Indios

Para Kinno-san.

Las plumas estilográficas se hicieron para escribir. Ahora bien, ¿cuánto en verdad escribimos con ellas?

Mucho me temo que muy poco. Por un lado, porque cada vez escribimos menos a mano, y el mejor instrumento de escritura posiblemente sea un teclado de ordenador. Por otro, muchos coleccionistas tienen las plumas de adorno. Algunos ni siquiera las entintan por miedo a que pierdan valor.

Luego está el uso que le damos a cada pluma. Al fin y al cabo solo escribimos con una al tiempo. Así que la pregunta de para qué necesitamos tantas es muy legítima. Pero los coleccionistas preferimos ignorar esa cuestión y nos lanzamos a acaparar estilográficas con mejor o peor criterio.

Y sin embargo, algunos de nosotros queremos usar todas las plumas que poseemos e intentamos una rotación de modo que sigan un turno más o menos riguroso. Pero ese turno en seguida resulta insuficiente para usar todas las plumas en un plazo razonable. Si una carga de tinta dura una semana, en un año podremos emplear unas cincuenta plumas. Así, alguien que tenga diez plumas, una cantidad más bien modesta, usaría cada una de ellas un promedio de cinco semanas al año. Y en realidad, hay muchas plumas que apenas prueban la tinta o que difícilmente llegan a tocar el papel. El ritmo de compra puede ser tal que la lista de espera para ser entintadas puede ser desesperantemente larga.


En mi caso, a día de hoy, confieso que esa lista es de unas quince plumas, y no es raro que perdamos el rastro de alguna de esas que tanta ilusión nos hizo cuando la vimos por primera vez.

Sí, la conclusión es que compramos a un ritmo más alto del que escribimos, Y ésa es la prueba más palpable de lo absurdo de esta afición.

Somos como los indios: tenemos las plumas, básicamente, de adorno.

(Waterman Laureat – Pilot Black)

Bruno Taut
(Inagi, 29 de abril de 2010)
[labels: estilofilia]

Tokyo - April 2010

An updated version of this post can be found on this page in this blog. This text, however, will remain here as a landing mark for those coming from non updated websites. Updated version.


(Second edition of this post)
Over the years I have learned about where to find and buy fountain pens in this city. The summary of my findings is this report. But by no means is this list complete. I wanted to note, though, that the very traditional pen shop Juzensha, near Omori Station, is no longer in business.


Second hand shops:

1. Lemon
www.lemonsha.com

Photography and other “otaku” goods with a small section of pens. It offers discount prices for new goods.

Ginza Kyokaido Building 8F
4-2-1 Ginza (Sotobori Dori)
Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061
Phone: 03-3567-3131
See map.

Mo-Sa: 11:00-20:00
Su: 11:00-17:00


2. Eurobox
www.euro-box.com

Vintage pen shop in Tokyo.

Okuno Building 4F
1-9-8 407 Ginza
Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061
Tel: 03-3538-8388
Fax: 03-3538-6313
See map.

Th: 11:30-19:00
Sa: 11:30-18:00
(Usual opening days. Check website).


3. Pen Cluster
www.pencluster.com

Small shop dedicated, mostly, to foreign pens. Repair service available.

Wind Ginza 2 Building 3F
1-20-3 Ginza
Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061
Phone: 03-3564-6331
See map.

Tu-Fr: 12:30-19:00
Sa-Su: 12:30-18:00


4. Map Camera-Kingdom Note (New pens at catalog prices, and used pens)
www.kingdomnote.com

1-12-5 Nishi Shinjuku, 6F
Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023
Phone: 03-3342-7911
See map.

Mo-Su: 10:30-20:30


Discount shops:

5. Sekaido
www.sekaido.co.jp

Big art supply shop with a decent department of fountain pens and fine writing utensils. The good point of this shop is the discount, up to 25%, they offer with the membership card. It costs Y500 for two years. This shop has several branches, not all carrying fountain pens. The main store is in Shinjuku (5A), and in the West side of the station there is a branch (5B):

5A. Sekaido Head Office.
3-1-1 Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-002
Phone: 03-5379-1111
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:30-21:00

5B. Sekaido Nishi Shinjuku
1-11-11 Nishi Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023
Phone: 03-3346-1515
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:30-20:00


6. Yodobashi Camera
www.yodobashi.com

Several branches. For fountain pens, check big stores:

6A. Yodobashi Shinjuku Nishiguchi Honten (West side)
1-11-1 Nishi-Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023
Phone: 03-3346-1010
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:30-22:00


6B. Yodobashi Akiba (Akihabara)
1-1 Kanda Hanaoka
Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-0028
Phone: 03-5209-1010
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:30-22:00


6C. Yodobashi Ueno
4-10-10 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo 110-005
Phone: 03-3837-1010
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:30-22:00


6D. Yodobashi Yokohama
1-2-7 Kita Saiwai
Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0004
Phone: 045-313-1010
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:30-22:00


7. Mori-ichi
http://www.moriichi.net/index.html

This stationery shop has some pens at discount prices—about 30%. The selection has decreased in the last two years. It is located on Chuo Dori, almost in front of the Pilot Pen Station, further north towards Nihonbashi.

