Family Portrait (VIII). Myu-25 at al.

The last family picture was about integrated nibs. Among them, the Pilot Myu 701 holds a special place. It is arguably one of the few Japanese fountain pen icons, and its popularity is boosting up a bubble in the market, although some might say this is just the way supply-and-demand works. As this bubble affects to some other models more or less related to the all steel Myu 701.

Today’s family portrait shows some of these close relatives. The common element to all of these pens is the inlaid steel nib, save for one exception whose similarities with the rest of the set are clear.

Myu-701 (top) and Myu-25 (bottom), side by side.

There are clear differences on the clips of these pens, but those of the Myu-701 (second from the left) and of the Myu-25 (center) are identical.

Most of the pens on the family picture are examples of the model Myu-25 in different colors, and with transparent bodies. These last two seem to be demonstration products and were not for sale.

The family portrait.

From top to bottom, these are the pens, and their manufacturing date:
1.- Unknown model. 18 K Au nib. January 1975.
2.- Myu-25 matte black. January 1975.
3.- Myu-25 green. May 1975.
4.- Myu-25 pink. August 1975.
5.- Myu-25 transparent, black cap. December 1974.
6.- Myu-25 transparent, aluminum cap. April 1975.
7.- Unknown model, shiny black, gold trim. September 1980.
8.- Volex. January 1988.

As can be seen, most of them were made in 1975 and the two remaining pens, with very different clips, are more recent in production: 1980 and 1988.

All the pens on this family picture have fine (F) nibs. Medium (M) nibs also existed.

Paidi Century 5 – Bril Turquoise Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 30th 2017
etiquetas: Pilot

From Wajima

This situation I am about to describe is not new and, at the same time, is bound to happen again.

I already mentioned the phenomenon—maki-e decorated pens are different from other types of pens. And those fond of maki-e pens are, as well, different from most other stylophiles. Therefore, when maki-e becomes the name of the game, why not cater that specific market? Why should the production of maki-e pens be limited to the big pen makers? In fact, it is not, and it was not the case in the past.

Maki-e craftsmen have the decorative power, so to speak, and they use almost any object as the canvas for their creations. Then, why not explore these cylindrical tools?

Wajima, in the prefecture of Ishikawa in the coast of the Sea of Japan, is a well established center of maki-e creators. In fact, some Nakaya pens are decorated in that city, and we have already seen a Sailor pen with that origin. The next step, then, was for those craftsmen to get a fuller control of the product.

And that is what the company Wajimaya Zen-ni is doing now. This bicentenary company, founded in 1813, decorates a number of objects with an array of maki-e techniques, and now, they signed a small collection of fountain pens.

A beautiful collection of maki-e decorated goods.

Well, those objects implement nibs.

These are cartridge-converter pens with nib and feed made by German manufacturer JoWo. The heavy body is made of steel by Shimada Seisakusho, according to the information provided by Wajimaya Zen-ni. But this detail might not be that important, after all. The quality of the maki-e is very good, and the prices are accordingly high— JPY 250000, plus tax, the cheaper of them.

The writing part, nib and feed, is made by JoWo. The feed is made of ebonite. The nib is a size 6 made of 14 K gold.

The decoration is certainly of very high quality. And the prices show that.

But, what is the potential customer buying, a maki-e decorated good from Wajima or a German pen?

Is Wajimaya Zen-ni making pens or just dressing them in expensive costumes? It might not matter that much. What matters now, is that another company asks for a spot in the realm of maki-e fountain pens, and it does not really make any fountain pen.

Oaso “Safari” – Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo

Bruno Taut
Toshima, January 28th 2017
etiquetas: maki-e, Wajimaya Zen-ni, JoWo, mercado

Rhodiated in France

The pen on the picture is well known by now. The Pilot Justus 95 was marketed in March of 2013, the year 95 in Pilot’s era. Its main feature is the adjustable nib that Pilot had developed in the 1980s.

The Pilot Justus 95.

But not the Justus 95 you knew.

But this time, the Justus 95 shows an interesting difference—nib and decorative accents are now rhodiated instead of golden in color. This Justus 95 is, in actual terms, a special version commissioned by the French importer of Pilot, and it I not available in Japan… unless ordered from some overseas retailer.

The purity of the gold of the nib has not changed--14 K.

An interesting question is whether this pen would become available outside France. After all, one of the basic policies of the European Union is free movement of goods within the external borders. Therefore, it should be very easy for anyone in Europe to buy this pen directly from a French retailer. And from outside too, albeit some additional taxes might be applied.

But then what is the actual role nowadays of national importers within the European Union?


My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Platinum 3776 (1978) – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 23rd 2017
etiquetas: Pilot, mercado, Francia, Europa