Public House

For Suomi-san who introduced me into the Stephens’ world.

Despite my years in Glasgow, I am not a pub-goer. But it seems to me that all English/Scottish/Irish pubs seem to be one and the same, endlessly repeated. And given their otaku mentality, some of the best examples might be in Japan—look for a home-made haggis in a pub in Scotland, as I saw in Yokohama!

The ad...

...and the "Irish" public house.

Anyway, one of the key elements in a pub is the decoration. Vintage ads are always present together with a profusion of wood panels and indirect lights. This Madrid “Irish” pub, though, has very English ads—the long gone Stephens’ ink.

Stephens' inkwell together with the box of the model 56 pen. Photo courtesy of Grafopasión member Mr. JLML.

Another old ad of Stephens' ink. Photo courtesy of Grafopasión member Mr. JLML.

The Stephens’ company was the leading company in ink production in Britain after the 1837 patent for a permanent ink, filed by the founder Dr. Henry Stephens. The company really succeeded when at his death, his son Henry Charles Stephens, also known as “Inky” Stephens, became in charge. The company only started producing pens well into the twentieth century. Not many models they made, and there are arguments about their actual value, but there are some avid collectors of Stephens’ pens.

(Parker 21, black – Senator Regent Royal Blue)

Bruno Taut
April, 2011
[labels: tinta, Stephens']

Chinese Fude

Pen review. Luoshi “Good Luck” 739 with fude nib.

Luoshi is one of these Chinese pen companies sprouting in the market and whose products, through on-line commerce, are becoming more widely available.


1. Appearance and design. (7.0/10)
The first impression shows a very substantial –more on this later— and appealing pen. It calls you attention through the richly decorated barrel—a brass overlay engraved with some Chinese motifs (Confucius) and an inscription of good luck together with the company name in Chinese ideograms.

Other than this, design-wise there is nothing remarkable. Actually, the ornament makes the pen quite heavy and unbalanced.

2. Construction and quality. (6.0/10)
A closer look shows a number of imperfections on the cap enamel and rings. Nothing impeding its functionality, but they show this is a cheap pen.

At the same time, the pen did not perform correctly right away. The feed –easy to disassemble—was dirty and the nib was not properly aligned to the feed. Cleaning and sliding the nib further down made the trick for a good writing.


3. Weight and dimensions. (5.0/10)
Heavy and unbalanced pen.

Dimensions:
Diameter: 13 mm.
Length capped: 142 mm.
Length uncapped: 127 mm.
Length posted: 171 mm.
Total weight: 45 g.
Weight uncapped: 32 g


Even unposted, this pen is unbalanced—the barrel is too heavy and pushes the center of masses high up in the pen. Posted, this becomes a very uncomfortable pen.

Size-wise, though, this is an average pen, a bit on the thick side, favoring a comfortable grip.

The gold plated steel fude nib.

4. Nib and writing performance. (8.0/10)
The nib is the key point of this pen—a fude nib bended about 40 degrees. Therefore, it draws a very thick horizontal line and a thin –about an M point—vertical one. It is tipped, and this smooths the writing at higher angles—up to a point. But it hardly becomes rough.

It is only natural to compare this nib to that of the Sailor Fude Pen 40 already reviewed on these chronicles.


The first difference is that the angle at which the Luoshi pen is bended is a lot more progressive than that in the Sailor pen. As a result, the possibilities of line variation are huge, but it also makes this pen very tricky to master. The usual effect is a very uncontrolled variation in the handwriting width.

Therefore, this is a wet, smooth, difficult to master, and fun pen.

As was mentioned before, this nib had to be re-aligned with the feed. After that, there has been no problem with it.

Different line widths with different nib inclinations.

5. Filling system and maintenance. (8.0/10)

This is a cartridge/converter pen that uses short and long universal cartridges. The nib-feed set is very easy to remove from the section. In summary, an easy to maintain pen, even if boring in the filling department.

6. Cost and value. (8.0/10)
This is an inexpensive pen –less than USD 10— with appealing looks but not well finished and certainly unbalanced. However, it implements an exciting fude nib.

All in all, a good deal.



