Prototypes

Prototype pens, proofs of concept, are some of the holy grails of collecting almost anything. The reasons are clear: they are rare –very few units were indeed made-, and they were not supposed to be sold. So, rarity, the added value of any collectable, speaks loudly through prototypes.

Last week, at the annual Mitsukoshi “Fountain Pens of the World” Festival, nibmeister Nagahara Yukio was on duty fixing pens despite the very sad family news. And he had his personal pen case with him.

Nibmeister Yukio Nagahara's pen case.

Few of the pens in there were standard—one of them was the following cross nib.

An unusual cross nib.

Cross nibs, in the Nagahara tradition, are two-fold nibs based on a Naginata Togi. Over it, then, a second set of tines are welded. That is called an “over-cross” nib. This prototype is, on the contrary, an “under-cross” nib. The noble side, engraved, is a flat regular nib, and the crossing half-nib is nested between that one and the feed.

The clean-looking upper side of the "under-cross" nib. Note the two-fold tip of the nib.

The result is a cleaner looking nib, although it does not really ad that much to the well-known over-cross unit. So, this might only be a prototype... or maybe a test for a future change in the geometry of Sailor’s cross nibs. In any event, this nib shows that Sailor has ideas under development. Experiments are indeed needed, and nibmeister Nagahara Yukio is alive and well.

Clear enough--Yukio Nagahara's personal pen. But many would be happy to own such a signed experiment.

And this under-cross pen would be a most valuable possession for mostly any collector.

Pilot Ladypearl – Parker Quink Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano ward, March 12th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor, soluciones técnicas, evento, nibmeister Nagahara Yukio, plumín