth to it, warming and shifting as the pen turns in the light, and it reads as a more understated sibling to the sapphire version.

Yuzen Aurora Foil

The Aurora Foil finish is one of the most fascinating applications in the whole line. It looks almost like a very thin transparent layer of mother of pearl, with a rainbow of colors contained within it that presents a different appearance at every angle.

The Kaga Collection: Coin Seals and Piston Fillers

The Kaga models set themselves apart with two features: prominent raised metal coin-like seals on the caps, styled like a slightly geometric flower emblem, and a piston filling system rather than cartridge converter. The seal is raised, though not enough to act as a roll stop.

Kaga Tame-nuri

The Kaga Tame-nuri is a classic layered lacquer look with lighter color peeking through at the wavy edges, adding another layer of interest to an already intriguing design. The metal seal on this one carries a bit of color variation that matches the pen itself.

Kaga Starry Night

The Starry Night is spectacular. It has a great deal of raden shell inlay set into the deep black urushi, and what first appears to be random patterning reveals itself, as the pen is rotated, to be a spiraling pattern like a distant galaxy in the night sky, with outlying stars in soft, undefined borders.

It is the kind of design that grows on you the longer you hold it, and the subtle spiral structure makes it far more deliberate than a first glance suggests.

Both Kaga pens shown here are numbered 0 of 0, suggesting artist proofs, so availability may come later rather than immediately.

The Octagonal Collection: Carved Facets

The Octagonal models are shaped with eight flat facets, which is exactly what the name promises. The Kohaku carries a deep copper foil-like treatment, with lighter edges to each facet that catch the light beautifully.

Octagonal Kohaku

The Kohaku is the quieter member of the trio, but the contrast between the darker facet centers and lighter edges gives it a refined, architectural look that suits the octagonal form well.

Octagonal Chinkin Hummingbird

The chinkin technique is one of the most demanding in lacquer work: an artisan carves crevices directly into the pen, then fills them with powders of gold, silver, or other materials. On the Hummingbird, each tiny dot of the surrounding flowers is individually carved and filled.

The result is breathtaking. The radiance of the blue used for the bird brings it vividly to life, the detail is stunning up close, and the artwork extends onto the section as well.

For sheer impressiveness, this is one of the most striking pens in the entire lineup.

Octagonal Chinkin Eagle

The Chinkin Eagle uses the same carved technique with a winter theme. Small blue spots represent the sky, leafless branches run along the top of the pen, and the eagle soaring through it all evokes crisp winter air. The detail work is just as impressive as on the Hummingbird.

The Oblique Collection: Twisted Facets and Raden

The Oblique models also have eight facets, but these are twisted about a quarter of a rotation along the barrel, giving the pens a dynamic spiral form before any decoration is even applied.

Oblique Raiden Eggshell

The Raiden Eggshell alternates facet treatments around the twist: eggshell lacquer, then black, then a facet with raden inlay. The precision required to hand-lay each piece of eggshell is staggering, and the eggshell and raden combination is a pairing that works beautifully when executed this well. The raden extends onto the section, and this model is a cartridge converter filler.

Oblique Northern Light

The Northern Light may be the favorite of the whole group. Raden cascades from the ends of the pen with smaller and smaller pieces, while the middle holds scattered flakes. The inlay also extends to the section, and the artist’s signature sits at the base of the section, a slightly unusual but well-judged placement that avoids breaking up the design. This one is a limited edition of eight units.

Writing with it is a pleasure too. The 18 karat gold broad nib offers pleasant feedback, decent ink flow, a touch of line variation, and a width sitting between a Western medium and broad. Reverse writing produces a sharp, extra fine line.

Oblique Aurora Foil and Wajima Cloth

The Oblique Aurora Foil carries the same mother-of-pearl-like treatment seen in the Yuzen line, and with blue, green, gold, copper, and purple all in play, no two pens will ever look alike. The Wajima Cloth in crimson red depicts a square piece of red cloth against the black of the rest of the pen. The cloth has real texture, adding a tactile element, and the red extends to the section, though the section itself is smooth.

Buying Advice

If you are choosing one, start with what draws you visually, because every pen here shares the same Sailor-made 18 karat gold nib platform. Collectors who want filling-system substance should look at the Kaga piston fillers. Those who want maximum decorative drama should consider the chinkin carvings, particularly the Hummingbird. And for a color-forward everyday statement, the Sapphire Cumulus and Northern Light are hard to beat. Remember that inventory rotates, so a model that is out of stock may return later.

Conclusion

Palisades does something genuinely interesting: it brings Wajima urushi and maki-e craftsmanship, hand-carved chinkin detail, and raden inlay into a structured line with a consistent, high-quality nib across five distinct collections. Whether you fall for a silk-like spiral, a galaxy of shell inlay, or a carved hummingbird, there is a design here with real depth both literally and figuratively.