平井木工挽物所 Hirai Mokkou Banmonosho?

[Algester]

http://www.oct.zaq.ne.jp/afara208/

another Japanese pen maker based in Osaka City

 

http://www.pen-house.net/brand/brand0195.html

 

he mostly works with wood (90%-100%) to make pencil holders... Fountain pens and ball points

http://i.imgur.com/231kkQK.jpg

an example of his work in kuro-gaki or black persimmon wood nib is by Bock it seems

uuhhh I'm not sure about the name but 平井 守 (Hirai Osamu?) is the owner and maker

Edited August 18, 2015 by Algester

[mchenart]

The photo you have just posted shows a newer generation of wood pens made by the workshop. The older model has all wood section and does not have the plastic front part, and thus more prone to ink stains.

[Algester]

http://www.pen-house.net/detail/detail15670_009.html

it seem's he's still doing the almost full wood design...

[Dhruv_Sood]

Interesting. Just curious algester, where do you dig this stuff from?

His price seems great at ¥16,800. Please correct me if I am wrong. My iPhone safari browser doesn't translate the page so I'll open this on PC later.

What nibs does he use? And converter?

[sug]

Interesting. Just curious algester, where do you dig this stuff from?

His price seems great at ¥16,800. Please correct me if I am wrong. My iPhone safari browser doesn't translate the page so I'll open this on PC later.

What nibs does he use? And converter?

 

Here is what I found from the Pen-house description and reviews posted there:

 

• Yes, selling price is 16,800 yen including shipping within Japan (the one from the link above).

• There are even more exotic wood versions around 28,000 - 3,8000 yen range, including those made with urushi coating done in collaboration with urushi specialists.

• Nib is steel made by Schmidt.

• One-guy operation (he's been working with wood for over 40 years) producing 4-5 pens per day max.

• Can be used with international converter (2 cartridges, 1 converter included).

Edited August 20, 2015 by sug

[mchenart]

This photo of their cedar pen is probably from their official website. I thought the section of this 'old' model has a very interesting design. It has no threads, it is not a snap cap design, but a friction fit. So care must be taken not to force the barrel in too far. With this design, the whole barrel retains a minimalist and clean look that echoes the Japanese aesthetics.

 

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/Japanese%20hand%20crafted%20Cedar%20FP_zpsqdkhwunl.jpg

[Algester]

Interesting. Just curious algester, where do you dig this stuff from?

His price seems great at ¥16,800. Please correct me if I am wrong. My iPhone safari browser doesn't translate the page so I'll open this on PC later.

What nibs does he use? And converter?

as I have researched all of those Sailor Japanese inks I was led across through various sites... you can say for me that sailor ink thread became the backbone frame work for my net surfing methods towards JP pens which means I'm more into the modern side than the vintage... :<

[araybanfan]

What a coincidence, I was talking to my cousin about this brand last week. He is currently living in Japan. The gold nib version is in bock nib costing twice the price. I hope to get my hands on those soon.

[hari317]

Lovely pens, Thanks for sharing Algester.

 

Do they have any models with a pocket clip?

[Algester]

Lovely pens, Thanks for sharing Algester.

 

Do they have any models with a pocket clip?

looks like no sadly... besides the ball pen which is also made with the same wood material... Edited August 21, 2015 by Algester

[Dhruv_Sood]

I am contemplating buying one. But bock nib is making me a little uneasy.

[Algester]

if you like kaweco I dont see anything wrong with thinking because its a bock nib it would be bad?

[Dhruv_Sood]

It's the width of the line bock nib will put down. I Don't see an option for EF or UEF and western F (like Schmidt) is too broad for my writing.

[mehandiratta]

That is great for me.. I will order soon... Thanks for the info algester

[akafridi3]

Love this pen! Very minimal

[spaceink]

Anyone with recent thoughts on these? I am tempted to get one but not finding a lot of review info.

 

I personally don't mind the potential staining on a wood section (I love wabi) but am curious how easily that happens with these.

 

Also: the weight and durability of the different woods used? Any option too heavy? Any more prone to dents and nicks? Stains?

 

Does the Schmidt nib unit screw out? Do any other brands' nib units fit, as Schmidt does make them for other companies, as well?

 

Importantly, do you like it, after many months or years? Would you prefer it over other wood fountain pen options by, say, Platinum or Pilot?

