Quattro, Second Edition

In the year 89 of the Pilot era, that is, 2007, Pilot released the Pilot Quattro 89, this time with two t.

The Quatro (1984) and the Quattro (2007).

Nominally, this pen would be an evolution of the Quatro from 1984, but this new pen is a lot more standard within the Pilot structure of fountain pens.

On this newer model, the external shape is still squarish on profile, but the section is basically cylindrical, thus easing the grip. This mismatch results on a sharp step between section and barrel that might be uncomfortable for some users.

The nib on the Quattro is a size 3 in the Custom family of Pilot pens. This size might very well be the lest known in the lineup, but it has been implemented on half a dozen models including the Custom 98 and the Stella 90. This nib size comes in five points (EF, F, FM, M, B), albeit only F and M were available on the Quattro 89.

As for the rest, the barrel is made of wood, synthetic wood according to some, in several colors. It is long and wide enough to fit the converter CON-70.

The barrel end, engraved with the model name, is threaded for a secure posting without affecting the body. It is interesting to note how the threads, on both ends and on the cap, are measured to reach a perfect alignment of the facets on cap and barrel when closed or posted.

The dimensions of the Quattro 89 are as follows:

Length closed: 134 mm.
Length open: 116 mm.
Length posted: 173 mm.
Width: 13.5-14.0 mm.
Weight: 35.6 g (dry with converter).

This pen model was short lived―by 2011 it no longer appeared on the catalog of Pilot.

Jinhao Dadao 9019 – Sailor Ink Studio 252

Bruno Taut
October 4th, 2024
etiquetas: Pilot

Oshare Quatro

Or, in English, fashionable, stylish.

That is what the ad claims about the Pilot Quatro in 1985, a year after the release of the model.

The ad only mentions fountain pens (her) and ball pens (him). However, the whole line up including roller and mechanical pencil appears at the end.

Well, maybe the cat ate those two...

Opus 88 Koloro orange – Caran d'Ache Electric Orange

Bruno Taut
October 2nd, 2024
etiquetas: Pilot

Quatro

Now and then, pen companies try to reinvent the wheel and in their strive for originality depart from the traditional well proven cylindrical shape, and by cylindrical I mean cylindrical symmetry. Some of those unusual designs did become popular and even iconic, but non-cylindrical pens are rare.

In 1984, Pilot marketed one such unusual—a pen with a squarish profile, a square prism in essence.

Pilot's Catalog from 1984. The Quatro trio—fountain pen, ball pen and mechanical pencil. All for JPY 11000. In this case, the nib was made of steel.

Pilot's 1989 Catalog. Quatro quartets —fountain pen, ball pen, mechanical pencil, roller pen— for JPY 27000. On this case, the fountain pen sports the gold nib (individual price, JPY 10000). On the right page, a view of the possible colors and finishes of the Quatro model. There were some aditional variations.

That was the Quatro (with just a single T), and it was available as fountain pen, roller, ball pen and mechanical pencil. They came in a number of colors and finishes –up to 16 according to some sources—, but some of them were only available as fountain pen. And to add confusion to the mix, there were some minor variations along the whole lineup—the brand name, Pilot, could be engraved on the front of the cap or on the cap; the model name was printed on the clip either on cursive script or on capital letters, or being completely absent.

A small collection of Quatro pens.

The gold nib. In F, of course.

The matte black Quatro.

Two nib materials were available: steel, for JPY 5000, and 14 K gold, JPY 10000. There was only one nib point—F. And the filling system was, needless to say, through proprietary cartridges and converters.

I do not have information on when this model was discontinued. My best guess, purely speculative, is in the early 1990s. However, the name Quatro was revived in 2007 through the model Quattro 89. But that will be the topic of another Chronicle.

My thanks to Mr. Furuya and Mr. Niikura.

WiPens Toledo – Private Reserve Dakota Red

Bruno Taut
September 30th, 2024
etiquetas: Pilot

Pilot Short

With this short Chronicle I just wanted to direct your attention to a recent text published by Jim Momoulides on PenHero.com on the Pilot Short: https://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Pilot/PilotShort1966.htm.

A beautiful collection of Pilot Short pens.

The information available on this family of pens is indeed limited, and this report compiles basically all of it. However, it is inevitably incomplete, and calls for contributions from all of us.

So, if you wanted to know more about that charming little pen, PenHero is the place to go.

Thanks, Jim. And thanks too to Mr. Fukuyo.

