Pen World V29.1

The Universe of Writing Culture

Pilot Pen’s

sterling new offerings pens and pens only:

Omas remains true to its vision who invented the

fountain pen?

(It’s not who you think.) ’tis the season to be

Shopping! fa la la la la...

'

$ + +# ' $'#) ' , # $$ $ ' "$ +# ' ) ')# ' $' ' * $ ) # +$ # )$ # $ '$ $' ) #$' ' ' $ ) $ $ '# ) ' $ ) ) ' $ $ )' ' - $ ' + ' ' '

' # ' ' ' )! ' ) ' ' )

#$ ' $ #"$ ' $ $ ' $ '

The Stars are out tonight….

With its new Celestial pen, Waterford combines rich shades of blue ÁHFNHG ZLWK JROG WR FUHDWH D VWDUU\ JDOD[\ WKDW FRQWLQXDOO\ GHOLJKWV WKH H\H Hampton-Haddon Marketing Corporation, 4700 Wissahickon Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144 Tel: 215-438-1200 • Fax: 215-438-8265 • salesteam@hamptonhaddon.com • www.hamptonhaddon.com

E95S AVAILABLE IN FINE PEN SHOPS AND AT PILOTPEN.US

54

DECEMBER VOLUME 29, NUMBER 1

ON OUR COVER: Sterling Silver Panda and Komodo Dragon

by Pilot

65 make a list...

Our Holiday Gift Guide offers everything a pen lover’s heart could desire.

24 tooling of the trade

Need replacement parts? Tools? Dale Beebe and Pentooling can help!

30 credit where credit is due

You won’t believe who really invented the fountain pen.

39 Margarete’s pen

A rediscovered pen provides a link to a loved one’s past.

41 they might be giants

58

Compare five pens of Brobdingnagian proportions.

54 we are Omas

At age 90, Omas is driven by a singular identity and purpose.

58 fleetness and grace:

That’s been Retro 1951’s winning formula for 25 years.

50 stellar in sterling

The newest Sterling Silver collection pens from Pilot headline an exciting year-end lineup.

24

65 50

departments WHAT’S HOT NOW

08 view

“What! You too?”

10 mail

62

our readers speak

12 news 16 show 18 now

people, places and events

Dallas, Colorado

new pens and other products

20 date 34 strokes 46 shop 62 page

mark your calendar

John DeCollibus

46

Bittner the Pleasure of Writing

34

The Speedball Textbook

82 contributors 84 network

meet the writers

classified advertising

86 source 88 happy holidays!

guide to products and services

18

34

view

What!

You, too?

O

nce again, it’s that “very best time of the year.” If you’re rolling your eyes and thinking more about the work you have to do to get ready for it than the actual joy of the season, well, this issue of PW is designed to get you into the holiday spirit.

Gift giving is certainly not synonymous with holiday spirit, but I find the two can be closely related. What could put someone in a better frame of mind than to give a gift that really speaks to the recipient, something that is sure to please? Be sure to take a look at our holiday gift guide beginning on page 65 and give in to the urge!

Read all about the beautiful new additions to Pilot’s Sterling Silver collection, seen on our cover, in Nicky Pessaroff’s “A Sterling Reputation.”

Find out what Omas has done for its 90th anniversary—and what the company has up its sleeve for early 2016 on pp. 54–57 (I think you’ll be blown away). Retro 1951 also celebrates an important milestone, and you can read about it in our article “It’s a Gift.”

In this issue, Richard Binder reveals the true genesis of the fountain pen, and if bigger is always better where you’re concerned, see Barry Gabay’s comparison of five giant fountain pens.

Meet calligrapher John DeCollibus and the former NASA scientist behind Pentooling, and raise a toast to Bittner the Pleasure of Writing as the Carmel, California, retail shop celebrates its silver anniversary.

While I was doing online research for this issue, I came across a quote from C. S. Lewis that’s very popular, although I had never heard it before: “Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: ‘What!

You too? I thought that no one but myself ...’ ” An ellipsis that appears in a quotation usually means something has been left out, but in this case, it is actually part of the quote. I love it because it allows the reader to fill in the blank, and I immediately applied it to the pen community. If you’ve been “into pens” for awhile, I’ll bet you did, too.

Wasn’t it cool to find out there are a whole lot of other people who share our interest (if not obsession!) with the culture of writing? According to Lewis, that’s when real friendship happens, and as we come to the holiday season, I am more mindful than ever of the bonds that exist among us.

editor@penworld.com

A Sterling Pilot Pens

BY NICKY PESSAROFF

Reputation

>>>>>>>

50

F

or the venerable Japanese writing instrument company Pilot/Namiki, laurels are a design motif, not something to rest upon. So it comes as no surprise that Pilot has a number of new offerings for the new year. It also comes as no surprise that these pens are sleek, beautiful, and technically marvelous.

John Lane is in his 27th year with Pilot, where he’s spent nearly his entire career. Today, he is general manager of Pilot’s North American Fine Writing Division. From the North American headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, he and the U.S. Pilot team work closely with their Japanese counterparts to ensure continued growth and attention to the highest quality and performance standards in the United States. From marketing to design, he plays a vital role. In fact, he played a pivotal role in Pilot’s new additions to its Sterling Silver collection, homages to the Komodo dragon and the giant panda. The new sterling pens feature Pilot’s confluence of modern style and technicality with a minimalist, classic bent.

