Moonman vs. Pilot

Over a year ago, Chinese pen maker Moonman released the model A1, also marketed as Majohn A1. In actual terms, this is a capless pen remarkably similar –being polite-- to the Pilot Capless. So, how do they compare? Or, more precisely, how does the A1 compare to the older original by Pilot?

Size-wise, their dimensions are very close. The Chinese capless is slightly longer and thinner, and is a couple of grams heavier.

Pilot vs. Moonman. A1 vs. Capless.

Externally, the main difference between them is the central ring—almost flat on the Moonman, two toroidal bands on the Pilot. In fact, this flat central ring in the Chinese pen explains its thinner girth.

These are the dimensions of these pens:

	.Moonman A1.	.Pilot Capless.
Length closed (mm)	142	141
Length open (mm)	139	137
Max diameter (mm)	12.9	13.2
Weight, dry (g)	33.7	30.0
Ink deposit (ml)	0.9 (cart) 0.4 (conv)	0.9 (cart) 0.5 (CON-40)

The flat central ring in the Moonman A1.

Regarding the nibs, the Moonman comes only with a silver-color, stainless steel unit in EF. The Pilot, let us remember, can implement both steel and 18 K gold nibs with up to six different points –from EF to B, plus a stub— and three different finishes —golden, silver, and black— depending on the specific model. However, the most interesting feature is that Moonman made its nib units entirely compatible with those by Pilot: cartridges and converters are interchangeable between brands, and Moonman nibs can be used in Pilot pens, and the other way around.

The Moonman nib.

And all that at a fraction of the cost of the Pilot Capless. About EUR 30 for the Moonman, and between EUR 80 and EUR 140 for the Pilot. (Japan prices. EUR 140 is approximately the price of the matte black model (FC-18SR-BM). There are more expensive variations in the Pilot catalog).

Then, the question is whether the Moonman A1 is a copy of the Pilot Capless. I think it is, and the fact that the brand Moonman was clearly written on the nib and on the body does not really change anything. After all, nothing truly original can we see on this Chinese pen.

Now, is Moonman legitimized to manufacture this pen? Moonman is not the first company doing so. In Japan, about 100 years ago, Nobuo Ito's Swan was copying UK's Swan pens under the protection of Japanese laws and courts. After all, every industrial revolution –save the British- was made copying other's products. And then the idea of fairness depends on the side of the border we stand on.

The problem, then, is a different one. The current technological environment is very different from that at the heyday of fountain pens. In other words, fountain pens are no longer the essential tool they once were, and their market is not so driven by the necessity as by the craving. Not by the regular user but by the aficionado. And the Moonman A1 does not offer anything the Pilot didn't several years before... save an excellent price.

Is that enough? Regardless of the answer, Pilot –and others– should pay close attention to whatever might come out of China.


NOTE (Dec 30th): An anonymous commenter pointed out a detail I had overseen--there is a clipless version of the Moonman A1, and that caters the claims of a number of users of the Pilot model. This shows the attention Moonman --and other Chinese makers-- pay to the Net and what users and aficionados say in there. I reckon this Chinese clipless capless variation does offer something new, as Platinum did with the removable clip on its Curidas, and it can be an argument for some older users of the Pilot to choose it.

Thanks, anonymous commenter.

Moonman A1 - Montblanc Burgundy Red

Bruno Taut
December 28th, 2022
etiquetas: Moonman, Pilot, capless, mercado

JIS 3232

After showing a luxurious pocket pen, a Yotsubishi with urushi-e decoration, it might be worth to describe a plain and functional workhorse with the same structure.

This particular pen carries a non descriptive name on the cap —”SUPER GOLD LINE”— which might be the brand name or not. The nib, however, is more informative as it is imprinted with the JIS number 3232. It corresponds to the operation of Haruo Kawakami, which, according to Masa Sunami, made parts to order. Therefore this might very well be a nib unit made for a pen produced and manufactured by some unknown company.

A Super Gold Line, according to the inscription on the cap.

