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I just found this mini-documentary on YouTube and found it fascinating so I thought I'd share it.

On how the natural inks of Fumisome are created https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVD5elOiSYM

Hello! I l've already posted this on the Far East section but I figured this is a better place to post this. I need help identifying these Pilot pens as I've searched everywhere with no luck. Also, sorry that the pictires are too lowres and have a watermark, couldn't do anything about that

Dear all, (I hope I am posting in the right part of the forum. Apologies if I am not and, moderators, please help me move this message where appropriate.) TL;DR: This is about an issue with a 1970s Pilot Elite, Soft 18K Nib. I have never seen something like this before, but I suspect there is something wrong with the iridium tip of this pen. In plain English, I think it's missing. Could you please comment? Details: I just received a few pens from an eBay seller from Japan. One of the pens felt very scratchy on my thumb, so I started looking at its with 10x optics. Here are the photos, Figures 1-3, showing the nib overhead, sideways, and underneath, respectively. The original photo from seller seems to me to show the nib with tip, but I will not display it for now so I do not damage the reputation of the seller (which is high wherever I checked). My questions are: What do you think could be the problem? Is there a missing (iridium) tip? Is this reason to contact the seller and complain? What would be a typical request - money back? Is there any other way I could fix this? Can the nib be re-tipped? Who could do this and what would be typical expenses? Many thanks. Figure 1. Nib from above. Figure 2. Nib from the side. Figure 3. Nib from underneath.

Dear FPN'ers, This Grand Offer is for RANGA Handmade Pens Model 5 in Classic Ebonites and Premium Acrylics. The pens are completely handcrafted These are very Giant Size Pens. It is treat for Giant Pen lovers. .Ebonite is , highly beautiful , Durable, evergreen ,long lasting , Classic and favorite material for Pen lovers. It has Vintage Characteristics. Premium Acrylics are very attractive ,looks Gorgeous and appeals Visually very much. Model 5 is Cigar Shape Pen in seamless finish.It caps in less than 1 turn. It is clipless Pen. This Model is available in 120 colours now. Bock #8 Titanium nibs are available now in different line widths,. It is most sought after nibs among Fountain pen lovers. Ranga Model 5 and Bock #8 nibs brings the best of both the world to Fountain Pen lover's table. This offer is Valid till 15th December -21 Capped Length - Approximately 7 Inches Cap Dia - 19mm, Barrel Dia - 19mm, Section Dia - 14mm at Thickest part and 12mm at thinnest part. Making Time : 2 weeks Price: Base Price for Ranga Pens with Ranga Screw in nibs and German Converters: Premium Acrylic -89USD,Premium Ebonite :89USD, Regular Acrylic -69USD, Regular Ebonite -69USD You can upgrade it to plenty of nib choices with extra charge Shipping charges: Through Courier (Quicker delivery-4 to 9 days) .USA : 19USD, Central Europe : 15USD, Singapore/ Malaysia: 15USD. Rest of the world: It varies from country to country from 10USD -19USD. Kindly note that Shipping charges are very high, we bear the 50% of shipping charge and collecting the rest from customers. Payment: Paypal id mpkandan@gmail.com To book your pen, Please fill the below form . all details are included in the form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQtPfXpJh9XnDqbJ7M3oIDlVWzQPM0hir9T26blec3RqdZYA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0 Regards, Kandan.M.P Ranga Pen Company

Hello, We are writing to inform you of the service of our Chinese lacquer workshop. Our workshop named "Zhizhai". Our lacquer workshop in Guangdong that introduces traditional Chinese lacquer techniques. At the end of this year, we plan to have a fun project for fountain pen lovers. We are professional lacquer ware craftsmen. Our main works are lacquer ware and furniture, interiors of hotels and luxury cars. From time to time, at the request of a friend, I apply natural lacquer to their private fountain pen. We don't know how to use this site at all. Should I write in this comment section if I have an event for this fountain pen lover? If you know how to effectively inform us of an event, please let us know. We started Instagram with the help of Japanese friends because of internet regulations in China. Because Chinese lacquer techniques are little known in the world. In the future, we will post many rare Chinese traditional patterns on Instagram. And although they are mainly samples of authentic lacquer ware, we can express the pattern with a fountain pen. This is our Instagram account. @zhizhai_lacquer This is our website. We have prepared a basic knowledge page for real lacquer. Chinese lacquer culture uses so many colors, all of which are real lacquer. https://www.zhizhai.shop/ We look forward to your support and advice. Thank you very much for your interest in lacquer culture. Zhizhai Xiao Guan

