Nomikomi Inkwell (II)

The nomikomi system, we saw previously, is a thing of the past—the 1930s—and those old inkwells might not be used again.

But what about the idea? Could it not be revived now?

Modern plastics and sealing gaskets would easily make the whole system better and more reliable. After all, Twsbi created the Vac-20 inkwell to work in combination with some of its pens in a similar fashion as the nomikomi filling—inverting inkwell and pen together.

But the secret of the old Pilot filling lied on the pen feed—a very long feed whose capillary action was able to overcome the surface tension of the ink. And to recreate those pens we would need a daring company.

Is there room in the market for such a pen?

Pelikan M200 Cognac – Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo

Bruno Taut
February, 2022
etiquetas: soluciones técnicas, Pilot, Twsbi

Missreadings

Over seven years of writing… I struggle to provide accurate and reliable information. Sometimes, of course, I have made mistakes and I have tried to mend them with additional texts and notes.

However, what is beyond my reach is how readers understand what I had written. I will mention two examples, often repeated:

-- Years ago I wrote about how it was possible to exchange the nib of a Twsbi Diamond 530 —Twsbi’s first model— with a size 5 nib by Pilot.

A Twsbi Diamond 530 with a size 5 music nib by Pilot. There is an obvious color mismatch between the trim of the [pen and the nib.

Another example, this time with an M point of a Pilot's size 5 nib. Other nibs are possible: Sailor, Pelikan,...

I think my words were very precise: Twsbi Diamond 530 and size 5 Pilot nib. But both in written –on some fora—and through conversations, some people have complained about the problems they had faced. Well, the whole problem was that they were using other nibs and, more often, other pens—the Diamond 540, for instance. But I had said nothing about the Diamond 540!

-- The second example is about the Pilot’s size 10 “falcon” (FA) nib. I published several texts on the deficient performance of that nib—size 10 “falcon” (FA) nib (::1::, ::2::, ::3::). Then, several people replied that they had had no problem with the “falcon” nib… in size 15! Actually, I had also said that I had had no problem with the the size 15 falcon nib on the Pilot Custom 743 (::1::, ::2::). Some others insisted in mixing up the falcon nib with the Falcon (Elabo in Japan) model by Pilot.

Pilot's "falcon" (FA) nibs on sizes 10 and 15. These "falcon" have nothing to do with the Falcon model (Elabo in Japan).

I am well aware, though, of how much louder those who misread the texts are. These people do need to raise the voice on their different experiences, whereas those who read correctly usually keep silent or, at most, write a “thank you” comment.


Much worse is someone taking a picture from the blog—and that is unavoidable— but unable to read what those pictures say. These people, at least, show that the mistake were theirs and not mine. And I am innocent.

This nib is, obviously, a Pilot. Not yet a Namiki.

The conclusion of all this is obvious—I am responsible for what I write, but not for what others read.

Romillo Nervión – Sailor Iron-blue (original ink)

Bruno Taut
Nakano, August 2nd 2017
etiquetas: Pilot, Twsbi, metabitácora

Family Portrait (VI)

I will be a bit narcissistic today and will show my collection of music nibs. All of them are Japanese.

Clock-wise from the top, these are the pens:

At 12 o’clock: Pilot Super 200 made in 1962. Hose filling (quarter-switch) system. 14 K gold nib.

Pilot Super 250, E model, made in 1967. Hose filling (quarter switch) system. 14 K gold nib.

Pilot Custom Grandee made in 1982. Cartridge-converter. 14 K gold nib.

Pilot Custom 74 made in 2010. Cartridge-converter. 14 K gold nib.

Twsbi Diamond 530, red, with a Kubo Kohei’s nib in size 2. Piston filler. Steel nib. This is a “frankenpen”. Twsbi does not sell music nibs for its pens. The best we can get are italic nibs.

Platinum P-300 made in 1969. Cartridge-converter. 18 K gold nib.

Platinum pocket with wingflow nib, made in 1978. Cartridge. 14 K gold nib.

Platinum 3776 in celluloid (calico pattern) made in 2009. Cartridge-converter. 14 K gold nib.

Platinum 3776 Century, made in 2012. Cartridge-converter. 14 K gold nib.

