Added Value

Regular commenter Saltire Turquoise posed a very interesting question to my initial description of Sakai Eisuke's prototypes made for Pilot in early 1980s: Why can't Pilot make pens like those?

Although probably intended as rhetorical, it does trigger some reflections on the current situation of the pen market.

The first and easy answer to that question is a series of economic concerns—is there a market for those pens? Would they be economically viable?

It is worth to remember that Pilot does have a pen with similar characteristics to those prototypes: ebonite, urushi, Japanese eyedropper... but just bigger, much bigger—the Namiki Urushi 50. And this pen has a price of JPY 150000 in Japan. Expensive or not is anybody's guess, but it is not a pen you see everyday in the hands of aficionados.

From back to front, Pilot Urushi 50 (prior in time to the current Namiki model), Sakai's #10 and Sakai's #3.

However, I can think of a good argument for the marketing of pens like those Saltire Turquoise craved for–those prototypes and smaller versions of the Namiki Urushi 50.

In recent years we have seen how some Chinese companies have copied some very iconic Japanese (and other) fountain pens—Pilot Capless, Pilot Custom Urushi, Sailor ProGear, Platinum Curidas are some examples of pens with Chinese counterparts at much lower prices.

Jinhao or Sailor?

Lanbitou or Platinum?

In this scenario, little can the Japanese companies do save increase the value of their products. And pens like those Sakai's prototypes or like some older models offer interesting templates of what could offer that added value to their catalogs.

The critical question, however, can only be answered experimentally—is the market ready for those more expensive pens?

Thanks, Saltire Turqouise, for your questions.

Pilot Custom 748 – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 26th 2024
Etiquetas: Pilot, Sakai Eisuke, mercado, Japón

Pilot vs. Ban-ei

So, these prototypes were made by Sakai Eisuke. Then, how are they compared to other pens made by this master?

Needless to say, Mr. Sakai made pens in many shapes, some of which I have shown on these pages. However, balance models in a number of sizes and decorations were a very common canvas that came out of Sakai's lathe.

Four Ban-ei balance pens in four different sizes.

On the following pictures we see Sakai's prototypes and balance Ban-ei pens side by side. Do they share a common language?

From left to right, Pilot's Sakai #3, Ban-ei 4-bu, Pilot's Sakai #10, and Ban-ei 5-bu.

On top, Ban-ei "nashi nuri" in size 5-bu. Bottom, Pilot's Sakai #3.

Pilot Custom 74, Yamada Seisakusho – Diamine Teal

Bruno Taut
March 21st 2024
Etiquetas: Pilot, Ban-ei, Sakai Eisuke

Sakai's #10

The size 3 nib we saw on the previous text makes that pen a strange creature with no clear counterpart in the general catalog of Pilot.

On the contrary, the size 10 pen uses a more standard –and contemporary- Pilot nib. In fact, we can see a close relative in the form of the Pilot 65, the commemorative pen Pilot launched in 1983.

As we can see on the following picture, their nibs and feeds are identical to he manufacturing date, September of 1983.

These are the dimensions of these two pens:

	.Pilot 65.	.Sakai's 10.
Length closed (mm)	140	146
Length open (mm)	126	124
Length posted (mm)	159	176
Diameter (mm)	13.5	15.0
Weight (g)	17.9	18.6

Lotus Saral Titanium – Pilot (thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 19th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot, plumín

Sakai's #3

On the previous text I spoke about a couple of Pilot prototypes made by Sakai Eisuke in the early 1980s. These pens are urushi-coated balance units with Japanese eyedropper filling system.

The bigger of them implements a well-known size 10 nib, and I will go back to it on another text. Today I want to speak about the other pen, that with a size 3 nib: about what it is and about what it is not.

And this size 3 nib is not a modern size 3 nib. This nib size, not very popular, is implemented in current models Grance, and in discontinued Legance 89s, Legno 89s and Stella 90s.

The obviously different size 3 nibs. The Sakai's pen on top; a Stella 90 on bottom.