Is there anyone who can help me make a purchase in Yokohama please? I would like to buy a Lamy fountain pen from a local shop but cannot find anyone to help me. Please let me know. Thank you

So I am looking into purchasing a Platinum 3776 Celluloid at some point and noticed some things that I have a few questions about, so, here they are: 1.) Why are some models so much more expensive than others? Like there is one over $1,000 and there is another for $382. Why? 2.) Are they real celluloid or cellulose acateate? 3.) Is PenSachi a “legit” retailer? It is a lot less expensive like most Japanese retailers, and I was wondering if any of you in the US have had experience with this retailer, I would appreciate if you valued tell your experiences. 4.) Do any of you have this pen? Do you like it? Thank you all in advance for your responses! I really appreciate it. W. H. Major

Hello! First of all, this is only my third review on FPN, so if you can please leave constructive criticism below! I would love to improve the quality of my reviews. The Pilot E95S seems to be like the least expensive gold nib pen that is consistently offered here in the U.S. . The only cheaper one I can think of is the Platinum PTL-5000A, which I would love if it was consistently offered in the U.S., but they seem to constantly discontinue it. So, this is a very popular first gold nib pen. It was my second gold nib, so I did get it relatively early in my fountain pen hobby. For a quick summary of the review, I like this pen. I don’t love it, but it’s is great value, and I definitely recommend it. Design and Build Quality (8.5/10) For the most part, this design is great. It is slim, but comfortable, has a great inlaid nib (which I love), is compact, but bigger when posted, and the feeling of capping and uncapping is great. But, Pilot’s black resin does not hold up to the little metal things on the inside of the cap that hold it on. It has fine scratches on it, which are pretty apparent. Now, I am one of those people who sort of like that, and don’t really want pens to look brand new, I want them to look like I used them. But I can understand how this can annoy some people. That’s why it’s a 8.5/10, instead of a 10/10. Nib Performance and Writing Experience (9/10) This nib is great. I have a fine nib, which is 14k gold and inlaid. It is smooth, and quite soft. I would call this a flex, semi-flex, or soft nib, but a quite soft nib. By that I mean that you can get some line variation, but not that much where you can use it for calligraphy, just a bouncy writing experience. The only thing is it is just a bit particular with inks. Both Noodler’s Walnut and Diamine Chocolate Brown were just a bit too dry for it, and it had some skipping. But all Herbin, Jacques Herbin, and Iroshizuku work great with it from my experience. With them the pen is not especially wet, but I wouldn’t call it dry either. With the writing sample, I used Jacques Herbin Terre d’Ombre, which is currently my favorite ink but might be replaced by Robert Oster Caffe Crema when that ink sample gets to me, and on 52gsm cream Tomoe River Paper. Conclusion This a great pen, and a great value! I highly recommend it. It’s really great! Little Note- It seems like every place I go to except for JetPens sells it as the Pilot E95S for $136, but JetPens sells it as the Pilot Elite 95S for $136 as well. Just a little thing. Edit- It was to commemorate the 95th anniversary of Pilot, but is not a limited edition. It also comes with the Pilot CON-40, but can fit the discontinued CON-20. Now the pictures: The second to last photo shows scratches on the barrel, and the last one shows the metal things on the inside of the cap.

https://www.ancora-shop.jp/ So it looks like the partnership(?) between PLUS and Sailor is moving forward at a fairly rapid pace, with the first collaborative shop opening on March 26. Conveniently located in Ginza, this store seems to display a range of Sailor pens and inks - as well as the occasional ink workshop and product maintenance clinic event. Then there's the bunch of Sailor limited products such as the inks and birthstone gem pens (and I believe a PLUS stationary set as well). Hopefully someone in Japan will have a chance to stop by and provide a firsthand account.

https://bungu.plus.co.jp/special/feature/yozakura_collabo/ Well, I think most people who's been paying attention to the Japanese market have heard about the new relation between PLUS and sailor. It's no secret that many are worried about what's going to emerge out of this integration. Perhaps too early to tell, but at least this stationary set combining a notebook, ink, and pen seems OK for the price charged - and definitely targeting female users or as a gift set.

