On Ban-ei Nibs (III). Family Portrait

If only for the sake of documenting Ban-ei (挽栄) pens at large, it might be worth to publish a family picture of nibs used on them.

Ban-ei implemented nibs primarily made by nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro (兜木銀次郎), but there were some other units of different origin on them. The following picture shows eight examples, but there might me more.

Starting at 1 and clockwise, there are the nibs:

Eight nibs present on Ban-ei pens.

At 1. Sailor nib. On this case, it is associated to a torpedo pen with maki-e decoration.

At 2. Parley nib, JIS no. 3231 registered by Ishikawa Kinpen Seisakusho. The pen is a torpedo with black urushi.

At 4. Steady nib, JIS no. 3233. This is one of the brands registered by Kabutogi. Its pen, an Onoto-type already reviewed, might not be a Ban-es strictly speaking—only Sakai and Kabutogi participated in the production.

At 5. Nib engraved with a Japanese text (復刻手造万年筆, fukkoku tezukuri mannenhitsu, reissue hand-made fountain pen). This text appears on nibs implemented on some Danitrio-commissioned pens, and in some other numbered editions. This nib is likely to be equivalent to those singed as GK (see nib at 7).

At 7. GK-signed nib. Present in a variety of pens, included the Visconti Urushi series.

At 8. Kabutogi's nib labeled as 50. This particular unit is engraved with JIS no. 4622, registered to Kabutogi's brand Seilon.

JIS 4622.

At 10. Kabutogi's nib labeled as 60. This unit is also engraved with JIN no. 4622.

At 11. Platinum nib. Present in many of the Danitrio-commissioned series, but not only on those.

The eight pens.

References:
Eizo FUJII. “酒井栄助の万年筆” (Sakai Eisuke no mannenhitsu; The fountain pens of Sakai Eisuke). Shumi-no Bungubaku, 34, p. 120-124 (2015).
A. LAMBROU & M. SUNAMI. Fountain Pens of Japan. Andreas Lambrou Publishers Ltd., 2012.

Arenton no. 3 – unknown blue-black

Bruno Taut
July 3rd, 2021
etiquetas: Ban-ei, plumín, Sakai Eisuke, nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro, Platinum, Sailor, Ishikawa Kinpen Seisakusho, Steady

Las Danitrio Japonesas

Some weeks ago, my fellow blogger and friend Pedro Haddock published a very interesting article on a Danitrio pen on his blog “El pajarete orquidiado”. I then thought that I could offer some additional information on the story of the Ban-ei pens commissioned by Danitrio in the mid 1990s. This is the resulting text, this time written in Spanish as the information in this language on Danitrio is scarce.

I also wanted to recommend a visit to Pedro Haddock’s blog, one of the most interesting pen blogs written in Spanish. Remember that online translators are there to help you.


Danitrio, como ya está bien explicado, es esa empresa californiana fundada por el taiwanés Bernard Lyn que ahora se centra en plumas de lujo con decoración maki-e. El embrujo de esta decoración de Asia Oriental atrapó a su fundador alrededor del año 2000, pero previamente había hecho alguna aproximación muy interesante. Para explicarla hay que retroceder bastantes años.

La figura de Sakai Eisuke tiene algo de mito en Japón. Nació en 1916 y desde su adolescencia estuvo dedicado a aprender los secretos del “rokuro”, el torno tradicional japonés. Alrededor de los años 70 dirigió un pequeño grupo de artesanos –Tsuchida, Ginjiro, Nakamura, Takahashi— en la producción de unas plumas de gran calidad, pero sin nombre. Son las denominadas “Ban-ei” (挽栄), que era el nombre de trabajo de Sakai Eisuke, o “Tsuchida” (Tsuchida Shuichi), que era el encargado del montaje final de las piezas. En muchas de ellas, la única marca que permite su identificación es el grabado de las letras GK en el plumín. GK era Kabutogi Ginjiro, pero no era el único proveedor de plumines para estas plumas, por lo que hay otras plumas con el mismo origen, pero sin grabado identificador alguno.

Varios ejemplos de plumas Ban-ei.

Casi todas estas viejas Ban-ei eran plumas de cuentagotas con válvula de cierre (sistema de cuentagotas japonés), aunque hay ejemplos de llenado por “plunger filler”. Casi todas ellas están decoradas con laca urushi, o con motivos maki-e muy discretos. Pero hay un reducido número de plumas con decoraciones muy lujosas, habitualmente producto de encargos especiales.

