Sizes 30 and KOP

This Chronicle is, in a sense, a natural continuation to the text in which I presented the newly released Pilot Custom Urushi. One of the goals of this new pen was to compete with the successful King of Pens (KOP) series of Sailor’s, and therefore, comparing them is only logical. That is what I am doing today.

The differences in size between these two pens are very clear in the body, and not so much in the nib. But in both cases, the Pilot is bigger than the Sailor. For the pictures I chose the ebonite version in balance shape (King Profit Ebonite) of the KOP series of pens.

Sailor King Profit in ebonite on top; Pilot Custom Urushi on bottom.

The differences in price are also noteworthy; The Pilot Custom Urushi costs JPY 88000, and the King Profit Ebonite, JPY 70000. There are cheaper and more expensive versions of the Sailor KOP: between JPY 60000 for the basic version in plastic to JPY 80000 for the Mozaique series. Versions coated with urushi start at around JPY 150000, but they are not usually included in the Japanese catalog (retrieved October 2016). All prices quoted without sales tax (8% in Japan).

The nibs, side by side. Sailor's is made of 21 K gold. Pilot's, 18 K.

The picture is out of focus, but it works to show the difference in size between the KOP and the size 30 nibs.

The writing feeling of the size 30 nib, in my limited experience, is a lot more pleasant than that of the Sailor’s unit—softer, smoother, richer… But that is only my appreciation.

The relevant question, however, is shared by many—is the Pilot Custom Urushi worth JPY 18000 than the Ebonite King Profit by Sailor? In exchange we would get some urushi coating, and a larger nib with a lower gold content (if that mattered to anyone: 18 K in Pilot’s, 21 K in Sailor’s).

Pilot Myu 701 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 3rd, 2016
labels: plumín, Pilot, mercado, Sailor, urushi

Custom Urushi

A new pen in town, and what a pen!

Fountain Pen Network member Tinjapan announced it last March—the new flagship pen of Pilot´s was in the making. It was going to be a lacquered pen with a brand new nib.

Now that pen, by the name of Custom Urushi (reference code FKV-88SR-B-x, where x is the nib point: FM, M or B) was released this past Saturday, September 17th.

The brand new Pilot Custom Urushi.

The result is a flat-top pen made of ebonite, coated with black urushi lacquer, and filling mechanism through cartridge and converter (CON-70). In fact, this pen can be seen as a scaled up Custom 845—same shape, same materials, same structure… but bigger, longer, thicker.

From top to bottom, Pilot Custom Urushi, Pilot Custom 845, and Namiki Urushi in size 20.

And then, the nib—also bigger. An all new size 30 made of 18 K gold, partially rhodiated. It comes in three nib points—FM, M, and B. It is a quite soft nib, albeit not truly flexible. But the remarkable feature is its sheer size—impressive. Much bigger than the well-known size 15 (Custom 845, 823, 743) or the size 20 (Namiki Yukari Royale). The Custom Urushi dwarfs these two well known pens.

The impressive nib in size 30. It is made of 18 K gold, and comes in three points: FM, M, and B.

From left to right: Namiki's size 20 nib, Pilot's 15, and Pilot's 30.

Written sample with size 30 nib of point M. It was made dipping the pen in an inkwell of Pilot Black ink. The printed square is 9x9 sq mm.

The price of the newcomer is not cheap—JPY 88000, plus tax. It is certainly more expensive than the Custom 845 (JPY 50000; i. e. 76% higher), but it is also much cheaper than the Namiki Urushi in size 20 (JPY 128000, 45% higher).

Is Pilot competing against Namiki? Will the Custom Urushi cannibalize the sales of the black Namiki in size 20? Right now, this size 30 nib is really appealing.

Detail of the decorative band on the cap.

More information and more pictures on the more recent Chronicle "Sizes 30 and KOP".

Pilot Capless, stub nib by Shimizu Seisakusho – Private Reserve, American Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 19th, 2016
labels: plumín, Pilot, mercado, urushi

Urushi Fermo

Nagasawa is, in a sense, THE stationery shop in the city of Kobe in Japan. Sure enough there are some other stationers in the area, but this centenary old store, founded in 1882, does attract most of the attention in the area. The reasons for this success deserve a detailed analysis, but that is not today’s topic.

Today I wanted to present a quite unique pen made for Nagasawa by Pilot. The excuse seems a bit lame –134th anniversary of the company--, but probably any excuse is valid to make some noise. The name of this pen is the non-descriptive “Urushi Japan”.

The pen in question is rather unusual—it is a limited edition fountain pen based on the well-known Pilot Fermo. The variations over the regular model are small but relevant:

-- The metal parts are now golden in color as opposed to the silver trim of the usual Fermo.

