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

Pilot vs. Ban-ei

So, these prototypes were made by Sakai Eisuke. Then, how are they compared to other pens made by this master?

Needless to say, Mr. Sakai made pens in many shapes, some of which I have shown on these pages. However, balance models in a number of sizes and decorations were a very common canvas that came out of Sakai's lathe.

Four Ban-ei balance pens in four different sizes.

On the following pictures we see Sakai's prototypes and balance Ban-ei pens side by side. Do they share a common language?

From left to right, Pilot's Sakai #3, Ban-ei 4-bu, Pilot's Sakai #10, and Ban-ei 5-bu.

On top, Ban-ei "nashi nuri" in size 5-bu. Bottom, Pilot's Sakai #3.

Pilot Custom 74, Yamada Seisakusho – Diamine Teal

Bruno Taut
March 21st 2024
Etiquetas: Pilot, Ban-ei, Sakai Eisuke

Sakai's #10

The size 3 nib we saw on the previous text makes that pen a strange creature with no clear counterpart in the general catalog of Pilot.

On the contrary, the size 10 pen uses a more standard –and contemporary- Pilot nib. In fact, we can see a close relative in the form of the Pilot 65, the commemorative pen Pilot launched in 1983.

As we can see on the following picture, their nibs and feeds are identical to he manufacturing date, September of 1983.

These are the dimensions of these two pens:

	.Pilot 65.	.Sakai's 10.
Length closed (mm)	140	146
Length open (mm)	126	124
Length posted (mm)	159	176
Diameter (mm)	13.5	15.0
Weight (g)	17.9	18.6

Lotus Saral Titanium – Pilot (thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 19th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot, plumín

Sakai's #3

On the previous text I spoke about a couple of Pilot prototypes made by Sakai Eisuke in the early 1980s. These pens are urushi-coated balance units with Japanese eyedropper filling system.

The bigger of them implements a well-known size 10 nib, and I will go back to it on another text. Today I want to speak about the other pen, that with a size 3 nib: about what it is and about what it is not.

And this size 3 nib is not a modern size 3 nib. This nib size, not very popular, is implemented in current models Grance, and in discontinued Legance 89s, Legno 89s and Stella 90s.

The obviously different size 3 nibs. The Sakai's pen on top; a Stella 90 on bottom.

On the contrary, this nib is much closer, but not identical, to those made in the 1920s and 1930s. Its engraving, actually, follows the pattern seen on Pilot pens from the early 1920s.

The nib on the right belongs to the 1980s Sakai Eisuke pen. The other three nibs belong to late 1920s Pilot pens.

Exceptional size 8 Pilot nib from early 1920s. It belongs to a hoshiawase pen. Photo courtesy of Mr. Syrigonakis.

Then, where does this prototype nib come from? Is it an old nib that came in handy for the occasion? A newly crafted unit for the pen, either by Pilot or by some friend of Mr. Sakai's?

Hard to say as there's hardly any information on these singular pens. And when there is nothing we still have the pen...

Opus 88 Koloro – Caran d'Ache Electric Orange

Bruno Taut
March 18th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot, plumín

Footnote

The world of prototypes is an uncharted one. And that despite the fact that we certainly know that they existed and how the final result –the marketed model– looked like.

But what we do not know far exceeds those basic facts: who made them? How many of them were made? How many iterations did the idea go before settling on the final design? Why and how were those prototypes released into the wild?

From a historical point of view, their interest –dare I say– is limited. Sure they inform the creative process to reach the final model, but their intrinsic scarcity makes more of the anecdote than a reference in themselves. The model is the story, the prototype is the footnote.

But that singularity is what attracts the attention of collectors and what brings prices up on those rare occasions those pens show up in the market.

The following two pens are prototypes of what later became the balance Custom models in the Pilot catalog (Custom 67, 74, 742, etc.). The man behind them, commissioned by Pilot, was lathe master Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助) in early 1980s.

Two prototypes by Sakai Eisuke for Pilot.

Mr. Sakai looked back in the Pilot catalog to recreate the balance models of the brand in the early 1930s. As a result, these pens are made of ebonite, coated with urushi, and implement the very traditional Japanese eyedropper filling system.

Both of them have their bodies engraved in the same way, copying the style of those old Pilots: “PILOT” / THE PILOT PEN (P logo) MFG. CO. LTD. / MADE IN JAPAN. Note, though, that the P logo, P encircled by a lifebuoy, was adopted in 1938 and that those models from the early 1930s used a similar logo but with an N, Namiki, instead of the P.

The most significant difference between those two pens, aside of the size, lies on the nibs.

The smaller pen sports a size 3 nib with a very old fashioned engraving: WARRANTED / 14 K / PILOT / 3. It is not dated, and it is matched with a very generous ebonite feed.

The size 3 nib with the very generous feed made of ebonite.

The bigger unit has a size 10 nib similar to those present on models like the Custom 742. However, on this case the nib is not numbered as 10. Is is dated September 1983. The feed is also a contemporary unit made of plastic with the interesting detail of a shortened tail to accommodate the seal of the Japanese eyedropper system.

The size 10 nib made September 1983.

These are the dimensions of the pen together with those of a Custom 74:

	.Size 3.	.Size 10.	.Custom. 74
Length closed (mm)	137	146	143
Length open (mm)	120	124	125.5
Length posted (mm)	166	176	160
Max diameter (mm)	13.8	15.0	14.5
Weight, dry (g)	13.9	18.6	21.3
Ink deposit (ml)	2.6	2.7	1.0 (*)

(*) Capacity of converter CON-70. Other options are available.

From front to back, Sakai's #3, Sakai's #10, and Custom 74.

All in all, Sakai Eisuke combined his expertise in Japanese eyedroppers with the old aesthetics of the 1930s, balance Pilot pens. And at the end, from the prototype to the final model, only the basic shape was preserved.

One could argue, then, that the prototype was not representative of the final model, but this fact only adds appeal to these footnotes to the basic story.

Pilot Custom 748 – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 14th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot

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