100th Anniversary (I)

Pilot celebrated its 100th anniversary by the end of 2018. The commemorative pens released on the occasion were not particularly well received by the community. The cheapest of them all –the Meiji Maru pen—was JPY 150000 (plus taxes), which is not an inviting price to join the celebratory party.

Two of the anniversary pens that Pilot did release. The "Fuji" and the "Meiji-Maru". The later was the most affordable anniversary pen at JPY 150000. (Picture taken from pilot.co.jp).

Sure enough you could accept the consolation offered by the series of Iroshizuku inks (JPY 1600, 50 ml) associated to some of the commemorative pens. However, that is a very minor token –a consumable token— if compared to a more substantial pen. But it might only be that I am not into inks.

Seven Iroshizuku inks for the seven gods.

The question, anyway, is what was in the minds of the marketing experts at Pilot to choose this strategy to celebrate its 100th anniversary. And this question is even more compelling when we see that Pilot did produce some limited edition pens for internal consumption celebrating the anniversary.

One of them is a Custom 74 in translucent blue.

Not for sale.

This pen sports a dedicated cap ring with the inscription “PILOT 100th ANNIVERSARY SINCE 1918 JAPAN”. And the nibs is also signed accordingly: “PILOT / 100th / 14 K / <M>”, followed by the PP-F hallmark. Interestingly, this nib is not dated.

The undated centennial nib.

Not much information there exists about this pen save the note “not for sale”.

The Custom 74 is not just a black pen. On the contrary, it has been marketed in a number of colors and has become the canvas for some special editions. Consequently, it is not surprising to see it dressed as a commemorative pen.

But for some reason it was never for sale.

Pilot Capless, black trim – Lamy Dark Lilac

Bruno Taut
September 5th, 2022
etiquetas: Pilot, mercado

The Green Grass

For some, the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) looks like paradise: “Japanese always keep the best products for themselves”, said a commenter on these same pages. But is that true?

Even if that was true, on-line trade does challenge that old structure of exclusive distributors associated to a well-defined location. Japanese pen companies might not like this idea, but there is not much they can do.

However, anchored as these companies are in this old model, they insist in marketing products just for certain markets. Then, in the same way as there are JDM pens and inks, there are Japanese products that are not distributed in Japan.

Such is the case of the following Capless “Black Stripes”:

Black Stripes.

But it can be found on-line. And whether this is better or worse, prettier of uglier than those regularly sold in Japan might be a matter of availability.

Assorted Capless, some made for non-Japanese markets.

After all, the grass is always greener on the other side of the border.

Nuart Antigua's Akatamenuri - Sailor Wagner ca 2010

Bruno Taut
September 1st, 2022
labels: Pilot, Capless, mercado

The Brazilian Icon

One could be forgiven for thinking that not much can be said about iconic pens. After all, being iconic means that they are well-known and documented, and people even write monographs about them!

The Pilot Capless/Namiki Vanishing Point does not yet have a monograph, but sure it is an iconic pen—one of the few Japanese icons in the world of pens. So, is it mostly all known about this family of pens?

I thought so, but reality is always surprising.

The first Pilot Capless –the C-600MW-- was marketed in 1963, and in the following years newer models were released in a trend that lasts until today. And all of them were made in Japan.

Or were they?

It looked like that until I saw a Capless made in Brazil.

Industria Brasileira.

Industria Brasileira.

We know Pilot created a manufacturing plant in Brazil in 1954. Inks and pens and other stationery products have been and are produced in there. Now, which pen models were made in Brazil? I described the model 77, and a commentator mentioned a model 88. And, what about the Capless?

In essence, this Brazilian model is equivalent to the C-300GW model made in Japan between 1964 and 1971, but there are some differences:

The Japanese C-300GW. Gold nib, cartridge/converter filling.

– The Brazilian nib is made of steel.

– The Brazilian filling system is built in the nib unit and cannot be detached from it. At least, not in a trivial way. Therefore, the use of cartridges is not an option on this pen.

These differences are consistent with path other Pilot pens followed when made in overseas plants—downgraded and simplified. Simplification in this case means not having to deal with the production and distribution of ink cartridges.

The Brazilian box.

As usual, this pen raises more questions than it answers:

– When was this pen made? Was it contemporary to the Japanese counterpart or was its production moved to Brazil once the Japanese pen had been discontinued?

– Was it fully made in Brazil or assembled from Japan-made parts?

– Where were this Brazilian Capless marketed?

Pilot Japan holds very few records about foreign production of pens.

And the quest for information continues.


My thanks to TM.

Mannenhitsu-no Yamada – Noodler's Apache Sunset

Bruno Taut
August 22nd, 2022
etiquetas: Pilot, Brasil, Capless

Eboya's Eyedroppers

Eboya, the pen brand of Nikko Ebonite, shifted gears in 2016. Lathe master Noritoshi Kanesaki left the company and the production moved to using a CNC lathe instead of the traditional “rokuro”. And it was at this moment that Eboya fountain pens relied solely on clean and boring cartridges and converters.

