Nomikomi-shiki (吞込式)

This is not the first, nor will it be the last, time I must correct myself. A blog is a work in progress and there is no end to what we learn. Therefore, mistakes are part of the game. Sometimes, though, they are sweet, and this is one of them.

The main character of the chronicle "Hybrid". Note the long feed inside the orange ink deposit.

Some months ago, I wrote a chronicle about a strange pen. A Pilot pen, actually, from 1938. Its most striking feature was a strangely long feed that entered well into the ink deposit for no apparent reason. This deposit, on its side, was screwed to the section. It really looked like a re-usable cartridge. But at the same time, it was also a sort of eyedropper pen with a reduced ink reservoir. That is why I named that chronicle as “Hybrid”.

Was I mistaken! Reality was a lot more exciting. And that is why my mistake was so sweet.

A short version of the previous pen, together with the nomikomi-shiki inkwell. These inkwells are really difficult to find nowadays.

This family of pens was released with an ad-hoc inkwell that allowed a very special and original filling procedure. This inkwell had a hole with a neck in the cap, inside which there are four sealing-rubber lips. To ink the pen, the user had to introduce it, uncapped, nib down, in the inkwell. Then, flip the inkwell and the pen upside down (crossing fingers for the rubber seal to work well, thus avoiding a massive ink spillage). Gravity and the capillarity of the extra-long feed worked together to fill the ink deposit very efficiently. This procedure, named nomikomi-shiki (呑込式) or, in English, easy-drink filler, can be seen on the following videoclip.

Pen and inkwell in the moment of filling the deposit.

The pen used on this demonstration is a small version of the one I showed on my original, and mistaken, text. Both are made of celluloid, and have a window on the barrel to check the appropriate filling of the pen as well as the remaining ink. These are the dimensions of the short version of the nomikomi-shiki pen:

Closed: 103 mm.
Open: 94 mm.
Posted: 130 mm.
Diameter: 13 mm.

The insides of the short nomikomi-shiki pen.

The long feed.

Indeed a sweet mistake as the reality proved to be a lot more interesting and original that mi initial guess.

Advertisement of the filling system as shown at the Pilot Museum, Pen Station, in Tokyo.

My thanks to Mr. Niikura.

Platinum Celluloid, music nib – Sailor Kiwa-guro, 極黒

Bruno Taut
Madrid, December 11th, 2012
etiquetas: Pilot, soluciones técnicas

Matching (XII)

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…

Platinum’s “10-years” nibs are not new on these chronicles. Those were, let us remember, steel nibs manufactured in the 1950s, at the time of the implementation of the Japan Industrial Standards (JIS) norm by the Ministry of Industry. This norm aimed at providing some reliability on the claims made by manufacturing companies about their own products. In the case of fountain pens, the problems were mostly related to the nib material.

The de-luxe "10-years" pen, as the engraving on the barrel says. The cap is gold filled and displays the sign "NK14 PLATINUM".

“10-years” pens; that is, equipped with these steel nibs; came in a number of sized and shapes. The most popular was the Honest model, already mentioned on these texts.

Parker 51 (top) and Platinum "10-Years" (bottom), side to side.

Both pens, disassembled. The section of the Platinum pen is faceted, and that is the major external difference between these pens.

Another example is this copy of the very popular Parker 51 model. This Platinum was a de luxe model given its gold filled cap, in contrast with the steel nib. The filling system is a very reliable aerometric, just like the most popular version of the American original.

Nib and feed of the Parker on top. The Platinum pen uses a different structure to hold them together. Platinum used a hollow cylinder made of plastic. The following photographs shows these parts disassembled.

The similarities with the Parker 51 are not just on the looks. Not only the nib is hooded, but also the structure of the platinum pen is very close to that of the aerometric 51—the whole pen is held together by a central ring to which both the feed and the filling system are attached. The nib, however, does not have the cylindrical shape of the American model and is kept in place with respect to the feed by means of a plastic cylinder.

The Platinum "10-Years" almost fully disassembled. The nib-feed system can be seen at the bottom of the picture.

These are the dimensions of this Platinum 10-Years and of the Parker 51 (aerometric):
Length closed: .......140 mm. ................. 139.5 mm
Length open: .........127.5 mm. ............... 128.0 mm.
Diameter: ..............12.5 mm. ................. 12.5 mm.
Dry weight: .............17.4 g. ...................... 21.5 g.

This pen, with eventual very minor differences, was marketed outside Japan under the name of some local brands. Such was the case of Italy or Greece, using the brand name of Joker, and of South Africa, branded as Hifra. But this should be the topic of a different text.

Pilot Bamboo – unknown blue ink

Bruno Taut
Madrid, December 5th, 2012
etiquetas: Parker, Platinum, Hifra, Joker, Japón

On Line Channels

Fellow stylophiles Dan and Eric of FPGeeks have reported the final release of a maki-e Pelikan pen based on the Souverän M1000 model. Well, Eric and Dan reported on the release in the US market as this pen had been in the Japanese market since October. But there are more differences other than the release date. The price in Japan is JPY 210000, tax included, whereas in the US it is about USD 1000 more—USD 3638 (MSRP).

The Japanese brochure of the Pelikan Sunlight in raden costume.

The maki-e Pelikan on display at a stationery shop in Kawasaki, Japan. The picture was taken on November 10th (2012).

It is very hard to understand these variations. It really looks like some –if not all— pen brands had not understood the idea of globalization or, even worse, they wanted a globalized world in just one direction—for them to sell their good anywhere without obstacles but not for the buyer to choose the most convenient conditions.

The medium nib is the only one available on this pen. 300 units were released worldwide. This unit is number 284.

On line mechanisms allow for a quick transmission of information away from the official channels as well as for electronic commerce. Is this so hard to understand?