On the contrary, this nib is much closer, but not identical, to those made in the 1920s and 1930s. Its engraving, actually, follows the pattern seen on Pilot pens from the early 1920s.

The nib on the right belongs to the 1980s Sakai Eisuke pen. The other three nibs belong to late 1920s Pilot pens.

Exceptional size 8 Pilot nib from early 1920s. It belongs to a hoshiawase pen. Photo courtesy of Mr. Syrigonakis.

Then, where does this prototype nib come from? Is it an old nib that came in handy for the occasion? A newly crafted unit for the pen, either by Pilot or by some friend of Mr. Sakai's?

Hard to say as there's hardly any information on these singular pens. And when there is nothing we still have the pen...

Opus 88 Koloro – Caran d'Ache Electric Orange

Bruno Taut
March 18th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot, plumín

Footnote

The world of prototypes is an uncharted one. And that despite the fact that we certainly know that they existed and how the final result –the marketed model– looked like.

But what we do not know far exceeds those basic facts: who made them? How many of them were made? How many iterations did the idea go before settling on the final design? Why and how were those prototypes released into the wild?

From a historical point of view, their interest –dare I say– is limited. Sure they inform the creative process to reach the final model, but their intrinsic scarcity makes more of the anecdote than a reference in themselves. The model is the story, the prototype is the footnote.

But that singularity is what attracts the attention of collectors and what brings prices up on those rare occasions those pens show up in the market.

The following two pens are prototypes of what later became the balance Custom models in the Pilot catalog (Custom 67, 74, 742, etc.). The man behind them, commissioned by Pilot, was lathe master Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助) in early 1980s.

Two prototypes by Sakai Eisuke for Pilot.

Mr. Sakai looked back in the Pilot catalog to recreate the balance models of the brand in the early 1930s. As a result, these pens are made of ebonite, coated with urushi, and implement the very traditional Japanese eyedropper filling system.

Both of them have their bodies engraved in the same way, copying the style of those old Pilots: “PILOT” / THE PILOT PEN (P logo) MFG. CO. LTD. / MADE IN JAPAN. Note, though, that the P logo, P encircled by a lifebuoy, was adopted in 1938 and that those models from the early 1930s used a similar logo but with an N, Namiki, instead of the P.

The most significant difference between those two pens, aside of the size, lies on the nibs.

The smaller pen sports a size 3 nib with a very old fashioned engraving: WARRANTED / 14 K / PILOT / 3. It is not dated, and it is matched with a very generous ebonite feed.

The size 3 nib with the very generous feed made of ebonite.

The bigger unit has a size 10 nib similar to those present on models like the Custom 742. However, on this case the nib is not numbered as 10. Is is dated September 1983. The feed is also a contemporary unit made of plastic with the interesting detail of a shortened tail to accommodate the seal of the Japanese eyedropper system.

The size 10 nib made September 1983.

These are the dimensions of the pen together with those of a Custom 74:

	.Size 3.	.Size 10.	.Custom. 74
Length closed (mm)	137	146	143
Length open (mm)	120	124	125.5
Length posted (mm)	166	176	160
Max diameter (mm)	13.8	15.0	14.5
Weight, dry (g)	13.9	18.6	21.3
Ink deposit (ml)	2.6	2.7	1.0 (*)

(*) Capacity of converter CON-70. Other options are available.

From front to back, Sakai's #3, Sakai's #10, and Custom 74.

All in all, Sakai Eisuke combined his expertise in Japanese eyedroppers with the old aesthetics of the 1930s, balance Pilot pens. And at the end, from the prototype to the final model, only the basic shape was preserved.

One could argue, then, that the prototype was not representative of the final model, but this fact only adds appeal to these footnotes to the basic story.

Pilot Custom 748 – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 14th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot

From Sakai to Pilot

In the 1980s Pilot renovated the fountain pen lineup. It all started with the Pilot 65 in 1983—the first modern balance Pilot, save the Art Silvern pens of the 1960s.

Pilot 65, and its insides.

Those new balance pens were modeled after some pre-war models, thus predating some alleged master pieces. In fact, Pilot commissioned lathe master Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助), of Ban-ei fame, to create some prototypes.