Las fechas de esta operación son inciertas y nunca está claro cuáles son los artesanos que intervienen en cada una de esas plumas. Las plumas más recientes de este grupo son de 2004. Y Sakai Eisuke falleció en 2011.

Tres Ban-ei. La primera desde arriba lleva el grabado el nombre Ban-ei en la banda del capuchón. Las otras dos, no.

Dos de los plumines (en el centro y a la derecha) llevan grabadas las iniciales GK, de Kabutogi Ginjiro. El tercero (a la izquierda), perteneciente a la encargada por Danitrio, no. Este plumín fue fabricado por Sailor Platinum.

El anonimato de este grupo se rompió brevemente a mediados de los años 90. Bernard Lyn les propuso hacer una serie de plumas para Danitrio. Llevarían grabado el nombre Ban-ei, en japonés y en caracteres latinos (挽栄 - Ban-ei), y serían unas ediciones limitadas de pocos cientos de unidades. Y Danitrio no las firmaba.

Tres Danitrio japonesas.

En los capuchones, a la izquierda, se pueden ver los grabados "Ban-ei". El más cercano de los plumines fue hecho por Kabuitogi Ginjiro. Los otros dos son Sailor Platinum.

Estas son las Danitrio Ban-ei, las Danitrio japonesas: plumas hechas en Japón, por un grupo de venerables artesanos japoneses para una empresa estadounidense dirigida por un taiwanés. Todas ellas son plumas de cuentagotas japonés y con decoración de laca urushi o maki-e muy discreto. Los plumines son, en su gran mayoría, Sailor Platinum, aunque hay un reducido número de ellos hechos por el mencionado Kabutogi Ginjiro. Estos llevan una inscripción en japonés: 復刻手造万年筆, réplica hecha a mano. ¡Réplica hecha por el propio Kabutogi!

Una Danitrio Ban-ei con decoración "shu-urushi".

Al contrario que las Ban-ei quasi-anónimas, estas Danitrio japonesas se encuentran más fácilmente fuera de Japón. Al fin y al cabo, Danitrio tiene su mercado, sobre todo, en Estados Unidos.


NOTA añadida en junio de 2017: He hecho unas correcciones sobre la procedencia de los plumines de las Danitrio Ban-ei, que son Platinum en lugar de Sailor, como erróneamente decía. Más información, en la crónica On Ban-ei Nibs.

Ban-ei con plumín Henckel – Pilot azul

Bruno Taut
Nakano, octubre de 2016
etiquetas: Ban-ei, Danitrio, Kabutogi Ginjiro, Japón, Estados Unidos, maki-e, urushi, Platinum

On Ban-ei Nibs (II). 50, 60 & GK

Ban-ei (挽栄), as we know by now, was a pen brand created by Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助) with the collaboration of a number of expert craftsmen--Takahashi, Tsuchida, Kitamura, Nakamura, and, of course, Kabutogi Ginjiro (兜木銀次郎), the nibmeister.

However, Ban-ei pens have implemented nibs of diverse origin—-Sailor, Platinum, Ishikawa Kinpen... Today I will only describe the three most common nibs made by Kabutogi Ginjiro himself—those labeled as 50, 60, and GK. There are some others, but are not so common as these three.

Three Ban-ei pens with three characteristic nibs by nibmeister Kabutogi.

These are the dimensions of these nibs, together with those of a size 15 nib by Pilot (Custom 823, 743, 845) for comparison. For data on more nibs, please check the text "Nib Sizes, Feed Diameters".

	.- GK -.	.- 50 -.	.- 60 -.	.- Pilot 15 -.
.Length (mm).	29	29	30	32
.Shoulder width (mm).	7.8	8.4	9.4	8.8
.Feed diameter (mm).	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.4

From left to right, nibs labeled as 60, 50, and GK. The 60 nib is consistently associated to that flatter-looking feed.

The figures clearly show how all those three nibs are very similar in size. Their feeders are, on the other hand, virtually equivalent with a diameter of 6.5 mm. This means that the nibs are interchangeable in their pens.