Pilot Bamboo – Unknown blue ink

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 30th, 2012
etiquetas: Japón, Estados Unidos, Mercado, Pelikan, metabitácora

Networking

A pen show is always an overwhelming experience. There are too many pens on display and too little money. On top of that, a pen show is a meeting point where a number of stylophiles congregate. It is easy -and convenient too!- to talk and to exchange information and experiences. Those are, in fact, the basic elements of a pen show—the commercial and the social.

However, not all pen shows cater the social aspect in the same way. The raison d’être of a any such event is obviously the commercial, and its success is based upon the arithmetic of the trade. The social aspect is, therefore, too often overseen by the organizers.

Vymars's table.

The De Leo and Gargioulo's tables.

Such is the case, in my opinion, of the Madrid Pen Show. This year, the change in the venue roughly doubled the available space, but it seems that only traders could benefit from this. Most of them could display more pens, and they were more comfortable behind their tables. But we visitors felt there was not much more space to move around than on previous years. On Saturday, the big day of the event, the lounge was truly crowded. I should also note that this year there were more cafes and restaurants around the hotel, but many of us thought they were too far away.

Sarj Minhas's table.

Toys from the Attic.

It is my contention that the social networking associated to these events does generate economic benefits that would cover for the cost of devoting some specific space to this more relaxed activity.

This year, the bare figures of the Madrid Pen Show –on its ninth edition— matched almost exactly those of the past year—45 traders from eight different countries, and about 800 visitors. Given the condition of the Spanish economy, the Madrid Pen Show was a big success.

Pilot Elite, pocket pen, posting nib – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 29th, 2012
labels: evento, Madrid, mercado

Reissue

I have already spoken about Ban-ei pens and the team of four experienced craftsmen –Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助), Kabutogi Ginjirô (兜木銀次郎), Takahashi Kichitaro (高橋吉太郎), and Tsuchida Shuichi (土田修一)—who silently manufactured them in the 1970s and 1980s. Silently, I said, because they did not sign their pens. The story continued in the mid 1990s when Danitrio commissioned these old artisans and their successors to recreate their old works. This time, though, under less anonymous conditions.

復刻手造万年筆, reissued hand-made fountain pen. A 14 K gold nib by Kabutogi Toshiya.

These new pens –the Danitrio Ban-ei series of pens— had some minor variations with respect to the original models. The most obvious are the signs stating the serial number and the name of the leader. On his side, the new nibmeister –Kabutogi Toshiya (兜木利弥), son of the venerable Kabutogi Ginjirô—made clear that this pen was a reissue of the original. That is, in fact, what can be read on the nib: 復刻手造万年筆 (fukkoku tezuku(ri) mannenhitsu), reissued hand-made fountain pen. Other Danitrio Ban-ei pens do not carry this engraving.

The eyedropper balance pen in red urushi. The brand Ban-ei (挽栄) is engraved on the central ring.

This nib corresponds to a balance pen in red urushi. It is an eyedropper pen with shut-off valve. Danitrio produced 150 units of this pen. These are its dimensions:

Diameter: 16 mm.
Length closed: 145 mm.
Length open: 126 mm.
Dry weight: 21.4 g.
Ink deposit: ~ 2.5 ml.

Pilot Custom Heritage 91, SFM nib – Diamine Teal

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 24th, 2012
etiquetas: Ban-ei, Danitrio, nibmeister Kabutogi

Size 80

For some reason, vintage Sailor pens are really hard to find in the market. And that is strange given the fact that Sailor Pen Company in now over 100 years old and that it became successful soon after it begun its operations. Successful, though, does not really imply being large, and in fact Sailor remains as the smaller among the big three Japanese pen companies.

The overall length of this ebonite eyedropper is 160 mm.

The immediate consequence is that per-war Sailor pens are valued rarities. That is the case of this eyedropper made of ebonite (hard rubber). Being Japanese, it implements the corresponding shut-off valve operated from the tail. But the most impressive detail is the size 80 nib in 14 K gold.

On this picture, the tail is slightly unscrewed. Therefore, the connection between the ink deposit and the feed is open.

The old log of the company, engraved on the clip.

The overall condition of this pen is very good despite its age. It dates back from around 1930.

The size 80 nib in 14 K gold. The exposed part of the nib is almost 30 mm. long. The engraving reads "14 CRT. GOLD / (Sailor logo) / REGISTERED / PATENT.OFFICE / -80- ".

Sailor manufactured an even larger nib at the time. It was labeled as 200 and is a holy grail among Sailor’s pens.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Pilot Elite pocket pen, posting nib – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, November 6th, 2012
labels: Sailor, plumín

Reminder

Long time ago, at the beginning of this blog, I wrote a text vindicating the role of the nib –and of the feed—over the rest of the pen. A fountain pen, I wrote in Spanish, was a system to control the flow of a fluid on its way between a deposit and the paper. And therefore, materials, colors, filling systems, shapes are secondary as long as they created no problem in the act of writing.

However, current commercial trends seem to be focused on these secondary elements, and pen companies indeed charge a lot for those. Precious resins, colorful celluloid, exotic lacquers, intricate ornaments, rare wood, new materials, … revival of pneumatic filling systems, pistons, plungers, eyedroppers… The business of new fountain pens is no longer based on the utility or on the need to write. Fountain pens are a commodity, a symbol of status, a sign of snobbism. And craving over need determines what we, users and collectors, end up buying.

But some people do not want to forget that fountain pens are writing tools. And that is why people like Yamada or Nagahara and those many masters in adjusting a nib are so necessary.

Pilot Elite pocket pen, posting nib – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, November 9th, 2012
labels: plumín, Mercado, estilofilia, Yamada, Sailor