Zoom 980

Tombow is a very minor Japanese manufacturer regarding fountain pens. So small, some might say, that there is not a single line about it on the book Fountain Pens of Japan, by A. Lambrou and M. Sunami.

The origins of the company date back from 1913, when founder Ogawa Harunosuke (小川春之助) open a stationery shop in nowadays Taito district in Tokyo. Therefore, the company is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. However, the brand name Tombow (トンボ, in Japanese)—after the word tombo, 蜻蛉, dragonfly— was adopted in 1927. At first, the production was limited to pencils and only in 1939 the company produced the first erasers. In 1963, the brand Mono for fine pencils started, and was soon expanded with some other high quality, or so the company claimed, products.

A Mono eraser (made in Vietnam) on a field of dragonflies.

The first fountain pens by Tombow were produced by the end of the 1980s with models Zoom 505, Zoom 909 and Zoom 828 (the Egg, already reviewed on these Chronicles). All in all, Tombow has produced only eight models of fountain pens: 505, 828, 909, 980, Object 202, Modena, Lucca, and the currently available Zoom 101.

The Zoom 828, the Egg. The fountain pen version was first marketed in 1989. The matching ball pen had been released in 1987.

The Zoom 101, made of aluminum and carbon fiber. This is the only fountain pen made by Tombow right now. It was initially launched in 2006.

The more characterizing element in modern Tombow writing tools, and not only on fountain pens, is the original design. Whether they follow a careful study of ergonomics and functionality or to a mere sense of eccentricity is open for discussion. The same, however, could be said about Lamy, with which some like to compare Tombow.

Model Zoom 980 was released in 1997 in a number of functions –mechanical pencil, roller ball, ball point pen and fountain pen— and in a number of colors. The unit reviewed in here is a fountain pen made in dark brown.

The external appearance of the pen is that of an almost perfect cylinder, an idea that had already shown up in several pens described on these Chronicles: the Muji fountain pen, and the Platinum Belage. And there is another characteristic in common to these pens: their caps are meant to be posted, and for such purpose, the barrel has a very distinctive shape. In the case of the Zoom 980, the cap is securely attached to the barrel with a very reassuring clack!

The tail of the Zoom 980 together with the cap. It attaches to the barrel very securely.

The pen is designed to be posted. But the center of gravity of the pen becomes over 2 cm higher.

The gripping section is metallic and shows a subtle concave curve. As was pointed out above, whether this detail is ergonomic or just cosmetic is up to each of us.

The cap screws onto the section without covering it. The threads are located just above the nib. This creates a configuration that could be described as sequential, cap-section-barrel, that allows for an unusually short cap. It is also possible to open the barrel without uncapping the pen. In this regard this pen is similar to the Muji fountain pen.

The steel nib, labeled with the company name, and the threads for the cap right above the nib.

The nib is made of steel and is very rigid. It is labeled as M and probably, given the policy of Tombow, at least F point also existed. This nib is correct but uncharacteristic, boring.

These are the pen dimensions:

• Length closed: 142 mm
• Length open: 123
• Length posted: 151
• Diameter: 10.5 mm
• Weight: 21 g (with converter, uninked)

The balance is correct, especially if unposted. The company claimed that the short cap did not disturb the already low center of gravity of the pen thus providing a comfortable grip in any case. Maybe so, but better if unposted, and the numbers are stubborn: the center of gravity is at 60 mm from the tip if unposted, and at 82 mm if posted.

The filling system is by cartridge and converter, and uses the international standard. Cleaning the pen is easy, albeit removing the nib and the feed is not possible without special tools.

The Zoom 980 showing the international converter used to ink it.

All in all, this pen is correct and perfectly suited for its task. It is even appealing in looks. However, compared to other similar pens, I would rather use those by Platinum (Belage, made in the 1980s, or Cool/Balance currently on production) or by Muji. The price of the Zoom 980 was around GBP 50 in 2002, and that sounds expensive for what it actually offers.

Tombow Zoom 980 – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Inagi, October 7th, 2013
etiquetas: Tombow

Jentle on the Side

Sailor inks are well known by now even overseas from Japan. And, as of today, after the transitional period of the seasonal inks (between December 2009 and July 2010), Sailor settled down its offer in April 2011 with nine ink colors. All these are the so-called Jentle inks, as opposed to the permanent, nanopigmented ones, of which only two colors are available: the black Kiwaguro and the blue-black Seiboku.

