Kobe in Tokyo

On the previous text I spoke about a new arrival in the Tokyo pen scene. Hamamatsu’s shop Bung-Box has recently opened a branch in Tokyo. An obvious effect of this move the availability of a wide range on original inks in the big city.

The other big name in original inks —that is, inks made by Sailor for specific retailers— is Nagasawa, in the city of Kobe. Kobe inks, as Nagasawa calls them, were the first gamut to receive a wide attention from stylophiles both in Japan and overseas.

Kobe ink in Kobe. Picture by Randall Stevens. Used by permission.

The new move of Nagasawa is to market these inks in Tokyo as well. But this time in partnership with one of the main shops in Tokyo—Itoya.

Kobe ink in Tokyo.

That’s it—now Itoya sells a wide variety of Kobe inks at, at least, its flagship shop in Ginza. The price of this inks is the same as in Nagasawa shop—JPY 1800, plus tax, for 50 ml. And this is indeed remarkable—Kobe inks are JPY 200 cheaper (for a 50 ml inkwell) than any other original ink, of course Sailor made. But there is an exception—Bung-Box inks are a lot more expensive at JPY 3000.

Kobe inks in Itoya Ginza.

Are these moves by Nagasawa and Bung-Box mere timely coincidences?

My thanks to Randall Stevens.

Sailor Profit, Naginata nib – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Chuo, March 3rd, 2017
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, Tokyo, mercado, Nagasawa, Itoya

Changes in Tokyo. 2017 Edition

More movements in the retailer scene in Tokyo re fountain pens. These changes are now related to two well known shops—Itoya and Bung-Box.

Itoya’s headquarters in Ginza. Somehow, the dream of fountain pen loves is over at Ginza’s Itoya. Previous changes in the main building truly affected the whole concept of the shop, but the fountain pen section had been kept in a wonderful bubble. Most fountain pens were confined to the K.Itoya building in the back alley from the main building on Chuo Dori. And those two floors dedicated to pens and inks were indeed a small paradise for any stylophile. But this arrangement might not have been that profitable…

In the last reform during Fall of 2016, the fountain pen section of Itoya was moved to the main building in the third floor. As a result, pens have lost space and tranquility.

The essential problem of this new arrangement is that the whole main building became a long corridor after the two year refurbishment that ended in 2015. And a corridor is always a passing place.

The consequence of these changes in Itoya is that right now there are more appealing places to have a look at medium and high end pens.

Bung-Box. This is, by now, a well-known shop despite being located in the remote –for a Tokyoite— city of Hamamatsu, in the province of Shizuoka. The big success of the Bung-Box line of inks created some stress on the production of those inks that was solved with a dramatic increase of their price.

On December 17th of 2016, the Hamamatsu shop opened a branch in Tokyo. This is a very small place dedicated to pens and inks, with a special attention to the original products –by Sailor and by Pilot— Bung-Box sells so successfully.

The opening hours and days of this shop in Tokyo seem a bit erratic, and checking its website is strongly recommended before attempting a visit.

Bung-Box original inks, by Sailor. JPY 3240 per inkwell (50 ml).

Its address is
4-8-6 Jingumae
Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001
Phone: 03-6434-5150

This information has been included on the page on fountain pen shops in Tokyo.

Oaso “Safari” – Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, February 24th 2017
etiquetas: Tokyo, mercado, papelería, Itoya, BunguBox

Pilot Cartridges and Converters 2017

The Chronicle on Pilot converters and cartridges is the single most popular text on this blog. However, there are some misconceptions and some news, and a revision of that old text, from 2011, is in order.

The current situation is as follows: Pilot markets three different converters and two different cartridges. Two of the converters reported in 2011, CON-20 and CON-50, are discontinued.

The three converters on production are named CON-40, CON-70, and CON-W. The number refer to their price in Japan: JPY 400 for the CON-40, and JPY 700 for the CON-70. The CON-W only works on the pens that implemented the "double-spare" cartridge in the 1960s. Nominally, it is only served as a spare part and some retailers demand the “broken” pen to be sent for fixing. However, Maruzen and Itoya at their main shops in Tokyo (at least) sell the CON-W without any problem. Its price is JPY 700.

The new guy in town, the CON-40. It holds about 0.5 ml of ink and costs JPY 400.

All the cartridges and converters covered on this Chronicle. From left to right, CON-70 in steel and in black, CON-50 new and old, CON-40, CON-20, two "single spare" cartridges, two Petit cartridges, CON-W. With the obvious exception of the CON-W, all of them share the same mouth dimensions and, provided they could fit inside the barrel, could be used in any "single spare" cartridge/converter Pilot pen.

As for cartridges, the two types are the regular one, formerly named as “single-spare”, and the cartridge specific for the Pilot Petit pens (::1::, ::2::, ::3::). Single spare cartridges do not fit inside the Petit pen, and the only problem of the Petit cartridges to fit in regular Pilot pens are two small plastic notches at the opening of the cartridges. They can easily be removed with a blade.

Petit cartridge on top. Single spare cartridge on bottom. Note the small notches on the former. They prevent the use of the small cartridges on many Pilot pens that, otherwise, could use them. Removing them is easy with a blade.

The following table summarizes the present situation and includes the data of the recently discontinued converters CON-20 and CON-50.

Prices quoted without taxes. In Japan, the sale tax is, at the moment, 8%.

Pilot Custom Heritage 92 – Gary’s Red Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, February 2017
etiquetas: Pilot, conversor