Sunday, July 22, 2007

Incoming Pens!

It's been awhile since my last posting, so today's entry will be a large one - I have lots of nice pen news to share. :)

Last month I acquired some unusual Japanese pens, and while I promised some photos, I didn't get around to posting any. However, they are here now!

Platinum 'Zogan' (1970's)
Initially, I didn't know what to make of this pen, as it was much larger than I had anticipated it would be. I pondered it for a couple of hours, and debated whether it should remain in my collection or not. Eventually, I decided I did like the 'Zogan' and upon inking it with R&K Sepia, I found I liked it even more.

Pilot Etched Floral (1970's)
I saw a couple of these pens sell on eBay earlier this year, but they sold for more than I was prepared to pay (and more than they were worth). Stan had one for sale recently, and I managed to snag my first colour choice at a great price. This is a gorgeous pen, and the photo doesn't do it justice. The metallic enamel inside the deep etching changes under different lighting conditions - really pretty.

Pilot-Namiki Black Red Celluloid (1930's)
I was really pleased to acquire this pen as a NOS item with its box, papers, barrel label etc. It is in great condition, and the dark celluloid and black urushi jewels make a very nice contrast with the nickel trim.

Well Black Urushi Eyedropper (1930's)
Another nice one! The black urushi coating on this pen is perfect, and quite thick. The urushi-clad clip is most sexy, in my opinion. The nib is a nice one, with a cut-out on either side to increase flexibility. I have a Nakaya with an Elastic nib which features similar cut-outs. It's nice to have an early example of such a nib, as well as a modern one.

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In other news, I have several exciting new pens winging their way to me as I type! July has been another good month for interesting pens. A brief summary:
  • Platinum PKH-2500. I have one of these cute short-long pens already, as shown here. My current short has a Clover motif, the new short has a Maple Leaf motif.

  • Platinum Ivory Celluloid. I’m looking forward to this one. A 1950's Platinum 10 Year model in a lever-fill configuration.

  • Well Eyedropper. Yep, another Well... but not quite as old as the first one. This one has a very interesting nib also - instead of a traditional round or heart-shaped vent hole, this Well has the letter W instead. Nifty!

  • Yotsubishi Eyedropper. My first Yotsubishi, and hopefully not my last. What makes this 1950's example nice is that it has been finished with a Red Urushi coating.
Lastly, I have my eye on a couple of brand new modern pens. The first is a delicious new Aurora, the Fuoco Minima. I think this Aurora series is based on natural elements, as the Fuoco features a flame motif, just as the Sole Aurea Minima features a sun motif. The colour is beautiful!

The other modern pen I am considering is a Danitrio maki-e pen. I've not yet decided exactly what to purchase though... decisions, decisions!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Ink Capacity

On Friday I had a startling experience - a co-worker approached me, and wanted to know if I could recommend a quality fountain pen with two specific requirements: that it is heavy, and short. I couldn't actually think of any pens to suggest to him (I think I was still in shock from actually discussing fountain pens in my daily life instead of FPN), but I promised I would gather bring some catalogues and recommendations to him on Monday. He also mentioned that price was no object. This makes me wonder if he has any idea of what one could spend on a fountain pen if money were no object...

But I digress...onto the subject of this post - ink capacity!

Ink capacity concerns many people; however, I am not one of them. I actually prefer to use cartridge/converter pens, because with piston-fillers you are stuck with one ink colour for awhile, which is boring. :) Anyway, I decided to find out how much a few of my most commonly used pens differ in regard to ink their capacity:


Brand / ModelTypeCapacity
ParkerCartridge~1.3ml
Pelikan M2xx & M4xxPiston-Filler~1.5ml
PilotCartridge~1.1ml
PilotConverter (CON20)~0.8ml
PlatinumCartridge~1.1ml
PlatinumConverter~0.6ml
SailorCartridge~1.1ml
SailorConverter~0.6ml
SheafferCartridge~1.3ml
Other'Short' Cartridge~0.8ml
(The above volumes are approximate.)

Looks like I'm on the right track in just refilling my cartridges with a syringe.