For this list, I have purposely ignored the music nibs currently made by Sailor in 14 K gold and steel. Those have failed in attracting my attention and their writing was never very pleasant. But Sailor, nonetheless, had manufactured three-tined music nibs in the past. The current Cross-music nib, by nibmeister Nagahara, is a totally different animal.

All these nibs, save for those currently on production, are rare finds in the second hand market. Rare, however, only means that it takes longer to find. Collecting has a lot to do with being patient.

Parker 51, octanium nib – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
In flight over Europe, November 13th, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, Platinum, nibmeister Kubo Kohei, plumín, plumín musical, Sailor, estilofilia, Twsbi

Twsbi Naginata

Sailor, we all know by now, is focused on creating nibs, new and exciting and even experimental. But at the same time, this experimentation seems to be done at the expense of neglecting the filling system. Only two options are available—the piston of the Realo models, and the clean and aseptic cartridge-converter.

On the other side, Twsbi follows the opposite strategy. The German nibs (either Bock, JoWo or Schmidt) are good and reliable in general, but all too predictable albeit with the exception of the series of italic units. Besides, Twsbi pens are easy to maintain due to the policy of the company, eager to provide tools and information to disassemble its pens completely.

Combining both worlds is not a new idea. I already installed some Pilot and Sailor nibs in a Twsbi Diamond 530 with good results. And many other stylophiles were successful with other combinations. After all, it is only a matter of try and error. And so did I try another possibility—the Twsbi Naginata.

The chimeric pen.

I attached a Naginata Togi nib (size big, 大型) to the Twsbi Vac 700 using the feed of the Taiwanese brand. The ink demands of the rigid Naginata are not high and can easily be met. Of course, this is not the only possibility. Any large size nib by Sailor would do the trick—from the ultra fine Saibi Togi to Nagahara’s specialty nibs. The only limit is the ink flow supplied by the Twsbi feed.

The Naginata Togi nib, more in detail.

A cross-music nib in a Twsbi Vac 700.

Needless to say, I would feel a lot more comfortable if I could use the Sailor feed on this Twsbi. Or it might only be that I respect Sailor work too much… but not enough.

The paradox is that nibs and feed are harder to design that filling systems, although Twsbi has made a very fine job –not to be underappreciated— with this plunger filler. This Twsbi Naginata is a frankenpen, a chimera, but also a doable chimera. And wouldn’t it be great to have a Naginata or a specialty nib in a vacuum filler?

Twsbi Vac 700, Naginata Togi nib – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, August 30th, 2013
etiquetas: Sailor, Twsbi, soluciones técnicas

Rhetorical Question (I)

Recently, a friend confessed –yes, that is the right word— that she had purchased a luxury mechanical pencil for the amount of JPY 1575 (about EUR 16 or USD 17), and that was expensive. Sure enough, to any normal person, to any healthy mind, any writing tool over EUR 10 (or USD 10, or JPY 1000), is expensive. We stylophiles are the abnormal ones in here, and we might need to rethink our perceptions on what is cheap or expensive in our small world.

Lamy Safari, JPY 3800. Cartridge-converter. Converter not included.

Parker IM, JPY 2900. Cartridge-converter. Converter not included.

Pilot Prera, JPY 3500. Converter included.

Twsbi Diamond 540, USD 40. Piston filler.

Case in point—can we really say that a EUR 30 fountain pen is an entry level fountain pen? Can we seduce any sane person into buying a writing tool that is about 10 times more expensive than those regular pens he might use?

Sailor Profit Junior, music nib – Diamine Graphite

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, January 30th, 2013
labels: mercado, estilofilia, Lamy, Parker, Pilot, Twsbi

Fude Matsuri

Nibmeister Yamada is already well known to the readers of these pages. His innovative approach to nibs and his impressive skills to manipulate them are always sources of amazement.

At the last Fuente meeting in Tokyo (October 27 and 28) he showed the latest modifications he had made for some friends. It was indeed a festival of fude nibs. First, he showed a Visconti Opera, a Twsbi Diamond 540, and a Twsbi Micarta 805 with their nibs modified.

The Visconti Opera with its 14 K gold nib.

The Twsbi Diamond 540's steel nib.

The steel nib of a Twsbi Micarta 805.

All three modified nibs together for comparison.

