Universal (Japan)

Music nibs are rare finds in the wild, save for the obvious exception of those currently on production. From a purely statistical consideration, those we could find should mostly belong to those made by any of the big companies. But it is also known that minor companies also manufactured three-tined music nibs.

But nobody seemed to know anything about a pen brand called Universal. It seems, in fact, to be a very normal pen, boring and uneventful… until open.

The pen barrel in engraved with the company logo and the brand name: "UNIVERSAL".

Then, the nib this pen sported made the difference. It is a three-tined music nib made of steel. It is not, though, a refined product. It implements a big iridium point underneath that does not seem very finely cut. The filling system is aerometric.

These are the dimensions of the pen:

• Length closed: 134 mm
• Length open: 114 mm
• Length posted: 145 mm
• Diameter: 11 mm
• Weight: 11.6 g (dry)

The nib shows the company logo plus the word "Iridosmin".

The pen logo, a World globe with some additional decoration to its sides, resembles that of Platinum before 1969. However, there are no records showing Platinum using the name Universal for its pens.

In the West, a similar logo and the name Universal belong to an Italian company founded in 1956 in Torino. This company sells its products under brand names Carioca and Corvina, but no fountain pens seem to have been ever made by it. So, the questions about the Japanese brand Universal remain unanswered.

My thanks to Mr. Shimizu.

Pilot jumbo with Tsugaru-nuri maki-e decoration – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Machida, January 4th, 2014
etiquetas: Universal (Japón), plumín, plumín musical, Platinum, Universal (Italia)

Hawaiian Vacumatic

Many Chronicles ago I described an interesting fake—a so-called Hawaiian pen copying the well known Sheaffer Balance in green celluloid. That fake even carried the white dot of Sheaffer’s lifetime guarantee.

The Hawaiian Balance in green celluloid. An obvious copycat of the Sheaffer Balance.

Not much could I say about that pen or about the manufacturer. And not much can I say now save offering another element labeled as Hawaiian.

In this case, this isolated nib shows a typical Parker decoration—that of the popular Vacumatic model. But the imprint says exactly the same as we had already seen on the Hawaiian Balance: “Hawaiian / PRACTICAL / GOLDEN PEN / -<5>- / S.Y.S Co.”. And as in the previous case, this nib is not tipped.

Another Hawaiian nib, this time with a Parker-inspired decoration.

The untipped nib.

There are apparently no records on this pen company and we cannot even claim it was Japanese as some suspect it was.

My thanks to Mr. Suginaga.

Gama (Gem Pen & Co., Chennai), unknown model – Indian-made royal blue ink

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, December 31st, 2013
etiquetas: Parker, Hawaiian, Sheaffer

Between Parker and Waterman

At the early stages of the development of a new industry there is always a proliferation of small companies fighting for their place under the sun. And also during those early stages, copies of successful products are in order.

The following pen follows those patterns. Brand Rifleman is known as an early name of pens in Japan, but not much more is available. This large unit is very well made.

As many Japanese pens at the time –late 1920s and early 1930s— it is an eyedropper pen with shut-off valve made of ebonite. The nib is made of 14 K gold, and is remarkably large.

The engraving on the nib reads "WARRANTED / K14 / IRIDIUM / POINT / PEN"

The feed is characteristic of pre-war Japanese pens, and it does not resemble the tree-shaped feed of the Parker Duofold.

The external appearance resembles that of the American icons at the time—the Parker Duofold. But do not expect to find any Lucky Curve feed inside. The clip, however, shows a curious engraving: “CAP CLIP”. Was it inspired by Waterman’s “Clip Cap”?

The clip is clearly carries the Waterman-inspired engraving "CAP CLIP".

These are the dimensions of this Rifleman:

• Length closed: 135 mm
• Length open: 132 mm
• Length posted: 177 mm
• Diameter: 15 mm

On the tail of the pen, the blind cap is just the knob to open the shut-off valve instead of hiding the push button to operate the rubber sac of the old Duofolds. The barrel is engraved with the brand name "RIFLEMAN / FOUNTAIN PEN".

My thanks to Mr. Sunami

Pilot Myu 701 – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Machida, October 8th, 2013
etiquetas: Rifleman, Parker, Waterman

Self-defense

Against marketing, history. Against the opportunistic reissues, the real thing.

Against the M90,

the Myu 701.

Against the Elite 95,

the inlaid Elite pocket pens.

