20Th International Fountain Pen Festival @mitsukoshi

[OmegaMountain]

It's not as large now that I look at in comparison to the 3776 because I don't have anything comparable in size already aside from maybe my MB JFK. The nib isn't KOP size, but I don't mind that.

[A Smug Dill]

... comparison to the 3776 ...

 

 

 

Thank you for that! Beautiful looking pen.

[OmegaMountain]

 

 

Thank you for that! Beautiful looking pen.

I'd do a better photo, but a cell phone in a poorly lit hotel room isn't great for that, unfortunately.

[A Smug Dill]

I think it's kinda funny that the Platinum #3776 Century Chenonceau White with 14K gold nib is listed as a 'Fountain Pen for Beginners' at ¥14,040 (US$126, or US$116.60 if you buy it tax-free), but the Pelikan M400 white tortoiseshell with 14K gold nib is listed as a 'Version Up' or next-level pen.

 

The Japanese can be pretty humble like that.

[ridiculopathy]

I think it's kinda funny that the Platinum #3776 Century Chenonceau White with 14K gold nib is listed as a 'Fountain Pen for Beginners' at ¥14,040 (US$126, or US$116.60 if you buy it tax-free), but the Pelikan M400 white tortoiseshell with 14K gold nib is listed as a 'Version Up' or next-level pen.

 

The Japanese can be pretty humble like that.

 

 

Maybe they have a C/C vs piston-filler bias too?

 

Come to think of it, (modern, Big 3) Japanese pens skip straight from C/C to eyedropper (with the exceptions of the Realo and 823; please correct me if I'm wrong).

[mke]

Perhaps they don't want to compete against the ultra-popular Pelikan and Montblanc pens.

[A Smug Dill]

Japanese pens skip straight from C/C to eyedropper (with the exceptions of the Realo and 823; please correct me if I'm wrong).

Pilot sells a piston-filler in the Custom Heritage 92, at a slightly higher prove than the Custom Heritage 91.

[mongrelnomad]

The Japanese tend to be very proud of their own products, but imports are a prestige and status thing. Witness the bizaro situation with cars, where imports are a sign of wealth, and are bought with left-hand-drive (in a right-hand-drive country) just for the purpose of showing off. I find it astonishing that parking garages and toll-booths are set up for this. The unnecessary expense and effort is hilarious...

 

So... what was I saying? Oh yeah, might just be that buying an imported Pelikan is viewed as more prestigious than a domestic big 3 although like for like, I'd always have the Japanese pen.

Edited March 17, 2019 by mongrelnomad

[OmegaMountain]

The Japanese tend to be very proud of their own products, but imports are a prestige and status thing. Witness the bizaro situation with cars, where imports are a sign of wealth, and are bought with left-hand-drive (in a right-hand-drive country) just for the purpose of showing off. I find it astonishing that parking garages and toll-booths are set up for this. The unnecessary expense and effort is hilarious...

 

So... what was I saying? Oh yeah, might just be that buying an imported Pelikan is viewed as more prestigious than a domestic big 3 although like for like, I'd always have the Japanese pen.

I wonder if this is why Pelikan does their super expensive maki-e pens then? Itoya had a good selection of them - out of my budget though. Edited March 17, 2019 by OmegaMountain

[OmegaMountain]

Here's a better comparison on just how large the pen is. Top to bottom are Pelikan M405, Conid Minamalistica, Montblanc JFK, Eboya Manten Mitsukoshi, Armando Simoni Pavarotti, Pineider Arco Oak. The Eboya is similar in length to the JFK & ASC but significantly fatter.

Edited March 24, 2019 by OmegaMountain

[MalcLee]

The Manten is a really fat and massive pen, longer and girthier than a Dani Takumi. Decided to ink it with none other than the Maruzen Athena Nihombashi 1870 for a celebratory start - and noted the hard starts and irregular flow for a MF. Checked the nib alignment under a loupe - the tines are aligned. Oh well, back into the bottle the ink goes, and lets see if an overnight soaking does the trick.

[OmegaMountain]

The Manten is a really fat and massive pen, longer and girthier than a Dani Takumi. Decided to ink it with none other than the Maruzen Athena Nihombashi 1870 for a celebratory start - and noted the hard starts and irregular flow for a MF. Checked the nib alignment under a loupe - the tines are aligned. Oh well, back into the bottle the ink goes, and lets see if an overnight soaking does the trick.

That sucks - no such issues with mine, but I did get to test it before buying. I put Kobe #46 in mine which I though would be a little more blue than it is. Flow seems to be good though.

[Tinjapan]

You don't understand my luck though. I'm the poster child for Murphy's Law.

As a fellow Murphy’s Law poster child, I understand.

[Tinjapan]

Here's a better comparison on just how large the pen is. Top to bottom are Pelikan M405, Conid Minamalistica, Montblanc JFK, Eboya Manten Mitsukoshi, Armando Simoni Pavarotti, Pineider Arco Oak. The Eboya is similar in length to the JFK & ASC but significantly fatter.

Lovely pens. I got to see the Mitsukoshi pen in the flesh, lovely.

 

Who made the pen tray?

[OmegaMountain]

Lovely pens. I got to see the Mitsukoshi pen in the flesh, lovely.

 

Who made the pen tray?

It's a cigar box tray made by John Hubbard / BamaPen.

[MalcLee]

That sucks - no such issues with mine, but I did get to test it before buying. I put Kobe #46 in mine which I though would be a little more blue than it is. Flow seems to be good though.

 

What I should have done was to flush the nib and section out prior to inking up with a wetter ink like a Waterman Havana Brown. We'll see how the thing writes later today.

Very nice 6 pens you've got there.

[mke]

> flush the nib and section out prior to inking up

 

certainly, just a tiny amount of residual oil changes dramatically the wetting behaviour of feed and nib - and with it the ink flow

(and yes I know how difficult waiting can be)

[MalcLee]

> flush the nib and section out prior to inking up

 

certainly, just a tiny amount of residual oil changes dramatically the wetting behaviour of feed and nib - and with it the ink flow

(and yes I know how difficult waiting can be)

 

I initially thought my impatience was the reason, but after a round of syringing and overnight drying, rechecking the nib with a loupe prior to inking ....+ 2 fingers crossed for good measure; it's either the tines are too tight or the presence of a baby's bottom that I've missed on the last 2 inspections under magnification. Although the Pilot Bishamonten is a fairly dry ink, its clearly a nib issue which would need tuning - See the comparison at the bottom page with a similarly sized Bock MF (from Eboya but another pen) but a well tuned one. Sounds like an excuse for a trip to Japan.

Edited March 27, 2019 by MalcLee

[mke]

Eboya visits the penshows in US.

[MalcLee]

Im down south in Australia. 😊