Such is the case of the following unit—a balance Pilot made of ebonite, coated with urushi. Its filling system is a Japanese eyedropper. It was made in 1983 according to the date on the nib.

A Pilot pen by Sakai Eisuke.

The engraving on the body follows the pattern seen on pen in the 1938-1944 time window:

“PILOT” / THE PILOT PEN (P logo) MFG. CO. LTD / MADE IN JAPAN.

Its dimensions are slightly bigger than the later-produced Custom models with size 5 and 10 nibs. One such example of them is the following pen with the maki-e decoration in the form of East Asian phoenix (Hôô, 鳳凰), signed collectively by the Kokkokai, the Pilot guild of maki-e artisans. Its nib is dated October of 1988, and the filling system is a pulsated piston, an early version of what later would become the converter CON-70 (some additional information on my chronicle "Carving").

Pilot Hôô. A maki-e decorated size 10 pen.

	.Sakai´s pen.	.Pilot´s Hôô.
Length closed (mm)	146	142
Length open (mm)	124	127
Length posted (mm)	176	165
Max diameter (mm)	15.0	14.0
Weight, dry (g)	18.6	20.3
Ink deposit (ml)	2.5	1.4

This model set the structure of contemporary maki-e decorated pen we still see today—balance models with nibs 5 and 10 (Pilot numbering).

But at the same time, in those late 1980s, Pilot made a number of urushi-e decorated pens. Masa Sunami, on his book Fountain Pens of Japan (2012), speaks about them as “museum pieces”. These were very limited runs –between 5 and 20 units— of pens decorated with Tsugaru-nuri decoration in sizes 10 and 50. They are indeed rarities worth of some special attention, and of a Chronicle.

Museum pieces. Picture courtesy of Ottomarkiv.

My thanks to Ottomarkiv and to Masa Sunami.

Moonman A1 – Montblanc Burgundy Red

Bruno Taut
December 8th, 2022
labels: Pilot, Ban-ei, maki-e, Sakai Eisuke

On Ban-ei Nibs

On this text, some more notes on Ban-ei (挽栄) pens, including some corrections to my own words.

These pens made by Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助) and coworkers (Kabutogi, Takahashi, Tsuchida, Kitamura, Nakamura) are difficult to follow. They are, for the most part, unmarked with any brand name, and as a result they are invisible to many aficionados.

Ebonite bodies, often lacquered, occasional maki-e and urushi-e motifs, mostly gold nibs, Japanese eyedropper filling system (albeit with exceptions), teardrop clips… All these are some usual features of Ban-ei pens, but in no case are they exclusive to them.

The only element in Ban-ei pens that carried some sort of marking were the nibs, although not always. Many of these pens implemented nibs made by Kabutogi Ginjiro (兜木銀次郎), and these were more often than not labeled in one way or another—either through some JIS number (3233, 4622, 4922), some of the brands owned by this nibmeister or, more often, through the initials GK.

An Onoto-type pen made by Sakai Eisuke and Kabutogi Ginjiro.

On this case, the nib is labeled with the brand name "Steady", one of the brands registered by the nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro. Its JIS number was 3233, but it is not engraved on this particular nib.

A balance model with the wrongly named "Kamakura bori" decoration.

The nib is marked with the JIS no. 4622, associated to the factory Kabutogi Seisakusho Tabata and to the brand name Seilon.

However, Ban-ei pens also implemented a number of other nibs, and many were simply not signed at all. In particular, Ban-ei used Platinum and Sailor nibs. On both cases, the engraving was the same: “WARRANTED / 585 / 14 KARAT / PEN / IRIDIOSUMIN”, but their geometries are different, as can be seen on the picture.

Two Ban-ei pens with very different nibs--Sailor on the left, Platinum on the right. The later belongs to the Danitrio-commissioned series.

Close up of the nibs. Sailor on the left, Platinum on the right. The engraved text is the same --“WARRANTED / 585 / 14 KARAT / PEN / IRIDIOSUMIN”--, but not so is the size of the fonts. The Platinum nib is flatter than the Sailor.