Two details strike out as different on this pen if compared to most pocket pens. The first one is that the barrel and the section do not separate on the central ring —now almost just decorative—, but well down in the section. This geometry, though, is not unique—some pocket pens by Morison share this feature.

Two unusual pocket pens--Morison on top, Super Gold Line on bottom.

The other unusual element is a space in the barrel for a seal stone. Again, this is not unique to this pen. In fact, we had seen this in a Swan pen from the 1910s and in a wartime Asahi Tsubasa.

Under the blind cap of the barrel there should be a stone on which to engrave a seal.

Pen-wise we have a stainless steel nib associated to a cartridge filler. Trial and error attaching cartridges led to the old double-spare cartridge by Pilot. However, it is very possible this pen had some dedicated cartridge that could fit inside the barrel.

These are its dimensions:

Length closed: 119 mm
Length open:97 mm
Length posted: 145 mm
Diameter: 12.0 mm
Weight: 11.6 g

The steel nib with the JIS number 3232 registered by Kawakami Haruo. Under the name it reads "S63".

So all in all here we have a workhorse pen with some unusual features in pocket pens. And this pen also informs us of the ways of Haruo Kawakami in the 1960s or early 1970s.

Opus 88 Koloro — Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku

Bruno Taut
Nakano, November 16th 2020
etiquetas: Kawakami Haruo, Morison

Japanese Eyedropper Today (I)

The so-called Japanese eyedropper system –inki-dome shiki (インキ止め式) in Japanese— was in fact invented by Onoto in the beginning of the 20th century. Those Onoto reached Japan imported by Maruzen and the system –an eyedropper with a shut-off valve— clicked among the locals. The final result was that this system was copied and reproduced by most Japanese pen makers along its history up to today.

An Onoto with the shut-off valve system. Not yet a Japanese eyedropper, I guess.

A Japanese Swan (Nobuo Ito's Swan) with the Japanese eyedropper system.

The inki-dome, however, fell out of favor by the late 1950s when Platinum introduced the ink cartridge and most other makers followed the example. Only minor makers –I am thinking of Sakai Eisuke's operations— kept the system alive till the 1980s.

A Sakai Eisuke's pen made in collaboration with Kabutogi Ginjiro (::1::). Possibly from the 1960s.

In 1985, Pilot commissioned lathe master Sakai the creation of a prototype based on the style of the Pilot pens from the early 1930s, The result was what later became the Pilot (and Namiki) size 50 Urushi, and it implements the Japanese eyedropper system.

The Pilot Urushi in size 50--a modern Japanese eyedropper. This pen is incorrectly named by many as Namiki Emperor, but the Emperor model is decorated with maki-e techniques according to the Namiki catalog.

But who else followed? Not much.

Eboya used the system for some years (::2::, ::3::), but its production relied in the know-how of lathe master Kanesaki Noritoshi. Eboya's boss, Mr. Endo, has announced the new production of Eboya pens with this system, but there are no final dates for their release.

An old Eboya (2013) from the Kanesaki time. It implements the Japanese eyedropper system. At that time, the brand name was still Nebotek.

More recently, as of 2018, the sort-lived Iwase Seisakusho also marketed some pens with the Japanese eyedropper system. These were either old incomplete pen bodies by Ishi Shoten (owner of the brand Yotsubishi) or new pen bodies made by lathe master Momose. But Iwase Seisakusho had a very brief life and very few units of it made to the market.

An Iwase Seisakusho based on a body by Momose Yasuaki.

From California, Danitrio makes some models with Japanese eyedropper. These are usually expensive models with urushi or maki-e decoration.

Some Danitrio pens as exposed at Itoya Ginza (Tokyo) in 2010. Photo courtesy of Moskva.

Finally, a surprising actor is the Taiwanese brand Opus 88 (Jin Gi Industrial Co.). But these Japanese eyedroppers deserve a Chronicle on their own.

The Opus 88 Koloro. A surprising new actor in the Japanese eyedropper business.