 

Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks.

Edited August 19, 2016 by spaceink

[Algester]

Sadly I dont think anyone here has bought a pen from Hirai Osamu so even then I cant be certain of the pen's quality... Well there's a reason why I brought companies like this in here... Just in anycase

Edited August 19, 2016 by Algester

[spaceink]

Here is a video I found of the pens being made:

[SNAK]

I just noticed this thread as it has come back to the top page on this sub forum. I own both types of pens by Hirai Mokko(u) and did a post on the Show Us... thread back in April. Here's the post.

 

Just FYI the Japanese reading of 平井木工挽物所 is "ひらいもっこうひきものしょ" or Hirai Mokko(u) Hikimono sho.

 

Hirai --- person's last name

Mokko(u) --- woodworking

Hikimono --- wood turning

sho --- plant/factory (in this context, but it basically means "place")

 

Also someone PM'ed me after that post and this below is what I replied to them:

 

 

Hi XXXXXX,

These wood pens are really nice to hold and to use. The wood finish is very good and I love just rolling them in my hand, feeling the grain of wood. Having said that, Mr. Hirai of Hirai Mokko Hikimonojo (Hirai Woodworking Plant) is basically a wood turner and craftsman, making ball points, pencil holders, and fountain pen. So he doesn't specialise in fountain pen and uses just the kit Schmidt or Bock nib units to fit into the worked wood rods. I wonder if he is actually a fountain pen user himself beyond what he needs to do to test each pen after he finishes it.

So if you want the nib and feed worked on, your best bet will be to take it to a nib meister, or someone who is familiar with tinkering with nibs and feeds near you. I happen to be pretty comfortable with creating my own franken pens and odd nib and feed combinations from what I have at hand (from pens I am not using or pens I got for parts, both modern and vintage pens). When I bought my Hirai Mokko pens I expected that I had to swap the nibs out to my preferred ones and play with the feed a little bit as well, so I just did it myself. I do that a lot with TWSBI pens too.

I find that Bock/Jowo nib units are more compatible with wider range of currently available loose nib units, whereas I haven't come across too many Schmidt nib units (it could be due to my preference of pen manufacturers). My Tigerwood pen came with steel Bock nib unit that the whole nib unit (nib, feed, and the plastic nib/feed holder) screws into the barrel and the Quince Burl pen came with gold Schmidt nib unit. By the way both pens use the modern #5 size nibs. I have several sources of replacement nibs and nib units but the sources I use most are http://www.fpnibs.com/en/ and http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com. FPR is actually based in India so that might be handy for you, if you just want to replace the nibs by yourself. If you are planning to have the nib worked on by a nib meister it may be better to go with the gold nib which Hirai Mokko puts in in their screw-on cap range of pens in the 30,000yen price range. They use steel nibs for the slip-on cap range of pens in the 15,000yen price bracket wood pens. I recommend going with the Bock nib unit pens if you are going to replace the nibs yourself, and if you are going to have the nib reground or adjusted by a nib meister go with a gold nib in either Schmidt or Bock. I suppose you could ask Mr. Hirai.

I personally didn't have a direct communication with Mr. Hirai because I purchased my pens from a fountain pen store on Japanese Rakuten who sells Hirai Mokko pens. You could go that way too, I guess but then you will need to be able to manoeuvre the Japanese websites so it may be easier for you to deal directly with Hirai Mokko.

FYI here are a few links of Hirai Mokko pens dealers (with photos) in Japanese only (sorry) but may be interesting to see some of the photos of the pens:

http://www.oct.zaq.ne.jp/afara208/

https://www.pen-hous.../brand0195.html

http://www.shokunin.com/jp/hiraimokko/

http://www.otokomono...07585/list.html

http://www.rakuten.n...m/hirai-mokkou/

All the best, and I hope this message was somewhat useful.

Regards,

SNAK

[spaceink]

Awesome. Thank you for the post.

 

I am also a tinkerer, so I appreciate the info about the nibs. If I do get one, I'd likely try to see if a Franklin Cristoph might fit.

 

What i find most fascinating about the pen is the wood section being friction fit. To do that by hand seems pretty hard to me. The question is, do you find the wood expanding or contracting because of humidity/temperature being a problem at all with how well the cap closes?