Spanish Yatate

Yatate pens are that style of pens popular in Japan til around 1920, when they ran out of popular appeal. Nowadays, the Taccia Covenant is the only of the very few pens (vid note at the end) vindicating that particular geometry. So, could we make a new yatate pen taking benefit of the lathe skills of those independent craftsmen whose pens are becoming so popular?

An old yatate pen. Foto courtesy of Mr. Ariel Zúñiga.

A new yatate pen. Taccia Covenant.

The chosen artisan was Miguel Ángel García, of Antigua´s. And the designing team was formed by my fellow stylophile Papish and myself.

Miguel Ángel García at the Madrid Pen Show in 2019. Photo courtesy of Mr. JMBS.

The starting conditions were very simple; the pen had to implement a size 6 nib, and the barrel should fit a standard converter. And then there was a decision to make: should it post or not?

The already reviewed Taccia Covenant could be posted —the cap, in actual terms, screws onto the barrel. The price to pay is aesthetic as we need the barrel to stick out of the cap to open and close the pen.

The Taccia Covenant. Note how the barrel tail sticks out of the cap. This is needed to open and close the pen.

The Taccia Covenant, posted. Secured, but bulky. Does anyone use this pen in this configuration?

The other option is to finish the barrel with a flat end disk aligned with the cap. This was the chosen solution.

As a consequence, the pen is just an ebonite rod when closed. An ebonite blank with a mystery inside.

A rod.

These are the dimensions of the Antigua´s Yatate:

Length closed: 135 mm
Length open: 127 mm
Diameter: 16 mm
Weight: 25,0 g (full pen), 13,5 g (open without cap)
Ink deposit: between 0,7 y 1,45 ml, depending on the cartridge or converter installed.

The pen is made of German ebonite, and the original nib was a steel JoWo unit. This prototype has no markings.

A pen.

The insides.

Whether Antigua´s would upgrade this prototype to a regular model in its lineup depends solely on Miguel Ángel, the artisan behind those pens. But so far, I am very happy with this pen and with the skills shown by the artisan.


NOTE added on Dec 1st 2022: A kind reader pointed out the existance of the Franklin-Christoph Abditus model, another yatate-style pen, currently on the catalog as a "special edution only". So, on production... now and then.


My thanks to Papish and to Miguel Ángel. And to Yuan Niu for the information on the F-C Abditus. Pictures by Ariel Zúñiga and JMBS are greatly appreciated.

Antigua´s Yatate – Diamine Bilberry

Bruno Taut
November 26th, 2022
labels: Antigua´s, España, Japón