Thoughts On This Pen? Worth?

[Copper33]

Hi,

 

Had a friend ask me about this fountain pen, but I wasn't able to give a good opinion of its worth. He purchased it and I was able to take a good look at it yesterday, but still unsure of the history/worth. It has a very interesting ink feeding system; no ink sac, just appears to be gravity fed. Anyone out there with a little better knowledge on this pen/maker/its worth that I could pass on to my friend. I attached the original ebay post and a couple picture I took.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Fujitsu-Fountain-Pen-R14k-/141580108492?nma=true&si=QLHVTNwYFnQT1vm5T9Z8S4tdI7g%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

 

 

[zepp]

Pretty urushi lacquer there

[jar]

Nice pen but likely not worth much. It looks like the design is silk screened or a decal and the nib is a warranted steel nib with gold plate.

[AndrewC]

It is referred to as an eye-dropper filler, and you unscrew the end of the barrel a little to get the ink to flow , and then screw it back in when done writing to help prevent leakage. (I can see the line of the seam in the ebay snaps) If you do a search for "Japanese eye-dropper pens" on-line you will find more info on how they work, upsides and downs, etc that can be very helpful to know. See here for starts-http://www.nibs.com/danitrio-eyedropper-for-fountain-pens.htm

If you smell the pen-sniff inside the cap or body- you might be able to tell if the pen is ebonite(a hard rubber, will smell like tires), celluloid (camphor smell), or an acrylic. Also, run your fingers over the painting on the outside? If it is textured the odds are good that there is at least some hand-painting done. Totally smooth and it is probably an applique or decal.There are some marks where it looks like the cap was posted and the paint/sticker wore through a little. Use a loupe to take a closer look. If it seems there are multiple layers it may well be maki-e. If it is only two layers it is probably a decal. A warranted nib can be an excellent writer but denotes a cheaper brand. Value? No idea.

[ehemem]

Yes, it looks like a Japanese eyedropper pen with real urushi decoration. I cannot make out what is on the nib. Can you post a picture of the whole pen or multiple pics of the design? And can you provide what is on the nib?

[Copper33]

Thanks everyone!