Later, on the spot, he modified the generic nib of a Lapita Lemon—a mostly uneventful pen sold together with the now discontinued magazine Lapita in 2005.

The Lapita Lemon pen...

...and the writing test with orange ink.

And the very rigid nibs became something more exciting. Hats off, please.

Pilot Custom Heritage 91, SFM nib – Diamine Teal

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, November 3rd, 2012
labels: plumín, Yamada, evento, Visconti, Twsbi, Lapita

Demonstrators in Japan

Apparently, along the nearly 50 years of history of the Capless family of pens, only the short model marketed in 1965 had a demonstrator version and, as was the case with most transparent pens, was not intended for sale but to show the internal mechanism. These were, in fact, tools in the hands of Pilot’s salespeople to convince retailers of the virtues of the pen. What most demonstrators intended to show was the filling mechanism, which was a primary battlefront in the market of pens. Then, cartridges became the filling system of choice and transparencies lost its ground, although with some exceptions. In Japan, this happened in the early 1960s, after Platinum had launched the Honest Cartridge in 1956.

The rare Capless demonstrator from 1965.

The Pilot Capless belongs to a different breed of pens. Instead of showing the filling system –a regular and uneventful cartridge-converter—it shows the retracting mechanism and the movable nib unit. And that puts on quite a show! Or, at least, an original one that many a user would be willing to buy.

The latest demonstrator by Platinum. It is named after one of the five lakes around Mt. Fuji: Shoji (精進湖). However, there is not much of a mystery inside the barrel.

And no show is provided by most Japanese modern demonstrators. Save a couple of exceptions –Pilot’s Custom Heritage 92 and Custom 823--, all of them are cartridge converter pens with nothing special to reveal. And, after all, cartridge and converters were removable and of easy access to the user.

Three demonstrators. From top to bottom, the cartridge-converter Pilot Custom 74, the piston filler Twsbi Diamond 530, and the piston filler Pilot Custom Heritage 92.

In the meantime, the Taiwanese brand Twsbi shows that it is possible to make affordable demonstrators with self-filling mechanisms. Now, a transparent modern Capless, that would really shake the scene!

My thanks to Mr. Hiroshi Shimizu.

Pilot L pocket pen – Sailor Sei-boku

Bruno Taut
August 20-22th, 2012
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless, Japón, Taiwan, mercado, Twsbi, Platinum

Kubo Kohei

To my friend Noritoshi.

Music nibs are a favorite of mine, as could easily be understood from these Chronicles. So, it is not difficult to imagine how delighted I became when this friend gave me this present.

The imprint on the nib is as follows: "STANDARD / NK / JIS logo / IRIDIUM / -<2>- / NPK".

This music nib is engraved with the Japanese Industrial Standards logo and, besides some other information, the initials NK. They stand for Nobel Kubo. Nobel was a pen brand owned by pen master Kubo Kohei (久保幸平) —my friend´s mentor— about which not much information can be found. Kubo Kohei was also involved in the better known brand Elliott, active between 1930s and 1950s, and based in the Kita ward of Tokyo.

A Nobel pen, model Super Gold. A cartridge/converter pen from, probably, early 1960s.

An Elliott in celluloid. This pen´s filling system is a blow-filler or nakaoshi-shiki in Japanese.

This size 2 music nib is made of steel and is slightly flexible. Its point is, surprisingly, quite symmetric and barely shows any line variation unless some pressure was applied. This nib could easily pass as a medium-fine or medium point.

The Twsbi Diamond 530 with the steel music nib.

The nib point is very thin despite the three tines.

This text was written with the NK music nib attached to the Diamond 530. Barely any line variation unless some pressure was applied, as ca be seen at the bottom. Then, the ink flow increases and so does the drying time.

I have attached it to a Twsbi Diamond 530 —remember, the box had already been open— and the results are very pleasant. This nib matches quite well with the Twsbi feed and the resulting ink flow is quite generous, which is very convenient for the demands associated to two slits and to the limited flexibility. Limited, I said, but needed to create any line variation with this nib. At the same time, this ink flow contributes to the overall smoothness of the well made and attractive nib.

(Twsbi Diamond 530 with NK music nib – Diamine Evergreen)

Bruno Taut
September 13th, 2011
[labels: Twsbi, Nobel, Elliott, plumín]

Camello

Evaluación de la pluma Twsbi Diamond 530.

