Inflation

Itoya, the Japanese stationer with headquarters in Ginza, Tokyo, has just released yet another Lamy Safari—the “Lamy Safari x itoya Copper 02 Fountain Pen”. Quite a mouthful to simply describe a limited edition made exclusively for this shop.

This new Safari follows the trend initiated with the previous Itoya-exclusive Safari, the Copper 01 from last year (although announced December 2022). Matte finish, black nib, and a distinctive brass clip. And again with the possibility  of implementing the kanji nib.

So, is this all? Yes, but at a cost. It is hard not to notice the inflation associated to these pens.

As far as I know, Lamy has produced three Safari with metallic clip—the above-mentioned Copper 01 and 02 made for Itoya, and the Green Field model marketed earlier this year. They are shown on the following pics:

From back to front, Copper 01, Green Field, and Copper 02.

All three with kanji nibs.

And then we can compare the prices:

The brass clips. From top to bottom, Copper 01, Green Field, and Copper 02. The prices are inclusive of taxes (10%), and correspond to the versions with kanji (KJ on the reference) nibs. The Copper 02 with regular (EF, F, M) nib costs JPY 6000, plus taxes.

The relative high price is in part associated to the kanji nib those particular pens sport, but what is indeed striking is the constant increase over the three pens in about a year and a half. Each of those pens is JPY 500 more expensive than the previous. And at the final price is 14% higher than the initial.

Is there a reason behind this inflation? Is this caused by the free falling Japanese yen in the financial markets? Is it a deliberate strategy to make the popular and even humble Safari a more upscale pen?

I do not have any answer, but I think an expensive Safari would lose a great deal of the current appeal among users and collectors.

Parker 50 Falcon – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
July 14th, 2024
etiquetas: Lamy, mercado

Questions without Answers

Today I wanted to reflect on an old question about which recent developments are making it a bit more relevant.

What do we mean when we say that Montblanc is a German pen? Or, in other words, how do we ascribe a pen brand to a country?

The question might sound either obvious or irrelevant. In actual terms, it is both.

Usually, we aficionados largely follow the tradition and initial birthplace of the brand. Thus, Montblanc is German and Parker, American. But changes in the property and delocalization of the production pose a number of questions to this strategy: Is Parker still American when its production and headquarters are located in France since 2011? Or is it still American because the parent company –Newell Brands-- is American?

American or French?

But if so, is Lamy now a Japanese brand?

And then we see the problem—any criterion we might want to follow will result in some strange or paradoxical conclusion.

Interestingly enough, the big three Japanese companies and their brands are among the easiest to identify as Japanese—Japanese production, Japanese capital, Japanese headquarters...

Japanese Platinum.

And then marketing enters the scene. The prestige of the label “Made in Japan” tempt other makers to claim it for themselves based, more often than not, on very weak arguments. Such was the case, at least for a while, of Danitrio: Taiwanese capital based in California using German nibs and with Japanese decoration. Enough to be Japanese?

And that is the problem after all—capital, components, manufacturing, etc can all have different locations and ascribing one single country to that melange is, at least , inaccurate. And misses completely the economics of pen production.

German or Japanese?

So, in this state of events, it would be much easier to simply ignore the category of country of origin and stick to the brand. After all, we might be ready to identify Lamy as Japanese or Parker as French.

But.. what am I doing writing about Japanese pens?

WiPens Toledo – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
May 2024
etiquetas: mercado, metabitácora

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

Japanese Lamy

Mitsubishi Pencil Co (::1::, ::2::) has just announced the acquisition of Lamy, the German pen company based in Heidelberg.

The announcement of the acquisition.

Surprising as this might be, there are very good reasons behind this movement:

The first of them is strongly related to the very low birth rate and population decrease in Japan. One of the obvious side effects of those is the shrinkage of the domestic market, and in this case that of stationery products.

Buying Lamy, Mitsubishi Pencil Co. gains access to new markets and to an extensive distribution network.

Lamy Safari Kanji, from 2022. Now, more Japanese than ever.

A second argument deals with the lack of high end products in the Mitsubishi Pencil catalog. And with this action, the Japanese company aims at gaining some presence in a more lucrative sector of the stationery market.

The price paid to the Lamy family has not been disclosed.

Lotus Saral Titanium – Pilot Black (Thai)

Bruno Taut
February 29th, 2024
etiquetas: Lamy , Mitsubishi Pencil, mercado

Kanreki

The Japanese word “kanreki” refers to the celebration of the 60th birthday. For the occasion, the birthday guy wears a red outfit composed by a cap and a vest –the “chanchanko”— typically used by babies to represent the rebirth and the beginning of a new life.

