Jentle on the Side

Sailor inks are well known by now even overseas from Japan. And, as of today, after the transitional period of the seasonal inks (between December 2009 and July 2010), Sailor settled down its offer in April 2011 with nine ink colors. All these are the so-called Jentle inks, as opposed to the permanent, nanopigmented ones, of which only two colors are available: the black Kiwaguro and the blue-black Seiboku.

But Sailor is also known in Japan for producing inks for some shops. The better known example, at least outside Japan, is the case of Kobe inks made for the Kobe-based stationery shop Nagasawa. These inks, in fact, predate the day –December 2009— when Sailor sharply increased the price of their inks. Regular, Jentle, inks went from JPY 600 to JPY 1000 (plus taxes), which represented a 66% increase. This information is relevant because the custom made inks for shops always cost twice the price of the regular line. So, initially, Nagasawa inks cost JPY 1200, and the price increase was reflected in the current price of JPY 1500 (plus taxes).

Sailor ink made for the Nagasawa stationery shop in Kobe.

Sailor ink made for the Maruzen shop. It carries the traditional name of the fountain pen-related products made by this traditional shop--Athena.

Custom made inks created in later years cost, therefore, JPY 2000. There are numerous examples of them: Maruzen shops, Ishidabungu in Hokuto (Hokkaido), Bung Box in Hamamatsu (Shizuoka), Nakajima/B-Stock in the West side of Tokyo and Kanagawa, Kingdom Note in Tokyo… Many of them are Sailor Friendly Shops where some specific pens, not present in the general catalog of the company, are available. Some of those shops can be found on my map of fountain pen shops in Tokyo.

Sailor inks made of the small chain Nakajima/B-Stock located in several location on the West side of Tokyo and in Kanagawa prefecture. The price is clearly printed on the box--JPY 1260, taxes included.

In some cases it is still possible to find old custom made inks. And the price remains unchanged: JPY 1200 per inkwell (plus taxes).

Pilot Capless CS-100RW – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Machida, October 3rd, 2013
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, mercado, Nagasawa