Changes and Updates in Tokyo

It is an impossible task to keep perfectly updated any list of places where to buy fountain pens in a city –or group of cities—the size of Tokyo metropolitan area. Now and then you notice some changes and you write about them… That I am doing now, together with some minor reflection.

-- Lemonsha’s branch in Shinjuku no longer carries fountain pens. That part of the business is now concentrated in the Ginza shop.

-- Map Camera-Kingdom Note, therefore, is the only available shop for second hand pens in Shinjuku. However, the selection of those –as of February 2015— is becoming alarmingly small, which combined with the usually high prices of this shop make this pen scenario not very appealing. Map Camera/Kingdom Note keeps having a very good inventory of inks (at MSRP prices).

And it is my impression that the second hand market is moving away from regular shops. The amount of pen on display on them seems to be shrinking. The trade might be moving to some other channels, probably eliminating the middle man.

-- Mori-ichi in Ginza-Kyobashi has been refurbished and no longer sells with discounted prices and its appeal is now very low. This shop stocks mostly Pilot pens.

-- Isetan department store in Shinjuku has enlarged its space for fountain pens. As in any other department store in town, all pens are marked at MSRP, and no bargains can be really found in them. This section has a small selection of maki-e decorated pens.

All in all, I want to see an increase on the importance of the fountain pen market—on this last reform of Isetan in Shinjuku, fountain pens have gained some importance.

Isetan Shinjuku
Shinjuku 3-14-1
Shinjuku
Tokyo 160-0022
Tel: 03 3352 1111
Hours: 10:30-20:00

-- Angers Bureau seemed to be a stationer and gift shop with a few fountain pens here and there, but nothing very interesting. However, now it is possible to see some vintage pens on display. Given their prices, they seem to be more of a decoration than an actual new product in their line of business. Some pen rookie might fall for them, though. Anyway, all this might be the result of a renewed interest in fountain pens.

Angers Bureau has three shops in Tokyo:

ANGERS Ravissant Shinjuku (Marui building)
Shinjuku 3-30-13, Marui Honkan  8F
Shinjyuku
Tokyo 160-022
Tel 03 3352 1678
Hours: 11:00-21:00

ANGERS Bureau ecute (Ueno JR Station)
Ueno 7-1-1, ecute 3F
Taito
Tokyo 110-0005
Tel: 03 5826 5681
Hours: 18:00-22:00

ANGERS Bureau Marunouchi (KITTE building)
Marunouchi, 2-7-2, KITTE 4F
Chiyoda
Tokyo 100-0005
Tel: 03 3217 2006
Hours: 11:00-21:00

Pilot Custom 912, music nib – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, February 13th, 2015
etiquetas: Tokyo, mercado

RomilloPens

The history of fountain pens in Spain is the story of a frustration—a big number of operations that failed to create a sustainable activity. Inoxcrom and, to a much lesser degree, STYB were the only survivors of the more or less glorious days of Spanish pens in the 1950s and 1960s.

However, in recent years, several small pen brands have appeared in Spain to cater the stylophile craving for more artisanal writing tools. Estilográficas Clavijo and Gimena are two examples of them.

Romillo Essential.

The better known of all those new companies is, however, RomilloPens. The Romillo family founded the brand in 2007 and after a couple of years of experiments, the RomilloPens Essential was launched. Since then, about 10 models have been produced. All of them save the latest arrival called The Celluloid Collection, are made of German ebonite.

Two Romillos with Bock nibs in sizes 6 and 8.

Initially, all the nibs were made by Bock –sizes 6 and 8. After some years, in 2012, they started the production of a flexible nib, the K nib. Apparently very flexible, there are reports questioning the ability of the feed to provide the required inkflow. Starting in 2013, RomilloPens makes its own nibs (sizes 7 and 9), albeit feeds are still provided by Bock.

The philosophy of the company is to make pens resembling old models from the 1910s and 1920s using traditional materials and implementing arcane filling systems, although cartridge and converters are an available option for some models. RomilloPens claims all its pens were made by hand—obviously an exaggerated claim as lathe and files are in order to machine the ebonite. However, being made to order allows for a great deal of customization.

The final result is an attractive product with a steep price. In fact, for an average of EUR 1000, many an aficionado might, in fact, prefer a real vintage pen in pristine condition to a newly made pen without the glamour and tradition of a well known name.

The flagship of RomilloPens is the model Nervión. On the image, the version made of terracota ebonite with a size 8 nib by Bock.