Dear FPN'ers , Ranga Pens wishes you all Happy Valentine's Day Regards, Kandan.M.P Ranga Pen Company

What are your thoughts regarding sailor’s 110-th anniversary preparations ? What do you think they will announce ?

Hello all, I was lucky enough(and with generous enough relatives) to be able to procure a new Sailor Fairy Tales Vega pen for my birthday! I decided to try the medium fine nib as I have a Sailor F already and wanted a bit of variety. I was wondering what inks paired well with the Sailor MF nibs, and am open to color suggestions as well. Apologies as to the direction of the photo; technical limitations. Thanks for your input. I am writing a lot at this time so I can justify a new bottle of ink if necessary.

Background Here is a short review (and lots of pictures) of the Wancher Japan Blue limited edition fountain pen. This is a Wancher pen with Sailor base. TLDR - it is a beautiful made, striking pen whcih writes like a Sailor pro gear slim/1911 Std but feels more substantial (in a positive way) in the hand. It is a great collector's item as it is a limited edition, but also a very functional writer. Speaking of being LE, that is somewhat diluted by several repeat runs (I think 3 now). Packaging I personally don't care much for packaging, but a pen of this price probably warrants a good effort, which can double as display case. Wancher does not disappoint. The pen comes in a nice packaging which splits open from the middle to reveal the pen. Not much else is supplied except the pen, the converter and some papers about the pen. But this is nice understated display case which has my approval. Appearance & Design - The pen is, simply put, gorgeous and writes very well. The pen has a beaten aluminium body and cap dyed with real indigo flowers to provide an absolutely beautiful deep blue colour that veers to purple at some angles from the light. the hand hammered pattern is exquisite, and (according to Wancher) is meant to invoke the designing on the guards of samurai swords (Tsuba). The section is a black standard to Sailor's pro gear slim and 1911 Std pens. The finial has a sailor logo. there are 5 Chrome rings: at the top and base of the cap, before the section threads, and at the beginning and end of the metal part fo the barrel. The one at the bottom of the cap is a thick one (about 0.5 inch) and has the words "Oita made" and "Japan Blue" engraved. Here is a picture of the pen uncapped, with the nice (though for my tastes a bit small) Sailor 14K medium nib on display: There is no clip. This causes the pen to roll on a desk without a roll stop. It may have been a design decision to showcase more of that beaten metal pattern, but I personally don't think that a clip would be amiss. Some more pictures near the window (where the purple gleam comes through nicely : Construction & Quality The construction seems to be of the beaten aluminium tubes attached to an resin base. This means there is a step down at the top and bottom extremes where the aluminium tubes end and the black resin is exposed. Construction is to a high standard. Everything feels dense, solid and just right. there is a satisfying heft to it, which makes it easier to hold (though see my comments on writing comfort below). The only asterisk to this is that the inner cap liner disengaged from the cap and came with the barrel once. I had probably screwed in the barrel too tight on that occassion but this should not have happened. Nevertheless, after I firmly pushed the cap liner into place, it has never come off again. Weight, Dimensions and ergonomics I would call this a medium size, but weighty pen. The size dimensions (which are below) are very similar to a pelikan M600 or between a duofold centennial and international. However, the weight is higher than either because of the aluminium body (but still, I wouldn't call this pen heavy). Length/ weight (capped): 133.3mm (5.25 inch) / 36 gms (the website says 45 gms for some reason; but my pen definitely weights 36gms) Length/ weight (uncapped) : 122 mm (4.8 inch) / 19 gms Length (posted) : 163 mm (6.42 inch) The posting is not deep at all. The cap basically covers the exposed resin part at the very bottom of the barrel. But it is very secure as there is a clicking mechanism to hold the cap in place. The pen is longer and heftier than both its close cousins the Sailors pro gear slim and 1911 std. It is therefore more comfortable to hold than either. But not perfect, because : the pen is just about long enough to use uncapped, but I find it marginally small. However, I find it marginally back weighted when using it capped (the cap is almost half the weight, after all, and doesn't post deep)! Solution: to stop cribbing, and just get used to one of them! Nib & Performance It has the 14K smaller Sailor nib found in the Pro Gear Slim and 1911 Std. and mine is a M. It writes beautifully as expected of a Sailor, but like all their 14K hard nibs, there is very little springiness. There is that typcally Sailor 'pencil like' feedback, and the flow is good, without being gushing. The pen did write a little dry out of the box when I received it, and I had to work on the feed and nib a wee bit to get it just right. I don't mind, but a pen of this price shouldn't require user mod to work perfectly, especially since a lot of buyers will not be comfortable tinkering with such a costly item. Some writing samples: First with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz: This one with Lamy Azurite (sorry about the bleed through from the other side); which I think is the perfect shade of ink for this pen! Filling System & Maintenance – It has basic Sailor CC as filling mechanism; which as you know...em..works. But it doesn't hold much ink, which may disappoint some. I mostly don't mind as I like changing pens and inks often. Cost & Value – It costs about $ 550. The value will depend if you want an EDC, in which case you can get the same sailor nib and performance on a cheaper pen, such as any std. Pro Gear Slim or Sapporo. If you like this size of pen, a Pelikan M600 will generally be cheaper. However, if you like pens which are unique, made of unique materials, and still function as perfectly good writers, then this may appeal to you. Conclusion Beautiful pen and glad to have bought it. I wish they found a way to put a 21K sailor nib without increasing the cost and thickness (as I really love those); but it is still great as it is.