This situation came to an end, somehow, with the introduction of the model Yuzen in 2020. This pen was specifically designed to be used as an eyedropper filler, but a plain one at that, without any sealing system. And to do so, the pen implemented a rubber gasket –an o-ring— on the section to provide a tight seal when screwed onto the barrel. And the packaging includes an eyedropper and some spare o-rings.

The very elegant Eboya Yuzen.

The section of the Yuzen. The o-ring is right behind the thread.

But at the same time, the Yuzen can also be used with a cartridge or a converter.

The Yuzen, with a converter.

The slightly older model Kobue is intended as a cartridge/converter pen, but its design also includes a gasket on the section, making this pen apt to be filled as an eyedropper.

The Eboya Kobue. The o-ring is visible before the thread.

Are these Eboya models the only eyedropper fillers? I do not think so—Eboya pens do not use internal metallic parts, and the manufacture is precise enough to not leaking should their barrels be filled with ink. In other words, with or without gaskets, all modern Eboya fountain pens work properly as eyedropper fillers (caution is advised, though).

This Eboya Hakobune is not intended as eyedropper pen, but it works as such (although not on the picture, obviously).

And that's the bottom line—all Eboya pens work well as eyedroppers and there was no need to create any specific model, however attractive. After all, these models do not fill the gap opened in 2016 when the last Japanese eyedroppers (and previously button fillers) were manufactured by Eboya.

Namiki Urushi 50 – Unknown red ink

Bruno Taut
March 11th, 2022
etiquetas: Eboya, soluciones técnicas

Nomikomi Inkwell (II)

The nomikomi system, we saw previously, is a thing of the past—the 1930s—and those old inkwells might not be used again.

But what about the idea? Could it not be revived now?

Modern plastics and sealing gaskets would easily make the whole system better and more reliable. After all, Twsbi created the Vac-20 inkwell to work in combination with some of its pens in a similar fashion as the nomikomi filling—inverting inkwell and pen together.

But the secret of the old Pilot filling lied on the pen feed—a very long feed whose capillary action was able to overcome the surface tension of the ink. And to recreate those pens we would need a daring company.

Is there room in the market for such a pen?

Pelikan M200 Cognac – Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo

Bruno Taut
February, 2022
etiquetas: soluciones técnicas, Pilot, Twsbi

Nomikomi Inkwell (I)

One of the most original filling systems ever invented was the easy-drinking or nomikomi system.

Pilot created it in the mid 1930s and was fully marketed in combination with the model 38, the newly arrived workhorse of the years to come. However, this filling system can also be seen on balance models –with maki-e decoration—by the mid 1930s which seem to be proofs of concept and sample pens.

N-system (N-式), or nomikomi. Translated, easy drinking filler.

The key element in this filling system is obviously the inkwell, without which the dedicated pens would be regular eyedroppers or pens with reusable cartridges. The inkwell needs a secure sealing system—inverting it while full of ink is not for the faint-hearted. It is, in fact, a recipe for disaster.

But collectors are fetishists for whom utility is a very secondary element... and that is why a nomikomi inkwell might never see new action.

Antigua's Perseus S – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
February, 2022
etiquetas: soluciones técnicas, Pilot

Foreign (and also Domestic) Urushi

There are some people, mostly outside Japan, for whom anything related to urushi acquires a semi-mythical value. In Japan, some companies do cash on this perception through high prices and long, very long waiting times to deliver the order.

Expensive and slow.

But the landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. An increasing number of craftsmen both in Japan and overseas have started their business decorating pens, and other goods, with urushi-related techniques. Their names are becoming well-known—Bokumondoh in Japan, Tamenuri Studio in Poland, Manu Propria in Switzerland, Vivek Kulkarni in India, Mr. Cypress in Taiwan, … Needless to say, their quality and styles are different, but they do offer an alternative to those companies with high prices and long waiting times.

Urushi-e made in Japan. Bokumondoh in action.

All these operations make me think that the excuses some use are just means to control the demand instead of real arguments. The fact right now is that most of those artisans are producing more and cheaper, and with high standards of quality regardless of the local climate—if someone can polymerize urushi in the very dry Spanish plateau you can do it almost anywhere!

Urushi-nuri made in the dry plains of Spain. Nuart Cygnus (base pen by Antigua's).

But the consequences of this popularization of urushi, and the proliferation of craftsmen all over the World, is the cheapening of urushi and the decoration associated to it. Now, urushi is no longer something rare and difficult. Now, urushi decoration can come from Japan or from the US; from Korea or from Poland. The offer is deep and wide and the market will apply its rules.

The label “made in Japan” will still hold some value, but that label is no longer the exclusive property of a couple of makers. And in the meantime, third-party craftsmen, in Japan and abroad, compete with the same tools.

Pilot Vpen, M nib – Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku


Bruno Taut
December 18th, 2021
etiquetas: Japón, urushi, mercado