-- The nib unit, made of 18 K gold, is also golden in color and is not rhodiated. This is the only Fermo model to use such nibs instead of the rhodiated units. The nib is engraved with the logo of Nagasawa--a key.

-- The knurled knob that operated the nib is now smooth and of the same color as the rest of the pen.

-- Finally, and most important, the pen is decorated, or colored, with urushi lacquer.

Nagasawa ordered a total of 150 numbered units in two different colors—60 units in jet black (shikkoku, 漆黒) and 90 in red (shu, 朱). The price is the same for both colors: JPY 60000, plus tax.

Both "Urushi Japan" pens as displayed on the magazine Shumi-no Bungubako (issue 38) together with the real thing in red.

Size-wise, this urushi Fermo is less than one gram heavier than the regular model. The rest of the dimensions are nominally identical:

Length closed: 141 mm
Length open: 148 mm
Diameter: 12.3 mm
Weight: 34.4 g

On top, the red "Urushi Japan" of Nagasawa; on bottom, a regular Fermo in black.

Eboya Hôga – Diamine Graphite

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 1st, 2016
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless, Kobe, mercado, urushi, Nagasawa

Hiroshi (II)

Some months ago I presented a couple of pens decorated with urushi lacquer. Those were Pilot Custom 67 decorated by maki-e artist Hiroshi (洋). At the time I did not know the actual origin of those customizations and I ventured the idea of proofs of concept. But now the facts are clearer and the whole story can be written correctly.

A couple of Pilot pens customized by Hiroshi (洋).

Asakura Yukihiro (朝倉行洋) is a maki-e craftsman from the province of Kanagawa. He worked for Pilot between 1960 and 2001, when he retired. His signature, as we have already seen, is 洋, which can be read either as Hiroshi or as Yô. Here I am showing a creation of his—a rendition of the classic motif of the goldfish. This pen was made in 1978.

A creation of Hiroshi (洋) in 1978.

Asakura’s signature appears together with the inscription “kokkôkai” (國光會), the guild of maki-e artisans working for Pilot.

Asakura's signature (Hiroshi or Yô, 洋) together with the "kokkôkai" (國光會) inscription. In red, the kaô (花押).

The nib of the pen: "18 K - 750 / PILOT / / H878 / JIS mark". The nib was made at the Hiratsuka factory in August of 1978.

The pen uses a cartridge-converter system and implements an 18 K gold nib. Its dimensions are as follows:

Length closed: 132 mm
Length open: 122 mm
Length posted: 147 mm
Diameter: 10 mm
Weight: 28.1 g
Ink deposit: 0.9 ml (cartridge) / 0.8 (converter CON-20) / 0.4 ml (converter CON-40) / 0.6 ml (converter CON-50)

But retired did not mean to stay idle, and Asakura takes commissions to decorate, at least, pens. These creations are, as before, signed as Hiroshi or Yô, 洋, but without the “kokkôkai” sign, as he is no longer part of the Pilot team of artisans.

Another pen customized by Hiroshi.

And this is the case of some pens shown on these Chronicles—commissions taken by Asakura Yukihiro performed on the well known Pilot Custom 67.

These two pens are already known to the readers of this blog.

My thanks to Mr. Fukuyo, Mr. Niikura, Mr. Sunami, and Mr. Shige.

Lamy Safari Aquamarine – Yard-O-Led Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 13th, 2016
etiquetas: Pilot, maki-e, urushi-e, urushi

More by Mr. Iwase

Mr. Iwase is this raden master who customized his pens in unique ways. I already reported on his workd over relatively rare pens crafted by Mr. Momose and by nibmeister Kubo Kohei. But Mr. Iwase also decorates more common pens—Pelikan M1000 and M800, and Montblanc 149.

A collection of Pelikan M1000.

Pelikan M800 and M1000, and Montblanc 149. The reddish pen is just coated with urushi.

As before, Iwase uses sea shells, usually abalone, and tries to preserve on the pen the colorful patterns of the uncut shells.

The collection of these pens is simply spectacular, but they are for the personal use and enjoyment of the author. Mr. Iwase does not sell them.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

Once again, these are unique pens even if, in essence, they are well known products.

My thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Iwase.

Sailor ProGear Senior – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Over Siberia, November 9th, 2015
etiquetas: Iwase, Pelikan, Montblanc, raden, urushi

Hiroshi's Pilot

At some point in these texts I expressed my views on maki-e pens. There are some models that are well known because they are part of large editions that can be seen on catalogs; but at the same time it is possible to find one-of-a-kind type of maki-e pens.

The later are, more often than not, regular and well known pens covered with an additional later of decoration commissioned to some maki-e artisan. In this regard, as I also pointed out on some other text, there is no such thing as a fake maki-e pen provided the maki-e decoration was actually there.

