Japanese Pen Brag Page

[Diderot]

Thank you. I think they are rather pleasant to look at and hold.

 

The paper is some type of custom notebooks my firm ordered to give out at conferences a few years ago. They are made by a company called Journal Books but are otherwise unmarked. I think the paper is pretty FP friendly, though not at nice as Rhodia or Black and Red books. They met two important criteria: free and available in the office. I actually rescued them from being tossed out since we changed our logo.

 

Thank you.

[Diderot]

Thank you for sharing the Kabuto, I am eagerly awaiting mine! Looks gorgeous from the pic that you shared, I did not realize there

was so much Aogai, congratulations.

 

Here is the other Vermillion pic, had problem posting yesterday.

 

 

the first one is a Banei, slim pen

the second a Pilot lever filler with falcon nib from the 1920's

the third is the 80th limited.

 

Interesting looking pens.

What is the third one (80th limited)?

Also, it would appear that it has stains, presumably ink. Does it come off?

[penomania]

Hello, yes the 3rd is the 80th limited Pilot, and yes, it is well used and full of ink, it does come off. Will get some other pens on this post over the weekend......

[Diderot]

Hello, yes the 3rd is the 80th limited Pilot, and yes, it is well used and full of ink, it does come off. Will get some other pens on this post over the weekend......

 

Sorry for the questions, but 80th limited Pilot - would that be a Yukari Royale?

 

Thanks, and yes, it'd be good to see some more

[mchenart]

Not to brag about it, I do have a pen that is a mystery to all- an oversized Japanese eyedropper circa 1965 that has the words 'Zed the Pen registered' engraved on its barrel. It is obviously an urushi pen on ebonite. The nib is a rare no.18 in 14k gold, with a 3232 attribution to the nib maker Kawakami-Giken. Yes, it is a huge nib for a Japanese pen that is seldom seen, and it is a fantastic writer. Could 'Zed' allude to the ultimate, the last word in a fountain pen? Is Zed the name of the company that made this pen, and if not, who made it? These are the questions I put to Mr. Sunami when I saw him at the Tokyo Pen show last year. Well, even he had not heard or seen such a speciment.

Here are a couple of pictures showing Zed the Pen next to the MB Hemingway.

 

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF2322_zpsbysoml3s.jpg

 

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF2323_zpseh3sqsfs.jpg

Edited October 23, 2015 by mchenart

[Calabria]

Not to brag about it, I do have a pen that is a mystery to all- an oversized Japanese eyedropper circa 1965 that has the words 'Zed the Pen registered' engraved on its barrel. It is obviously an urushi pen on ebonite. The nib is a rare no.18 in 14k gold, with a 3232 attribution to the nib maker Kawakami-Giken. Yes, it is a huge nib for a Japanese pen that is seldom seen, and it is a fantastic writer. Could 'Zed' allude to the ultimate, the last word in a fountain pen? Is Zed the name of the company that made this pen, and if not, who made it? These are the questions I put to Mr. Sunami when I saw him at the Tokyo Pen show last year. Well, even he had not heard or seen such a speciment.

Here are a couple of pictures showing Zed the Pen next to the MB Hemingway.

 

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF2322_zpsbysoml3s.jpg

 

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/mchenart/DSCF2323_zpseh3sqsfs.jpg

This is an amazing addition to one of the most enjoyable threads on FPN! It's like a the beginning of a Murakami story - trying to find the maker of Zed the Pen and tracing down the remaining other models.

 

I'm also jealous of the MB Hemingway, the one MB I always wanted.

 

On another note, I love my smallish group of Sailors but can somebody here help me understand why Japanese manufacturers avoid decent piston fillers (albeit with some exceptions)? I really don't like the fussy converters, and all the lovely inks that I like to use don't come in cartridges. Given Japanese pen culture (and ink bottle stands to boot!), why is this so?

[Katduffy]

My Nakaya's and Danitrio...

 

http://s22.postimg.org/ez61wlbf5/Ao_tamenuri.jpg

Stunning. Love the color on your Decapod Twist.

[sugna]

Below is a pen I purchased from Mr. Kawakubo (Kawakubo Fountain Pens in Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo - 川窪万年筆店) on a trip this summer. He added a rolled gold clip and band to the pen, originally made by his grandfather, and replaced the original nib with a very flexible vintage iridium point nib. It is a typical Japanese eyedropper, with a safety valve that needs to be released in order to release the ink flow to the feed. The urushi / maki-e is gorgeous in person, and the pen writes like a dream.

 

Let me know what you think, and if you'd like to see more pics!