In the world of fountain pens, though, “kanreki” primarily refers to the Sailor Kanreki, In the Winter of 2007-08, Sailor marketed a Professional Gear pen in several hues of red to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Kawaguchi Akihiro, the Pen Doctor. Mr. Kawaguchi, in fact, participated in the design of this pen.

And years later, in 2023, the rival company Pilot celebrated another kanreki—that of the Capless model, originally released in 1963.

Again, a red pen –only one tone of red— with black trim and black nib. This time, though, it was a limited edition of 2023 numbered units.

It is quite obvious the cultural appeal of the term kanreki, and despite its very local nature —or maybe because of it!— both Sailor and Pilot have used it for their products. Should we wait for a Platinum Kanreki as well?

Kanreki.

Anyway, now in 2024 we have two pens from two different brands with the same model name. Confusing? Maybe, but you should never underestimate the inabilities of Japanese companies to name their products.

Pilot pocket Sterling Silver – Pilot Black

Bruno Taut
February 2024
Etiquetas: Pilot, Sailor, Capless, mercado

Timber! Timber! TIPS 2023

The 2023 Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) took place during the first weekend of November 3rd to 5th, and it´s time to reflect on it and on the new trends in the market. Needless to say, what I might write is just my perception and I am sure I am missing many other movements.

First, the pen show in itself. 3 days, 180 tables, five shifts to attend it, most of them sold out. The figures clearly speak of a big success. It might not be what you expect from a pen show, but this East Asian style pen show does work, and, best of all, attracts younger generations of stationery aficionados.

And that because, as I have repeatedly said, TIPS is not a pen show but a stationery fair where many vendors simply display their latest products. More on this later.

The shift system –you pay to enter the show during a limited period of just four hours, morning or afternoon- is one of the unfortunate aftereffects of the pandemic years. What initially was a good idea to limit the number of people at the lounge at once and thus limiting the risk of infection is now an excuse to increase the total number of visitors and the revenue associated to selling tickets. The downside of it is easy to understand—this fair is not a meeting point for aficionados but just a market place where you better rush to see it all and to execute your purchases.

On this occasion, 2023, the large number of vendors –180- pushed the organizers to use two lounges on two different floors in the building. Moving between them could be very easy, but the organizers decided to make it difficult and unpleasant despite giving you a paper bracelet as soon as you entered the fair. It looked like they did not trust their own controlling mechanisms. But do not ask difficult questions...

So, what was on offer at TIPS 2023? More of the same things we saw on previous years: very few second hand and vintage pens, many more new pens, inks, paper, assorted paraphernalia...

Assortted paraphernalia...

However, I could see some new trends:

1. Timber, timber, timber! It seems wood lathes are on sale and the number of people making wooden pens –fountain pens, ball pens, mechanical pencils-- was surprising. But, is the market big enough for so many operations?

Timber! Timber!

2. Emerging markets. TIPS was a success in previous years and some see this event as a good stage to present new companies and new products. In previous years we saw some European and American traders. This year, we also saw dealers from India, PR China and Turkey.

An Indian trader--Endless.

3. Urushi might be from East Asia, but now it is everywhere. And by urushi I also mean urushi-based decorative techniques. At TIPS 2023 we could see some interesting examples of urushi and raden decorated pens made in India and in Turkey.

Urushi-nuri and raden from Turkey.

Conclusions:

– The TIPS model –a stationery fair- works and is here to stay. Its ability to attract younger aficionados is a powerful argument to support this event in the years to come. Pens might not be the argument to attract them, but it does not matter as long as they come.

– New trends come and go. Wooden pens and urushi-decorated pens might be fashionable now, but everything can change overnight.

– Look out for products and companies coming from emerging markets as they will pose a very serious competition to well established companies.

Would I come again? Not sure. I always end up disappointed, but it is a good place to find out what is going on in the world of stationery.

Moonman A2 - Diamine Bilberry

Bruno Taut
November 8th, 2023
etiquetas: mercado, evento, Tokyo, maki-e

Oversized Jinhao

The speed at which Chinese pen companies are releasing their new models is no longer a surprise. An obvious side effect of this practice is the practical impossibility to keep track of all the novelties in the market. But now and then a model strikes out and makes some waves.

The Jinhao Dadao 9019. Engravings on the clip ("JINHAO") and on the cap ring ("JINHAO - DADAO No. 9019").

