The Case of Naginata. I. The Press Release

Sailor has finally spoken out—Naginata Togi nibs and other special nibs will be back in the market on October 5th (2018). But that is the extent of the good news. The rest is not so positive.

An old Cross Music, and an old Naginata Togi.

The price of the Naginata nibs will double—from the former JPY 25000 to JPY 50000. And this price increase propagates through the whole line up of Special nibs:

Naginata Concord: from JPY 30000 to JPY 55000.
Naginata Fude: from JPY 25000 to JPY 55000.
Naginata with emperor: from JPY 35000 to JPY 60000.
Cross nib: from JPY 45000 to JPY 70000.
Cross Music: from JPY 50000 to JPY 75000.

The new design of the Naginata nibs. Photo courtesy of Inktraveler.

The pens implementing these nibs will change their appearance. The nib decoration will be simpler than the old one, as can be seen on the pictures. The pen will carry a wider cap ring with the inscription “SPECIAL NIB”.

New prices, new designs... old nibs. Photo courtesy of Inktraveler.

And, finally, the whole distribution network of this nibs will be dramatically reduced: only 50 dealers worldwide –25 of them in Japan— will handle these pens. And to make matters worse, some rumors say that few of these special nibs will make their way outside of Japan.

Sailor, at this point, has not released any information regarding the plans for the “super big” (“King of Pen”) size Naginata and related nibs.

These special nibs are becoming more special than ever.

Pilot Capless FCN-500R - De Atramentis Jeans Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 3rd, 2018
etiquetas: Sailor, plumín, mercado

Tokyo International Pen Show 2018. A Stationery Salon

The first Tokyo International Pen Show (::1::, ::2::) took place this past weekend (September 29th and 30th) in the ward of Taito in Tokyo. And the results were impressive.

The event was celebrated at one of the lounges of the Taito Metropolitan Industrial Center –Taito Kan–: 1400 m2, 60 tables, 50 traders for a total of about 1500 visitors. On the first day –Saturday 29th–, 1100 visitors filled the room, 600 of which arrived within the first hour.

(Photo courtesy of Inktraveler).

The key for this success was, in my opinion, based on two elements: a very eclectic list of traders, and the almost completely absence of vintage pen vendors. The result was a lounge centered on stationeries instead of on pens. In actual terms, there were about half a dozen traders offering used and vintage pens: Pen Land Café (Nagoya), Komehyo (Japan), Mora Stylos (Paris), Erfobay, Hayashi Katsuro,... New pens were displayed by the hand of the creators themselves―Tetzbo, Ohashido, Manu Propria, Eboya, StyloArt Karuizawa, Helico, Taccia, Azonx, Chriselle,... The rest of vendors were focused on dedicated pens (shop-special limited editions), inks, papers and assorted paraphernalia.

These later sectors were responsible for the crowds on the first day. And this public was very young and very female―just the opposite of the usual demographics of pen collectors: male and middle aged.

(Photo courtesy of Inktraveler).

(Photo courtesy of Inktraveler).

In conclusion, the First Tokyo International Pen Show was resounding success, but at the expense of vintage pens and through becoming a stationery fair addressed to the final consumer.

The organizers deserve all the credit of the right decisions to attract 1500 potential buyers. The 2019 edition of the Tokyo International Pen Show will take place on October 5th and 6th of 2019.

Pelikan M800 Kodaishu – Sailor Red Brown

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 2nd, 2018
etiquetas: Tokyo, evento, papelería

Nakabayashi Again

The name Nakabayashi is not new on these Chronicles. It is a Japanese company making stationeries and office supplies, and some months ago entered the market of fountain pen inks through a collaboration with Sailor.

Now, Nakabayashi is back on the spotlight with another line of inks—Taccia inks. And these inks deserve some comments.

Taccia inks, by Nakabayashi.

First are the news of Nakabayashi becoming the primary owner of Taccia pens since last April. At that time, Itoya of America handed its share to Nakabayashi.

The second issue if about the actual maker of these new inks. As I said before, the first Nakabayashi inks –those themed after ukiyo-e colors—had been made by Sailor, and being a recent development (June-July of 2018), it was reasonable to assume that the connection between Nakabayashi and Sailor continued.

No news from Sailor on the label.

But that is not the case, and Taccia inks are made by Nakabayashi itself. Then, will there be new batches –new revolutions- in the ukiyo-e line of inks? Who will make them?

13 new colors: kuro, tsuchi, cha, daidai, aka, momo, ebi, murasaki, ao, aoguro, sora, midori, uguisu.

Aoguro. Blue-black.

The Taccia inks are a collection of 13 colors with Japanese names. The inkwells contain 40 ml of ink and cost JPY 1000 (plus taxes). That means JPY 25/ml of ink.

Not an inexpensive ink, but a lot more economical than most Sailor inks, including those made for Nakabayashi.

Is Taccia becoming finally Japanese?

Montblanc 149 – Pelikan Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 27th, 2018
etiquetas: Nakabayashi, Taccia, tinta, Itoya, Sailor, mercado