This is a risky initiative, and a brave one too. Can the market support it? Time will tell. This luxury market is very competitive; most pen companies have luxury models, and there are some small operations specifically targeting this high-end sector. And at the end,... Montblanc wins.


NOTE ON THE NAMES: The name of the pen brand is, actually, RomilloPens, and is owned by the company Pixeline S. L. Romillo is the name of the founding family. RomilloPens, however, sounds strangely artificial in Spanish (probably in English too) and I tend to use the family name, Romillo, as the brand name.

Romillo Nervión Terracota – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 27th, 2014
etiquetas: España, mercado, RomilloPens, Bock

North Korea (II)

There is more to North Korean pens than just copies of the Parker 51…

By the 1960s, Japanese companies had long started to design and produce their own original models after the hard post-war years. One of those was the pocket pen. Sailor put that concept to work in 1963 and most Japanese companies soon followed the trend, Platinum among them as early as in 1964. And not only Japanese companies paid attention. Now we know that North Korean pen brand Mangyongdae, from Pyongyang, was also interested in the Japanese developments.

The Mangyongdae pocket pen.

The Korean version –this Mangyongdae, 만경대— follows closely the style of the Platinum pocket pen of the time, mid 1960s. It shows a long, quasi triangular damascene decoration, and a nib geometry very close to those of the Platinum. The filling system, however, is different—a self-filling integrated sac does the job instead of the usual cartridge of the Japanese original. The nib is made of 12 K gold, and carries the name of the brand written in Chosongul characters.

The Mangyongdae's nib is engraved with the gold purity, 12 K, and the brand name in Korean: 만경대. The cap carries an inscription in Cyrillic characters--an aftermarket addition.

This is a sac-based self-filling pen.

Incidentally, this pen is engraved with some inscription in Cyrillic characters. The pen was bought in Bulgaria, and that inscription only shows the economic connections among the countries in the area of influence of the Soviet Union.

That is not the only North Korean pen copying a Platinum pen. The following example clearly shows its Japanese influence—again, a damascene inlaid (zogan in Japanese) following the pattern of some Platinum from the 1960s. And, as in the previous case, a Platinum-type nib made of 12 K gold, engraved with the brand name, Chullima (천리마, also read as Chollima), as was the case of the copies of the Parker 51 made in North Korea.

The Platinum-inspired Chullima.

The Platinum original. Note the nib geometry and the size and shape of the inlaid decoration, laid in reverse. More pictures of this Platinum pen can be seen on the Chronicle Sixties Music.

A 12 K gold nib engraved with the brand name 천리마.

Its filling system departs from the Platinum original cartridge—it is a self-filling bulb filler.

Again, a sac-based self-filling pen.

Every industrial revolution, save the English original, is started by copying. North Korea was no exception, but the industrial power that this country was after the Second World War and during the Korean War (1950-1953) failed as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed. Fountain pens are not of any industrial value nowadays, of course, but they were so in the 1950s and even 1960s, and the fact that there existed a production of these consumer goods in North Korea is an obvious sign of its lost industrial capability.

A family picture of North Korean pens.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.


NOTE (Nov 10, 2020): Fellow blogger Tefolium made an excellent research on the origin of a number of fountain pen operations in countries with strong ties with the People's Republic of China. Among them, those in North Korea. You can read it here: https://tefolium.blogspot.com/2020/11/20201106-updated-socialist-countries.html?m=1

Montblanc 3-42G – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 30th, 2015
etiquetas: Corea del Norte, Platinum, Chullima, Mangyongdae

15 ml Iroshizuku

Iroshizuku inks, by Pilot, have a new presentation. Up to now –up to November of 2014--, the basic presentation is the well-known 50 ml inkwell. In the past, Fall of 2010, there existed an alternative: three 20 ml inkwells for JPY 3000 (plus taxes). Those packs had their colors set and the buyer could not create his personal selection.

The old three-pack presentation--three 20 ml inkwells for JPY 3000, plus tax.

Now, Pilot has gone one step forward: 15 ml inkwells in all 24 colors of the Iroshizuku gamut. Pilor calls the “Iroshizuku Mini”. The price is JPY 700, plus taxes. However, Pilot’s website implies that these inkwells come is sets of three, albeit one could freely choose the colors. At some shops, Pilot adds, only made-up sets might be available. Nonetheless, I have managed to buy just one single of them without even asking for any special treat.

The Yama-guri inkwell hold 20 ml and belongs to the presentation released on September of 2010. The Shin-ryoku inkwell contains 15 ml. Its price is JPY 700, plus tax, although it might not be available individually.