1-3-2 Kyobashi
Chuo, Tokyo 104-0031
Phone: 03-3281 3228
See map.

Mo-Fr: 9:00-18:00

Shops in Ameyoko (Ueno-Okachimachi):
Under the tracks of Yamanote line between Okachimachi and Ueno stations there is this big market where you can find almost all kinds of goods. Among them, five shops where you can find pens with discounts between 30% and 40%. They are focused on imported pens, but in some of the shops (Ameyoko Mito and Tachibana, at least) you can also find Japanese brands.

See map for the location of Ameyoko Market.


8. Ameyoko Mito
www.ameyokomito.com

6-10-7 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo 110-0005
Phone: 03-3833-5280
See map for the location of Ameyoko Market.
Location of Ameyoko Mito.

Mo-Su: 10:00-18:30

9. Asahi Shokai

6-4-12 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo 110-0005
Phone: 03-3834-4771, 03-3834-4772
See map for the location of Ameyoko Market.
See map under the tracks.


10. Daiya Sutoa

6-4-12 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo 110-0005
Phone: 03-3831-8092
See map for the location of Ameyoko Market.
See map under the tracks.


11. Tachibana Shokai

6-4-6 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo 110-0005
Phone: 03-3831-4800
See map for the location of Ameyoko Market.
See map under the tracks.

Mo-Su: 11:00-18:00


12. Marui
www.ameyokonet.jp/marui

6-4-4 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo 110-0005
Phone: 03-3831-7145
See map for the location of Ameyoko Market.
See map under the tracks.

Location of four of the five pen shops in Ameyoko Market.

Regular price shops:

Many shops, including most department stores carry fountain pens. Most of them at regular catalog prices. Eventually, it might be possible to find some “New Old Stock” (NOS) pens on them. Following there is a selection of some of these shops.


13. Maruzen
http://www.maruzen.co.jp/top/index.html

Maruzen is a bookshop with a large stationery section. It has a number of branches, most of which carry fountain pens at regular catalog prices. Among those, the head office in Nihonbashi, and that in Oazo Building in Marunouchi are the most interesting.
Maruzen carries its own brand of ink (Athena), and of pens (Century), and there are some special editions of pens by major companies for this shop alone.

13A. Maruzen Nihonbashi
3-10-2 Nihonbashi
Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3272 7211
See map.


13B. Maruzen Oazo
1-6-4 Marunouchi
Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-0005
Phone: 03-5288-8881
See map.

Mo-Su: 9:00-21:00


14. Kyukyodo
http://www.kyukyodo.co.jp

Very traditional, and very old (founded in 1663), Japanese stationery. The main branch is located right on Ginza crossing. It has a small selection of Japanese and foreign pens.

5-7-4 Ginza
Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061
Phone: 03-3571 4429
See map.

Mo-Sa: 10:00-19:30
Su: 11:00-19:30

Location of pen shops in Ginza: Lemon, Kyukyodo, Itoya, Eurobox, and Pen Cluster.

15. Itoya
http://www.ito-ya.co.jp/

Itoya is a large stationery and art supply shop. There are some pens made exclusively for Itoya.

2-7-5 Ginza
Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061
Phone: 03-3561 8311
See map.

Mo-Sa: 10:30-20:00
Su: 10:30-19:00

This main branch has a pen repair service.


16. Pilot Pen Station
http://www.pilot.co.jp

This is a museum and a café owned by the pen company Pilot. There are no sales in here, but they provide a repair service for their own brand.

2-6-21 Kyobashi
Chuo, Tokyo 104-8304
Phone: 03-3538 3700
See map.

Mo-Fr: 8:00 - 19:00 (museum: 9:30-17:00)
Sa: 11:00-17:00


17. Shosaikan
http://www.shosaikan.co.jp/

Probably, the most beautiful pen shop in the world. And that makes a real experience to visit and, eventually, to buy a pen at this shop.

5-13-11 Minami Aoyama
Minato, Tokyo 107-0062
Phone: 03-3400 3377
See map.

