Sailor Profit Slim Mini (II)

This pen, the Sailor Profit Slim Mini is not new in the market. In fact, I spoke about it last year—Sailor made a small batch (120 units) to be sold at some Sailor Friendly Shops located in West Tokyo. They came in different colors and implemented medium-sized nibs made of 14 K and 21 K gold of both the regular H (hard) and Naginata lines of nibs. And not much more was known.

This pen comes with a pouch.

120 units are not that many even if concentrated in such a localized area. After all, the Kanto region, where Tokyo and Yokohama and Kawasaki are located, hosts about 34 million people. However, there are still some units left at some of those Sailor-favored shops.

On the front, a small Profit (1911 in some markets) in black. This particular unit implements a 21 K gold nib. The Slim Mini is significantly shorter albeit their caps are of the same size.

A characteristic of the Mini series of modern Sailors (flat tops and balance models) is the possibility to screw the cap on the barrel by means of some ad-hoc threads.

And right now (on issue 39, October 2016), the Japanese publication Shumi-no Bungubako (趣味の文具箱, by EI Publications; ISBN: 978-4-7779-4230-5) offers this same pen to its customers. This is a regular policy of this publisher: special editions that can only be bought through them. These special pens usually are variations on well-known Japanese pens. Sailor is a regular provider of these pens, but by no means the only one.

The Shumi-no Bungubako versions of the Profit Slim Mini share the price with the older models offered by the Sailor Friendly Shops: JPY 18,000, plus tax. The colors are completely different and unique: blue –which is labeled as “limited”– and pearl white.

The Profit Slim Mini on the page 110 of the magazine Shumi-no Bungubako (issue 39, October 2016) offering this model in two different variations. Only the blue (on top) is said to be "limited" (限定).

And the question posed last year remains open: is this a pen to test the market, a prototype of future models of Sailor’s? So far, we only know that this model, the Sailor Profit Slim Mini, is still alive.

Pilot Myu 701 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, October 16th , 2016
labels: Sailor, mercado, Shumi-no Bungubako

Changes in Eboya

Noritoshi Kanesaki, the master behind Eboya Pens stopped working for the company (Nikko Ebonite) this past August. The company has hired new personnel to continue with the pen business. However, the production might slow down due to the need of training.

An Eboya Hôga with the box signed by Mr. Kanesaki, the former pen master of Eboya pens.

Mr. Kanesaki, at work in 2011, when Eboya pens were still named Nebotek.

On his side, Mr. Kanesaki is starting his own business of pen repairs, and taking orders for special editions in the city Kawaguchi, very close to Tokyo in the province of Saitama.

Platinum Wagner 10th Anniversary – unknown ink

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 11th , 2016
labels: Kanesaki Noritoshi, Eboya

Sizes 30 and KOP

This Chronicle is, in a sense, a natural continuation to the text in which I presented the newly released Pilot Custom Urushi. One of the goals of this new pen was to compete with the successful King of Pens (KOP) series of Sailor’s, and therefore, comparing them is only logical. That is what I am doing today.

The differences in size between these two pens are very clear in the body, and not so much in the nib. But in both cases, the Pilot is bigger than the Sailor. For the pictures I chose the ebonite version in balance shape (King Profit Ebonite) of the KOP series of pens.

Sailor King Profit in ebonite on top; Pilot Custom Urushi on bottom.

The differences in price are also noteworthy; The Pilot Custom Urushi costs JPY 88000, and the King Profit Ebonite, JPY 70000. There are cheaper and more expensive versions of the Sailor KOP: between JPY 60000 for the basic version in plastic to JPY 80000 for the Mozaique series. Versions coated with urushi start at around JPY 150000, but they are not usually included in the Japanese catalog (retrieved October 2016). All prices quoted without sales tax (8% in Japan).

The nibs, side by side. Sailor's is made of 21 K gold. Pilot's, 18 K.

The picture is out of focus, but it works to show the difference in size between the KOP and the size 30 nibs.

