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Eboya Kyouka, Ink-Stopper Filling System


rpsyed

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Eboya Kyouka, medium-size, Ink-stop filling mechanism

So I’ve had my Eboya Kyouka for about a month now and figured it was time for a review.

http://i.imgur.com/G9TUbRj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/D5PtVBn.jpg

I first learned about Eboya fountain pens earlier this year, when it was announced that John Mottishaw would be carrying them on his site. Though Eboya has been making pens for several years now, up until this point, they have only sold pen in Japan, outside of the occasional foreign pen show.

http://i.imgur.com/BmQsYSr.jpg

The logo machine-engraved into the barrel.

The first thing that struck me about Eboya was the unique designs they have. Their designs, like the Kyouka and bamboo-like Ricchiku, aren’t found often in modern pen companies. My own pen tastes lean towards the simple: clipless, minimal or nonexistent trim, flat-tops, monochromatic nibs. The Kyouka immediately grabbed my interest.

http://i.imgur.com/mSTlCPC.jpg

Comparison with other pens. From top: Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000, Eboya Kyouka (medium-size), Pilot Vanishing Point.

http://i.imgur.com/St1cu50.jpg

The ink-stop mechanism's sealing rod is visible when the barrel is unscrewed.

After a few weeks of trying to find more information about Eboya and review of their pens and largely not succeeding, I decided to pull the trigger on a Kyouka from Nibs.com. Since my specific choice wasn’t in stock with them, it had to be a special-order. I was told it’d be 4-6 months but could be longer. It took 7 months. The ordering process was smooth, and Nibs.com packaged it perfectly.

http://i.imgur.com/Zu1soqW.jpg

Ebonite feed.

Aside from the unique designs Eboya has available, the other interesting aspect of their fountain pens is the range of filling-systems they offer. In addition to the typical cartridge-converter, you can order your pen as a button-filler or a Japanese eyedropper (eyedropper with shut-off valve). I chose the Japanese eyedropper for my pen.

http://i.imgur.com/i1gLp8w.jpg

Comparison with other pens. From top: Nakaya Piccolo, Romillo Eo #9, Shawn Newton Orville (medium-size), Eboya (medium-size), Edison Pearl, Danitrio Flat-Top Mikado.

http://i.imgur.com/8ZCs9a4.jpg

Blind cap unscrewed.

Japanese eyedroppers are presently made only by three companies Danitrio, Namiki, and Eboya. Eboya offers the filling system at a much lower price than the other two manufacturers. The system has an internal reservoir, with a sealing rod running through it. When the blind cap is screwed on, the sealing rod prevents ink from going to the feed. When the blind cap is unscrewed slightly, ink can flow properly. In my experience owning two Japanese eyedropper pens (a Danitrio Mikado and this Eboya Kyouka), it’s a wonderful system with a huge ink capacity and virtually leak-proof. I’m definitely a fan.

Diagram of Eboya Japanese eyedropper system.

http://imgur.com/Dlcu3sR

In the top, the blind cap is unscrewed, allowing ink to flow to the feed. In the pen under that, the blind cap is screwed on, resulting the in sealing rod cutting off ink flow.

http://i.imgur.com/dgaNBe9.jpg

Ink-stop mechanism.

Kanesaki handcrafts all Eboya pens out of ebonite. Eboya is a subsidiary of Nikko-Ebonite, the only ebonite manufacturer in Japan that supplies most of the major Japanese pen companies with ebonite as well as custom penmakers around the world. The pens are available in numerous mottled ebonites and a couple rippled ebonite patterns.

http://i.imgur.com/LqgPGyE.jpg

Ink-stop mechanism and inside of the section.

My pen is in a red/black mottled ebonite in the Kyouka model. It’s a somewhat softened flat-top at both ends with part of the blind cap narrowing to facilitate posting. While the pen does post very securely, and the ebonite cap is light enough to not make the pen back-heavy, it felt overly long to me when posted. I always used the pen the the unposted position, which is my prefered way to write.

http://i.imgur.com/nNdTe2a.jpg

Sealing rod which has just had silicone grease applied to it.

The Kyouka model’s design is based off a classic pen: Onoto The Pen. The design was hugely influential on vintage Japanese pen companies.

Onoto the Pen

http://i.imgur.com/k7hvvWv.jpg

Does the design look familiar?

http://i.imgur.com/IykN4S8.jpg

Eboya nib next to Lamy Safari nib.

Each pen comes in 2 or 3 different sizes, each with a nib whose physical size corresponds to the pen. My pen is a medium-size Kyouka with a 14kt Bock 220 nib (a little smaller than a typical #6, which is included on the large-size pens). It’s really great that Eboya offers pens across the size range and offers the filling systems they do. For those interested in a small- or medium-size pen with a Japanese eyedropper filling system, Eboya is the only modern option as the Danitrio and Namiki eyedropper pens are MB 149-size at their smallest.

http://i.imgur.com/9jVK8lT.jpg

Eboya and Danitrio Flat-Top Mikado: two Japanese eyedroppers with their blind caps unscrewed.