Lately, Jinhao has released an oversized pen with a size 8 nib—the Jinhao Dadao 9019. In essence, this is a torpedo-shape pen, with very clean lines, made of plastic. Its overal shape and proportions ressemble those of some pens made by the Ban-ei group of artisans (and a number of small operations making jumbo pens). The actual dimensions of this pen are as follow:

Length closed: 142.4 mm
Length open: 130.3 mm
Length posted: 171.0 mm
Diameter: 19.1 mm (cap), 16.3 mm (barrel)
Weight: 31,5 g (dry)
Ink deposit: 2.2 ml

The barrel diameter, 16.3 mm, is slightly smaller than that of a 6-bu jumbo pen. However, the proportions seem basically preserved, rendering a very familiar pen... albeit with some interesting additions.

First and foremost, this pen is a cartridge-converter, and accepts short (0.7 ml) and long (1.45 ml) international cartridges, and standard converters. But the pen comes with its own converter that takes benefit of the oversized barrel—a girthier, larger converter holding 2.2 ml of ink.

An oversized converter that holds 2.2 ml of ink.

Not a new idea —Sailor used this same strategy in the 1960s for its model Magna L-, but is seldom seen in the industry.

A second detail, very common in Japanese pens, is the o-ring on the thread coupling the barrel and the section. This rubber gasket secures the connection between those two parts, and some users might feel tempted to eyedropper this pen, but first they should seal the tail hole on the barrel.

On the negative side, the pen lacks an inner cap, and this absence might cause premature drying of the nib, although it does not seem the case during the days I have been using this pen.

The size 8 nib made of steel: "JINHAO / F / X159". And a plastic feed.

The nib, a size 8 made of steel, had the options of EF, F and M nib points. Out of the box, my unit was dry and a bit rough, Some adjustment was done and now it writes smoothly and with an adequate flow. The conclusion is that this nib is correct, but it is not fully finished when leaving the factory.

All in all, the Jinhao Dadao 9019 is a very interesting pen, in particular when the price –about EUR 13, or even less— is taken into account.

On the other hand, the problems we see on it, however, are those common to many (PR) Chinese pens—lack of nib points, mediocre quality control, and limited distribution channels.


PS: At the time of publishing this Chronicle I took the pen from the pouch where I had carried it around for some days. Actually, I had not open the pen for over a week. And much to my surprise, the cap was filled with ink, and the converter was almost empty, and this, given the high capacity of the ink deposit, can be a very dirty issue. None of the other three pens in the pouch had this problem. So, we might need to handle this pen with care. Caution is adviced.

Jinhao Dadao 9019 – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
September 2nd, 2023
etiquetas: Jinhao, China, mercado

Japanese Workhorses in 2023

We have just seen that the Pilot's model Custom 74 has been in the market for over 30 years. But what about the direct competitors in the Japanese market?

The three contenders. From back to front, Platinum 3776 Century, Pilot Custom 74, and Sailor Standard Profit.

Platinum had released the 3776 model in 1978, but this model has gone through a number of modifications over the years, as we had seen in previous texts. The latest iteration, so far, is the 3776 Century initially released in 2012. At the time, the Century's price was JPY 10000, and it had eight nib options, although the model with the music nib was more expensive at JPY 15000. All of them were made of 14 K gold.

Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne, M nib. This color variation does not convey any overprice. JPY 10000 in 2012, JPY 20000 in 2023.

Sailor had marketed the Profit model in 1983 based on the 70th anniversary pen of 1981. In 2003-04, the current version saw the market—two cap rings, new nib decoration, etc. By 2012, our reference year, the Standard Profit cost JPY 12000 and offered seven nib options. Should you want a 21 K gold nib in the same size, the price was JPY 15000.

Sailor Standard Profit, F nib. JPY 12000 in 2012, JPY 13000 in 2023.

In that same year of 2012, Pilot's Custom 74 with the size 5 nib in 14 K gold had a total of eleven nib options: nine of them for JPY 10000, and two, music (MS) and coarse (C), for JPY 12000.

Pilot Custom 74 with SM -soft medium- nib. JPY 10000 in 2012; JPY 12000 in 2023.

How are these pens in 2023?

The Pilot Custom 74 costs now JPY 2000 more: JPY 12000 for most of the nib points, and JPY 14000 for MS and C nibs.

Platinum has increased the prices a lot more: JPY 20000 for the basic version, and JPY 28000 for the Century with music nib.

Finally, Sailor also increased the prices to JPY 13000, plus an additional hike to JPY 15000 for the zoom and music nibs. (The 21 K option became JPY 22000, and JPY 25000, respectively).

In all three brands, the number of nib options remains untouched, although Pilot did release an new variation—the S, signature—that is not shown in the catalog.

So, after 10 years, these old pens are still the workhorses of their companies, but the changes in their prices have altered their relative positions with respect to each other.

Pilot is now the cheaper option while having the highest number of nib options.