Mo-Su: 11:00-20:00

Shosaikan also has two branches in Haneda Airport, on terminals 1 and 2.


18. Fullhalter
http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/fullhalter/

This is a very small shop run by a nib master who prepares some commercial pens –smoothing the nibs, altering them in some special way, etc. The selling price is the same as in other shops.
Higashi Oi is near Oimachi station along the JR Keihin-Tohoku line.

5-26-20 Higashi Oi
Shinagawa, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3471-7378
See map.

Mo-Sa: 10:00-18:00


19. Kinpendo

Traditional pen shop located in bookshop-rich Kanda district. Mostly imported pens at regular catalog prices. The owner seems to tune the nibs of the expensive pens.

1-4 Jinbocho
Chiyoda, Tokyo
Tel: 03-3293-8186
See map.


Flea markets

Flea markets are a usual place to find hidden treasures. I will speak about them in a different blog entry.

This is it by now. Hope you can take advantage of this list.


View Fountain Pens in Tokyo in a larger map

(Pilot R lever filler – Pelikan Royal Blue)

Bruno Taut
(Inagi, April-May 2010)
[labels: Tokyo]

Wagner 2010. After the show.

This past weekend the Wagner 2010 pen show was celebrated, and now is time for analysis and reflections.

As I mentioned on my previous entry, the whole show was basically unannounced. Little information in the Internet, no posters on pen shops,… nothing. Not even signs at the station or on the event building. Not even on the lounge we used! Actually, I had to go through all the floors of the building until I heard some noise. So, nobody stepped in by mere accident.

The show was, I think, on the small side. About 15 paying tables and, on the first day, about 200 visitors (according to the organizer Mutsumi Mori). The entrance fee on Saturday was 2000 yen –about USD 22.

Of all the tables, only about five were interesting. Mostly Japanese pens –Pilot and Sailor, some Platinum--, and one guy had a number of pens from already disappeared manufacturers such as SSS and (Japanese) Swan. Many of them were not exactly usable as daily writers—many eye-droppers whose inkflow was difficult to control, for instance.

Then, the non-Japanese stuff. First, Pelikan and Montblanc, new and old, and a big number of limited editions. Then, some Italians and some Americans—Sheaffer in particular. Very few Parkers, other than some modern Duofold. Only one Parker 51! Re limited editions, someone told me that a Montblanc Hemingway can cost up to half a million yen here (that is, USD 5500). There was one on sale for Y 225000 –about USD 2500.

The second day was more relaxed. The entrance fee was half price. I cannot say much about how many people attended, though. Some visitors were also trading their pens—“informal trading” one of them told me. Lots of informative conversations took place in there. That was the most social time of the pen show, but by no means unique to this one in particular.

The Show also had its own pens for sale: a Sailor Professional Gear with “Wagner 2010” engraved on the nib and on the cap ring. There were also some leftovers from a previous show—a Platinum with an impressive and smooth music nib from Wagner 2008. Last but not least, there was also a 18 K gold B nib Senator President.

Another interesting element of the show was the pen clinic. Five craftsmen, well four craftsmen and a craftswoman, were available to adjust and fix pens of all the visitors. The service was included in the entrance fee. They did work hard.

And on May 23rd, the monthly pen clinic of the Pen Collectors of Japan will take place at the same venue (EBIS303, http://gmap.jp/shop-14194.html). I will sure attend it. Entrance fee of Y 2000.

Interesting show, especially if you were interested in Japanese stuff. People were friendly and my lack of ability in Japanese was not a big problem. As it is usual in pen shows, we were a bunch of people eager to share our passion for fine writing objects.

End of the party, with flowers to Mutsumi Mori.

(Waterman Laureat - Pilot Black)

Bruno Taut
(Inagi, April 28, 2010)
[Labels: evento, Tokyo, Pilot, Sailor, Platinum, Senator]

New York City - March 2010

This past March I had the chance to visit The Big City—no matter New York City is smaller than Tokyo, the Big Apple is always bigger. If only, because it is not parochial.

Driven by my obsession for pens, I did my best to visit shops where I could find interesting stuff and good deals. The final conclusion was not positive at all. Here you have the report:

Four were the shops I visited:

Joon. (Main store: 795 Lexington Ave., between 61 and 62. New York, NY 10036. Mo-Fr: 9:00-18:00; Sa: 10:00-18:00. (212) 935-1007. Two other shops in Manhattan). http://www.joonpens.com/
This one was the first visited shop. They only carry new pens. Not a friendly attitude, and even less so once you asked them about vintage or used pens. It seems they mostly carry high end pens. They sell their own pen trays, used to display their pens at the shop, at reasonable prices: USD20, plus 8.75% tax, although their catalog speaks of USD35 as its price. Not an outstanding quality, but interesting, nonetheless. Regular display boxes and other display forms come at regular (expensive) prices.

