Kyoto Celluloid Pens

[mke]

Does anybody have such a pen?

Can you recommend?

What size is their Schmidt nib? 5,6? Exchangeable for e.g. a Jovo?

 

[Algester]

Hmm its not a company that I'm familiar with...

[Mech-for-i]

Depending on specific models really but most of them use the no.5 ; the pen themselves are quite pretty and the workmanship is on par with yhe big names but not what I would say superior. You really are paying for the materials, and the look of it. I had a couple of them both old discontinued ones. They seems to fair reasonably well.

[mke]

That sounds good. I like celluloid pens. Especially green ones.

[JasonF2]

Has anyone found a reliable source for Kyoto Celluloid pens? I have been looking for them for several months but it seems they are fairly hard to come by.

[Pen_Padawan]

I will be in Tokyo next week, I can check the two Tokyo stores for price and inventory.

[mke]

> Has anyone found a reliable source for Kyoto Celluloid pens?

 

They have an online store:

http://kyotocelluloidjp.ocnk.net/

 

Email: shop@kyotocelluloid.com

[JasonF2]

> Has anyone found a reliable source for Kyoto Celluloid pens?

 

They have an online store:

http://kyotocelluloidjp.ocnk.net/

 

Email: shop@kyotocelluloid.com

 

 

Thanks much!

 

I will be in Tokyo next week, I can check the two Tokyo stores for price and inventory.

 

Thank you kindly, feel free to DM me, if that's easier.

[Algester]

for the price it tells me it seems to be celluloid acetate and not celluloid nitrate... hmmm

[mke]

Isn't cellulloid nitrate out of use since long times?

[AltecGreen]

Isn't cellulloid nitrate out of use since long times?

No.

 

The use was revived in the 90's for pens. The Brown Arco material used by Omas for example. The use may die again because there might not be currently anyone making celluloid nitrate right now in a form suitable for pens. Celluloid is had never gone out of production for things like guitar picks and pickguards. The problem is that all of the material is in thin sheet form and not immediately usable for pens.

[mke]

I read on Wikipedia that there are two factories in China still making this material. The others have apparently abandoned the production after several strong explosions during the nitration process of cellulose.

[langere]

So - is this pen worth it? It appears to have an ordinary Schmidt steel nib - am I mistaken?

 

Erick

[mke]

I looked a bit around and found some more information about the material they use.

 

"Natural material celluloid
In 1870 (Meiji 3), the thermoplastic resin which mankind first got was made from wood and cotton, it was a natural resin "Celluloid".
There is a property (biodegradability) of being decomposed by microorganisms and returning to the soil, although it is the oldest material, it can be said to be the ecology material that is just now required."

 

Sounds strange. But the pictures here https://image.rakuten.co.jp/auc-youstyle/cabinet/kyoto/ktc_0-1.jpg show that it is apparently made from a molded "celluloid".

 

https://www.vintagepens.com/FAQmfr/celluloid.shtml

 

"Celluloid is usually cited as the first synthetic plastic. Its origins go back as far as the 1850s, but as a commercial product it is to be dated to the 1860s, with successful large-scale manufacture being more a development of the 1870s. It was only in the 1920s, however, that fountain pen makers wholeheartedly embraced the material. Unlike hard rubber, celluloid could be made in a huge range of colors and patterns, simulating almost any natural material imaginable. Although some cheap pens were made of molded celluloid, nearly all better pens were made of rod or plugged tube stock that was machined to shape.

...

In the modern world, true celluloid is almost extinct. Much of the colorful "celluloid" used in contemporary pens, eyeglass frames, and fashion accessories comes out of Italy, but it is in fact based on other forms of cellulose -- cellulose acetate, in particular. ..."

[stan]

Where to buy Kyoto Pens is included in their website. Several Tokyo Hands stores are mentioned. Kyoto Pens seems to have met some success. One of their early offerings is similar to early Kato or Long models and readily sold out. Interesting celluloid pens are high on many peoples lists.

 

Why pooh-pooh Schmidt nibs? They're probably better than many others in the vintage and modern markets. Buy the pen and change out the nib to something you like better.

[Pen_Padawan]

 

 

Thanks much!

 

 

Thank you kindly, feel free to DM me, if that's easier.

 

 

 

Hi JasonF2,

Tokyu Hands in Tokyo Shibuya has the entire Kyoto Celluloid line as of today. I'm new to FPN and finding it difficult to add images or link images, I'll DM you. Let me know if you have any questions. I will also be in Kyoto in January, do you know if their factory is open for viewing?

 

http://s50.photobucket.com/user/Pen_Padawan/library/Kyoto%20Celluloid?sort=3&page=1

[mke]

I got answer from Kyoto Celluloid regarding the materials. They told me that they have several material producers and they are re-confirming before giving a definite answer. They also showed me a new pen coming out in October which they say is real celluloid (nitrate). I am just now re-confirming if I am allowed to show here the picture. They also told me that it is more and more difficult to obtain celluloid materials for their pens.

I will keep you updated.

[mke]

They sent me a mail confirming that their pens "Goldfish", "Sakura", "Pine needle", "Kurodan" are all true celluloid based on cellulose nitrate.

[Tinjapan]

Acetate celluloid does not have the same smell, or at least mine does not.

[Algester]

To verify what material is used get one of their pens and smell it if it smells remotely like mint (somewhat close smell to camphor) then its the real stuff