The writing feeling of the size 30 nib, in my limited experience, is a lot more pleasant than that of the Sailor’s unit—softer, smoother, richer… But that is only my appreciation.

The relevant question, however, is shared by many—is the Pilot Custom Urushi worth JPY 18000 than the Ebonite King Profit by Sailor? In exchange we would get some urushi coating, and a larger nib with a lower gold content (if that mattered to anyone: 18 K in Pilot’s, 21 K in Sailor’s).

Pilot Myu 701 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 3rd, 2016
labels: plumín, Pilot, mercado, Sailor, urushi

Madrid Pen Show 2016

The XIII Madrid Pen Show will be celebrated at the usual venue –the NH Eurobuilding Hotel— between 18th and 20th of November.

It is just short of two months ahead of us, but it might not be that long in order to plan a visit to Madrid and attend this major event. Let us remember that the Madrid Pen Show is currently the biggest pen show in Europe.

There is an entry fee to the show (EUR 3/day), but it can easily be waived by printing an invitation usually published on the organizer's website -- http://www.madridpenshow.com/?lang=en -- or on that of the sponsor's-- https://www.iguanasell.com/ .

I will attend the show this year as well (2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011).

Pilot Capless, stub nib by Shimizu Seisakusho – Private Reserve, American Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 12th, 2016
labels: evento, Madrid

Custom Urushi

A new pen in town, and what a pen!

Fountain Pen Network member Tinjapan announced it last March—the new flagship pen of Pilot´s was in the making. It was going to be a lacquered pen with a brand new nib.

Now that pen, by the name of Custom Urushi (reference code FKV-88SR-B-x, where x is the nib point: FM, M or B) was released this past Saturday, September 17th.

The brand new Pilot Custom Urushi.

The result is a flat-top pen made of ebonite, coated with black urushi lacquer, and filling mechanism through cartridge and converter (CON-70). In fact, this pen can be seen as a scaled up Custom 845—same shape, same materials, same structure… but bigger, longer, thicker.

From top to bottom, Pilot Custom Urushi, Pilot Custom 845, and Namiki Urushi in size 20.

And then, the nib—also bigger. An all new size 30 made of 18 K gold, partially rhodiated. It comes in three nib points—FM, M, and B. It is a quite soft nib, albeit not truly flexible. But the remarkable feature is its sheer size—impressive. Much bigger than the well-known size 15 (Custom 845, 823, 743) or the size 20 (Namiki Yukari Royale). The Custom Urushi dwarfs these two well known pens.

The impressive nib in size 30. It is made of 18 K gold, and comes in three points: FM, M, and B.

From left to right: Namiki's size 20 nib, Pilot's 15, and Pilot's 30.

Written sample with size 30 nib of point M. It was made dipping the pen in an inkwell of Pilot Black ink. The printed square is 9x9 sq mm.

The price of the newcomer is not cheap—JPY 88000, plus tax. It is certainly more expensive than the Custom 845 (JPY 50000; i. e. 76% higher), but it is also much cheaper than the Namiki Urushi in size 20 (JPY 128000, 45% higher).

Is Pilot competing against Namiki? Will the Custom Urushi cannibalize the sales of the black Namiki in size 20? Right now, this size 30 nib is really appealing.

Detail of the decorative band on the cap.

More information and more pictures on the more recent Chronicle "Sizes 30 and KOP".

Pilot Capless, stub nib by Shimizu Seisakusho – Private Reserve, American Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 19th, 2016
labels: plumín, Pilot, mercado, urushi

On #3776 Nibs

This is a Chronicle with a lot of pics…

The Platinum #3776 series of fountain pens is an old one. Its first model was launched by 1978. It was a very characteristic ribbed design made by Haruo Umeda. The last models are called #3776 Century, and have little resemblance to those initial models, although Platinum keeps a ribbed design in its catalog.

Along this thirty-something years of history, the basic components of the pen –nib and feed—have seen some changes in their design.

The early models, (between 1978 and some time in the early 1980s) had very cylindrical nibs and ebonite feeds. The first year model had a feed with no fins at all. There were also music nibs associated to these pens, but they are not covered on this text.