The drawback of this new presentation is, needless to say, the price. The already expensive Iroshizuku ink becomes even more so—from JPY 30/ml to JPY 47/ml in the new presentation (taxes not included).

The question strikes back—quantity or variety?

Athena Basic Line – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 13th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, tinta, mercado

Charlie

Je suis Charlie.

I am Charlie. Soy Charlie. わたしはCharlieです。

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 9th 2015
etiquetas: metabitácora

North Korea (I)

North Korea had already shown up on these Chronicles—at the Pilot’s Pen Station there was an inkwell by the name of GuangMyung made in Pyongyang. That, I said at that time, was only normal as pens and inks were basic writing tools for years. But that left an obvious question open: did North Korea ever made fountain pens?

The answer is yes—there existed a North Korean production of pens.

The first example are some clear copies of one of the most iconic pens of all times—the Parker 51. No surprise on this, as this model has been copied over and over, even today.

Two North Korean copies of the Parker 51.

The black model implements a gold nib. On the cap lip it says "CHULLIMA".

The inscription on the nib reads "천리마 (Chollima) / 12 K".

These North Korean pens are aerometric fillers. One of them implements a steel nib, while the other’s is made of 12 K gold. They seem to have been produced around 1960. They are branded as “Chullima”, albeit the sign on the gold nib –천리마— reads “Chollima”, referring to the mythological horse Chollima, that gave name to the Chollima Movement of economic development in North Korea in 1956.

The red unit is of worse quality.

The nib is not only made of steel, but also shows a poorer construction if compared to the gold unit we saw before. The aerometric system is engraved with a "Made in Korea" sign.

On another Chronicle I will describe other North Korean pens, this time a lot less obvious.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.


NOTE (Nov 10, 2020): Fellow blogger Tefolium made an excellent research on the origin of a number of fountain pen operations in countries with strong ties with the People's Republic of China. Among them, those in North Korea. You can read it here: https://tefolium.blogspot.com/2020/11/20201106-updated-socialist-countries.html?m=1

Fit de Bayard 840 – Waterman Blue-black

Bruno Taut
Atami, January 2nd, 2015
labels: Corea del Norte, Parker, Chullima

On Maki-e Pens

I think we should face it—maki-e decorated pens are a class on their own, apart from any other. The reason lays on the fact that these pens attract the attention of people more interested on the decoration itself than on the pen. Consequently, details as the nib or the filling system or the quality as writing tool become almost --if not completely-- irrelevant. The pen, then, becomes a jewel with a nib, a cylindrical canvas for the maki-e artisan.

A small cup with maki-e decoration.

So, when the decoration is more important, the whole set of rules under which a stylophile analyzed a pen is turned upside down. Stylophiles greatly value the originality of all the components of the pen—nib and feed must correspond to that particular model, the clip could also have been replaced… And somehow the pen should be known to have existed (this might be tricky at times, but can be applied to the vast majority of pens).

A Platinum maki-e pen from 1930s.

But for the maki-e buff, all that is secondary. The quality of the decoration is paramount. Therefore, is there such a thing as a fake maki-e decorated pen? No, dare I say, as long as the maki-e is there (of course, there exist some maki-e-like decoration using some other less elaborated techniques that hold a lot less value, but they are not maki-e). In fact, this scenario favors the creation of one-of-a-kind pens based on almost any pre-existing model. There are, nowadays as in the past, maki-e artisans who decorated pens on demand, with no knowledge, of course, of the manufacturer.

Two unique maki-e decorated pens. In actual terms, they are Pilot Custom 67.

An obvious side effect of this phenomenon is the proliferation of organized customizations—Pelikan, Parker, Danitrio, Loiminchay… and, of course, the big three, Pilot-Namiki, Platinum-Nakaya, and Sailor. Indeed, this is an easy and safe way to add value to any given pen. As well as a convenient costume to pass as Japanese, which seems another way to add value.

A maki-e decorated Pelikan M1000.

Maybe we all –stylophiles and those fond of maki-e pens-- should remember that maki-e is an old decorative technique that long predates fountain pens. And narrow cylindrical shapes are rarely the most convenient canvas for any purpose.

A bowl for miso soup.

On my side, and this is just a personal option, I insist in thinking that a pen is a pen—and is a pen! And no decoration makes it any better, or any worse, as a pen. Some people, though, do not think like me.

Romillo Essential Black – Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki

Bruno Taut
Madrid, December 14th 2014
labels: mercado, Japón, estilofilia, maki-e