In the mid 1990s, as we have already seen on these Chronicles, the company Danitrio commissioned some pens to the old troupe of artisans. On this occasion, the pens were properly labeled as “Ban-ei - 挽栄” on the cap lip, thus eliminating the anonymity of the previous works. Regarding the nibs of these pens, there is some conflicting information. For the most part, the nibs of the Danitrio Ban-ei pens are Platinum, but there is also a small batch of nibs carrying a special engraving: 復刻手造万年筆 (fukkoku tezukuri mannenhitsu), reissue hand-made fountain pen. The geometry of these nibs differs greatly from those made by Platinum. It is, in fact, very close to the geometry of the nibs signed with the initials GK.

Danitrio founder Bernard Lyn suggests on this book Maki-e, an Art for the Soul (Dani International Corporation, 2003) that it was Kabutogi’s son, by the name of Toshiya, the new nibmeister of the Ban-ei team after his father (Gingiro) had passed away. And I reproduced this idea on these same pages. However, further investigations in Tokyo pointed out that Kabutogi Toshiya was not a nibmeister and could not be the artisan behind those nibs. Sure enough, he had good contacts in Tokyo and probably access to old spare parts. The consequence of all this, then, is that we might need to add a pinch of salt to the claim that those nibs had been made by Kabutogi’s son.

Four Ban-ei pens. Clockwise from the red urushi pen: Danitrio Ban-ei with the special engraving (復刻手造万年筆) nib, balance model with "nashiji" decoration and GK nib, Danitrio Ban-ei with "nashiji" decoration and Platinum nib, and balance model with maki-e decoration (rabbit and moon motif) and Sailor nib.

Close up of the previous pens. Note the similar geometry of the two nibs on the back--the one with the special engraving and the GK nib. Both are very cylindrical and have heart-shaped breathing holes.

In fact, Mr. Eizo Fujii never mentions the figure of Kabutogi Toshiya on his article “The fountain pens of Sakai Eisuke” (Shumi-no Bungubaku, 34, p. 120-124). On it, Mr Fujii mentions Kabutogi Ginjiro and Platinum as the sources for the nibs of the Danitrio Ban-ei pens.

Lambrou and Sunami, on their side, speak of early Ban-ei pens equipped with nibs manufactured by Ishikawa Kinpen Seisakusho (JIS no. 3231), from Tokyo. This company provided nibs to a number of makers, including Ferme.

A Ban-ei with a Henckel nib made of steel.

A Henckel nib (JIS no. 3417). There are no records of any collaboration between Henckel and Sakai Eisuke, but there are a number of Ban-ei pens out there with this same nib.

Finally, there are some Ban-ei pens sporting exotic nibs. Certainly, many of them are the result of absurd combinations often driven by necessity. But some others are not so easy to diagnose. A case in point is a group of Ban-ei pens implementing steel nibs manufactured by Henckel (JIS no. 3417). There are no records, apparently, of such collaboration, but it is also unusual to see a number of pens with the very same nib. Some aficionados have suggested that these Henckel nibs were attached to remaining Ban-en bodies that were never put to sale.

The obvious conclusion is the variety of sources to the nibs implemented by Sakai Eisuke and collaborators. Those made by nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro are indeed relevant and even common, but by no means are those GK nibs the only ones; not to mention that this nibmeister was very prolific and worked for a number of brands.

In any event, what matters here is that Ban-ei pens are still a mystery. But that might be the fate a small and artisanal operation with few written records. And some people indeed feel the strong appeal of these almost anonymous pens.


References:
Bernard LYN. Maki-e, an Art for the Soul. Dani International Corporation, 2003.
Eizo FUJII. “酒井栄助の万年筆” (Sakai Eisuke no mannenhitsu; The fountain pens of Sakai Eisuke). Shumi-no Bungubaku, 34, p. 120-124 (2015).
A. LAMBROU & M. SUNAMI. Fountain Pens of Japan. Andreas Lambrou Publishers Ltd., 2012.