Nib and feed of a Platinum #3776 from 1978. Note the ebonite feed.

The feeds of these early models changed quickly. By the second year, they had implemented some fins.

Later on, the nib became flatter on the top area, but there were few, if any, changes on the ebonite feed. This detail changed at some point (when?) and from then on all Platinum feeds have been made of plastic.

Nib and feed from 1984. The nib is obviously flatter on top while the feed is still made of ebonite.

Nib and feed from 2002. The nib is apparently identical to the previous one (1984), but the feed is now made of plastic.

Nib and feed from a #3776 Century. Labeled as manufactured on November of 2011. Note the shorter nib and the very specific feed. Needless to say, it is made of plastic.

The latest version of the #3776 is named Century and was launched in 2011. On this newer edition, two-tine nibs (i. e., non music nibs) changed with respect to previous models. Now they are shorter than before, and the feed had been modified to anchor the nib on the right position.

On the left, a music nib of a #3776 Century, dated on 2012. On the right, a music nib of a #3776 of 2009. The feeds are identical. The nibs, almost identical...

Music nib and feed of the Wagner 2015 pen. Note the absence of holes in the tail of the nib.

These changes, as I said, did not affect the three-tine music nibs. In some occasions, some gold was removed from the tail of the nib –that area hidden under the section--, but is also seems not to be always the case. The feeds of these music nibs are more cylindrical in shape and have no fixed position for the nib.

Two and three tine nibs dated in 2009 and 2010. They were interchangeable in their sections. I am well aware that the two tine nib is a Nakaya, but Nakaya implements #3776 nibs.

A side effect of these differences between the feeds is their incompatibility—now, the sections of music nibs are specific for them and cannot implement regular two tined nibs. And conversely—a regular nib section cannot be equipped with a music nib (and feed). This exchange was possible in pre-Century #3776 Platinum pens.

Now the reader can extract his own conclusions about Nakaya nibs.

Ban-ei, black urushi – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, September 16th, 2016
labels: plumín, plumín musical, Platinum

Wagner 2015

The Platinum 3776 Century is the current best selling fountain pen in Japan. It is, by now, a well known product even outside of Japan—a balance model made of plastic, cartridge-converter filling system, 14 K gold nib. All these characteristics are common among the direct competitors: Pilot Custom 74 and Sailor Profit (1911) Junior.

Platinum 3776 Century.

Pilot Custom 74.

Sailor Profit (1911 in some markets) in size Junior. The nib on display is not the original.

This success, though, might have come with a curse. Platinum has hardly introduced any new model recently, and its marketing strategy seems limited to making small variations of the success model. And there is more…

Platinum 3776 Century of the Fuji lakes series. In particular, this is the model dedicated to lake Shoji.

Platinum, as many other brands, is open to taking orders for personalized products. The Wagner Pen Club, in Japan, contacted Platinum in 2015 for the creation of the pen to commemorate its 10th anniversary.

The commemorative pen of the 10 years of the Wagner Pen Club.

The result was a 3776 Century in transparent green plastic. However, there is nothing on the pen revealing this otherwise obvious origin. All the inscriptions on it have changed. On the cap-ring it just says “WAGNER 10th”. On the nib, “2015 / WAGNER / 10th / Anniversary”.

The inscription on the cap-ring reads "WAGNER 10th".

The nib also carries its specific decoration. The inscription says “2015 / WAGNER / 10th / Anniversary”.

There were two possibilities for the nib: a music nib –115 units— and a soft fine –130 units. They were numbered separately.

These pens are numbered. There are 115 with music nibs, and 130 with soft fine nibs.

So, all in all these pens are somewhat different from any of the variations of the 3776 Century… but it is still a 3776 Century.

Two 3776 Century, after all.

My thanks to Mr. Shimizu.

Platinum 3776 Century, Wagner 10th anniversary – unknown ink

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku and Nakano, September 2016
etiquetas: mercado, Japón, Platinum, plumín musical