The following pens are, in essence, two Pilot Custom 67. It was a very interesting model: simple decoration, derived from the anniversary model Custom 65, and a nice selection of nib points, including a music nib. And it also provided a nice canvas for additional decorations.

On this case, the decoration is simply urushi lacquer in black –ro-iro— and in pale red –shu. Both pens carry the artisan’s handle name, Hiroshi (洋), followed by a “kaô” (花押), a stylized signature. The person behind them is Mr. Asakura (朝倉).

The name and the kaô. They provide an additional decorative feature.

The feeds are also coated with urushi lacquer.

How many of these pens were made? I do not know. Did they become part of the Pilot catalog? I do not think so. Are they falsifications? Of course not.

Nothing these pens offer to the history of writing tools in Japan, but the collector values their rarity. Some even love their simple beauty.

Sailor ProGear Senior – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Over Siberia, November 9th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, maki-e, urushi-e, urushi

Post sriptum; June 15th, 2016. These pens were never part of the Pilot catalog. These are customizations made by Mr. Asakura after he retired from Pilot's "kokkôkai". More information on the text "Hiroshi (II)".

Mr. Iwase's Creations

Mr. Iwase is a pen aficionado who likes to decorate his pens with sea shells; that is, with raden. At the last meeting of the Wagner group in Tokyo he brought a couple of superb examples of his hobby.

The raden decorated pens based upon Momose's creations. The filling system follows the Japanese eyedropper scheme (shut-off valve manned from the tail).

The bases, in this case, are two ebonite pens made by Mr. Momose (lathe work) and Mr. Kubo (nib)—in fact a winning combination desired by many a stylophile in Japan. And then, the decoration. It is particular brilliant—note how the different stripes of raden preserve the colorful pattern of the shell.

The superb work of Mr Iwase is clearly visible on this pic. Note how the decoration preserves the color pattern of the original shell.

The nib by nibmeister Kubo Kohei. The engraving reads "Kubo / MIKADO / K18 750 / MADE IN JAPAN". The section is decorated with urushi resin, therefore the reddish color.

These are the dimensions of the flat end pen:

Length closed: 165 mm
Length open: 150 mm
Diameter: 27 mm
Weight: 67.5 g (dry)

These works by Mr. Iwase are unique pens—one of a kind. They do not appear in any catalog or book. These lines might, in fact, be one of the few records ever made public about them. And their relevance in the history of Japanese pens is merely anecdotal. But those pens are real, and their maki-e, outstanding.

The cap top is decorated with three circles meaning, according to the author, the three persons involved on the pen: Iwase, Kubo and Momose.

It is hard not to compare Mr. Iwase’s pen to that made by Zôhiko also with raden decoration. The later, let us remember, shared a similar base pen, and is valued in JPY 1200000. But this pen lacked a real nibmester’s nib, and some seriously doubt it performed as a pen. Iwase’s creation is more interesting—better decoration, better nib.

My thanks to Mr. and Ms. Iwase.

Pilot Custom 823 – Montblanc White Forest.

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 11th, 2015
etiquetas: urushi, raden, Zôhiko, Momose Yasuaki, Iwase, nibmeister Kubo Kohei

Urushi R

Collectors crave for the rarity, but history is written based on common and well-known pens. So, after describing the anomaly of a gold nib made in Japan in 1942 it might be worth to do the same with a more normal Pilot pen from about the same time. This will also provide some basis for future reference.

The Pilot R was the workhorse pen of the company by the late 1930s and 1940s, and some examples have already shown up on these Chronicles. The following model is made of ebonite and is coated with black urushi. It is an eyedropper pen with shut-off valve, which was of the the usual filling (although not self-filling) mechanisms of the Pilot’s R series of pens. The nib is made of 14 K gold, and is a size 1. The date indicates it was made in November of 1937, which is about 18 months before the nominal prohibition on the use of gold in Japan.

This is a small pen, which might be associated to the war restrictions of the time. However, its construction quality is remarkably good. These are its actual dimensions:

Length closed: 120 mm
Length open: 110 mm
Length posted: 148 mm
Diameter: 13 mm
Weight (dry): 12.8 g
Ink deposit: 1.1 ml

The manufacturing date can be seen on the upper side of the nib (positioned like it is on the picture): 11.37.

The barrel carries the usual pre-war imprint: “PILOT” / THE NAMIKI (logo with an N) MFG. CO. LTD / MADE IN JAPAN. On the nib, on its side, we can read WARRANTED / "PILOT" / 14 K / MADE IN JAPAN / -<1>- / HARDEST / IRIDIUM.

All in all, not a rarity, but a very appealing common fountain pen.

Platinum pocket pen, striated steel – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 8th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, urushi