References:
Eizo FUJII. “酒井栄助の万年筆” (Sakai Eisuke no mannenhitsu; The fountain pens of Sakai Eisuke). Shumi-no Bungubaku, 34, p. 120-124 (2015).
A. LAMBROU & M. SUNAMI. Fountain Pens of Japan. Andreas Lambrou Publishers Ltd., 2012.

Anonymous 6-bu jumbo pen – unknown blue-black ink

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 29th, 2021
etiquetas: Ban-ei, plumín, nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro

Pilot vs. Ban-ei

So, these prototypes were made by Sakai Eisuke. Then, how are they compared to other pens made by this master?

Needless to say, Mr. Sakai made pens in many shapes, some of which I have shown on these pages. However, balance models in a number of sizes and decorations were a very common canvas that came out of Sakai's lathe.

Four Ban-ei balance pens in four different sizes.

On the following pictures we see Sakai's prototypes and balance Ban-ei pens side by side. Do they share a common language?

From left to right, Pilot's Sakai #3, Ban-ei 4-bu, Pilot's Sakai #10, and Ban-ei 5-bu.

On top, Ban-ei "nashi nuri" in size 5-bu. Bottom, Pilot's Sakai #3.

Pilot Custom 74, Yamada Seisakusho – Diamine Teal

Bruno Taut
March 21st 2024
Etiquetas: Pilot, Ban-ei, Sakai Eisuke

Added Value

Regular commenter Saltire Turquoise posed a very interesting question to my initial description of Sakai Eisuke's prototypes made for Pilot in early 1980s: Why can't Pilot make pens like those?

Although probably intended as rhetorical, it does trigger some reflections on the current situation of the pen market.

The first and easy answer to that question is a series of economic concerns—is there a market for those pens? Would they be economically viable?

It is worth to remember that Pilot does have a pen with similar characteristics to those prototypes: ebonite, urushi, Japanese eyedropper... but just bigger, much bigger—the Namiki Urushi 50. And this pen has a price of JPY 150000 in Japan. Expensive or not is anybody's guess, but it is not a pen you see everyday in the hands of aficionados.

From back to front, Pilot Urushi 50 (prior in time to the current Namiki model), Sakai's #10 and Sakai's #3.

However, I can think of a good argument for the marketing of pens like those Saltire Turquoise craved for–those prototypes and smaller versions of the Namiki Urushi 50.

In recent years we have seen how some Chinese companies have copied some very iconic Japanese (and other) fountain pens—Pilot Capless, Pilot Custom Urushi, Sailor ProGear, Platinum Curidas are some examples of pens with Chinese counterparts at much lower prices.

Jinhao or Sailor?

Lanbitou or Platinum?

In this scenario, little can the Japanese companies do save increase the value of their products. And pens like those Sakai's prototypes or like some older models offer interesting templates of what could offer that added value to their catalogs.

The critical question, however, can only be answered experimentally—is the market ready for those more expensive pens?

Thanks, Saltire Turqouise, for your questions.

Pilot Custom 748 – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 26th 2024
Etiquetas: Pilot, Sakai Eisuke, mercado, Japón

La Visconti Giapponese

Sometimes reading the pen is truly helpful. Well, mostly always.

At the past Madrid Pen Show I saw the pen on the photograph.

A Visconti. A Visconti?

On it, the signs on the box and on the clip did not really match with the pen itself. The logo of Visconti and the plain inscription on the clip contrasted with the basic structure of the pen—a Japanese eyedropper coated with red urushi. The nib, or rather its engraving, provided the final clue—it was signed by GK, Kabutogi Ginjiro, and the pen is, most likely, a Ban-ei made by Sakai Eisuke (lathe work), Kabutogi Ginjiro (nib), Tsuchida Shuichi (assembly), and Takahashi Kichitaro (urushi coating).

A Ban-ei pen with "nashiji" decoration. Nib signed by Kabutogi Ginjiro.

The additional literature included in the box describes, in Italian, the virtues of the “lacca giapponese” (urushi, of course) and speaks of its long history. It also includes instructions on how to fill and use the pen. Finally, it declares that the pen was part of a limited edition of 100 pens per year, but it does not disclose for how long. This particular unit was made in 1990 as it is numbered as 007/90... out of 100 pens made. (NOTE added on Sept. 2020: Some reports --see comments-- speak of serial numbers over 100 despite what the pen docs claim. So we should add some pinches of salt to those words despite coming from Visconti).

So, what was Visconti doing at that time? How come this very Japanese pen showed up under an Italian brand?