But Sailor is also known in Japan for producing inks for some shops. The better known example, at least outside Japan, is the case of Kobe inks made for the Kobe-based stationery shop Nagasawa. These inks, in fact, predate the day –December 2009— when Sailor sharply increased the price of their inks. Regular, Jentle, inks went from JPY 600 to JPY 1000 (plus taxes), which represented a 66% increase. This information is relevant because the custom made inks for shops always cost twice the price of the regular line. So, initially, Nagasawa inks cost JPY 1200, and the price increase was reflected in the current price of JPY 1500 (plus taxes).

Sailor ink made for the Nagasawa stationery shop in Kobe.

Sailor ink made for the Maruzen shop. It carries the traditional name of the fountain pen-related products made by this traditional shop--Athena.

Custom made inks created in later years cost, therefore, JPY 2000. There are numerous examples of them: Maruzen shops, Ishidabungu in Hokuto (Hokkaido), Bung Box in Hamamatsu (Shizuoka), Nakajima/B-Stock in the West side of Tokyo and Kanagawa, Kingdom Note in Tokyo… Many of them are Sailor Friendly Shops where some specific pens, not present in the general catalog of the company, are available. Some of those shops can be found on my map of fountain pen shops in Tokyo.

Sailor inks made of the small chain Nakajima/B-Stock located in several location on the West side of Tokyo and in Kanagawa prefecture. The price is clearly printed on the box--JPY 1260, taxes included.

In some cases it is still possible to find old custom made inks. And the price remains unchanged: JPY 1200 per inkwell (plus taxes).

Pilot Capless CS-100RW – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Machida, October 3rd, 2013
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, mercado, Nagasawa

RW Capless (1965)

Year 1965 saw several new models of the Pilot Capless. After the expensive model of 1963 (C-600MW, JPY 6000, and variations), Pilot made cheaper versions in 1964 for JPY 3000 (C-300GW) and JPY 2000 (C-200SW), and the price went even lower in 1965 with models C-100RW and CS-100RW. These were sold for JPY 1000 and have been the cheapest Pilot Capless pens ever marketed.

Under the apparent simplicity of these pens, this model showed a number of variations, not always visible, that affect the fine identification of the unit. There were, in fact, three nominal models. Pilot released two of them –C-100RW and CS-100RW, both sold for JPY 1000— in March, and the third one –CS-200RW, JPY 2000— in October of that same year of 1965. The basic difference between them was the material of the nib—the early models implemented steel nibs whereas the CS-200RW used 14 K gold nibs. On top of that, the more luxurious model had a gold plated clip and a decorated body, in contrast with the plain aluminum cylinder of the cheaper models. Steel and gold nibs coexisted at least during 1966, and all these pens were made in a number of colors.

A number of RW Capless together with some later models (on the lower row).

And there are more variations. Early units of these pens had the nib-releasing mechanism made of plastic. Later in the 1965, it was changed to metal. This detail is difficult to check as it is deep inside the pen body. The obvious exception to this is the very rare transparent version.

The very rare demonstrator version is, most likely, the more luxurious CS-200RW. Its nib is made of 14 K gold.

Three examples of the luxury version CS-200RW. Note the golden clip on all of them.

Model C-100RW was the longer version of the CS-100RW, which is a lot more common. The difference between them is limited to the length of the push button. The aluminum body is exactly the same.

Long (C-100RW) and short (CS-100RW) of the Capless model released on March 1965.

The W of the catalog code means that these pens used the double standard cartridge. On the short model only such cartridges can be used and only one of them. The replacement converter CON-W should not be used—the pressure of the button on the plastic opening of the converter ends up cracking this plastic piece. Therefore, the actual alternative to the use of the long gone double-spare cartridge is the use of Sailor cartridges (thanks, commentator Kostas K).

The replacement converter CON-W for the double-spare cartridge. The blue plastic piece on the right ends up cracking when used in the short Capless CS-100RW and CS-200RW pens.

The nib units in all these pens are basically the same, but we can find some minor variations. Older nib units have an extra metallic sheath in the area of the guiding notch. The rear button then pushes against this ring. On more modern units, the button pushes just against the notch. This difference does not create any problem of incompatibility between them.

On this picture, inside the blue box, we can see the basic difference between the two types of nib units present on these RW Capless. On top, the older type, with an extra sheath of metal on the area of the guiding notch. On the nib at the bottom that additional metallic part has disappeared. It corresponds to the later version of the nib unit.

Another issue of these pens is the length and structure of the feed. It is indeed long and, more critical, it cannot be removed from the frame holding the nib-feed-cart unit together. Consequently, cleaning the feed can be difficult and, in case of clogging problems, the replacement of the whole structure might be the only solution. The nib alone can easily be detached from the feed by sliding it out. This potential problem, therefore, poses some risk when purchasing this pen model without a proper test to check the actual flow of ink from the cartridge to the nib.

The nib can easily be removed from the feed by sliding it out. The feed, however, cannot be detached from the steel cylinder that holds the nib unit together.

