Sailor, Even Worse

First, the news:

Sailor has just launched a new line of inks by the name of Ink Studio.

This is a collection of 100 colors, bottled in 20 ml inkwells. The price, JPY 1200, plus tax. The ink identification is now just a three digit number.

100 new inks with very poetic names. Sailor strikes again.

The package includes the text “dye ink” and these inks are likely to be variations of the well-known Jentle/Shikiori type.

JPY 1200 per 20 ml means JPY 60/ml.

20 ml inkwells for JPY 1200, plus tax.

Now, my personal coment:

Really?

Now Sailor becomes even more expensive (::1::, ::2::) while offering the supposed benefit of a palette of 100 colors. However, I grant Sailor the realization that nowadays the variety in the palette is more desirable than the actual amount of ink. And 50 ml inkwells might be too big at this time and age.

The catalog of colors together with their reference numbers. 100 colors, 100!

But JPY 60/ml is very expensive.

Really!

Conway-Stewart Dinkie 550 – Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, March 7th 2018
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, mercado

Corporate Edition

The 95th anniversary of Pilot in 2013 saw the resurrection of the Elite pen in pocket size—a very popular model in the 1970s. This contemporary revision, by the name of Elite 95s (::1::, ::2::), was launched in June of 2013, and Pilot had the goal of selling 8000 units during the first year. It seems that the goal was achieved as the model make to the regular catalog, where we can find it 5 years later.

Old (1970s) Pilot Elite pocket pens with inset nibs.

The pen itself is a cartridge-converter with inset nib made of 14 K gold in three different points: EF, F, and M. Two different finishes exist—an all black pen, and a burgundy unit with a metallic finish cap. On both cases, the decoration is gold plated.

The two public models of the Elite 95s, released in June of 2013.

But, is this all? No, there is a third version of the Elite 95s. A version that was never available in the market—a corporate edition made for the shareholders of Pilot Corporation in 2015. These "high-end" writing tools are presents offered to those owning more than 1000 shares of the company, which as of today, March 2018, is worth more than JPY 5,000,000 (over JPY 5000/share). For those owning between 100 and 1000 shares, the gift is a more boring "practical writing set" composed mostly of ball-pens, brushes and markers. These contents and their conditions can change every fiscal year. in fact, at the time of the release of this blue Elite 95, the requirement was lower--just 500 shares were needed for a "high-end writing tool".

An unusual Elite 95s--the corporate edition.

This secret pen shares the cap with the dark red version, but its body color is dark blue. The package included a 15 ml inkwell of Tsuki-yo ink of the Iroshizuku line of inks. By the way, the box containing pen and ink is that of the initial release of the Iroshizuku Mini inkwells.

The boxed set.

The whole collection of Pilot Elite 95s. The rarity and the regulars.

Needless to say, this private blue Elite 95s is nothing but an anecdote when compared to the black and red public releases. But collectors love rarities.

Conway-Stewart Dinkie 550 – Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, March 5th 2018
etiquetas: Pilot

An Unusual Flat-top

The Custom 74 is the workhorse of Pilot in the very competitive range of pens around JPY 10000. This is the entry level to more luxurious tools and the big three Japanese pen companies play hard on this turf.

This particular model, the Custom 74 is, in a nutshell, a torpedo-shaped pen, with golden accents, a 14 K gold nib in size #5 and 11 points available. The filling system, needless to say, are cartridges and converters. This model came into existence in the year 74 of the Pilot era, i. e. 1992, and it is still manufactured nowadays (2018).

Then, what is the pen shown on the following picture?

A Pilot flat-top with golden accents...

It is a flat-top Custom 74. But this variation was never in the market. This pen is a private edition prepared for the share holders of the company, Pilot Corporation, in 1993.

This version is, in essence, identical to the regular Custom 74 save for the detail of the ending domes on cap and barrel. And all the parts are interchangeable.

The regular Custom 74 (top) and the private version made for the share holders of the company.

Years later, in 2009, Pilot launched the model Custom Heritage 91—a flat-top pen with rhodiated decoration, 14 K size #5 nibs (only 9 points available)… Almost a flat-top Custom 74, save for the very different clip.

From top to bottom, regular Custom 74, flat-top version of the Custom 74, and Custom Heritage 91. All of them carry the size #5 nib in 14 K gold.

These are the dimensions of these three pens:

	.Custom 74.	.Custom 74 flat-top.	.Custom Heritage 91.
Length closed (mm)	143	137	137.5
Length open (mm)	125	123	122.5
Length posted (mm)	160	156	156
Diameter (mm)	14.6	14.6	14.6
Weight, dry (g), with CON-70	21.4	21.8	21.4

The flat-top Custom 74 implements a “coarse” nib –a 3B point--, and I suspect that this was the only option for all those share-holders of Pilot’s. At least, the few units of this pen I have seen all carry this very broad point.

The "coarse" nib in size #5 implemented on the flat-top Custom 74.

Platinum pocket pen, Yamada Seisakusho – KWZ Brown #2

Bruno Taut
Nakano, February 26th 2018
etiquetas: Pilot