Fountain Pen Hospital. (10 Warren St. New York, NY 10007. Mo-Fr: 7:45-17:30. (800) 253-7367, (212) 964-0580, Fax: (212) 227-5916). http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/
More friendly atmosphere than the previous shop. They do carry some vintage and used pens. Not many, though, and on the expensive side. Good selection of inks, including some made exclusively for them by Noodler’s. They, as well, have some pen accessories. In particular, some leather cases for transporting from 3 to 40 pens at reasonable prices.

Art Brown. (2 West 45th St. New York, NY 10036. Mo-Fr:9:00-18:00, Sa: 10:00-18:00. (212) 575-5555, (800) 772-7367). http://www.artbrown.com/
Nice shop, but just the usual stuff in there. The used pen section is reduced to about 15 or 20 units and, the clerk say, will not be maintained. Good selection of inks, including those made by Noodler’s for the shop. Small stationery section with notebooks and other stuff.

Montgomery Pens. (330 Grand St. New York, NY 10002. (212) 420-1312). http://www.montgomerypens.com/index.asp
Not much success in this shop. They claimed you should phone them in advance for them to bring down the pens they have. Otherwise, the displayed selection is very limited. It might be possible, given the way the shop looked like, to find new old stock (NOS) material in it.

Other sources:

The Garage Flea Market. 112 W. 25th St. Between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Ave. Sa-Su: 8:00-17:00. Free admission. Contact: Michael Santulli, Box 7010. (212) 647-0707. Fax (212) 463-7099.
I could find some pens in here, but expensive given the condition. Of course, all goods are “as is”. Be ready to bargain heavily.

Private dealers. Some exist in NYC. One of them claims that the used pen market in New York City is dead, and that the shops have an upper hand on it through customer lists to whom the primarily sell the newly arrived materials.
Pen book author and trader Jonathan Steinberg is based in New York. You can contact him through his website: http://www.vintagepen.com .

(Pilot Lady Pearl – Noodler's Old Dutch Sepia)

Bruno Taut
(Inagi, April 22, 2010)
[labels: Nueva York]

Wagner 2010 - Tokyo

This coming weekend –April 24 and 25--, the association Pen Collectors of Japan organizes its annual pen show by the name of Wagner. The event will take place in Ebisu, Tokyo, at the EBIS303 Hall on Subaru building (see map here: http://gmap.jp/shop-14194.html). Hopefully, there will be some signs for anybody who wanted to attend it. The entrance fee is Y2000 on Saturday, and Y1000 on Sunday.

Not much information in the Internet can be found on this event. And only members of the organizing association are allowed to participate as pen traders. Mo' power to them! but it does not seem to be a very wise idea to increase the number of pens in circulation in the very closed market of Japan. Unless, that is, traders were trying to keep it closed to be able to charge unrealistically high prices for some of their pens.

That is, actually, the case of foreign pens –i. e. non-Japanese made—in Japan. Few traders in Tokyo have a de-facto oligopoly, controlling the supply of those pens, and asking for outrageous prices when compared to those in other countries.

Anyway, such is the Japanese market and, so far, we have little options. In any event, this very parochial attitude is bound to change –like them or not—through international auction websites, on-line shops and traders, and even by traveling overseas to truly international pen shows.

Despite all this, I will attend this Wagner 2010 event. Hope to see you there.

(Waterman Laureat – Pilot Black)

Bruno Taut
(Inagi, April 21, 2010)
[labels: Japón, Tokyo, evento]

Compromisos

Yo le soy infiel a todas y tal vez por ello siempre busco una que me satisfaga más que la presente. De vez en cuando, en esa búsqueda, nos encontramos con sorpresas inesperadas. Otras veces somos muy conscientes de lo que buscamos y hasta, a veces, compramos.


Entre estas últimas, yo busqué y encontré una verdadera joya: la Pilot Custom 743 con plumín Falcon. Ciertamente no es una pluma barata, ni especialmente bella, pero el plumín flexible combinado con el flujo abundante hacen de la misma una pluma de esas que uno no quiere olvidar fácilmente, por muchas tentaciones que se interpongan en el camino.