Sheaffer 1250 – Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 14th, 2017
etiquetas: Ban-ei, Platinum, Sailor, plumín, Sakai Eisuke, nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro, Danitrio, Ishikawa Kinpen Seisakusho, Ferme, Henckel

Onoto Type by Sakai Eisuke

Ban-ei pens have shown up several times on these Chronicles and the basic data are is well known. But the devil is in the details: Sakai Eisuke and his team did not leave much information behind and any pen can be a source for more knowledge.

The following pen seems to have been made in the 1960s. It is an “Onoto-type” pen, so popular in Japan even nowadays. On the information sheet accompanying we can read that this is a pen inspired on the Onoto model of 1918, with a plunger filling system. Needless to say, the Japanese pen does not use any self-filling operation but the very dear Japanese eyedropper system (::1::, ::2::) derived from the old Onoto plunger.

On this picture, both threads of the ink deposit and of thr shut-off valve are half unscrewed.

This pen is designed to be posted, although the final length is quite long--180 mm.

Classical design of the section of an "Onoto-type" Japanese pen.

The information sheet also states that the pen is the work of just two people—Kabutogi Ginjiro, nib, and Sakai Eisuke, body. And the two other regular actors of the Ban-ei group, Tsuchida and Takahashi, are absent, which points out at the idea of this being a precursor of what later would become the Ban-ei/Tsuchida brand of pens. But, to what are we calling Ban-ei or Tsuchida pens?

The information sheet signed by Kabutogi Ginjiro (兜木銀次郎) and Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助).

The nib, made of 14 K gold, is engraved with the name of one of the Kabutogi’s registered brands—Steady: “K14 / Steady / Special / Perfect / -<3>- / Pen”.

The Steady nib made by Kabutogi Ginjiro (JIS no. 3233, although there is no JIS mark on this nib).

These are the dimensions of this Onoto-style pen:

Length closed: 147 mm
Length open: 142 mm
Length posted: 180 mm
Diameter: 11.0 mm
Weight: 11.8 g (dry)
Ink deposit: 2.8 ml

This particular pen was commissioned by Seibu Department Stores in Tokyo.

The weak point in the Japanese eyedropper pens--the point where the rod operating the shut-off valve enters the ink deposit.

The weak point of this pen is the back seal between the valve rod and the ink deposit. This is the main source of problems in Japanese eyedropper pens.

Sailor Profit, Naginata Togi – Tomikei Blue.

Bruno Taut
Nakano, March 21st, 2017
etiquetas: Ban-ei, Kabutogi Ginjiro, Steady, Onoto, Sakai Eisuke

Fetishisms

To speak about fetishism in the world of fountain pens is essentially redundant. Collecting is a form of fetishism—to favor the tool for itself instead of for the work it does or for its actual performance. Now, fetishism can go a lot farther…

As of lately, and these Chronicles might share part of the responsibility for that, some “craftsman” pens, made with old technology and in low production batches have gained some name among stylophiles. Brands like Eboya (formerly Nebotek), Hakase, Ohashido, StyloArt Karuizawa, fit in this category nowadays. But some time ago there was another master who by now holds a quasi-mythical dimension—Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助) the leading figure behind Ban-ei pens and creator of the prototype of modern Pilot-Namiki with size 50 nibs.

Three pens made by Sakai Eisuke.

Sakai Eisuke was a master of the rokuro, the traditional pedal-operated Japanese lathe, and here I am showing one of the rokuro he used. Now, it belongs to Nikko Ebonite, and is, in actual terms, one of the two traditional lathes in service to make Eboya pens.

Ex-Sakai Eisuke rokuro.

Does this detail add any value to the pens made with it? Most likely not, but that depends on your personal obsessions re fountain pens. I, for one, was very happy to see and even touch a tool used by a great master.

The current location of the old rokuro: the building of Nikko Ebonite.

My thanks to Mr. Noritoshi Kanesaki

Oaso “Safari” – Diamine Graphite

Bruno Taut
Nakano, August 1st, 2016
etiquetas: estilofilia, Eboya, Pilot, Sakai Eisuke