More Chinese Capless

Chinese pen companies have certainly felt the appeal of the capless idea. More so, dare I say, than any other country manufacturing pens.

Aside of those old capless made in China in the 1990s –Lily 910 and Wuhan-Dagong—, some of the now-active pen brands in China have recreated successful models made in Japan. First was Lanbitou with its copy of the Platinum Curidas. Then, Moonman (also named Majohn) created its personal version of the current Pilot Capless model, albeit with the addition of a clipless version. And soon afterwards came the A2 model, a revision of the faceted FCN Pilot model of the 1990s.

And some months ago was is the turn of another Chinese brand—Jinhao and its model 10.

Jinhao 10.

As was the case of the Moonman, the looks and structure of the Jinhao 10 are almost identical to those of the Pilot Capless. And the most obvious difference among the three of them is the central ring, as can be seen on the picture.

From top to bottom, Pilot Capless, Jinhao 10 and Moonman A1.

In the case of the black-matte finish, the variation I got my hands on, the Jinhao is closer in color and texture to the original Japanese than the Moonman, darker and shinier.

These are the dimensions of the three pens:

	.Pilot Capless.	.Jinhao 10.	.Moonman A1.
Length closed (mm)	141	142	142
Length open (mm)	137	138	139
Max diameter (mm)	13.2	13.0	12.9
Weight, dry (g)	30.0	33.2	33.7
Ink deposit (ml)	0.9 (cart) 0.5 (CON-40)	0.9 (cart) 0.3 (conv)	0.9 (cart) 0.4 (conv)

The Jinhao nib is very similar to that of the Moonman. On both cases they are made of steel, and their geometries are apparently the same. However, the feeds show different markings on the sides of the ink channels. Jinhao's nib come as F and as EF, whereas Moonman's units are only EF.

From top to bottom, Pilot's 18 K gold nib (M), Jinhao's steel nib (F), and Moonman's A1 steel nib (EF).

The cartridge-to-nib coupling on the Jinhao is, at least on my unit, precarious and unsecured. The user might be inclined to ink it solely through the converter despite its very limited capacity to avoid unnecessary risks. Or he could try the Moonman converter—it fits and holds a greater volume of ink. And once you open that route, it is just about try and error.

So, all in all, it seems that the Jinhao is less capable and reliable that the Moonman, but their bottom line is the same—low cost capless pens with the looks of a Pilot.

Asvine V126 – Waterman's Florida Blue

Bruno Taut
January 30th, 2025
label: Pilot, Moonman, Jinhao, capless

Music Mini

Yet another example of a music nib.

Japanese pen makers have remained faithful to the idea of the music nib for a long time, and that despite their absence in the catalog of Western makers for many years. Pilot, Platinum, and Sailor did preserve them in the meantime, although the later of them, Sailor, did simplify it by removing one slit and transforming it into a stub nib.

Sailor did make three-tine nibs in the past. Actually, Masa Sunami and Andreas Lambrou show one such example on their book Fountain Pens of Japan: a humble Sailor Candy from 1979 with a music nib made of steel.

However, the balance model Profit (1911 in many markets) was initially marketed in 1981, and since then implements a new nib whose music version with just one slit and two tines.

The pen I am showing today was made in 1966 and its music nib preserves the traditional geometry. It is also a pocket pen, named Mini by Sailor since its creation in 1963.

Sailor Mini with a three-tine music nib.

This music nib is made of 18 K gold and is not marked with any inscription showing the nib point. It just says Sailor, the gold purity, and the JIS mark. The nib point, though, is revealed on the sticker attached to the cap, together with the original prince of the pen—JPY 3000.

The main character of the story.

These are the dimensions of this pen:

Length closed: 125 mm
Length open: 95 mm
Length posted: 145 mm
Diameter: 12.0 mm
Weight: 14.0 g (dry with empty cartridge)
Ink deposit: 1.2 ml (Sailor cartridge)

Within the Mini lineup of Sailor, this pen belongs to the more luxurious tier: gold trim, 18 K nib, 18 K gold plated cap band.

Five different Sailor Mini with the same size and shape. The three top pens are GT --gold trim-- and implement 18 K gold nibs and 18 K gold plated cap bands. The lower two pens use 14 K gold nibs.

How common were these music nibs? Hard to say, but those Sailor Mini are easy to find in flea markets and pen shows, and usually they are very inexpensive. However, the vast majority of those Sailor pens implement F and M nibs, and music and B nibs are rarities.

Writing sample with this Sailor music nib.

So, this is “yet another music nib”, but not just any music nib.

Antigua's Yatate II – Aurora Black

Bruno Taut
December 30th, 2024
label: Sailor, plumín, plumín musical

On Route

Come Fall and my time for pen shows starts. Paris, Tokyo, and finally Madrid.