Opus 88 Koloro – De Atramentis Beethoven

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 12th 2019
etiquetas: soluciones técnicas, Pilot, Eboya, Danitrio, Iwase Seisakusho, Opus 88, mercado, Onoto, Japón, mercado, Kanesaki, Sakai Eisuke, Momose Yasuaki

Inner Tube System

To the traditional eyedropper way of inking pens, Japanese companies added a mechanism to seal the ink deposit when not in use. A mechanism… or several of them.

The better known of them is the Japanese eyedropper, inki-dome system, although the original invention belonged to Onoto (De la Rue). Another such system is the hoshiawase (star system) invented by Pilot in the early 1920s. But there is more.

A Pilot from around 1920, if not before.

Prior to the system of the stars, Pilot entered the market –as a late comer in the Japanese context— with another system: the naikan shiki (内管式), or inner tube system. This consists of a modified screw –made of ebonite— attached to the section of the pen. By tightening or losing up that screw, the ink flow could be interrupted or open through the internal channels in that screw. The obvious inconvenient was the need to open the pen –the ink deposit— to operate this ink-stained screw. However, this system was effective in sealing the ink deposit.

Pilot developed and marketed this system probably trying to offer a novelty in a market already mature, with two very active pen companies –SSS and Nobuo Ito’s Swan–, and a number of imports from Europe and the US. The naikan shiki was short lived: only a couple of years around 1920.

As for the rest, this eyedropper pen is made of chased ebonite and implements a size 2 nib made of 14 K gold, although it might not be the original nib of this pen. The clip this particular unit sports is a later addition.

On the nib, the inscription says "14 KT GOLD / "PILOT" / < 2 > / MADE IN / JAPAN". However, the style of the inscription is probably too new, thus showing it is a replacement nib. On the text entitled N. M & Co. we can see a similar pen whose nib carries a much simpler engraving.

These are the dimensions of the pen:

Length closed: 139 mm
Length open: 131 mm
Length posted: 179 mm
Diameter: 12 mm
Weight (dry): 17.4 g

On the chased barrel, '"PILOT" / FOUNTAIN PEN / N. M. & Co.'. The company logo is on the left hand side. It shows the well-known lifebuoy encircling an N.

On the barrel end, a mysterious inscription: "P3CH". We had already seen it on another Pilot pen of the time.

Not all innovations work… However, the Japanese industry has never been shy to try different technical solutions on nibs and filling systems.

But short lived systems like this make the day of many a collector.

And on my side, I must add a correction to an old Chronicle.


My thanks to Mr. Sugimoto and Mr. Furuya.

Romillo Nervión – Sailor Blue Iron

Bruno Taut
Nakano, February 7th 2018
etiquetas: Pilot, soluciones técnicas

Swan 3253

Swan was also a Japanese brand of fountain pens. Its history has already been told on these Chronicles, but it might be worth to remember that it had been founded in 1900 by U. of Waseda alumni Nobuo Ito. Swan Mannenhitsu Seisakushô (Swan Fountain Pens Industries) got the favor of the Japanese courts to win the lawsuits of Mabie Todd & Co., owner of the brand Swan in the West, and became the biggest pen maker in Japan around 1918. The company began its decline after the Second World War when it started making ball pens and pen parts. This lasted until the 1970s, albeit some Pilot OEM pens branded as Swan were made in 1991.

The following pocket pen is one of the last models made by Swan on those 1970s:

A pocket pen by Swan. It was made in the 1970s.

It is mostly made of plastic, including the central ring coupling section and barrel together. This is a clear sign of the cheap construction of this pen. Another is the fact that the gold plated steel nib was outsourced from the company Teikoku Kinpen, as is clearly stated by the engraved JIS number 3253. The pen must be inked using Platinum cartridges, as was often the case of lesser brands after the introduction of cartridges in Japan. No modern ink converter fits in the pen.

The pen, disassembled. Note the plastic central ring. The nib slides off the feed. Contrary to the case of most pocket pens, nib and feed are friction fit in the section.

The steel nib was made by Teikoku Kinpen, whose JIS registry number was 3253.

This model is green with golden cap. It was also made in black, with black cap and golden accents.

