Torion Nib, by Kubo Kohei

Many different elements already mentioned on these Chronicles come together today by the hand of a very interesting nib.

At some point I spoke of the brand Push, owned by the company Tanaka Daigen Do, from Osaka. This company is still active today, but its pen production was stopped by the late 1960s.

A Push pen, by Tanaka Daigen Do, in celluloid.

On another text, I described the nib of the Pilot Justus, now well known after the release of the Justus 95 model. These nibs –old and new— can be adjusted in their flexibility by means of a sliding plate moving up and dawn on their backs. Fellow blogger KMPN provided additional information on the actual patent of these nibs (US patent US4347011), invented by Yanagita Shikichi (柳田清吉). This invention connected the Pilot Justus with the much older adjustable nib of the Wahl-Eversharp pen. On this case, the flexibility was limited by a zipper-like plate that kept the tines more or less together. This mechanism was patented in the US in 1932.

New and old Justus, side by side.

The Wahl-Eversharp nib patented in 1932.

Finally, on a third text, the protagonist was nibmeister Kubo Kohei, an old master still active in Tokyo. In the past, Mr. Kubo had worked for a number of pen companies –Elliott, Nobel— and ended up owning the later of them.

A music nib by nibmeister Kubo.

So, what do we have for today that combined all these elements?

The following is an adjustable nib in the fashion of the old Wahl-Eversharp unit. It was made by Mr. Kubo Kohei for the brand Push, as can be read on the nib. Its material is stainless steel, and was manufactured in the late 1930s.

The back of the nib shows that the feed had to be very special in order to allow the zipper to limit the flexibility of the nib.

The inscription on the nib: "PUSH" / TORION / PEN / 4".

Needless to say, this is a copy of the Wahl-Eversharp nib for the Japanese market. It is questionable whether the American company ever got to know about its existence.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Kato Seisakusho 800F – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, January 10th, 2014
etiquetas: Push, Pilot, plumín, Nibmeister Kubo, Wahl-Eversharp, Elliott, Nobel

Push

Push was the pen brand of the company Tanaka-Daigen-Do founded by Tomisaburô Tanaka in Osaka in 1918. The main technological argument in its early pens was a spiral-shaped ink channel that favored the ink flow and avoided the need to shake the pen —eyedroppers with shut-off valve— before using it. After the war. the company produced a number of very attractive pens with silver overlaid decorations.

A Push pen, made of celluloid, probably in the 1940s.

The clip is engraved with the name of the company and its logo.

The founder died in 1967, and its company survived him up to today. However, it stopped the pen production in the late 1960s.

The Push pen I am presenting now is made of celluloid; implements a lever filler, a stainless steel nib, and an ebonite feed. It is engraved with the brand name on the nib, on the clip, and on the barrel. These are its dimensions:

Length closed: 122 mm.
Length open: 108 mm
Length posted: 141 mm
Diameter: 11.5 mm (cap)
Weight: 12.0 g (dry)

The steel nib is engraved as follows: "ACID PROOF / PUSH / IRIDIUM / POINTED".

The beautiful feed made of hard rubber.

My best guess is that this pen dates back from the 1940s.

Pilot G-300V – Wagner 2008 ink

Bruno Taut
September 3rd, 2012
etiquetas: Japón, Push