Las sorpresas son, sin embargo, aún más agradables. Si donde uno menos lo espera salta la liebre, en el terreno de las plumas esos majuelos son las subastas y los mercadillos. En las primeras, uno se deja a menudo llevar por una liebre atractiva en precio y apariencia. En los segundos, su condición externa, frecuentemente sucia y desaliñada le hacen pensárselo mucho a uno, ya de por sí dubitativo, antes de adoptar un nuevo paciente. Pero a veces merece de verdad la pena. Entre esas sorpresas yo me quedo siempre con una pluma muy femenina: la Pilot Lady Pearl con un plumín que en su discreción es una maravilla de suavidad y fiabilidad. Llegó por correo después de una puja muy modesta, de apenas 1500 yenes, y tuve que limpiarla a fondo antes de poder entintarla pues estaba completamente obturada con tinta rancia.



Más recientemente ha caído en mis manos una Platinum de bolsillo con un plumín nominalmente flexible. Parece que tiene cuarenta y tantos años en sus gavilanes, pero no se notan en absoluto en esa aleación de un 75% de oro. No es realmente flexible, tan sólo muestra cierta tolerancia a la presión: springy but not flexible, diría un angloparlante. Pero basta para que escribir con ella sea un placer muy superior al de escribir con una plumín completamente rígido --lo que en el argot se llama una aguja, a needle—como es el de la Sailor con la que escribí el primer borrador de este texto.

Y así, después de esta declaración pública de infidelidad, lanzo una pregunta al aire: si tuvierais que escoger una única pluma para amarla y honrarla, en la salud y en la enfermedad, y serle fiel hasta que la muerte os separara, ¿cuál sería? Y, además, ¿qué tinta usaríais en ella?

Espero vuestras respuestas y comentarios.

(Sailor Pocket Pen 18WG – Pelikan Brilliant Brown)

Bruno Taut
Inagi, 14 de abril, 2010
[labels: estilofilia, Pilot, Platinum, Sailor]

Metamorfosis

Hasta hace no mucho tiempo una pluma era una pluma (era una pluma). Es decir, que una pluma era, y es, un instrumento de escritura formado por una lámina metálica más o menos triangular –el plumín— con una ranura que permite la circulación de la tinta líquida desde el depósito hasta la punta inferior del triángulo.

Sí sabíamos que las había con plumín de oro y con plumín de acero inoxidable, que podían ser muy simples y austeras o casi lujuriosas en su decoración, que eran suaves o insufribles a la hora de escribir… Y que, a diferencia de los bolígrafos, no había que apretar.

Pero conforme nos educamos en esto de las plumas estilográficas aprendemos que el mundo es mucho más complejo. Los plumines, de repente, tienen carácter: algunos son rígidos, otros muestran cierta flexibilidad, y unos pocos se doblan casi como pinceles y pintan como tales. O dejan de ser simétricos y transforman la letra manuscrita. Asociado al plumín debe existir además un alimentador a la altura de las demandas de la escritura y descubrimos que hay plumas muy húmedas con mucha tinta en el punto y plumas muy secas con el flujo justo y hasta escaso.

Destripamos también mitos como el de que las plumas se hacen a la mano del dueño y no deben ser prestadas --¿cómo, entonces, hay un mercado de segunda mano tan activo?—; o ése que dice que hay que rodarlas y domarlas para que escriban bien… Benditas plumas japonesas.

O descubrimos las innovaciones tecnológicas en plumas antiguas; cómo evolucionan los sistemas de llenado, y los materiales, y las formas…

Poco a poco nos lanzamos a desensamblar alguna y a repararla. Compramos herramientas y buscamos esquemas técnicos de esa joya que tenemos entre las manos. Conseguimos papel de lija tan suave que parece terciopelo, y con mucho miedo nos aventuramos a pulir ese plumín que rasca un poco al escribir.

Sí, poco a poco, casi sin darnos cuenta, acumulamos plumas y conocimientos. Nos convertimos en aficionados o en obsesos. En acumuladores, o en usuarios apasionados, o en buscadores infatigables. Gastamos más dinero del que esperábamos en unos objetos ciertamente obsoletos. Pasamos como seres extraños ante los pocos amigos que saben de nuestra afición. Y hasta evitamos hablar de ella para evitar preguntas comprometidas: ¿cuántas plumas tienes? ¿Cuánto te ha costado ésa que tienes ahí? ¿Para qué tantas?

En fin, el proceso se ha completado. La metamorfosis es total. Somos unos otaku de las plumas.

(Pilot Elite Pocket Pen con plumín Script – Pilot Black)

Bruno Taut
Inagi, 14 de abril, 2010
[labels: estilofilia]