In the hand, the pen is lightweight and very comfortable. Nibs.com lists the weight of the complete pen as 22 grams. With its ebonite construction and absence of heavy parts, one can write with it for hours without tiring.

http://i.imgur.com/MZCdnMd.jpg

Comparison with other pens: Romillo Eo #9, Edison Pearl, Shawn Newton custom, Eboya Kyouka (medium-size).

All Eboya pens come with 14kt gold nibs made by Bock. The nib writes wonderfully — wet, smooth with a touch of feedback — but aesthetically it would look nicer to have Eboya engraved on the nib rather than the Bock logo. They have done an awesome job machine-engraving the barrel of the pen; it seems it wouldn’t have been too difficult to engrave the nib too. In any case, it’s not a deal breaker for me, by any means, but I do hope that in the future they’ll switch to blank nibs that they engrave themselves.

Eboya nib

http://i.imgur.com/050bqAQ.jpg

The books in the background, by the way, are I Lost My Love in Baghdad by Michael Hastings and War by Sebastian Junger.

The feed is made of ebonite. It is very attractive and works perfectly. I don’t think they could have done a better job on that. Being 14kt, the nib is slightly springy but giving it a little pressure increases ink flow more than it spreads the tines. I expect the large-size pens to be more springy due to the larger nibs.

Writing sample

http://i.imgur.com/PrRbOmY.jpg

I’ve been very pleased with my Eboya. I absolutely plan to get another one in the future (probably a large-size Hakobune with a special-order #8-size nib), and highly recommend Eboya to anyone interested in their designs or a more moderately-priced and/or moderately-sized Japanese eyedropper.


Edited by rpsyed
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Nice review. Thank you for sharing. Any preference between the Danitrio and Eboya eye dropper system?

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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Nice review. Thank you for sharing. Any preference between the Danitrio and Eboya eye dropper system?

Thank you! Hmm ... that's difficult. The design of the Eboya system, with the ink stopping seal outside of the barrel, seems to make it easier to clean out than the Eboya system. The Eboya system seems to hold more ink too, though the Danitrio still holds tons of ink. It's counter-intuitive, given the much larger size of the Danitrio, but it does seem that the Eboya's capacity is larger. I think it's because the barrel walls are much thinner on the Eboya. Other than that, they both work really well at their intended purpose.

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nice! we need more reviews of the eboya ED, well done!

Thank you! Agreed, it took me forever before I felt like going forward with the Eboya order since there was so little info on them. Hopefully this will help others considering an Eboya eyedropper pen.

 

Nice pen. Ebonite rocks.

Thank you! Very much agreed. Ever since I got a Romillo as my first truly custom pen, I've loved ebonite as a fountain pen material.

 

nice review .nice pen. Thanks for the information.

Thank you! You are very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

Great review, thank you

Thank you very much! I'm glad that these reviews are appreciated.

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I wish I could join but... right now Eboya is a bit high on my pen budget :X though I'm kind of on the hunt for a Japanese style ED pen sooner or later

it maybe worth noting that the owner of Eboya (no not the owner of Nikko) studied under Kohei Kubo

Edited by Algester
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I wish I could join but... right now Eboya is a bit high on my pen budget :X though I'm kind of on the hunt for a Japanese style ED pen sooner or laterit maybe worth noting that the owner of Eboya (no not the owner of Nikko) studied under Kohei Kubo

When the budget allows, Eboya would be an awesome option for a modern Japanese eyedropper. Incredibly well-made pens.

 

Oh, yes. That's a good point. Though I think it's just Eboya's penmaker, Kanesaki, who trained under Kubo Kohei. I think the owner Eboya is the same as the owner of Nikko, though I'd have to check that to make sure.

 

Suberb review finally finding a detailed eboya pen review.

Thank you very much! I hope this will help others since I struggled to find reviews of Eboya, especially the eyedropper pens. Edited by rpsyed
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yup the ebonite rocks...

 

thank you for the detailed review... i really love this pen

You're very welcome!

 

This looks very beautiful! I am abou to receive an ebonite pen, too, and I am really looking forward to it!!

Thank you! Ooh, which pen are you getting? Ebonite is such a lovely material for pen-making. I'm sure you'll love it.

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Thank you for the nice review about unkown but excellent pen. I myself have got Eboya Hakobune medium sized pen, shinkai (blue and black marble ebonite) version. I have known Eboya pens but underestimated the value. Eboya is in Arakawa Ward, the area of eastern downtown Tokyo near Sumida River that runs to Tokyo Bay.The pens are made by hands of craftsmen. "MADE IN TOKYO" was written on the pen proudly and I think it is not deceptive. My pen was incredibly well-made, the very precise finish.

 

rokurinpapa

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It's a custom pen by Gabriel Clavijo :D.

That sounds very interesting. I have only seen a few pictures of Clavijo pens and they all looked great :)

 

I hope you are able to do your own review topic in due course.

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It's a custom pen by Gabriel Clavijo :D.

Congratulations! I've heard his name a few times but haven't seen any of his work. If you're able, I hope you will post some pictures =]

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Gorgeous pen! Do you happen to know if it is possible to visit the Eboya workshops?

Thank you! I believe it is. I remember that in another thread about Eboya, one of the posters said they visited the workshop. I would love to go to Japan and visit Eboya, Hakase, and Ohashido. And Spain to see Romillo's workshop, too, honestly. Are you going to Japan soon?

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