Pyongyang

At the Pilot’s museum of pens Pen Station I found the following ink bottle:

GuangMyung Ink (공명잉크), from Pyongyang (평양).

Obviously Korean, but Hangul is an obscure alphabet to me despite being the most rational of them all. Some questions led to some interesting information: it was made in Pyongyang, North Korea (평양, on the bottom line of the label, on the left side). Its name, 공명잉크, transliterated, is something like GuangMyung Ink(u).

This should come as no surprise as fountain pens were the basic writing tool for many years. A supply of ink was needed in most countries either by importing or by producing it, and it is not hard to imagine Soviet and Chinese made fountain pens in North Korea during the Cold War years. But nothing can I say about the production date of this inkwell.

Platinum Belage – Platinum Pigment Blue

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, July 7th 2013
etiquetas: Corea del Norte, tinta, GuangMyung

Elite

The Pilot Elite 95s is already on the street in Japan, and in other markets, as fellow blog author KMPN has recently reported. This pen is a remake of a pocket pen, so popular in the 1960s and 1970s in Japan, and implements an inlaid nib made of 14 K gold, available in EF, F, and M points. Two finishes are available—all black with golden accents, and burgundy with silver-colored cap. The latter, thought for the female customer, seems to be a lot more popular than the former. It might be worth to note that the number 95 indicates this pen was released on 95th year in the history of the company. The same applied to the model Justus 95.

The new Elite 95s. Picture taken from the Pilot's press relase on the pen.

But originally the Pilot Elite was a whole family of pens in a number of different styles. So many of them, actually, that it is hard to ignore the impression of Elite being a catchy word that was attached to any pen with a serious and formal look in the sixties and seventies. Or even not that formal!

A small selection of old Pilot Elite.

It is not easy to determine the chronological order in which the following pens appeared in the market. The lot, as well, is far from being an exhaustive and complete catalog of all Elite pen Pilot released.

--The balance model. This is an easy to find pen. More often than not it is a cartridge-converter pen, but some models (1968) were equipped with an accordion sac (bellows) as the filling system Very often, but not always, their nibs were inlaid, and were imprinted with the word “CUSTOM”.

There existed balance-shaped Elite made of silver (1968) with inlaid nibs. These were the precursors of the Art Silvern series of pens still on production nowadays with some minor differences.

Three balance models, but only the two on bottom are labeled as Elite.

--The flat top Elite. Not a usual find. A cartridge-converter. Nail-type nib.

A flat top Elite. Nail-type nib in 18 K gold.

--Elite pocket pens come in many styles. All of them are cartridge-converter.

a. The all-black with golden accents and inlaid nib. Some people call this pen as “Socrates”. Nail-type nibs were also implemented and are easy to find. This pen style –black and gold— in pocket pens was popular among all pen makers in Japan, and some examples (::1::, ::2::) have been covered on these Chronicles.

A black pocket Elite with a 22 K gold nib.

b. The cross-hatched decorative pattern. Inlaid nib made gold, usually rhodiated, although some white gold units might also exist. This pen was also called “Isaac Newton”. Cheaper versions had black plastic barrel and nail-type gold nib. These are late models, made in the late 1980s.

The sought-after cross-hatched Elite, also known as "Isaac Newton". It has an 18 K inlaid nib, rhodiated.

c. Silver pens. As in the previous case, either cap and barrel or just the cap were made of silver. Inlaid and nail-type nibs were available.

An Elite with a silver cap. The nib is made of 18 K gold, nail style.

d. Colorful Elite. Already by the 1969, the first Pilot pocket pen was released in the last trimester of 1968, colorful pocket Elite were marketed as S-KaraKara. Their target were students, and there was nothing formal on them. There even existed a demonstrator version of those. Their nibs were made of gold-plated steel.

As I said in the beginning, this is far from being complete. The drawback is that nobody should be surprised if more styles and shapes and colors were found.

The newly released Pilot Elite 95s costs JPY 10000, plus taxes. Second hand pocket Elite in black can easily be found, in good condition, for less than JPY 5000.

Pilot Capless FC-15SR (1989 model), stub nib by Shimizu Seisakusho – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, July 6th, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, mercado

Pelikan 1600

What single writing tool could produce ALL the lines shown on the following picture?

All the strokes were done with the same writing tool. It was not modified at all during the writing process (barely 20 seconds). The height of the capital P on Pelikan is 16 mm. The width of the underlining stroke, under the word "all", is between 7 and 8 mm.