Against the Justus 95,

the original Justus from 1980.

Oftentimes, the originals are cheaper than the modern reissues. Oftentimes, we stylophiles are just too easy.

My thanks to Dr. D., whose pics of the Elite 95 are greatly appreciated.

Pelikan M320 – Diamine Amazing Amethyst

Bruno Taut
Madrid, December 1st, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, mercado, estilofilia

F-4 Nibs

Some weeks ago I spoke about the newly arrived Pilot Kaküno, an entry-level pen –JPY 1000, plus taxes— aimed at the school student. That pen, I already said at the time, was not alone in the Japanese market, where the competition among the big three pen companies is intense.

Today I wanted to speak about a similar product made by Sailor—the High-Ace. This particular model is no longer on production, and has been replaced by the High-Ace Neo, which implements a plastic barrel in five different colors. The original High-Ace had cap and barrel made of steel, while the section is made of black plastic.

The all-steel Sailor High-Ace.

The nib, in the original High-Ace, is made of steel, gold plated, and is labeled as F-4. It is tipped, and cut as F. Its performance is correct and reliable, fairly rigid, with no special feature to remark. However, older units of the High-Ace pen carry an additional inscription on the nib: Made in Taiwan.

The Japanese and the Taiwanese nibs of the Sailor High-Ace.

This is not the first time we see a Taiwan-made nib (or pen) by Sailor (see ::1:: and ::2::). We know Sailor started a manufacturing plant in Taiwan in 1973, and it was devoted to cheaper products of the company.

The F-4 nib was also marketed as Sheaffer during the 1970s and 1980s. During those years, Sailor was the importer of Sheaffer in Japan, and was allowed to manufacture and sell as Sheaffer some lower end pens. Now, it is reasonable to wonder whether those “Sheaffer” F-4 nibs were made in Japan or in Taiwan.

The very cheap Sailor Ink-Pen (JPY 1000, plus tax) also implemented the F-4 nib, albeit without any tipping, and devoid of any plating.

The Sailor Ink Pen...

...and its untipped F-4 nib.

These are its dimensions of the original High-Ace:

• Length closed: 135 mm
• Length open: 123 mm
• Length posted: 148 mm
• Diameter: 11 mm
• Weight (dry): 21.3 g
• Ink deposit: 1.2 ml (cartridge), 0.7 ml (converter)

The price of the High-Ace was JPY 1000, plus tax.

Twsbi Diamond 530, Kubo's music nib – Gary’s Red Black iron-gall ink

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 28th, 2013
etiquetas: Sailor, Sheaffer, Taiwan

Madrid Pen Show 2013

The Tenth Madrid Pen Show was celebrated about a week ago (November 15th to 17th). It was an exciting event with thousands of pens, and hundreds of visitors and tens of traders…

For the first time in its 10-year history, the number of visitors surpassed the figure of 1000. The number of pen traders, though, was smaller than on year 2012 with just over 40 of them, coming from Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, UK, USA, Switzerland, and Spain. But those figures are enough to make this event one of the leading pen shows in Europe.

That about the commercial aspect of the show. The social part was very active too. After all, the pen show is the big party of pen stylophiles in Spain, and meeting all those brothers in pens becomes as important as finding and buying that rare tool. But the vast majority of visitors were Spanish –the exceptions being German, Japanese, Mexican and Portuguese— and attracting foreign customers might be the next challenge for organizers in the years to come.

The third leg of any event like this should be the didactic one. A pen show is a great opportunity to organize workshops and seminars on all things fountain pen—from history notes to calligraphy training to fixing procedures. Attracting younger generations –potential users and collectors— is also an investment for the future. However, these activities are totally ignored during this pen show. I should add, however, that some traders in Madrid organize a monthly encounter –the Tertulias of Amigos de las Estilográficas (their website is far from being updated, although the events are celebrated)— where the didactic side of pen collecting is covered. The paradox is that the November meeting was not celebrated because of the Pen Show.

But the best summary of the Madrid Pen Show might be the following video. The author, José Riofrío, has captured the pleasant atmosphere of both the commercial and the social dimensions of the show, including the dinner of a large group of stylophiles.

These events are easily overwhelming, but also very pleasant.

My thanks to Mr. José Riofrío.

Pilot FCN-500R-B – Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-Kusa

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 24th, 2013
etiquetas: evento, estilofilia, mercado

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