12 October 2022

Ohashido (III)

Some more on Ôhashidô (::1::, ::2::), the small one-man operation from Sendai.

We saw on past texts that Ôhashidô traces its history back to 1912, but the production of pens only started in the late 1950s by the hand of Eichi Uehara, who founded Ôhashidô Ltd. in 1965. He was in charge of the company until 2010, when he passed it onto his son Yuichi, the current craftsman behind the operation.

Therefore, there are Ôhashidô pens by the hand of Eichi as there are by his son Yuichi. How do they compare?

The pen on this first picture was manufactured by Eichi Uehara.

An Ôhashidô pen by Eichi Uehara.

The most clear difference is the better polishing on the older pen by Eichi. Then, the whole construction and fitting seems more refined as well.

Father's (bottom), and son's (top).

It is labeled –twice-- on the rings: “J. S. U. ÔHASIDÔ SINCE 1912”. The nib, a 14 K unit by Sailor, carries the usual engraving we can still see nowadays. The Sailor logo is also included but hidden under the section. This particular unit is not dated.

The Sailor nib with the "Ôhasidô" engraving.

These are the dimensions of this older pen:
Length closed: 138 mm
Length open: 125 mm
Length posted: 154 mm
Diameter: 13.3 mm
Weight: 22 g
Ink deposit: 0.7 ml (converter) – 1.2 ml (cartridge)

This older pen is also more generous in all that is not the pen. The “kiribako” --the paulownia wooden box-- is basically the same in both old and new pens, but the old unit came with a pen case and three documents: an instruction sheet, a booklet explaining the history of the brand, and a third sheet describing the pen itself.

The pen and the box. Note the signed pen case.

And what we see on those documents is as interesting as the pen itself, but that will be the topic of the next Chronicle.


Ohashido Pro III – Lamy Dark Lilac

Bruno Taut
October 5th 2022
etiquetas: Ohashido

2 comments:

Papish said...

It is very interesting they left the Sailor's logo on the nib. Lazyness or maybe for the purchaser to be sure that it is a reliable nib?

That double ring appeals to me. Different than that single ring we are all used to. And the pen case, signed? What does it say? The manufacturer? The artisan?

Thank you for sharing, as always :)

Bruno Taut said...

Thanks for your comment.

Sailor makes and imprints the nibs. They might want to keep their name on the nib.

On the pen case, it says "Sendai / Ôhashidô".

The double nib decoration is not unusual on Ôhashidô pens. Indeed attractive and original.

Thanks for passing by and commenting.

BT

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