7. Conclusion. (42/60=70/100)
Inexpensive and unbalance pen with good looks and interesting nib. As customers, we should also look at some other fude pens with less appealing looks but much better balance and overall handling.

My thanks to Tarraco-san.

(Luoshi “Good Luck” Fude Pen – Montegrappa turquoise)

Bruno Taut
May 1st, 2011
[labels: Luoshi, plumín]

Sesenta

Sesenta –sixty in Spanish— was the name of a limited edition of the slim Pilot Capless. The records say that there were three series of 400, 100 and 100 units in marbled brown, red and green, respectively, released in June 2007. There is also a generalized idea that these Sesenta pens were the beginning of the model Decimo (tenth in Spanish), the non-limited version of the slim Capless. However, those same records show that there was a Decimo pen in pink in November 2005, this predating the first Sesenta.

A Sesenta in brown marble.

A Decimo in blue.

Another general idea is that the nib-feed-ink deposit set of all Capless pens can fin in any of the models made after 1990: regular Capless, slim Decimo/Sesenta, and Fermo. But I have found that golden colored nibs, either made in gold or in steel, do not fit well in the slim versions. These nibs seem to be slightly thicker at some point and the push-pull operation is not smooth. This is the case with two pens—a Sesenta and a Decimo— and with three different nibs—two gold plated in steel, and one 18 K in gold.

A collection of Capless nibs in steel and in 18 K gold.

(Pilot Capless, steel M nib – Diamine Teal)

Bruno Taut
April 29, 2011
[labels: Pilot]

Spanish Platinum

Little is known about the Spanish pen brand Presidente—it was registered in Madrid in 1959 by someone named Doroteo Pérez y Pérez. So, my friend Alberto Linares’s discovery of today’s pen at an antique fair was totally unexpected.

The Presidente pen.

A close inspection of the pen unveils even more questions while answering almost nothing. Everything on this pen says Japan, and especially Platinum.

The Platinum nib: "PLATINUM / 10 YEARS". Some more information is hidden under the section.

The cap jewel shows the Platinum logo.

Both the nib and the cap are engraved with the traditional logo of this well-known Japanese company showing the initials of the founder Shunichi Nakata. And the only reference to the actual name of the Spanish company is the imprint on the barrel: “PRESIDENTE / Registrada”. Inside, an aerometric system is in charge on inking the pen. No more information is available.

The barrel imprint.

The aerometric system has no imprint.

Therefore, the field is open for questions: How did this Platinum pen become Spanish? When did that happen? Is there any Platinum model similar to this pen?

This nib belongs to a Platinum Pocket pen from the 1960s. It shows the old Platinum logo.

With thanks to Mr. Alberto Linares, who found this pen. I am only the writer of this story.

(Pilot Vortex, M nib – Sailor Red Brown)

Bruno Taut
April 24, 2011
[labels: Platinum, Presidente, España, Japón]

P. S. (July 9th, 2011): More information, on the chronicle entitled "Honest Pen".
P. S. II (December 1st, 2011): Two more Presidente pens found. The report is entitled "More Spanish Platinum".

Matching (VIII)

The controversy is always there: Is that pen original or a copy of another? Which company did father that idea? Sometimes, the answers are clear…

On the top, Inoxcrom 55. Parker 21 (Mark 1), on the bottom.

Inoxcrom remains, despite its financial difficulties, as the best known fountain pen company in Spain and one of the few known outside its country of origin. This company was founded in 1942 by Manuel Vaqué as Industrial MAVA in Barcelona, and changed its name to Inoxcrom in 1946. It started by producing nibs for other companies and by assembling pens with imported parts. And by 1955 the company produced the first complete pen—the Inoxcrom 55, a copy of the very successful Parker 21.

Again, on the top, Inoxcrom 55. Parker 21 on the bottom.

This pen had a remarkably constant price in Spain: 100 pesetas for about 18 years—between 1955 and 1973. The competitor Parker 21, about 300 pesetas by 1960.

Advertisement published in La Vanguardia Española (Barcelona) on September 15th, 1961. The Inoxcrom 55's price was significantly lower than that of some imported pens.