Platinum's Century is now in a higher price range. This pen is now on par with the Pilot Custom 742 (size 10 nib), but the Pilot offers many more nib points in that pen—16.

Platinum 3776 Century with music nib. It went from JPY 15000 to JPY 28000.

Sailor's price hike was, proportionally, lower than those by Platinum and Pilot, but still high enough to become more expensive than the Pilot Custom 74. However, Sailor's problem might be different—the immense number of variations in the form of “shop-original pens” creates a complex scenario where the basic Standard Profit became buried if not invisible.

So, the conclusion is that, in this context, the Pilot Custom 74 becomes even more desirable than 10 years ago.

(All prices quoted without taxes. In Japan, VAT is 10%).

Moonman T2 – Pilot Black (Thai version)

Bruno Taut
July 28th 2023
etiquetas: Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, mercado

Mannenhitsu-no Yamada

Nothing lasts forever...

万年筆の山田. Mannenhitsu-no Yamada.

Mannenhitsu-no Yamada, the operation run by Mr. Kubota in the city of Matsumoto (Nagano, Japan) closed its doors this past May. Therefore the production of pens came to an end.

Mr. Kubota, born in 1939, took over the business in the 1980. Initially he used maki-e techniques to decorate his pens, but that proved too time consuming and not many customers were willing to pay for them and make ends meet. As a consequence, he changed his approach and began to use Damascene techniques that were popular in Japan in the Edo period. Kubota's pens started showing those metallic inserts together with some mother-of-pearl designs and some other materials –wood, tortoiseshell,...

Lately, his pens were simpler—plain ebonite, bamboo,... But he still took orders from customers.

The nibs were more often than not, Sailor. However, he used Pilot cartridges and converters on some of his pens.

Well, no more. Mr. Kubota, now 84, has decided to retire and his pens will become more appreciated. After all, that is how the market works.

Mr. Kubota.

My thanks to Mr. Kubota and to Poplicola-san.

Pilot #10 Tsugaru nuri - Diamine Imperial Purple.

Bruno Taut
San Fermín 2023
etiquetas: Mannenhitsu-no Yamada, mercado, Japón

The 23rd Pen Trade in Tokyo

This past Sunday –June 11th–, the 23rd edition of the Pen Trade event took place in Tokyo. As I had said in the past, this is the actual pen show in Tokyo, at least in the Western sense of the concept.

The drawback of this event, though, lies in its size—17 tables and around 100 visitors. But why is it so small when the metropolitan area of Tokyo hosts about 36 million people, there is an active pen community, and a rich pen manufacturing tradition?

Relaxed atmosphere.

But at the same time, are there real incentives to make it grow? Probably not, and I venture some hypothesis to explain that:

– In Tokyo there are pen and stationery events almost every single month, and people might not feel the need to cater the craving for pen action at this particular moment in the year.

– The Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) does attract more people than this Pen Trade event due to its eclectic nature—everything goes in there, new pens, old pens, paper, ink, paraphernalia,...

– Younger generations seem more focused on ink than on pens.

So, in summary, the potential market for a big pen-focused pen show in Tokyo is fragmented.

Some interesting pens on this table.

But in any event, and despite its size, there were some interesting pens and attractive people with whom to share information. And because of that, the date of the Pen Trade is the big day for those who love pens in Tokyo.

Parker 51 – Sailor Tomikei Blue

Bruno Taut
June 12th, 2023
etiquetas: Tokyo, mercado

Decade

One of the most interesting pens released in 2022 was the Platinum Decade, made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the model 3776 Century. And it is interesting because it somehow departs from the very trite trick of rehashing a well known model by simply changing the color.

The Platinum Decade in the box.

For this pen Platinum changed two elements with the result of a more attractive pen:

The first is the overall shape and style—gathered ma-non-tanto. Like the first edition 3776 of 1978, but not too much. The gathered style, let us remember, remains in the Platinum catalog to this day after a numerous adaptation to the successive changes in the model.

A collection of 3776 models, plus the Platinum Glamour.

Platinum Decade (bottom) and 1978 Platinum 3776 (top).

The result, the Decade pen, recalls the old model while also being new.

The second detail that makes this pen different is the nib. As can be seen on the picture, Platinum took the effort of designing a new geometry for the nib instead of simply implementing the old Century unit.

The two nibs, side by side. The Platinum Decade on the left, a regular 3776 Century on the right.

This is a lot more than what Platinum has been doing in the last years—endless variations of the 3776 Century by changing colors and textures, all of them with the same nib.

So Platinum now deserves some recognition.

Parker 51, burgundy – Sailor Tomikei Blue

Bruno Taut
May 31st, 2023
etiquetas: Platinum, plumín, mercado