Etched from Nature “I just love Komodo dragons, and dragon pens have always sold very well,” Lane says. “Our original dragon pen was released in 1994 and is still the most popular sterling silver pen in our history. We had a limited edition maki-e panda pen several years ago, and pandas have also proven very popular.”

Komodo dragons are actually monitor lizards, native to a handful of Indonesian islands. The largest lizard that still exists, the Komodo dragon grows as long as ten feet and weighs as much as 150 pounds. Named after one of their native islands, Komodo dragons may be the real-world basis for the mythological dragon.

The giant panda is an endangered bear native to central China. Males grow as large as six feet long, and their 350-pound body weights are supported by a diet that consists almost completely of bamboo. Their distinctive blackand-white coats, with black rings around the eyes, and their affectionate personalities, make

the giant panda a favorite of zoo-goers worldwide, at the 18 zoos lucky enough to have them.

Pilot pays homage to the panda’s “gentle strength” and the Komodo dragon’s “stealthy agility” on a pen body of polished sterling silver and an integrated nib of 18-karat gold with rhodium plating, available in fine, medium, and broad. The classic brass clip is rhodium plated, and the pen takes cartridge or converter.

With MSRPs of $598 for the fountain pen versions, these pens join Pilot’s Sterling Silver collection, one of the brand’s mainstays: this collection was in existence when the company first made Pilot Fine Writing products available in the United States in 1993. A gel roller version is also available, and a black presentation box completes the package.

The Giant Panda pen features broad handetched lines on the barrel, capturing the look of the panda’s distinctive coat, while the cap showcases the panda’s mountain range territory in fine outline.

The Komodo Dragon pen has an entirely different look, not just in subject but in style.

The lizard’s predatory nature is on full display, with outthrust tongue and penetrating eyes.

Detailed etching on the lizard’s body add to the impression of strength. The cap features a carefully etched tree to complete the motif.

Pilot Dresses for War Pilot also introduces a luxurious addition to its maki-e line—the new Kabuto, named for the helmet worn by the Samurai. The kabuto is portrayed prominently on the pen’s barrel along with the Samurai’s sword (tachi). Raised (taka) maki-e is used to create the kabuto; flat (hira) maki-e for the tachi, and burnished and raised (togidashi) maki-e for the background.

Each fountain pen takes two months to create.

“The process for making maki-e pens like the Kabuto begins with an artist’s rendition.

Then the artists make a couple of prototypes,” Lane says. But these pens are a team effort: other members of the company give feedback, which is incorporated in order to perfect the design.

51

The Kabuto maki-e pen is offered in the Yukari size, MSRP: $2,500; mini-Iroshizuku inks (15 ml compared to 50 ml in the standard bottle)

The Kabuto pen features the classic Namiki barrel and a Pilot 18 karat gold nib with rhodium plating, available in medium or broad. The simple gift box is made of paulownia wood and features a bottle of Pilot’s Iroshizuku ink.

The Kabuto is limited to 170 pieces. “With our maki-e line, the numbers are so small, we usually have the good fortune of having them all sold [to retailers] before they’re released,” Lane says.

He also credits Pilot’s moderate pricing for the success of its maki-e pens. “When I first started selling maki-e pens, there was a mix of collectors who loved Japanese art and investors. Some dealers would buy a dozen of them and wait for the prices to go up. Today, we try to make a more affordable maki-e limited edition to appeal to several more types of collectors. There’s a greater variety in price points. It depends a lot on how long it takes to make it and the difficulty of the design.”

52

R&D Pilot artists are obsessed with beauty and perfection in their products. So are the techies. As Lane explains it, the research and development labs at Pilot’s Japanese headquarters are a pen lover’s version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

“I’ve seen the testing and quality control that goes on,” Lane says. “Our black matte Vanishing Point, for example, took a number of years of testing, and up until last year, they were still working on the finish. Now, we have a finish that won’t come off or fade. They won’t let anything out of their building until it’s perfect, whether it’s a $1.98 rollerball or an $18,000 maki-e piece. We’ve canceled products that just won’t work rather than releasing an inferior pen.”

Further, Lane points out that Pilot is, in fact, an ink company first. Pilot’s flagship ink, Iroshizuku, has yielded enormous success due to the ink’s durability and the beauty of its colors.

The Custom Heritage 912 series pen (MSRP $360) and the newly-availablein-North-America nibs, from left, the Falcon, stub, extra-fine, soft-fine, and (crosswise) the music nib.

“We sell more Iroshizuku ink in the United States than we do in the rest of the world combined, so we’re bringing over a three-box set of mini bottles, 850 boxes total,” Lane says. Prior to this U.S. release, the 15 ml glass bottles were available only in Japan. Now, for an MSRP of $32 for a set of three, North American enthusiasts can enjoy the exquisite miniature presentation.

In a further breaking down of borders, Pilot is also making certain nibs available in North America that previously could be obtained here only by ordering them from Japan.