 

http://s1.postimg.org/kgansj39r/DSC_0022.jpg

[da vinci]

Below is a pen I purchased from Mr. Kawakubo (Kawakubo Fountain Pens in Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo - 川窪万年筆店) on a trip this summer. He added a rolled gold clip and band to the pen, originally made by his grandfather, and replaced the original nib with a very flexible vintage iridium point nib. It is a typical Japanese eyedropper, with a safety valve that needs to be released in order to release the ink flow to the feed. The urushi / maki-e is gorgeous in person, and the pen writes like a dream.

 

Let me know what you think, and if you'd like to see more pics!

 

http://s1.postimg.org/kgansj39r/DSC_0022.jpg

Welcome to FPN!

 

That looks like a very nice pen, and yes would like to see more pictures please.

 

How old is the pen?

[sugna]

Thank you! I have been lurking for quite some time, decided it's time to start contributing! I am not quite sure about its age, will have to check with Mr. Kawakubo about that, but I'm thinking c.1930s.

 

http://s14.postimg.org/5jjpikfgx/DSC_0035.jpg

 

 

http://s7.postimg.org/gb0bokxuz/DSC_0043.jpg

 

http://s29.postimg.org/hglcmbn7b/DSC_0048.jpg

 

And here is the nib:

 

http://s13.postimg.org/cecdram87/Full_Size_Render.jpg

Edited October 27, 2015 by sugna

[stan]

1950s pen.

[da vinci]

Thank you! I have been lurking for quite some time, decided it's time to start contributing! I am not quite sure about its age, will have to check with Mr. Kawakubo about that, but I'm thinking c.1930s.

 

http://s14.postimg.org/5jjpikfgx/DSC_0035.jpg

 

 

http://s7.postimg.org/gb0bokxuz/DSC_0043.jpg

 

http://s29.postimg.org/hglcmbn7b/DSC_0048.jpg

 

And here is the nib:

 

http://s13.postimg.org/cecdram87/Full_Size_Render.jpg

Thank you. Whatever the age its a lovely pen. Do try and get a writing sample posted over in the "what pen are you using today II" thread.

[sugna]

1950s pen.

I was way off, and you were spot-on: 1955-58 according to Mr. Kawakubo. What gives it away? Shape? Finish? I am always interested to learn more.

[zaddick]

Pulled out an assortment of maki-e pens today and took a few quick snaps.

 

From left to right: the famous Nakaya Ascending dragon in Heki on a 17MM portable, a Danitrio Takumi in Midori Bokashi-nuri, another Danitrio Takumi protype in ki-dame with a maki-e clip, a Danitrio Grand Trio (aka Hyotan) Totetsu, and an Edison Pearl/Hakumin Urishi Kobo combo in midori karanuri.

 

 

[penomania]

What a beautiful set, thanks for sharing!!!

[penomania]

Hello Sugna, I found the reverse of your pen,

 

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by penomania

[sugna]

Wow! What's the story behind this pen? The trim looks very similar too. Thanks for sharing, beautiful pen!

Hello Sugna, I found the reverse of your pen,

 

 

 

 

[ivyman]

My favourite urushi colour is blue with gold, just like my Kamakura pen shown in the photo below. It comes with a Platinum 3776 music nib that writes broad and wet. It is a beautifully made

Japanese pen, just like the one that was made and presented to American General/President Grant when he visited Japan. I am a happy and proud owner of such a pen and I use it daily to write. 300 of such a pen was made, I believe.

[uemuraw]

For Fountain Pen Day, I ordered a Platinum 3776 Century Yamanaka Limited Edition Pen. The Lakes of Mt. Fuji series from Platinum will be my first "focused" collection of pens. And since there are 5 lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji, this particular collection must stop at five, which is not an overwhelming number.

 

Let's see if I can get this right. The five lakes are:

1. Motosu

2. Sai

3. Shoji

4. Yamanaka

5. Kawaguchi

 

• I missed the Motosu. So part of the fun waiting for me will be to find this pen one day.

• I have not purchased a Sai. They're available, but I just haven't purchased one yet.

• The Shoji was my first pen from this collection.

• The Yamanaka is the one I just purchased for Fountain Pen Day

• I don't think the Kawaguchi has been released yet.

 

Here is a photo from nibs.com, where I got my Shoji and ordered my Yamanaka:

I like the pattern of ripples.

I get mine with broad nibs stubbed by John Mottishaw. And while I may be "collecting" these pens, I am definitely not a museum curator. I use these pens – a lot. These are outstanding, hassle-free writers. Very easy to live with. I have always been impressed with Platinum pens as a lot of pen for the money.

[Painterspal]

This is an amazing thread - kudos to everyone for a mouth-watering selection.

 

Here's some of my own, a couple of lovely Danitrios...

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b70/minkapics/DT_MF04088.jpg