Visconti started its operation in 1988 and immediately contacted the Japanese lathe master Kato Kiyoshi, with whom Visconti would later collaborate in the fabrication of some models, including some versions of the Ragtime. And it is also at this time that Visconti contacted Sakai Eisuke and his team.

Apparently, there was at least two series of pens made by the Ban-ei group for the Italian brand. The first one, to which the pen shown today belongs, had a golden ring on the cap. As was mentioned before, Visconti released 100 units per year and there are records of at least two batches: 1990 and 1991. About the colors, some sources say that there were pens in ro-iro (black) urushi, but I am only aware of pens made in shu-urushi (red) as the one here shown. The clip inscriptions are either "VISCONTI" or "URUSHI".

The GK-signed nib of the Visconti Ban-ei. Note also the inscription on the clip: "VISCONTI".

A second series of Ban-ei pens were produced at a later date—1993 or 1995. On this occasion, the pens carried no rings and came in three colors: black (100 units), red (100 units), and green (50 units). The units I have seen have their clips engraved with the word "URUSHI", but there might be other other texts on them.

Some people speak of a third batch of pens previous to the first series here described. They could have been prototypes and test products later marketed by Visconti.

These are the dimensions of the pen I found at the Madrid Pen Show (2017) that belongs to the first series, and was made in 1990:

Length closed: 145 mm
Length open: 126.5 mm
Length posted: 176 mm
Diameter: 16.5 mm
Weight (dry): 25.3 g
Ink deposit: 3.3 ml

The cap ring carries the unit number of the series over the production year. This particular unit is the 007.90: number 7 (out of 100) made in 1990.

It is interesting to note that these Japanese Viscontis seem to predate those Danitrio-commissioned (::1::, ::2::) that are much better known. However, these Visconti pens remained essentially anonymous, as was customary on Ban-ei pens, and the Italian brand did not even declare where they had been made.

A Danitrio-commissioned Ban-ei.

Of course!—we all know by now that GK was a magnificent Italian nibmeister… But reading the pen helps to know what you had on your hands beyond what labels and inscriptions might say.

Platinum 70th anniversary, green celluloid – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
Nakano, January 17th 2018
labels: Ban-ei, Visconti, Danitrio, Italia, Japón, nibmeister Kabutogi Ginjiro, urushi

Ban-ei, 挽栄

The discussion is out there: does Danitrio make Japanese pens? Regardless of the answer right now, Danitrio did make some Japanese pens some years ago. This is part of the story, following the very limited information available.

Ban-ei (挽栄) was the working name of Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助) and of the brand of a number of pens manufactured mostly around 1980. Behind this operation there was a team of four people:

Kabutogi Ginjirô (兜木銀次郎), nibmeister.
Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助), lathe master.
Takahashi Kichitaro (高橋吉太郎), urushi master.
Tsuchida Shuichi (土田修一), in charge of the ebonite feed and the final assembly of the pen.

On a footnote, Kabutogi Ginjirô has already shown up on these chronicles as the nibmeister who created a fake Pelikan nib certified by the Ministry of Industry of Japan.

Group picture of some Ban-ei pens. Those on the right, in black and in red, would be later replicated on limited releases. Courtesy of Mr. Nikos Syrigonakis.

Interestingly enough, most of these pens were not signed and nowadays are often called Tsuchida pens. Some of the models can be seen on the picture by fellow stylophile Nikos Syrigonakis.

A Danitrio-era Ban-ei pen.

Some time later, in 1997, California-based Danitrio company approached the Ban-ei team and commissioned them the production of some of its models: among them, the torpedo-shaped pens in black and red urushi. But this time the pens were limited releases –200 for the black, and 150 for the red— and would be engraved with the original name of the brand both in Chinese characters (Kanji) and in alphabet (Romaji). And with no sign of the commissioning company Danitrio, although these might be the most Japanese pens this company might have ever produced. That was indeed a very respectful and elegant detail.

The Kanji engraved on the cap ring. It says Ban-ei.

By then, mid 1990s, the team had changed. Kabutogi’s son Toshiya (兜木利弥) had replaced his father as nibmeister, and the urushi master Kitamura Zenichi had substituted Takahashi Kichitaro. None of them was young –Tsuchida, born in 1917, was apparently the youngest of them all, and passed away in 2009—, and those changes were perfectly logical.