These models were exported to the US around 1966. There exist instruction sheets for it written in Spanish. The most likely hypothesis to it is that these pens were re-exported from the US to neighboring Spanish-speaking countries. Exports to Spain started much later, in the 1970s.

Instruction sheet in Spanish for the RW Capless. Courtesy of Nikos Syrigonakis.

Later in 1965, in November, Pilot released another Capless model—the twist-operated C-500MW.

My thanks to my many pen friends: Mr. Kostas K, Mr. Syrigonakis, Mr. Niikura, Mr. Shiomi, Mr. Sunami. And probably some more whose name I just cannot remember now.

Pilot Capless C-100RW, green – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, October 2nd, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless

The Good Frankenpen

More often than not, frankenpens are plainly rejected by the pen collector. Once writing is no longer the primary purpose of the pen –and I do wonder what the main purpose of collecting was— the originality of each and every single element of the pen is a very important factor in the actual value of any tool. Some replacements, however, are tolerated when the pen value lies on its rarity, and that non-original, say, nib simply illustrated how the original condition was in the absence of better examples. Some such cases were described on these chronicles: the Double Flow pen and the Capless Kogyosho.

In some distant past, the need to write was more important and fountain pens were not cheap at all. So, a nib replacement was an obvious option to keep the tool working.

Is this argument valid nowadays? Can we exchange the nib –that is often the part we replace— while keeping the value of the pen?

The answer is yes, and in fact the new nib could increase the value of the pen. We know by now that some nibmeisters create wonderful nibs whose value is often higher than that of many a pen.

This is NOT the pen whose nib was replaced. This is only an example of a jumbo pen similar to the Crystal pen actually modified. The pen on the picture is labeled as "New Clip" and had been reviewed previously on these Chronicles.

Here we have an example. The original pen is a jumbo pen whose only identification is the brand “Crystal” engraved on the clip. It is a jumbo pen similar to many others produced in Japan in the 1930s and 1940s, and even later. A similar pen –although labeled as New Clip— has been presented here: 8-bun (about 24 mm in diameter) eyedropper with a shut-off valve. On that case, the nib was made of gold-plated steel.

On today’s pen, the nib is totally new—a replacement. It was made and adjusted by nibmeister Kubo Kohei (久保幸平), an old and well respected master still active in Tokyo. His long life –he was born in 1929 and started as apprentice in 1948— has been devoted to pens and nibs in pen companies and brands such as Elliott and, especially, Nobel.

Nibmeister Kubo's nib.

The ebonite feed.

Nibmeister Kubo’s nib is made of 18 K gold and shows a remarkable flexibility. The feed is made of ebonite. The final result is that the nib alone is worth the whole pen, and a lot more expensive. The original jumbo pen had been purchased on an online auction.

These are its dimensions:

• Length closed: 166 mm
• Length open: 144 mm
• Length posted: 206 mm
• Diameter: 24 mm
• Weight: about 75 g
• Ink deposit: about 9 ml

When writing this sample I did not open the shut-off valve enough to provide all the ink needed by the nib when flexing. However, the picture shows the actual line variation this nib could provide.

The happy owner uses this pen as a daily writer. Jumbo pens are indeed comfortable in the hand.

My thanks to Mr. Tsukahara and to Mr. Shimizu.

Frankenpen Twsbi Diamond 530 with Kubo’s NK music nib – Gary’s red black iron-gall ink

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, September 28th, 2013
etiquetas: plumín, nibmeister Kubo Kohei, Crystal

Datation of Japanese Pens. IV. Platinum Nibs

Platinum’s policy on dating its pens is a lot less obvious than that of Pilot’s (see Pilot's nibs datation and Pilot's pen bodies datation). Very often we had to follow the usual strategy as we do with moist pens: try to identify the model, guess the production date based on external details, compare the pen with other well documented models…

However, Platinum nibs are stamped with a date code, thus providing a very solid starting point to that typical approach. The dating code is, more often than not, printed on the reverse of the nib, and there is a catch—for most of its history, Platinum nib dates were referred to the Japanese calendar, based on the years of reign of the emperor. Fortunately –for our dating purposes, that is—emperor Hirohito had a long life that eliminated most ambiguities this dating system could have created. But at some point between 1989 and 2000 –either at the change of emperor between the Showa and the Heisei periods, or at the change of millennium—Platinum adopted the Western calendar.

How could we date this pen?

Its nib was made on August of Showa year 47. That is, 1972.

On the left, a music nib dated on December of 2009. On the right, a one-slit nib made on September of 2009. These modern nibs are dated following the Western calendar.