From Friday 15th to Sunday 17th, the Madrid Pen Show will take place at Centro de Negocios MEEU (Calle Agustín de Foxá 40, 28036 Madrid; in the Chamartín Station Complex). In there, around 70 dealers and an enthusiastic pen community will gather around pens and inks.

And I am just starting my journey to attend the event. Say hello if you happened to be there.

Lotus Maharaja with Custom Nib Studio nib – Private Reserve Dakota Red

Bruno Taut
November 10th, 2024
etiquetas: evento, Madrid

Mr. Niikura

Today I woke up to very sad news: Mr. Niikura has passed away. He was 84 years old.

Mr. Niikura teaching at a Wagner meeting in 2010.

Yes, Mr. Pilot is no longer with us, and his generosity providing information on Pilot and on Japanese pens in general is forever gone.

I had the immense luck of sharing many pen meetings with him, and I owe him a great deal of all I know about pens. That, I think, could be said by many of whose attending those reunions, where Mr. Niikura shared his knowledge and expertise after a life working for Pilot.

You will be missed, Mr. Niikura.

Sit tibi terra levis.

Pilot Grandee Urushi – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
November 2nd, 2024
label: Pilot, evento

Quattro Box

Pen boxes―love them, ignore them, hate them. Boxes―thrown away or kept?

A lot can be said about them, but today I am not speaking about them in general but just about one in particular: that of the Pilot Quattro 89.

This pen, recently reviewed, implements a small size 3 nib in an unusual body, squarish in profile. This pen was certainly not an entry level model, but neither was a top luxurious unit. The price, JPY 30000, was on pair with that of the Custom 823 with a size 15 nib. So, I guess, this Quattro was for those who favored style and originality over function.

Same price--Custom 823 and Quattro 89.

And the Quattro box does reflect that. The package includes a folder with an instruction sheet specifically printed for the model, a translucent sheet with some “Engrish” ideas (“sincerity, considerate, stately, originality”), and three sheets of high quality paper together with three envelopes made of the same paper. And all of them discretely show the squarish logo of the pen model.

Note the logo on all the elements on the pic--letter paper, envelope and pen cap.

The bilingual sheet of instructions. More Engrish...

The package is certainly original and elegant without being overwhelming. However, what do those sheets of paper and envelopes add to the pen?

And, finally, how many Quattros were sold thanks to the paper and the packaging?

Lamy LX – Private Reserve Dakota Red

Bruno Taut
October 20th, 2024
etiquetas: Pilot

Edible Ink

This is the last ink I have bought:

Squid ink.

At least, it is not just edible but delicious.

Arròs negre.

However, beyond the obvious joke, the underlying question is how much ink do we need, and how much ink do we accumulate. And what we do with it!

My latest inventory showed about 5 liters of ink, and that without collecting them. Possibly, dare I say, this accumulation is the result of many years of pen collecting and of writing about pens; plus some donations from friends and readers of these pages.

A small sample of my inks.

But what can we do with so much ink? That is why I'd rather buy edible ink.

Parker 75 – Diamine Bilberry

Bruno Taut
October 17th, 2024
etiquetas: tinta

Paris 2024

But not the Olympic Games--the Paris Pen Show.

Last weekend (October 5th and 6th), the first Paris Pen Show was celebrated at the Hôtel de l'industrie. It was a two-day event, organized by Stylographie, a magazine on the matter.

The Pen Show attracted over 30 dealers and about 800 visitors, although this official figure is questioned by a number of dealers and visitors. The total available space was 270 square meters divided in two lounges.

This decision, two different spaces, caused some problems. A number of aficionados, and even some organizers, were not aware of the smaller exhibition area with just half a dozen dealers. But at the same time, the bigger lounge lacked light and became crowded hampered by the narrow circulation areas in between dealers.

Then, how was this event? One more pen show is always good news, but good wishes are not enough for it to succeed.

Paris, always attractive, is also unbelievably expensive, this creates a number of obstacles  for all the parties involved—expensive hotels, expensive meals, expensive transportation...

Attracting visitors is never easy—you must organize the event, advertise it, and then... cross your fingers. Making it a paying event –EUR 10 per day, EUR 20 for early admission on Saturday-- filters some uninterested public, but also reduces the capability to reach newer and younger aficionados, and the current demographic of the European stylophile is far from being young.

800 visitors, then, is not a bad figure, but as mentioned before, some dealers were skeptical about it. And on top of that, the volume of business was not what some expected. Not enough visitors? Expensive pens? Mismatched supply and demand? Who knows...

This Pen Show was good news, but more work needs to be done.

Jinhao Dadao 9019 – Montblanc Irish Green

Bruno Taut
October 10th, 2024
labels: evento, París