Taccia Covenant – Private Reserve Dakota Red

Bruno Taut
August 22nd, 2024
labels: Pilot

Inflation

Itoya, the Japanese stationer with headquarters in Ginza, Tokyo, has just released yet another Lamy Safari—the “Lamy Safari x itoya Copper 02 Fountain Pen”. Quite a mouthful to simply describe a limited edition made exclusively for this shop.

This new Safari follows the trend initiated with the previous Itoya-exclusive Safari, the Copper 01 from last year (although announced December 2022). Matte finish, black nib, and a distinctive brass clip. And again with the possibility  of implementing the kanji nib.

So, is this all? Yes, but at a cost. It is hard not to notice the inflation associated to these pens.

As far as I know, Lamy has produced three Safari with metallic clip—the above-mentioned Copper 01 and 02 made for Itoya, and the Green Field model marketed earlier this year. They are shown on the following pics:

From back to front, Copper 01, Green Field, and Copper 02.

All three with kanji nibs.

And then we can compare the prices:

The brass clips. From top to bottom, Copper 01, Green Field, and Copper 02. The prices are inclusive of taxes (10%), and correspond to the versions with kanji (KJ on the reference) nibs. The Copper 02 with regular (EF, F, M) nib costs JPY 6000, plus taxes.

The relative high price is in part associated to the kanji nib those particular pens sport, but what is indeed striking is the constant increase over the three pens in about a year and a half. Each of those pens is JPY 500 more expensive than the previous. And at the final price is 14% higher than the initial.

Is there a reason behind this inflation? Is this caused by the free falling Japanese yen in the financial markets? Is it a deliberate strategy to make the popular and even humble Safari a more upscale pen?

I do not have any answer, but I think an expensive Safari would lose a great deal of the current appeal among users and collectors.

Parker 50 Falcon – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
July 14th, 2024
etiquetas: Lamy, mercado

Questions without Answers

Today I wanted to reflect on an old question about which recent developments are making it a bit more relevant.

What do we mean when we say that Montblanc is a German pen? Or, in other words, how do we ascribe a pen brand to a country?

The question might sound either obvious or irrelevant. In actual terms, it is both.

Usually, we aficionados largely follow the tradition and initial birthplace of the brand. Thus, Montblanc is German and Parker, American. But changes in the property and delocalization of the production pose a number of questions to this strategy: Is Parker still American when its production and headquarters are located in France since 2011? Or is it still American because the parent company –Newell Brands-- is American?

American or French?

But if so, is Lamy now a Japanese brand?

And then we see the problem—any criterion we might want to follow will result in some strange or paradoxical conclusion.

Interestingly enough, the big three Japanese companies and their brands are among the easiest to identify as Japanese—Japanese production, Japanese capital, Japanese headquarters...

Japanese Platinum.

And then marketing enters the scene. The prestige of the label “Made in Japan” tempt other makers to claim it for themselves based, more often than not, on very weak arguments. Such was the case, at least for a while, of Danitrio: Taiwanese capital based in California using German nibs and with Japanese decoration. Enough to be Japanese?

And that is the problem after all—capital, components, manufacturing, etc can all have different locations and ascribing one single country to that melange is, at least , inaccurate. And misses completely the economics of pen production.

German or Japanese?

So, in this state of events, it would be much easier to simply ignore the category of country of origin and stick to the brand. After all, we might be ready to identify Lamy as Japanese or Parker as French.

But.. what am I doing writing about Japanese pens?

WiPens Toledo – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
May 2024
etiquetas: mercado, metabitácora

Stories

I have often said that I just write about what I see. And then I publish my texts and wait to see how readers react to them.

Not many comments do I receive on this blog, but the information stays here and anyone can come back to check it. And at some point someone sees it and continues writing the story.

That is what Joshua Danley, author of The Pelikan's Perch, just did. He now tells the story of Kabutogi Ginjiro's Pelikan nibs from a different perspective while adding a lot of information on the original –Pelikan's— counterparts of the moment.

Only one of those nibs was made by Pelikan.

Two suspiciously similar pens, but only one of them is an Ishi Shoten-Yotsubishi. The other, on the back, is anonymous, but its nib was made by Kabutogi Ginjiro.

And that is great as the whole point of these texts is to learn about fountain pens and about their history.

Thanks, Joshua.

Romillo WiPens Toledo – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
April 16th, 2024
etiquetas: Pelikan, nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro, metabitácora