The converse sides of the previous nibs. They belong to a modern 3776 model with a music nib, and to a Nakaya with a soft fine nib.

The dating code follows a simple pattern. It has the form

aaBB

where aa is the month of the year BB. The figure aa is often one single digit. Needless to say, year 10 in the Japanese calendar could either mean 1922 (Taisho year 10), 1936 (Showa year 10) or, eventually, 1999 (Heisei year 10). This ambiguity is easy to resolve.

This datation system works as long as the nib had not been replaced.

Pilot Vpen – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, September 14th, 2013
etiquetas: Platinum

Pilot Filling Systems in the 1960s

Armed with the information on the way of dating not just the nibs but the whole pen –even if only during only twenty years—there are a number of observations to be done. One is about the filling systems implemented by Pilot during those critical years.

Let us remember that Platinum had released the first Japanese ink cartridge in 1956, thus opening the path for most Japanese pen companies. At the time (mid to late 1950s), Pilot was using sac-based systems—either the original hose system (also known as quarter switch) or a more traditional aerometric for thinner and smaller pens of the Super series. Later on, already in the 1960s, Pilot created its own ink cartridges while preserving the sac-based systems and even implemented another system—the bellow filler with an accordion sac.

The following chart shows how all these systems coexisted during the 1960s in the Pilot catalog. The data on it are based on my own accounting, and are based on documental evidence. Therefore, they can hardly be final, as there could be earlier and later examples of these systems.

Some notes on the graph:

1. The latest unit I have found of the Hose System was manufactured on September of 1964. Later units of this system could exist.

A Hose System in a Super Ultra 500 from 1959.

2. Few units implemented the Bellows Filler (accordion sac) and therefore it is difficult to establish definitive starting and ending data, which on the graph are set as July 1965 and December 1969. This system seems to have been the last sac-based system implemented by Pilot.

A Pilot Super 500G with a Bellows Filler system.

The Double Spare cartridge.

3. The first Double Spare (DS) cartridge I have seen is associated to a 1963 model of the Capless (C-600MW) dated on April 1964. However, it is safe to assure this ink cartridge existed since, at least, November of 1963, as this was the release date of this model. Earlier pens could also have used this cartridge.

The Single Spare ink cartridge, the current Pilot's standard ink cartridge.

4. The earlier pen implementing the Single Spare or single cartridge (SC) –that is, the ink cartridge currently on production— I have found was manufactured on May 1964.

An interesting conclusion of this chart is the fact that DS and SC were initially marketed almost simultaneously. Consequently, the SC was not the successor of the DS. These two systems coexisted despite their incompatibility for a about six years.

And my text on the Double Spare cartridge was wrong.

Sailor Ballerie pocket pen - Sailor Blue

Bruno Taut
September 13th, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, soluciones técnicas, cartuchos

Datation of Japanese Pens. III. Pilot’s Pen Bodies

On part II of this series of Chronicles, I explained the well known date code present on most nibs made by Pilot. That is, more often than not, the most solid piece of information available on any Pilot pen. But at times there is something else. Between 1960 and some time after 1980 Pilot also dated most of its pen bodies, and did this in a very detailed form.

On most –but not on all— Pilot pens from those twenty-something years there exist a subtle engraving on their barrel in the form

ABcc

The exceptions to this general rule are all-metal bodies and richly decorated barrels.

The push buttons of two Capless pens from 1965 (C-100RW). On them we can read the dating codes: GJ13 for the one on the left, and GF15 for that on the right. (Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

On that code, A is a letter ranging from A to Z. This encodes the production year starting in 1960 (letter A), and increasing on alphabetical order: B for 1961, C for 1962… And Z should be 1985. However, this code disappeared in actual terms around 1980 (and I would love to be proven wrong on this).

B is another letter and encodes two data: Letters from A to L represent the months from January to December when the pen had been made at the Hiratsuka plant. And M to X do the same –M for January, N for February… X for December— on pens made at the Tokyo plant in Shimura.

Finally, the digits cc simply indicated the day of the month in which that pen had been made.

The tail of the Capless model from 1963 (C-600MW). It was manufactured at the Hiratsuka plant on May 28th, 1964.

In summary, the ABcc engraving should be read as follows:

A is the year of production: A=1960, B=1961, and so on.

B is the month and place of production:

A to L are January to December at Hiratsuka plant.

M to X are January to December at Tokyo plant.

cc is the day of the month in which the pen was made.

Indeed an exhaustive way to date each pen—down to the very day it was produced. Although limited to about twenty years of the history of Pilot.

This picture corresponds to a pocket pen whose body was manufactured at Hiratsuka on July 25th, 1976.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Pilot Grandee, Sterling Silver – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, September 11th, 2013
etiquetas: Pilot