These are its dimensions:
Length closed: 116 mm
Length open: 97 mm
Length posted: 145 mm
Diameter: 12.0 mm
Weight: 9.0 g (dry, no cartridge)
Ink deposit: 1.1 ml (Platinum cartridge)

The feed is interesting--two ink channels. It is made of plastic.

All in all, this is a mostly boring and irrelevant pen, save for the detail of being one of the latest models made by Swan Mannenhitsu Seisakushô, indeed a very important actor in the history of Japanese fountain pens.

Sailor Magna – Tomiya Original Ink (Sailor)

Bruno Taut
Nakano, March 24th, 2016
etiquetas: Swan, Platinum, Pilot

Swan's Big Red

Japanese Swan pens –those made by Nobuo Ito— are already known on these Chronicles. This company based its success in Japan on coping the Mabie Todd’s Swan catalog for the domestic market. Well, Nobuo Ito also had the support of Japanese courts of Justice. The domestic success was big, and the Japanese Swan became the biggest pen company in Japan around 1915.

But despite this success and the presumably large number of Swan pens produced, they are not common finds in the market. So, any find, especially if in good condition, is of interest.

This Swan pen is a copycat of the well known Parker Duofold Big Red from the 1920s. but this a Japanese pen, as the filling system shows—this is an eyedropper pen with a shut-off valve operated from the tail. The pen is labeled on the barrel as “SWAN PEN / MY PRESENT”, together with the company logo, all too similar to that of the Anglo-American company.

The pen is made of ebonite. The nib, of 14 K gold. The production date is about 1930. These are its dimensions:

• Length closed: 132 mm
• Length open: 126 mm
• Length posted: 170 mm
• Diameter: 15.5 mm
• Weight: 28.4 g (dry)

The imprint on the nib reads "SWAN / IDEAL / PEN / 14 K".

"SWAN PEN / MY PRESENT". My present?

It is interesting to note that this pen has no indication about having been made in Japan, contrary to some other examples of this brand. Nonetheless, the filling system does show, as mentioned before, this as a Japanese fountain pen.


My thanks to Mr. Furuya.

Waterman Crusader – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 30th 2014
etiquetas: Swan Japan, Parker, Mabie Todd Swan

Sistemas de sellado (I)

Lo que uno da por descontado a veces resulta que es extraño y desconocido. Cierto es, por otro lado, que la documentación en castellano sobre estilográficas japonesas es escasa. En esta Crónica voy a tratar de explicar el desarrollo de los sistemas de sellado que se dan a lo largo de la historia en las plumas japonesas. Primero hablaré del sistema de válvula accionada desde el culotte. En la segunda parte hablaré del sistema de estrellas. Ambas cuestiones han sido tratadas ya en estas páginas, pero tal vez no esté de más recuperar esa información ahora en castellano.

Las Onoto con sistema de llenado plunger filler estaban entre las primeras plumas que llegaron a Japón a finales del s. XIX y principios del XX y tuvieron mucho éxito en este país. De hecho, algunas de las primeras plumas con marca japonesa fueron hechas por Onoto (De la Rue) para la tienda Maruzen, bajo la marca Orion. Algunas de ellas, en 1910, ya incorporaban un sistema de cuentagotas “sin plunger”; es decir, una pluma por goteo en la que quedaba el vestigio evolutivo del eje del plunger que tan solo actuaba como válvula de sellado del depósito de tinta.

Anuncio de una Onoto de principios del s. XX en la que utiliza el argumento de que con la válvula del propio plunger cierra el depósito y evita fugas indeseadas de tinta. También añade que con esa válvula se puede controlar el flujo de tinta. También es ese el caso de las plumas de cuentagotas japonesas.

Y en la mentalidad simplificadora de los japoneses, algunos fabricantes ya realmente japoneses –Oliver y la Swan japonesa de Nobuo Itô— tomaron buena nota de esta evolución y lo utilizaron en sus propias plumas.