This is an old topic on these Chronicles—that of nibmeister Yamada’s creations. But the previous picture does show the amazing versatility of the oppose nib scheme devised by nibmeister Yamada, implemented in a Pelikan M800. It also explains and justifies these radical attempts to understand nibs.

The answer to the initial question can be seen on the following pictures. The name Pelikan 1600, as he likes to call it, derives from the use of two Pelikan 800 nibs.

There is, however, another answer to that question: a traditional brush.

More information can be found on the following Chronicles: Innovation (I); Innovation (II); and Innovation (III). Analysis.

My thanks and my admiration go to Mr. Yamada.

Pilot in stainless steel (1968) – Pilot Blue-Black

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, July 7th 2013
etiquetas: Pelikan, nibmeister Yamada, soluciones técnicas

Brazilian Pilot

In 1954 Pilot opened a manufacturing plant in Brazil, and some marketing efforts followed. Many an example of the ads of Pilot products on local media were reproduced on Pilot Times, the internal communication magazine of the company.

Ad published on Folha da Manha on March 8th, 1955. It was reported on Pilot Times on its March 1956 issue.

As reported on Pilot Times on May 1956.

Those ads show ink, and Super pens as the primary products for the local market. Some reports speak of some pens made in Brazil (the Super 77 model is mentioned as such by Lambrou and Sunami on their book Fountain Pens of Japan). This was not an exception as Pilot had open manufacturing plants in other countries (India, Burma, and Thailand) in 1953.

As reported on Pilot Times on November 1958.

All in all, these Brazilian ads show that there should exist vintage Pilot pens and memorabilia in flea markets, antique shops and in the hands of local traders in Brazil and neighboring countries. But not many of those seemed to be known.

Platinum pocket pen, Yamada Seisakusho soft nib – Wagner 2008 ink

Bruno Taut
Machida, July 3rd, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, Brasil, India, Birmania, Tailandia

Pilot Inks at Flea Markets

The desire to collect pens and to learn about them can easily be enlarged through collecting all kinds of memorabilia and accessories. Inkwells are easy targets—durable, abundant, not too expensive (albeit with many exceptions)… and certainly nostalgic. They are a common find at flea markets and antique shops.

Some old inkwells at a flea market.

The following inkwell is one such example. It is a 30 ml inkwell by Pilot produced in the 1940s and 1950s. Its original price went from JPY 30 to JPY 50. A bigger inkwell, 50 ml, was also available. And there exist schematics of 20 ml inkwells which might very well have existed, but I have never seen.

The dimensions correspond to an inkwell of about 20 ml. Published on Pilot Times (パイロットタイムス), Sept 1959.

A set of two 30-ml inkwells on display at the Pilot Museum the Pen Station. The price was JPY 70 in 1949.

Nothing fancy or rare, but very characteristic of that time. Pilot’s pen museum –Pen Station—truly reflects that with a variety of basically the same inkwell from several years along its lifetime. Nothing unusual, but the history of pens is mostly written through common tools rather than with those one-of-a-kind pens and inkwells nobody could find.

Platinum Century, music nib – Platinum Pigment Blue

Bruno Taut
June 20th 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, tinta

Sistemas de sellado (II)

Estaba pendiente un nuevo texto sobre los sistemas de sellado de las plumas japonesas. En el texto anterior mencioné la obsesión japonesa por evitar las fugas de tinta. Como dije, no creo que fuera solo japonesa, pero lo cierto es que ese primer sistema de sellado --la válvula accionada desde el culotte-- se mantiene hasta hoy. Y eso son unos cien años de historia.

Pero ese sistema de sellado del depósito no es el único que se puede encontrar en Japón. Pilot (Namiki Manufacturing Co.) lanzó al mercado alrededor de 1920, dos años después de su fundación, una pluma con un nuevo sistema de sellado del depósito. Se trata del sistema de estrellas o, en japonés, hoshiawase (星合せ) o, en la clave de Pilot, N-shiki (N-式).

Una colección nada común de Pilot con sistema hoshiawase.

En este sistema, la boquilla está compuesta por dos cilindros concéntricos que pueden rotar (poco más de 90 grados) uno respecto al otro.  En el exterior, dos puntos --las estrellas-- indican la posición relativa de los cilindros: con las estrellas alineadas los conductos internos de la boquilla permiten el paso de tinta del depósito al plumín. Desalienadas, la tinta queda confinada en el depósito.