(NOTE added on June of 2017: Although this information is suggested by Danitrio founder Bernard Lyn, there are some grounds to doubt about whether Kabutogi Toshiya was really in charge of the nibs of the Danitrio-commissioned Ban-ei series of pens. More information on the following text: On Ban-ei Nibs.)

The nib on this Danitrio-era Ban-ei. The looks are exactly the same as those on pens from the 1980s by the Ban-ei team.

One of this limited-released pens I recently found at the Madrid Pen Show. It is the number 33 out of the 200 units made in black urushi. It is an eyedropper with shut-off valve and implements a rigid F point made of 14 k gold. These are its dimensions:

Diameter: 16 mm.
Length closed: 145 mm.
Length open: 130 mm.
Dry weight: 25.9 g.
Ink deposit: 3 ml.

The beautiful hard rubber feed.

Its construction quality is very good. The seam between barrel and culotte is almost unnoticeable. The ebonite feed is nicely finished and elaborated.

Finally, the overall condition of the pen is very good despite having been used.

My deep appreciation and thanks to Mr. Nikos Syrigonakis and to モンゴルさん.

(Pilot Prera Demonstrator, eyedropper – Senator Regent Royal Blue)

Bruno Taut
November 18th, 2011
[labels: Ban-ei, Danitrio, nibmeister Kabutogi]

Kubo Meets Sakai

The figure of Kubo Kohei (久保幸平) is already known to the readers. He is a very prestigious nibmeister with a long history of nibs made for his own brands –Elliott, Nobel–, and for others –Push, Danitrio, even Zôhiko. The purpose of this Chronicle is to show some more remarkable creations of this master.

An unusual music nib by Kubo Kohei.

Kubo Kohei has made music nibs in the past, as I have reported here. However, that example was a very traditional music nib: two slits, three tines. The following examples go one step forward: three slits, four tines. The result is a very broad and wet line showing a good –but not extreme— variation on the writing.

Writing sample of a 4-tine music nib by nibmeister Kubo.

These three music nibs are associated to three outstanding pens—three old pens made by Sakai Eisuke (酒井栄助). They had not reached the market and had been retrofitted with Henckel nibs, which is not rare in what looks like production leftovers by the Ban-ei group.

All three nibs carry the same inscription: "ELEGANT / KB / 18 K - 750 / MADE IN / JAPAN".

However, the ways their tips are cut are different--the one on top is very sharp, and that on bottom is the roundest of them.

These pens are all Japanese eyedroppers of very generous dimensions. So big, in fact, that the Kubo’s nibs seem a tad too small. These are the dimensions of the pens:

	-.Wooden.-	-.Plain, - black ebonite.-	-.Bamboo-like, - black ebonite.-
Length closed (mm)	145	173	152
Length open (mm)	130	150	132
Length posted (mm)	180	208	186
Diameter (mm)	20	18	20
Weight, dry (g)	36.3	44.0	44.9

The three pens where Kubo met Sakai--years after the disappearance of the later.
Only the pen in the middle (black ebonite in the shape of bamboo) has an additional engraving--on the clip it says "NEW CLIP", showing some parts coming from Fukunaka Seisakusho. The plain black pen (on top) has no clip.

Remarkable pens with remarkable nibs, although they might not be the best match. But sure they are attractive and desirable.

My thanks to Ms. Lai.

Platinum pocket, steel and stripes – De Atramentis Jeans Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, May 6th 2018
etiquetas: nibmeister Kubo Kohei, Ban-ei, plumín, plumín musical

Sakai's #10

The size 3 nib we saw on the previous text makes that pen a strange creature with no clear counterpart in the general catalog of Pilot.

On the contrary, the size 10 pen uses a more standard –and contemporary- Pilot nib. In fact, we can see a close relative in the form of the Pilot 65, the commemorative pen Pilot launched in 1983.

As we can see on the following picture, their nibs and feeds are identical to he manufacturing date, September of 1983.

These are the dimensions of these two pens:

	.Pilot 65.	.Sakai's 10.
Length closed (mm)	140	146
Length open (mm)	126	124
Length posted (mm)	159	176
Diameter (mm)	13.5	15.0
Weight (g)	17.9	18.6

Lotus Saral Titanium – Pilot (thai) Black

Bruno Taut
March 19th, 2024
etiquetas: Sakai Eisuke, Pilot, plumín