Hi, I've put into one article some information how to start with urushi on fountain pens. - tools you will need (from surface to brushes and abrasives) - materials, types of lacquer - basic practice advice - "recipe" for basic tamenuri https://tamenuri.com/how-to-start-with-urushi/ I hope you will find it useful. Right now due to COVID it may be tricky to order some of these products. In Europe all of them are available at DICTUM. Japanese shops (Watanabe Shoten, Kato Kohei) will not deliver right now to most destinations (Japan Post suspended deliveries).

Hi, A story is quite typical for me. I get interested in something, the idea "cooks" for some time, and then blow and burns. And get another PhD in something, be it building a car, making DYI cosmetics, grinding nibs, and most recently - URUSHI. Instead of writing to much, I'll show some pictures. Below I'll try to explain what is it all about. My journey is being documented on my Instagram account : https://www.instagram.com/tamenuri_boru/ http://gakko.pl/piora/1.jpeg http://gakko.pl/piora/2.jpeg http://gakko.pl/piora/10.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/11.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/12.jpeg http://gakko.pl/piora/15.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/24.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/25.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/8.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/8.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/7.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/6.jpeghttp://gakko.pl/piora/3.jpeg

The next set of pens in this series come from Tombow and Rotring. They are what seems to be an early Tombow Zoom 101 and a non-telescoping Rotring Espirit. The Epirit predates the absorption of Rotring by Sanford. Both pens are no longer in production. I purchased the Espirit in 2009 and the Zoom 101 in 2007. https://imgchr.com/i/1jszYd">src="https://s2.ax1x.com/2020/02/14/1jszYd.md.jpg" alt="1jszYd.jpg" border="0" /> The pens share little in external appearance although both are thin compared to many pens on the market. The Rotring is made from anodized aluminum and consistent with the companies sleek functional aesthetic. The Tombow is made from what appears to be painted brass with a plastic grip section in the center of the barrel. The clips on both pens are steel. The Rotring cap is pulled off while the Tombow screws off. The Tombow is unusual in that one can change the cartridge without removing the cap while the Rotring has conventional access to the cartridges. The grip on the Tombow is high on the barrel which seems odd at first, but is nice in the hand. The machined ridges on the Rotring also make it sit nicely in the hand. https://imgchr.com/i/1jy29A">src="https://s2.ax1x.com/2020/02/14/1jy29A.jpg" alt="1jy29A.jpg" border="0" /> https://imgchr.com/i/1j6Vu6">src="https://s2.ax1x.com/2020/02/14/1j6Vu6.md.jpg" alt="1j6Vu6.jpg" border="0" /> https://imgchr.com/i/1j6pEF">src="https://s2.ax1x.com/2020/02/14/1j6pEF.md.jpg" alt="1j6pEF.jpg" border="0" /> https://imgchr.com/i/1vVH8P">src="https://s2.ax1x.com/2020/02/14/1vVH8P.md.jpg" alt="1vVH8P.jpg" border="0" /> One can see that asides from the decoration on the nibs, they are identical. In speculating about where the nibs come from, I think that Rotring made the nibs for Tombow or they get the nibs from the same third party OEM. I lean towards the nib being made by Rotring as it features on many of the company’s pens of this period. Tombow also was linked to the Herlitz nibs I examined in the first post in this series, so I doubt Tombow made the nibs for Rotring. Tombow has a history as supplier of a portfolio of stationary supplies, so fountain pens were just another item to complete the product list. Rotring was a more focused niche player and fountain pens played a larger role in the product range. I hope you enjoyed the article and I look forward to your comments. If you know more about this style of nib, please share your knowledge. Thanks for reading.