The Custom Heritage 912 series, which came to North America earlier this year, has 14 different nib options, including the additions, Lane says. “In keeping with Pilot’s mission to deliver on consumers’ unmet needs, we determined through feedback from die-hard collectors which nibs we should bring over to North America.

We’ve brought over the extra-fine, the soft-fine, the music nib, which is very popular, the stub nib, and the Falcon.”

The most unusual and highly anticipated among them is the Falcon nib, which features cutouts just above the shoulders of the nib to make it more flexible. Lane explains that the nib was designed to emulate Japanese brush writing and performs at its best when making short strokes, as one would in Japanese calligraphy.

The stub is a flat-edged nib with the corners softened for exceptionally smooth writing, and the wide, two-slitted music nib provides a lush ink flow. As is typical with Japanese nibs, the extra-fine and soft-fine nibs are about one grade finer than their European counterparts, and the soft-fine is semi-flexible.

There’s always something new on the horizon for Pilot Pen. The amazing thing is the way the company manages—in its nib options, inks, and pens like the Sterling Komodo Dragon, the Sterling Giant Panda, the Kabuto, and the Custom Heritage 912—to celebrate its past, as well.

Visit pilotpen.us.

53

$ -

THE PEERLESS IN GOLD PETER THUM, SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR SEE HOW PETER AND OTHERS ARE MAKING THEIR MARK AT CROSS.COM/X

LÉMAN Collection

Give the gift of Caran d’Ache Fine Writing and Matching Leather Accessories this Holiday Season!

3BDFXBZ %SJWF 6OJU .PPSFTWJMMF /$ t 1IPOF t 'BY

FUHDWLYHDUWPDWHULDOV FRP ‡ FDUDQGDFKH FK

EACH MASTERPIECE A BESPOKE JEWEL

New York, Fountain Pen Hospital, 10 Warren Street, NY 10007, call toll free: 800-253-7367 Zurich/Switzerland, Landolt-Arbenz, Bahnhofstrasse 65, CH-8001 Zurich, Phone +41 43 443 77 00 Vienna/Austria, Weidler Schreibwaren, Graben 26, A-1010 Vienna, Phone +43 1 5335010

Von Moos Manufaktur AG | Kasernenplatz 2 | CH-6000 Luzern 7 | Phone +41 41 318 36 36 Mail: info@vonmoos-manufaktur.com | vonmoos-manufaktur.com

Fine Pens, Accessories, Books, Corporate Gifts, Inks, Engraving, Refills, Repairs, Tools, & Calligraphy Please call

800-253-PENS

or visit WWW .F OUNTAIN P EN H OSPITAL . COM and request our free 92-page catalog.

FountainPenHospital.com/Ink

800-253-PENS 10 Warren Street New York, NY 10007 www.FountainPenHospital.com

THE EUROPEAN COLLECTION OF FINE WRITING INSTRUMENTS FEATURING A LARGE SELECTION OF VINTAGE NAMIKI AND MONTBLANC

LONDON PREVIEW December 10-11, 13-14 +1 (415) 503 3255 ivan.briggs@bonhams.com

Monday December 14, 2pm London

bonhams.com/pens © 2015 Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. All rights reserved. Principal Auctioneer: Patrick Meade. NYC License No. 1183066-DCA

network THE PEN GUARDIAN The Ultimate in Pocket Art Protection

Protect your pen investment.

Handcrafted in the USA with top-grain calf leather.

717.554.0797 • thepenguardian@gmail.com

“KNOWING WHAT’S WRITE SINCE 1922”

Fred P. Krinke

Penguardian.com

PRESIDENT

Tuesday–Friday, 9-4 • Most Saturdays, 10-3 • Call to Verify

WritePensInk Custom pens made with

Custom pens made with real luxury luxury watch watch parts parts real

Dalepenkala@gmail.com 989.284.8871

writepensink.com

The Ink Flow

TM

Fine Pen Retailers

COLLECTIONS ACME ANCORA AURORA BEXLEY CARAN d’ACHE COLIBRI CONWAY STEWART CROSS

84

HOME

ORDER INFO

We make writing an enjoyable experience TRACKING

LINKS

CONTACT

F. A. Q.

CART

www.theinkflow.com FinePens@TheInkFlow.com 210.493.6135 Description

Retail

Yo u r P r i c e

Buy Option

S. T. Dupont Shanghai Limited $2990.00 Edition fountain pen

Click the buy button

Buy

S. T. Dupont Place Vendome L. Edition fountain pen 481047

Click the buy button

Buy

S. T. Dupont Place Vendome Limited Edition Roller pen 4 8 2 0 4 7

Click the buy button

Buy

. T. Dupont Samourai Limited.

Click the

Buy

$2500 00

2640 S. Myrtle Ave, Unit 12 Monrovia, CA 91016

Phone: (626) 294-9974 Fax: (626) 294-0576 E-Mail: fredspen@yahoo.com

PENTOOLING.com OLING com m PPENTOO ENTOOOLING.com TM

Vintage V int i age F Fountain ount o ain Pens Pens ns & Tools Tools For Fo or Restoring Restoring Them

85