Posiblemente sea hora de hacer una evaluación de una pluma que ya ha aparecido mucho en estas crónicas: la Twsbi Diamond 530. La Twsbi, al contrario de lo que sucede con muchas otras, está perfectamente documentada y es bien conocida y posiblemente poco puedo aportar a lo ya publicado.

La historia es que el propietario de la marca taiwanesa –Chengchang Wang–, después de unos veinte años de producir plumas para otros decidió crear su propio producto. Y además decidió contar con la opinion de usuarios y entusiastas. Recurrió a uno de los foros de estilófilos más activos: el Fountain Pen Network, donde el Sr. Wang participa con el nombre de “Speedy”. La respuesta fue entusiasta y éste es el resultado de esas aportaciones y de las correspondientes decisiones empresariales.

Un camello es un caballo diseñado por un comité, dice el viejo adagio. Y esta pluma podría ser ese camello. Pero a diferencia de muchos productos e informes diseñados por comités absurdos, esta vez el resultado es muy interesante. Tal vez la razón de este éxito estribe en que al frente de la empresa había una cabeza pensante –Chengchang Wang— que tomaba las decisiones y arriesgaba sus recursos para hacer realidad este proyecto.

La pluma en cuestión, pero con un plumín ajeno.

La Diamond 530 es una pluma transparente –una demonstrator— sin contrapartida opaca. Las plumas de demostración surgieron como instrumento de ventas para enseñar el funcionamiento interno de las innovaciones técnicas de aquellos nuevos productos. Y las plumas que de verdad estaban a la venta eran las opacas.

Pocas innovaciones técnicas hay hoy en el campo de las estilográficas, pero las plumas de demostración no han perdido su atractivo, tal y como demuestran los varios modelos transparentes de Pelikan, Pilot, Sailor… y la propia pluma que nos ocupa.

1. Aspecto y diseño. (8.5/10)
Es esta una pluma grande, comparable a una Pelikan M800. Los detalles decorativos son cromados. El cuerpo de la pluma no es liso sino que tiene unas facetas romboidales que impiden que la pluma ruede libremente.

El capuchón lleva el llamativo logotipo de la marca en su extremo. Este detalle ha sido causa de muchas críticas: es ciertamente una nota discordante en una pluma que no es especialmente llamativa.

La Diamond 530 con un plumín Sailor de 21 quilates, con el logotipo de la marca en el capuchón.

Esta pluma ha sido diseñada de modo que pueda ser desmontada con facilidad. De hecho, la caja de presentación incluye una llave para desmontar el pistón de llenado del depósito de tinta. Asimismo, la página web de Twsbi incluye varios videos explicativos de cómo desensamblar la pluma completamente.


2. Calidad general. (9.5/10)
Cuentan las crónicas que las primeras unidades de esta pluma tenían defectos en las juntas con problemas de fugas de tinta. Twsbi reaccionó con el envío de nuevas piezas a todos los afectados por estos problemas.

La pluma está bien construida. Todos sus elementos están bien ajustados y no presentan holgura alguna a pesar de mi interés por experimentar con ella.

El material plástico no muestra arañazos a pesar de su uso.


3. Peso, dimensiones. (8.0/10)
A pesar de sus dimensiones generosas es una pluma manejable y equilibrada, sobre todo si el capuchón no es encajado en la parte trasera para escribir.

Dimensiones:
Longitud cerrada: 142 mm.
Longitud abierta: 130 mm.
Longitud con el capuchón atrás: 177 mm.
Diámetro: 14 mm.
Peso: 26 g.

Estas dimensiones son muy similares a las de la Pilot Custom Heritage 92 y a las de la Pelikan M800. Esta última destaca por un depósito de tinta muy generoso, de 2.0 ml frente a los 1.5 ml de la Pilot y de la Twsbi.

Tres plumas de demostración. De arriba a abojo, Pilot Custom 74, Twsbi Diamond 530 y Pilot Custom Heritage 92. En la Twsbi se pueden ver las facetas en el cuerpo que impiden que ruede libremente.

