Certified Fake

Wagner meetings always have interesting pens to admire. Nibmeister Yamada, on top of his wonderful abilities to create innovative nibs, is very knowledgeable about pens. His collections seems to be very interesting and large.

Two apparently common Pelikan.

This time, he brought, among other things, these two Pelikan pens. Apparently, they are two regular 140s, the student model in the 1950s and early 1960s.

On top, the stenographic nib. On bottom... the other.

One of them has the stenographic (ST) nib—a flexible one desired by many. The other pen apparently displays a more normal point. It is engraved with the company name and the purity of the gold. However, Mr. Yamada tells us, despite all these indications, this nib was made in Japan—it is a copy. A copy made in Japan and certified by the Ministry of Industry—this nib was the JIS product number 4622, and was made by Kabutogi Ginjirô, probably as a replacement.

The imprint reads "Pelikan / 585 / 14 KARAT / PEN / PURPLE".

Therefore, here we have a true Pelikan with a Japan-certified fake nib.

My thanks to Mr. Yamada.

(Anonymous black hard rubber eyedropper – Sailor Tokiwa-matsu)
Bruno Taut
October 1st, 2011
[labels: evento, Pelikan, Japón, nibmesiter Kabutogi]