La idea, dicen algunos, estaba asociada al temor a ensuciar los valiosos kimono con manchas de tinta. No me cabe la menor duda que los japoneses quisieran evitar manchas, pero lo mismo se puede decir de los estadounidenses o británicos y de sus trajes... Sí es cierto que el clima angustiosamente húmedo de Japón hace de las cuestiones de limpieza una obsesión nacional y tal vez esa sea la razón última de ese temor reverencial. Por otro lado, en el Japón de principios del s. XX, bien pasada ya la restauración Meiji (1867), el uso de los trajes occidentales ya era común.

En cualquier caso, estas empresas empiezan a hacer plumas de cuentagotas con un añadido: una válvula que cierra el paso de tinta a la boquilla que se acciona desde el culotte de la pluma. Esa válvula está cerrada cuando la pluma no está en uso y se abre, con apenas una vuelta del culotte, cuando se necesita usar la pluma. También se puede usar para regular el flujo de tinta en el plumín.

En esta Platinum con decoración maki-e de los años 30 el culotte está levemente desenroscado; es decir, en posición de escritura.

El sistema tuvo éxito y al cabo se le denomina, en inglés, Japanese eyedropper. El término japonés es inkidome-shiki, e implica necesariamente la existencia de un sistema de sellado de la tinta. Este sistema es el habitual entre las plumas japonesas de cuentagotas y es muy raro ver plumas de cuentagotas sin ese sistema de sellado. La excepción, menor, son las hoshiawase, que serán objeto de otra Crónica posterior.

Prácticamente, todas las marcas japonesas han usado este sistema en algún momento de su historia. Incluso hoy en día está en uso: Pilot lo usa en las Namiki con plumín de tamaño 50; para Nebotek es uno de sus tres sistemas de llenado. Danitrio, desde California, se empeña en utilizarlo en su afán de ser tan japonesa como la que más. Y en el pasado, la mencionada Swan (la japonesa), más SSS, Platinum, Sailor, Diamond, Ban-ei, Asahi Tsubasa... y todas las plumas jumbo, sobredimensionadas, de muchos fabricantes.

Una New Clip, tal vez fabricada por Fukunaka-Seisakusho. Se trata de una pluma jumbo con llenado por cuentagotas con válvula de sellado. La capacidad del depósito de tinta es de unos 8 mililitros. Suficientes como para crear una gran mancha.

Es un sistema interesante y divertido, pero tiene un par de inconvenientes. El primero es que interrumpido el paso de tinta entre el plumín y el depósito, el primero se seca muy rápidamente cuando no está en uso. Arrancar es a menudo un poco engorroso.

Una Swan japonesa (de Nobuo Itô) de alrededor de 1915. Junto a la parte trasera de la boquilla se puede ver la pieza cónica de cierre asociada al eje que, por dentro del cuerpo, se conecta con el culotte, tal y como se ve en la foto siguiente.

El culotte de la pluma anterior completamente desenroscado.

El segundo problema es el sellado del sistema en la parte cercana al culotte. La válvula se acciona desde el culotte a través de una varilla axial que entra en el depósito a través de un sello tradicionalmente de corcho. Este sello es muy vulnerable y es necesario reemplazarlo en prácticamente cualquier pluma de este tipo que uno pueda encontrar hoy en día en tiendas o mercadillos. De no hacerlo, la tinta se va a acumular en la cámara del culotte y va a salir en cuanto se desenrosque para escribir. En algunos modelos nuevos (los de Nebotek, por ejemplo) ese sello es ahora de un elastómero sintético.

En conclusión, las plumas de cuentagotas con válvula de sellado accionada desde el culotte son un producto netamente japonés que ha permanecido en el mercado durante los últimos cien años, que es prácticamente toda la historia de las plumas en Japón. Son fáciles de encontrar en plumas tanto viejas –aunque en ellas se impone una restauración a fondo— como en modelos nuevos. En este último caso, las plumas de cuentagotas corresponden, paradójicamente, a modelos caros.

Y en una segunda parte hablaré de otro sistema de sellado: el sistema de estrellas.


Mi agradecimiento a mis amigos del Foro de Estilográficas.