The Mark 1 Parker 21 had a larger feed.

The construction quality of both pens was not that different—the 55 model was a reliable product indeed, and became the workhorse of many a student in Spain.

Both pens were aerometric fillers. The Inoxcrom pen had the instructions in Spanish.

Nowadays, in Spain, it is possible to find units of this model for about € 50.

My thanks to Grafopasión members Alberto and Claudio.

(Pilot Decimo, 18 K M nib – Diamine Teal)

Bruno Taut
(April 22nd, 2011)
[labels: Inoxcrom, Parker, España]

Charm

To Paco-san, in Kanto.

I guess we all stylophiles start our love for fountain pens in the same way: we receive a fountain pen and by using it we feel something special. What it is we do not really know—we might never actually get to know. Then we might start collecting, or simply accumulating, some of those utensils in a semi-conscious way, looking for a more perfect pen, a richer flow, a smoother nib, a bigger ink deposit,… And suddenly we realize we have become collectors even if in denial, as I had said on a previous chronicle.

The next step, some say, is to narrow down our field of interest. A number of collectors adamantly insist on this—you need to decide what you look for, you need to structure your collection.

A well structured collection of Parker flighter pens.

Paco-san, however, claimed that every pen has its own charm. It is indeed difficult to turn your eyes away from most pens although some modern manufacturers are trying hard to create ugly pens at outrageous prices, but there is always the chance that that horrendous pen was the most perfect writer ever created…

Purple is the argument...

At the end, what I see is that many of us barely discriminate in our tools. Most of us do not have any real structure in our collection. And even if we tried, there is always that temptation we just cannot resist. We all have some Paco-san inside—we are ready to appreciate some charm in every single pen.

(Pilot Capless 1990 model with steel M nib – Diamine Teal)

Bruno Taut
April 20, 2011
[labels: estilofilia]

Capless Nibs (I)

Six are the nibs Pilot manufactures nowadays for its very successful line of Capless pens –Vanishing Point in the US. However, only three of them are widely available outside Japan: 18 K gold nibs in F, M, and B. To these nibs we might add some made in 14 K gold available in the past in some markets; the US among them.

The six nibs currently on production.

F and M points in steel are, in Japan, remarkably cheaper than those in gold, but how do they compare? To answer this question, I inked three Capless nibs with Diamine Teal: 18 K, 14 K, and steel; all medium points.

The three nibs under review.

The differences among them can be summarized as follows:

— The steel nib is a lot thinner than those in gold. There is no significant line variation between the 14 K and the 18 K gold ones.

— The steel nib is also drier than those in gold, as is often the case.

— None of these nibs is truly flexible, but all of them show some springy character. The steel nib is the most rigid of the lot, and the 14 K shows more flexibility (even if very limited).

— Smooth-wise, both gold nibs work better than the steel one—ink flow and wider line favor smoothness. But the steel nib still scores very high on this department and it is very pleasant to use.

The steel nibs, available in Japan.

In conclusion, we must admit that gold Capless nibs work better than the cheaper steel one. But is the gold nib worth the price difference? Gold nibbed Capless pens come in Japan at a premium of JPY 5000.

The two possible trimmings on a Capless pen. Originally, the silver-color pen came with a steel nib. All the nibs shown on the first picture fit inside these empty boxes.

There is, however, another detail to take into consideration. Steel nibs come only as gold plated and their Capless bodies, as sold in Japan, are silver-trimmed and, therefore, mismatched in color. Gold nibs, on their side, can either be golden or silver (rhodiated) in color, and they are always matched with the body trim.

Writing samples of the three M nibs under study.

The answer to the previous question on the price difference, as usual, belongs to each of us—provided we could buy any of the options anywhere. Unfortunately, Pilot’s marketing policy does not allow that. But we have Internet and online shopping to overcome the short-sighted attitude of the company and of the importers.

An analysis of the Capless F nibs can be seen on the chronicle Capless Nibs (II).

(Pilot Capless, 14 K gold M nib – Diamine Teal)

Bruno Taut
April 16, 2011
[labels: Pilot, mercado]