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Old Pilot - Matsuzakaya safety pen


haywoody

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Hi,

 

I sold a raw ebonite Danitrio Densho last year to help fund a Nakaya. Before I had the chance to put together my Nakaya order I blew the funds on a vintage Pilot pen that popped up on eBay:

 

http://haywoody.smugmug.com/photos/768038286_keZdE-L.jpg

 

I have seen references to other pens that Pilot produced for Matsuzakaya but nothing exactly like this. It is an eyedropper and has an interesting safety shut-off. The nib and section ring rotate 90 degrees. When the two red dots on the section are aligned, ink flows. When they are oriented 90 degrees apart the ink is shut off.

 

http://haywoody.smugmug.com/photos/768038347_B4MvM-L.jpg

 

I am interested in any information that can be provided about the pen. When was it produced? What is the shut-off mechanism called?

 

The shut-off mechanism functions properly but ink leaks slowly through the threaded section joint when I use it. Can somebody suggest a way to seal it that won't risk damaging the pen? Would silicone grease do the trick without damaging the ebonite?

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

/Woody

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Hi,

 

I sold a raw ebonite Danitrio Densho last year to help fund a Nakaya. Before I had the chance to put together my Nakaya order I blew the funds on a vintage Pilot pen that popped up on eBay:

 

http://haywoody.smugmug.com/photos/768038286_keZdE-L.jpg

 

I have seen references to other pens that Pilot produced for Matsuzakaya but nothing exactly like this. It is an eyedropper and has an interesting safety shut-off. The nib and section ring rotate 90 degrees. When the two red dots on the section are aligned, ink flows. When they are oriented 90 degrees apart the ink is shut off.

 

http://haywoody.smugmug.com/photos/768038347_B4MvM-L.jpg

 

I am interested in any information that can be provided about the pen. When was it produced? What is the shut-off mechanism called?

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

/Woody

 

 

 

Congratulations Woody, What you have is a Pilot "Hoshiawase" Which roughly translates as "Star System" In Pilot's first 1920 Catalog they offered pens in four filling systems. The plunger eyedropper (P-seki), Lever filler (T-seki), Safety Filler (think Waterman Spiral Safety (O-seki)), and the Star System (N-seki)

 

The Dots "Stars" were either painted red or white. I think the white ones were the pens sold under Pilot's name, and the red dots were for pens with Department store names on them. As you learned, these pens tend to leak, even when they were new, and they were not very popular. They were only made between 1918 and 1926, but they were all but phased out in their last several years.

 

The Safety Fillers and the Star Pens are by far the most difficult Pilot to find. I have about a dozen of them that I have collected over the years, most of them well worn, but I love these even more than my expensive maki-e pens. These pens are truly museum pieces and I can't help but shudder to hear that you intend to write with your's. I know I needn't say this, but please be careful with yours. I don't know of any way to keep them from leaking. Pilot's main selling point for these were that they leaked less than the Onoto-style under over feed pens that they competed against.

 

Examples of the first four Pilot fillers

http://www.kamakurapens.com/FPN/PilotFirstFour.jpg

 

 

Some pix of the Hoshiawasei

http://www.kamakurapens.com/FPN/PilotHoshiawasei1.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/FPN/PilotHoshiawasei2.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/FPN/PilotHoshiawasei3.jpg

 

http://www.kamakurapens.com/FPN/PilotHoshiawasei4.jpg

http://www.kamakurapens.com/Logo-1.jpg

 

Dr. Ron L. Dutcher

www.kamakurapens.com

Kamakura Pens on facebook

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That's a beautiful and rare pen Woody! Congratulations! I would have done the same. You can always pick up a Nakaya but these kind of pens don't come up for sale very often.

 

Ron, thanks a lot for the information and the photos

 

Nikolaos

Edited by Nikolaos
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Thanks Ron, that is exactly the kind of information I was after. I do still intend to use the pen but I promise to be careful with it. It definitely won't leave my desk.

 

I am quite sure the ink is coming through the threaded joint at the section and not through the joint closer to the nib. It seems to me that should be easy to seal with something that won't harm the pen. Silicon grease? Beewax?

 

By the way, can you share more pictures and info on the O-seki pens? The paperwork that came with my pen shows that type on one side. I would love to find an O-seki Pilot someday; I have always loved the Waterman safeties of the same style.

 

I will post a scan of the paperwork that came with the pen sometime. It looks very interesting and I would love to have a translation of it.

 

Nikolaos, thanks for the comments. Do I remember correctly that you also have a Pilot that was made for Matsuzakaya?

 

/Woody

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hi Woody,

 

yes that is correct. I have a lever filler Matsuzakaya that is either made my Platinum or by Pilot. The nib is a size 6 and the clip , faint imprint on barrel and the nib have the Matsuzakaya symbol on it. I think yours is 10-20 older

 

Nikolaos

Edited by Nikolaos
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  • 6 months later...

I would also use a hoshiawase pen if I had the chance.... No question about it--pens were made to be inked and to write with them.

 

This past weekend I saw a number of those pens--not for sale, unfortunately.

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TE5vrSBF0yI/AAAAAAAAAeI/-h2C3d9ILl0/s1600/IMG_1846-blog.jpg

The stars are aligned.

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TE5vryU0zgI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/FG14lCtQwL8/s1600/IMG_1847-blog.jpg

The stars are crossed, and the ink, sealed. Sort of.

 

Cheers,

 

Iosepus

Bruno Taut - Crónicas Estilográficas (https://estilofilos.blogspot.com)

The contents and pictures of this post belong to the author, here identified as Bruno Taut.

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