This is the first of what will hopefully be a series of posts that start looking at the similarities between nibs of various brands, especially lesser known, lower end manufacturers. The idea is to see if we can figure out relationships between factories beyond the Jowo, Schmidt, and Bock arrangements we know of. I don’t have any authoritative knowledge, just a collection that spans the lower end of the market and attempts to collect pens from different countries. I hope others will join in and add to the posts to create a more complete picture of the relationships between different companies now and in the past. It is not an attempt to make sense of IPG (Iridium Point Germany), Parker 51 clones, or Lamy Safari/All star clones. Sorting those nibs requires direct knowledge from someone working in the industry or someone with metallurgic testing skills. I will focus on the nibs, but will try and look at overall pens when I think the designs share a lot of traits or are interchangeable. The first pens featured are the Herlitz Tornado SLS ( 1988?), the Tombow Object (2008?), the Jolly Jollypen, and the Staedtler Learner’s Pen. The companies all currently produce fountain pens, although the Tornado and Object are not current models. Herlitz and Staedtler are German, Tombow is Japanese, and Jolly is Austrian. All but the Object are German student pens. The nibs and pens share characteristics that I hope to show you that the nibs are from the same company or made from the same tooling. The feeds differ between the current production pens and the older ones, so someone has updated the design a bit. The first photo shows the pens together and you have from top to bottom; the Herlitz Tornado SLS, the Tombow Object, the Jolly Jollypen, and the Staedtler Learner’s Pen. The Tornado and Jollypen follow the typical adolescent German Student Pen design of a metal cap, sturdy clip and plastic body, The Tornado is more of an adult pen with an anodized, brushed aluminum, torpedo design. The Staedtler reflects the current elementary-aged Student Pen aesthetic of “rugged kid proof plastic bludgeon” The nibs are shown below and all have a continuous curved design with no breather hole. They are well-behaved, lay down a smooth line and shade inks relatively easily. They are all forgiving nibs as one expects from student pens and ink leaks are rare. When ink leaks, a few drops is what you get. The Tornado and Object share the same design for nib and feed with little visible differences beyond the color of the nib and sprue burrs. As far as I can tell, this nib started use in the Herlitz Bugatti which dates from the 1960’s (?). Hopefully someone who has a Bugatti can chime in? The Jollypen and Learner’s pen share the same nib and feed. The nibs differ just in engraving, while the feeds are identical. The nibs are shown below. Based on the history with the Bugatti, I think that Herlitz first made the nibs and tooling and either makes the nibs for Jolly and Staedtler or provides the tooling. I haven’t seen this nib in any form from Jowo, Schmidt, or Bock, however that doesn’t rule out that one of these companies makes the nibs shown in this post. Hopefully someone who knows more can shed more light. Tombow is interesting as it will appear in my next post as a company that shares a nib with a pre-Sanford Rotring pen. Because Tombow’s nibs match those used by other companies, I doubt they make this nib in house. Jolly is a newer company than Herlitz, so I don’t think it makes the nibs. The similarities between the Jollypen and Tornado are striking as they seem to share the same tooling for the barrels and caps, or are similar enough to be interchangeable. The Tornado is an SLS version that was made with an ink eraser at the end. The eraser didn’t work as well as the traditional two-ended ones like the Pelikan Pirat. I hope you enjoyed this post and please add your knowledge and look through your pens and see if anything looks like these pens. Postscript: Jolly is a lesser known company, whose pens are great if you want nice student pens off the beaten track. I have another earlier production Jollypen as well. Here is a link to their site. https://jolly.at/en/produkt-kategorie/cartridge-pens/