4. Plumín y calidad de escritura. (7.5/10)
Éste es en mi opinión el aspecto menos logrado de la Twsbi Diamond 530. Probablemente por motivos económicos, el plumín de esta pluma procede de la empresa alemana Schmidt que, a su vez, los compra a Bock o a JoWo. El problema no es la calidad del mismo sino la parca variedad de puntos: EF, F y M. El punto más grueso B, anuncia la compañía, estará disponible en breve.

El plumín Schmidt original, con la marca Twsbi grabada en él.

Estos plumines están hechos en acero inoxidable y son bastante rígidos. El flujo de tinta es agradablemente generoso, lo que favorece la suavidad en la escritura. En principio, nada que objetar.

Ahora bien, en una pluma tan desmontable como esta la idea de explorar otras posibilidades es lógica. Mis experimentos, de momento, se limitan a intercambiar plumines entre las estilográficas que tengo a mi alrededor. Los resultados son los siguientes:

-- Los plumines Pilot número 5, en oro de 14 quilates, funcionan bien. Hay once puntos disponibles, desde EF hasta BB (llamado coarse por Pilot) con los añadidos de plumines ligeramente flexibles (SF, SFM, SM) y de un musical. Hay versiones rodiadas de nueve de ellos.

-- Los plumines junior de Sailor también funcionan bien. Son bastante rígidos, lo que no genera demandas grandes de tinta.

Plumín musical de Pilot. Prueba de escritura.

Por otro lado, en la red (FPN) hay reseñas de otras combinaciones: plumines Pelikan (de las series 200, 400 y 600), plumines Bock, etc.

La conclusión es sencilla y muy general, extrapolable a cualquier pluma: cualquier plumín que se ajuste al alimentador y entre en la boquilla vale mientras la demanda de tinta no sea muy alta.

Finalmente, el plumín Schmidt de esta Twsbi Diamond 530 es correcto y el mayor problema es el de tener pocas opciones de trazo.

La versión posiblemente más exótica: con plumín musical. Lástima que este plumín no esté disponible en versión rodiada.

5. Sistema de llenado. Mantenimiento. (9.0/10)
Éste es el gran argumento de esta pluma: un sistema de autollenado por pistón de vacío. Este pistón, según el propio Sr. Wang en el Fountain Pen Network, procede de Schmidt que, si bien no produce sus propios plumines sí tiene capacidad de fabricar pistones para estilográficas.

Con una capacidad de 1.5 ml, su depósito es mayor que cualquier cartucho o conversor de tinta, pero se queda corto respecto a la capacidad de otras plumas similares.

La gran virtud de este sistema de pistón es que no es inconveniente para las tareas de mantenimiento. Como ya señalé, esta pluma es fácilmente desmontable y su limpieza y la sustitución de elementos dañados o desgastados es sencilla. A decir de algunos usuarios, la casa matriz es muy diligente en el envío de repuestos.

Plumín medio (M) de Pilot. Prueba de escritura.

6. Precio y valor de la compra. (9.5/10)
Esta pluma es muy barata: US$ 40. Por ese precio recibimos un producto de buena calidad con un diseño atractivo. Es, posiblemente, la pluma más barata del mercado con llenado por pistón.

El elemento menos satisfactorio podría ser el plumín, si bien cumple su función perfectamente.

Tal vez el problema sea que el aspecto y calida de esta pluma sean muy superiores a lo que su precio indica. El plumín es perfectamente acorde con el precio pagado, pero posiblemente no esté a la altura del resto de los elementos.

Plumín original de Twsbi, por Schmidt. Prueba de escritura.

7. Conclusión. (52/60 = 87/100)
Gran producto, y no únicamente por el precio. Es una pluma de calidad y con mucho interés para el aficionado. El elemento menos satisfactorio es el plumín, si bien cumple su función con suavidad y corrección. El depósito de tinta podría ser apreciablemente más grande si atendemos a plumas de diseño parecido.

Plumín Sailor fino-medio (MF) de 21 quilates. Prueba de escritura.

Mi agradecimiento al Sr. Yamada, nibmeister japonés.

(Twsbi Diamond 530 con varios plumines – Diamine Amazing Amethyst)

Bruno Taut
8 de marzo de 2011
[labels: Twsbi, Pelikan, Sailor, Taiwan, Pilot, fora]