P. S: A principios de 2014, Nebotek cambió su nombre por el de Eboya.

Platinun Belage – Platinum Pigmented Blue

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, 14-17 de junio de 2013
Etiquetas: soluciones técnicas, Japón, Pilot, Orion, Maruzen, Sailor, Platinum, SSS, Swan (Japón), Danitrio, Nebotek, Asahi Tsubasa

Pilot's Safety

This is not the first time we see a safety pen on these Chronicles. During the early days of Namiki Mfg. Co. five filling systems were implemented in Pilot pens—the O-shiki (O-式, eyedropper filler with shut-off valve), the T-shiki (T-式, lever-filler), the N-shiki (N-式, hoshiawase), P-shiki (P-式, plunger filler) and the L-shiki, (L-式) the retractable-nib safety system shown today.

The hoshiawase system is the only original innovation by Pilot at the time, The rest of systems were copied from Western products (plunger filler, lever filler and safety), or from other Japanese companies –Maruzen had marketed and manufactured eyedroppers with shut—off valve derived from Onoto’s plunger fillers around 1910, and on these Chronicles I already showed a Japanese Swan with that same system from ca. 1915.

Other Japanese companies made safety pens—Sailor, Platinum, SSS, Itoya…—, but they are hard to find nowadays, and that makes these finds all the more valuable. This safety pen in particular is in immaculate condition—most likely, it was never inked. The decoration and imprints on the black ebonite barrel look like fresh out of the production line.

The pen sports a replacement nib. It is a very flexible unit, made in 1930, of size 3 in 14 K gold labeled as steno (for shorthand writing). It is perfectly identified as made by Pilot, as has always been the case with Pilot and Namiki nibs. The barrel, on its side, carries the brand and the company names: “PILOT / NAMIKI MFG: CO. / MADE IN JAPAN”. The production date is around 1925.

The imprint on the nib reads as follows: "STENO / 14 KARAT GOLD / PILOT / REGISTERED / -3-".

These are its dimensions.
Length capped: 118 mm
Length open (nib extended): 124 mm
Length posted (nib extended): 151 mm
Diameter: 12 mm
Weight (dry): 13.7 g

My thanks to Mr. Sugimoto.

Platinum 3776 Century, music nib – Platinum Pigmented Blue

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, May 16th, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, soluciones técnicas, Japón

NOTE ADDED ON MAY 22nd: The nib is not original. The replacement nib shown on the pictures was made in 1930. My thanks, once again, to Mr. Sugimoto.

Three (Japanese) Swans

Nobuo Itô's Swan become the most successful pen company in Japan around 1920. Its strategy was simple—copy the looks and style of the pens made by Mabie-Todd in England under the name Swan, the real Swan, and let the Japanese government protect you from foreign legal disputes. As we have already seen, even the logos were blatantly similar.

Three Japanese Swans.

This company, though, was deeply affected by the Second World War –its production plant was destroyed—and finally it ceased its activities in the early 1950s, unable to compete with the myriad of pen operations active at the time in Japan.

Their nibs are not completely the same. Note the differences in the breathing holes.

Neither are their feeds the same.

The three pens I am showing today belong to the later period of the company. They are made of celluloid and are quite transparent—the sac and the nib can be seen through the barrel and the cap. Their filling system is a lever filler. The nibs are made of steel, partially gold plated, and are quite rigid.

The engraving on the nib reads "Swan / Manifold / Fine / Swarosmine / (Swan logo)".

They are not exactly the same in terms of dimensions and nib design, as can be seen on the pictures. These are their dimensions:

Length closed: 124-126 mm.
Length open: 112-114 mm.
Length posted; 149-154 mm.
Diameter: 12.5 mm.
Weight (dry): 13.0-13.7 g.

The Japanese text just says Swan fountain pen.

The original price of these pens were JPY 350, as can be read on their original stickers.

Platinum pocket pen in striped steel – Platinum Brown (cartridge)

Bruno Taut
April 28th, 2012
etiquetas: Swan Japan