I have acquired a small collection of Sailor pens, and I'm looking for some information on the history of Sailor pens in order to identify them. I know that a lot of their pre-40's information was lost during the war, but I'm amazed at how little information I can turn up about their models from the 60's to the present. I've been able to find historic catalog pages and blogs about Pilot and Platinum, but I'm struggling with Sailor (apart from the 1911 model). Does anyone have any catalogues of vintage Sailor pens (particularly from the 60's, 70's or 80's)? Or suggestions for a blog/website with more info?

Hi all. I developed something of an excited passion for Japanese Pocket pens last year. A sometimes dizzy-headed buyer, I bought this: https://imgur.com/fpngallery/5bTXrSz It's a cute little pocket pen; so very nice, but who or what is 'Pioneer'?

This is a brand new platinum #3776 with medium nib fountain pen. Is the gap between the tines normal or bit much?

I have a happy smiley-face Kakuno that was brought to me from Japan; I am quite unhappy with it at the moment. I thought it was a cute little pen but it is now giving me difficulty; the nib starts writing and then after a few lines stops unless I shake the pen. Here's what I've done so far: Clean the pen Change the ink Flush the pen Floss the tines None of these interventions has been able to get the pen writing properly again. I do not have a high tolerance for hard-starting pens and if I can't get this issue resolved will let it sit unused in a drawer. Has anyone had a similar experience? If so, were you able to fix it?

Hi all! One of my partners is going to be visiting Kyoto in late December/early January, and offered to check out some pen shops while they're visiting to pick up any pens/ink I might want. I know there are some neat Japan-only exclusives, and buying Japanese pens/ink in Japan is probably less expensive than buying it where we're from (the US). The only problem is, I don't know what stores are in Kyoto, and I don't know what the going rate for pens out that way is. Does anyone here know of any fountain pen stores in Kyoto, or what the prices for pens/ink usually are out there? I'll have a budget of around $150 USD, and would love it if I could pick up a Sailor Pro Gear or similar pen- especially if it's exclusive to Japan. Same for ink! Any help or recommendations would be appreciated~ thanks so much!

I have a Pilot EF that I think needs a bit of smoothing, but I am scared to death of ruining it. I bought a micro-mesh pad and decided to have a go at a Platinum Preppy that is in a color I don't use. Then I decided since I was already messing around with the pen that I might as well try to eyedropper it, something I have never done before. I used silicone grease and all seemed to be well except later on I noticed some ink spots on my hands, so I think it is leaking somewhere. I do hold my pens fairly close to the nibs. I can't find an o-ring in an appropriate size so I have temporarily added some plumber's tape but that is unsightly and makes it harder to cap the pen. Below is a photo, minus the plumber's tape. I think the smoothing went well but was not excessive, but I still need to come up with a better seal for the eyedropper; I'm trying to work up the courage to smooth out the Pilot EF a bit. The ink is Diamine Oxblood, which I'm testing out and seems quite nice. Do people add a ball to their eyedroppered pens to help keep the ink from drying up?