En esta foto se pueden ver los dos cilintros concéntricos que abren y cierran el paso entre el depósito y el plumín. Se trata de un hoshiawase muy temprano; posiblemente de 1920.

Una versión más tardía, 1927, del sistema hoshiawase.

Detalle de la boquilla de una hoshiawase con las estrellas claramente visibles en rojo. Alineadas, la tinta puede circular del depósito al plumín.

Por lo demás, son plumas de llenado por cuentagotas. Todas ellas son de ebonita, casi siempre negra, aunque las hay coloreadas. Estas últimas son muy buscadas.

Pilot usó este sistema hasta 1928. Al parecer, nunca fue todo lo efectivo que deseaban.  Posteriormente, en los años 40, hubo alguna pluma anónima que resucitó el sistema.

Cuatro hoshiawase en batería.

Una variación sobre esta idea fue el sistema de dos depósitos de tinta de la pluma Double Flow, japonesa de los años 20 igualmente, ya descrita en estas Crónicas. Pero no parece que Double Flow estuviera relacionada con la empresa Namiki Mfg. Co., dueña de la marca Pilot.

Platinum Belage - Platinum Pigmented Blue

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, 21 de junio de 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, soluciones técnicas, Japón

Capless 1973

Capless pens are a regular topic on these Chronicles, and it only makes sense as they are one of the very few iconic pens made in Japan. But the Pilot Capless is not just a pen, but a family of them that followed a natural evolution over its fifty years of existence.

Today’s pen is the Capless model released in 1973. It is one of the lesser known variations, and one of the hardest to find in the second hand market.

The Capless originally released in 1973 with catalog reference CN-400 BS. In 1981, its price increased and the reference changed to CN-500 BS.

This model is nested, in time, between the well-known model made of plastic and stainless steel, with either black or non-colored stripes (C-400BS and C-400SS, 1971); and the faceted model made of plastic (FCN-500, 1984), well distributed world wide, and favored by many who disliked the current model (released initially in 1989). The 1973 Capless initially carried the catalog reference CN-400 BS, thus showing that its price was JPY 4000. Later, in 1981, the price increased to JPY 5000, and the reference number changed accordingly: CN-500 BS.

The black-striped model from 1971.

The faceted model from 1984 (FCN-500R).

The 1973 model is made of plastic and aluminium, both with a matte finish. The clip is made out of the same piece of the nose, on which the hole for the nib is placed. This feature is shared with the following (faceted) model of 1984. But the 1973 model, let me insist, has a perfectly rounded body.

Close-up of the nib of the 1973 Capless. On the background, the clip shows its smooth design, perfectly integrated with the nose of the pen.

The nib unit shows some interesting features. In principle, the set --ink deposit, steel frame, feed and nib-- of the CN-400 BS is unique to this model. Compared to the model of 1971, the overall nib-unit design is different, especially on the metal frame. Additionally, the gold nib (14 K) is directly connected to the frame, thus providing a higher resistance--as could be seen on the second picture of this text, the 1971 nib unit had the actual nib attached to the frame by means of the plastic feed.

But if compared to the following model (FCN-500R, 1984), the differences in the nib units are minor, and are mostly related to the position of the guiding notch. The different way of attaching the nib to the frame does not affect the basic geometry of the unit. So, despite them, it is possible to use the old unit in the newer models and vice versa—the newer nib units could also be used in the 1973 model.

On top, the nib unit of the current model of Capless (FC-15R). It is the same, save changes in the nib material, as the nib units of the 1984 model (FC-500R). On bottom, the nib unit of the 1973 model (CN-400BS). The differences between them are limited to the position of the guiding notch, lower on the earlier model, and to the attachment of the nib to the steel frame. The later does not affect the general geometry of the unit. Both are interchangeable in their "empty boxes".

In all cases, regular cartridges and converters CON-20 and CON-50 can be used.

These are the dimensions of the CN-400 BS from 1973:
Length closed: 137 mm
Length open (nib out): 134 mm
Diameter: 12 mm
Weight (dry): 18.3 g

Pilot Capless FC-15SR (1989 model), stub nib by Shimizu Seisakusho – Waterman Mysterious Blue (Blue-Black)

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, June 12-15th 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless