Early Pilot Nibs. IV. Size 2

Size 2 nibs are significantly bigger than those of size 1, and reach a total length of about 23 to 24 mm. There seem to be some variations, towards a smaller size, in the dimensions of those units manufactured in the 1950s.

Manufacturing date	.Aug 1926.	.Sep 1937.	.Oct 1953.
Length (mm)	24.4	24.2	22.9
Width (mm)	5.8	6.0	5.8
Feed diameter (mm)	5.0	5.0	4.9
Weight (g)	0.3	0.2	0.3

Dimensions of three Pilot nibs of size 2 made of 14 K gold.

Nib made on November of 1926. Very simple engraving

From September of 1937.

From 1953. Note the JIS mark. The feed of this pen, and of those of the 53R models (1950s) are slightly thinner on the area attached to the section.

As can be seen on the pictures, there are size-2 nibs made of steel. The exact dimensions of these units are not available—the integrity of the pen is still more important that those data.

Steel nib of a nomikomi-shiki pen from around 1940.

A post-war 53R-T model. Note, again, the JIS mark.

The engravings on the nibs, as was the case with other sizes, show a clear evolution along the years of production.

Pilot Justus, 1979 model – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, August 28th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, plumín

Zôhiko

There is a relatively new guy –albeit old as well— in town. Zôhiko is indeed a old company as it was founded in 1661 in Kyoto. Its original business was ivory –the zô in the name actually means elephant—, but with the second generation of owners the market expanded to include maki-e and related techniques and the ivory section ended up disappearing.

But only recently Zôhiko included fountain pens in its catalog of luxury goods. This happened in 2008 by means of an association with the French craftsman Michel Audiard.

More recently, around 2012, a new series of fountain pens were produced. These pens were the initiative of fountain pen entrepreneur Mr. Katayama and Zôhiko, and involved a group of unique Japanese craftsmen.

Raden, on the front, and maki-e.

Body and feed were made by Mr. Momose Yasuaki—an old, now retired, lathe master well known and respected in the Japanese scene. He was also in charge of the filling system, Japanese eyedropper (i. e. with shut-off valve), which is one of his fields of mastery.

Nibs, made of 18 K gold, carry the monogram KMK (with the first K inverted), meaning Katayama-Makino-Kubo. This is a brand name registered by Mr. Katayama. However, these Zôhiko nibs were manufactured by jeweler Mr. Tsukii Masao.

The 18 K gold nib made by Mr Tsukii Masao. Note the monogram KMK engraved on the nib.

The feed is also imprinted with the initials KMK, the registered brand by Mr Katayama.

The final assembly of the pen was made by nibmeister Kubo Kohei, well know to the readers of these Chronicles.

The maki-e decoration, finally, was commissioned to Mr Yamamoto Munori, a Zôhiko regular “in-house” craftsman.

The results of the good work of Mr. Yamamoto Munori.

The final result is an outstanding collection of maki-e decorated pens. But they do not come cheap or in large numbers. Of the raden-decorated unit, only three were made at a cost of JPY 1.200.000. Of the rest, between 4 and 6 units of each were produced. Their price is JPY 600.000, save for the unit with spiral motifs, whose price is JPY 800.000.

JPY 800.000.

Some of the pieces carry a signature, but it simply says Zôhiko.

Now, are they good pens? How do they write? The fact that a jeweler and not a nibmeister crafted the nibs is an unsettling and worrisome detail… But maybe the question is a different one: would anyone ink any of them?

Pilot Custom 823 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Nakano, August 13-14th, 2015
etiquetas: Zôhiko, nibmeister Kubo Kohei, Momose Yasuaki, maki-e, raden

Chilton Violet

After having seen a great number of filling systems on Japanese pens, both imported from the West (::1::, ::2::, etc.), and originated (::1::, ::2::, ::3::, to name just a few) in Japan, it will be no surprise to find yet another one.

This time, the pen –by the name of Violet— implements the pneumatic filling system initially created by the Chilton Pen Company in 1925. This Japanese pen, however, was manufactured in the early 1950s.

On the barrel, '"VIOLET" / TRADE MARK / Fountain Pen'. And a very Parker clip.

As for the rest, the nib is made of steel and does not carry any reference to the pen brand, which raises the concern of whether this nib was the original unit of this pen. However, that is not the relevant feature of the Violet.

The nib, made of steel, carries the following inscription: "WARRANTED / EASY / BEST / PEN / 1". This unit could be a replacement.

These are its dimensions:

Length closed: 121 mm
Length open: 105 mm
Length posted: 142 mm
Diameter: 11 mm
Weight (dry): 11.5 g

The barrel extended, the pen ready to be filled.

The hole at the barrel end typical of pneumatic fillers.

This pseudo-Chilton Violet is a rare pen even in Japan, but it illustrates the great variety of filling systems explored by Japanese makers long its more than 100 years of history.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Pilot Bamboo – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Nakano, August 8th, 2015
etiquetas: Chilton, Violet, soluciones técnicas

Early Cross Nib

Nagahara’s double and triple (and even quadruple) nibs are, arguably, the most interesting development in fountain pens in recent years. But, how recent is that development?

Sailor started marketing cross nibs (2-fold nibs) by the late 1990s. Most of them, as is the case now, were made over open nibs—those present on the current line of Profit/1911 and ProGear line of Sailor pens. But there were also some cross nibs made over the old style finger-shape nib present in the Sailor catalog since the early 1970s.

The only engraving on the pen, other than on the nib, is on the cap lip and simply reads "Sailor".

Such is the case of the following pen. It is a luxury desk pen of the Precious Wood (Mei Boku, 銘木) series. The oversized cap, with no clip, posts securely on the barrel and provides with the usual extra length of desk pens. The four-tined nib ensures a rich flow and a thick line for the typical purpose of these pens—to sign. It is made of 21 K gold. The filling system is by proprietary cartridges and converters.

These are the pen dimensions:

Length closed: 163 mm
Length open: 124 mm
Length posted: 182 mm
Diameter: 15 mm
Weight: 33.0 g

Three different Cross nibs. The one on top is a Cross Concord (with Emperor, the overfeed) with the current nib engraving. The nib on the bottom left is a regular Cross nib with the previous engraving. The nib of the Precious Wood desk pen is on the bottom right. Its engraving only says "21 K / Sailor".

The point of the desk pen is significantly smaller than that of the current Cross nib (bottom left on the previous picture, albeit with the old engraving).

This pen was made in early 2000s.

My thanks to Mr. Demboku and to Wagner member Yoppee!

Pilot Custom 823 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 29th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor, plumín, nibmeister Nagahara

Pilot Capless - 1984 - FCN-500R and variations

Introduction:

As was described on the more extended introduction to this model, this evolution of the CN-400BS was released in 1984 (some sources speak of 1981, though). This model is commonly known as the “faceted” Capless (usually as Pilot) or Vanishing Point (usually as Namiki). It was made in a number of colors and included some limited editions.

Two faceted Pilot Capless in green and black.

Pairs of Pilot-Namiki Capless-Vanishing Point in different colors. The clips are engraved as either Pilot or Namiki. My thanks to Mr. Capless.

Features:

Codes.	FCN-500R, FCB-800R-B, FC-1MR-B. All these codes belong basically to the same pen, the last two being of the all-black models. The different numbers in the codes show the price of each variation. This model is made of aluminum and plastic in a number of colors.
Original_price.	FCN-500R: JPY 5000 (1984-1998) FCB-800R-B: JPY 8000 (1989) FC-1MR-B: JPY 10000 (1999)
Production_years.	1984-1999. Possibly longer.
Nib_unit.	Type VII, variations a and b. Gold 14 K and steel, all in golden color. 18_K gold nibs were made after 1998 for the following model FC-15SR.
Filling_system	Single spare cartridge. CON-20 and CON-50 can be used.
Opening_system.	“Knock system” (push button).

The all-black model in matte finish. Photo courtesy of Antolin.

Dimensions:

	FCN-500R & variations
Length closed	137 mm
Length open	134 mm
Diameter	11.8 mm
Weight	17.6 g

Nib unit:

Type VII, variations a (common to the previous model CN-400BS from 1973) and b. In 14 K gold and in steel, both with golden finish. 18 K gold nibs available from 1998.

This nib unit uses single spare cartridges and converters CON-20 and CON-50.

Variations a (top) and b (bottom) of the type VII of Capless nibs. Variation a is present on the previous model from 1973, but can be used on the FCN-500R of 1984.

Additional information:

Nibs are engraved with the production place and date, but not so the bodies.

Testing unit of a Namiki Vanishing Point for a shop. My thanks to Mr. Capless.

My thanks to Mr Capless and to Foro de Estilográficas member Antolin.

Back to the "Pilot Capless - 50 years" page.

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless

Early Pilot Nibs. III. Size 1

Size 1 nibs by Pilot are not that different in size to those of size 0. Here we can see the dimensions of two size-1 units:

Manufacturing date	.Oct 1955.	.Nov 1937.
Length (mm)	21.7	22.7
Width (mm)	5.3	5.8
Feed diameter (mm)	5.0	5.0
Weight (g)	0.2 - 0.3	0.3

Dimensions of two Pilot nibs of size 1.

Nib made on November of 1937. "WARRANTED / "PILOT" / 14 K / MADE IN JAPAN / -<1>- / HARDEST / IRIDIUM".

Nib made on October of 1955. "WARRANTED / PILOT / 14 K / -<1>- / MADE IN / JAPAN".

There are some obvious differences between these two units made 18 years apart. And the feed diameter seems even smaller than that of the size 0 nib described some days ago.

The engravings of these two nibs are very similar, but this detail changes with the manufacturing date, as we will see along this series of texts

Parker 51 – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 19th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, plumín

Early Pilot Nibs. II. Size 0

Among early –pre-1955—Pilot nibs, size 0 seems to be the smallest of them. I have only seen it made of 14 K gold.

These are its dimensions, but these data should not be taken very strictly—manufacturing processes, quality controls were not as they are today, and some variations over these measurements should be expected:

• Length: 20.6 mm
• Width (shoulders): 5.2 mm
• Weight: 0.25 g
• Feed diameter: 5.1 mm

This particular nib was manufactured on February of 1935. The engraving reads “WARRANTED / “PILOT” / 14 K / MADE IN / JAPAN / -<0>- / HARDEST / IRIDIUM”.

Pilot Custom 823 – Montblanc White Forest

Bruno Taut
Chuo, July 10th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, plumín

Early Pilot Nibs. I. Introduction

Few things are standard in the world of fountain pens. Each pen brand seems to create its small world with its own systems of names and measurements. A very clear example of this lack of standards is the way pen makers number their nibs. Many aficionados as well as traders simplify the wide gamut of Bock nibs as being of sizes 5, 6 or 8, which are, in actual terms, the diameters of their corresponding feeds. But those numbers have little to do with Pilot’s –to name just one company— nibs labeled as 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50. Sailor and Platinum, on their side, do not even bother to number their nibs nowadays.

A Bock nib, with a 6 mm feed, on an Eboya pen (formerly Nebotek).

Sailor nibs in three different sizes.

Four modern Pilot nibs in size 15.

In the early days of Pilot, the numbering system was very different: from 0 to 8, with the possible exception of 7, plus 20 and 50. Now, do those numbers mean anything?

With this text I am starting a new series of Chronicles aiming at describing all these nibs, and to analyze whether those numbers really meant anything. This is, needless to say, a work in progress.

Four Pilot nibs from the 1920s. They are labeled as sizes 1 and 3.

One additional note: The title speaks of “early” nibs. By that I mean all those nibs that followed a more or les consistent system of numeration. This came to an end with the implementation of the Super model in 1955. Up to that year, the vast majority of Pilot pens sported open nibs (i. e, showing the feed as well) labeled with what seemed to be a normalized numbering. Therefore, “early” means, more or less, before 1955. And implicit on this classification is the hope that those standards were maintained over all those years.

This series is a joint effort of some pen enthusiasts who offered their assistance to compile all the information. Their names are N. Syrigonakis and A. Zúñiga.

Platinum pocket pen, black stripes – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Chuo, June 13th, 2015
etiquetas: plumín, Pilot, Bock, Sailor, Platinum, Eboya

Sailor in Osaka

The following pen is a limited edition. It is a Professional Gear Realo made, needless to say, by Sailor, but it is not a regular Sailor pen. This model in matte black and red was commissioned by a group of pen users from Osaka organized as the YY Pen Club.

An unusual and very limited Professional Gear Realo.

Some more surprises on the nib...

And there are more variations beyond the unique –so to speak— coloring of the pen: the nib is not engraved with any sign save with the gold purity –18 K gold— and the nib point. 18 K is not the usual gold grade implemented by Sailor on its pens (save in the case of the ultra-thin Chalana), but we have already seen 18 K Sailor nibs on Davidoff’s pens.

Unmarked nib, save for the gold purity and the point width.

A very interesting detail here is how keen Sailor is to make limited editions for whoever demanded it. It seems that the basic order is of just 10 pens. On this particular case, YY Pen Club ordered 30 units, not numbered. Its distribution is only done through that club of pen users. In that regard, this is not so much of a limited as it is a commemorative pen for a private organization.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Sailor pocket pen, quasi inlaid nib – Montblanc Racing Green

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 5th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor, mercado

Datation of Japanese Pens. VI. Sailor's Bodies

On the previous Chronicle we have seen how the manufacturing date is codified on Sailor nibs. But that is not the only dating system used by Sailor—pen bodies were also dated for some time.

Between 1958 and some time around 1970, Sailor pens had their sections engraved with a two letter code, either or in lower or in upper case:

YZ

(Occasionally, there is a period between the two letters).

On it, Y stands for the year of productions following a simple rule: A (or a) is 1958, B (b) is 1959, C (c) is 1960, and so on. Z is the month of production, with A being January; B is February and so on.

This pen is encoded as C.E--May of 1960. It corresponds to the pen shown on the following picture.

This is the Jubilee pen made by Sailor on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (1961). This particular unit, as we saw on the previous picture, was manufactured on May of 1960.

This system, as said before, lasted until ca. 1970, when the system changed to a three digit code identical to that used on the nibs: abb, where bb is the month and a is the last digit of the year of production.

This 3-digit system did not last long. On my records I can only see it between 1971 and 1974. As a result, modern Sailor pens carry no dating code on their bodies

This pen is dated as 109, which might mean September of 1971.

This is the nib of the previous pen, which is one of the rare examples of dual datation. On this case, the nib carries the manufacturing date of 108--August of 1971. 1971 seems a very reasonable date of production given the fact that the nib is made of 23 K gold, and the gold fever of the Japanese pen makers took place in the early 1970s.

The previous pen, posted. A 23 K gold nib in a pocket pen.

Another interesting detail is that it is very rare to see a (Sailor) pen dated on BOTH nib and body, although there are some few examples of dual datation.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Sailor pocket pen, quasi-inlaid nib (dated as 301 on the section) – Montblanc Racing Green

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, June 20th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor