New Collection | Kokeshi Glass Pen

The Glass Pen is one of Norm's most popular items. The beautiful aesthetic of the Pen is made possible by the many years of experience the artist has spent carefully and painstakingly refining their craft. The tip of the pen, dipped into ink a single time, can write for a surprisingly long duration. Today, we're going to introduce a new glass pen artist - Emi Fujita. If you like stationary, don't miss out on this new type of Glass Pen! We've been waiting for this inventory for more than a year, because of how difficult it is to make and how popular it is; we're so excited to make it available on Norm.

Kokeshi glass pens are made by a Japanese glass artist using burner work.

Burnerwork is a type of glass forming technique in which glass is melted and shaped by the flame of a burner. It's also known as lampwork and flamework. 

There are two types of burners; the artist’s choice depends on the glass being used and the desired shape. Air burners are used to melt soft glass while oxygen burners are used to melt hard glass. These two types of burners generally have different applications, too:

• Air burner: glass beads, craftwork, sculpture, etc.
• Oxygen burners: accessories, vessels, scientific instruments, etc.

As noted above, different types of glass have different levels of softness, which affects how the artist works with them:

• Soft glass: Glass with a COE of 130, which is lower than that of hard glass. In industrial products, glass up to about COE 80 is called ordinary glass.
• Hard glass: Glass with a coefficient of expansion (COE) of up to around 40, as typified by borosilicate glass. In glass crafts, glass with a COE of around 34 is used.

Kokeshi Glass Pen is made using a technique called lace cane in which two or more pieces of glass are combined together. It’s made of hard glass, but be careful not to impact it or drop it.

Kokeshi Glass Pen comes in two colors: black and white.

■How to use

• Dip the nib halfway into the ink and drain off excess ink before use.
• Be careful not to let the ink drip from too much ink.
• When using a glass pen, tilt the pen slightly to get the ink to come out cleanly.(Be careful not to tilt the pen too much or it may break.)
• After use, rinse off the ink under running water.

Please use ink for fountain pens, which is available here on Norm as well as at most stationery stores. If you use a type of ink called “lame ink”, we recommend using a toothbrush to wash the pen. 

The new Glass Pen by Emi Fujita is now available on Norm, check it out!