Sailor's Full Ink Lines Including Shop Exclusives Compiled In A Post?

[swanjun]

I hate them too. That's just after 1 week of usage and 2 refills.

Converters are not a problem since they can be filled using a syringe. Eyedroppers (don't have any) can be filled using an eyedropper. But piston fillers and vacuum fillers are a real pain.

I had to tilt the bottle using a book as a support and then tilt the pen too to fill a vacuum filler. This is pilot custom 823 we are talking about.

 

That ink reservoir to aid in filling pens is useless.

 

I've never tried this with my 823, but.... one *can* pull the nib and feed out. Would it be possible to fill via a syringe through the opening, or does the vacuum mechanism seal that part up?

[Dhruv_Sood]

Sorry, I'm not that adventurous.

[jmccarty3]

I was luck enough to get one of the last Aka-tamenuri lacquered ink bottle holders from some outfit on Rakuten. It's designed to fit one of the squat Sailor bottles, but it hold it at an angle, like the boxes for the Caran d'Ache inks, making filling somewhat easier. Like so many other things that are beautiful, desirable, or useful in the fountain pen world, it's out-of-stock.

[gylyf]

Fill a sample vial with a syringe and fill the pen from the vial?

[lgsoltek]

Filling a Pilot VP from a regular Sailor bottle, especially one with the plastic insert, is a terrible experience.

[FinalEleven]

Okay, that certainly makes me uneasy. I am about to use SAL for a 15kg parcel. What are those horror stories?

I think a 15kg parcel will be okay. That seems to be a pretty substantial order honestly lol. My friend ordered some goods from japan and they were severely damaged in transit...one could even say crushed. He was not a happy camper.

 

Filling a Pilot VP from a regular Sailor bottle, especially one with the plastic insert, is a terrible experience.

 

Last time I tried filling my Pilot VP with Sailor Shigure...about all my fingers were covered in ink. As well as my desk. And my shirt. It was not fun. I ended up just using a syringe.

 

I'm actually glad I bought a spare diamond bottle from Vanness when they had some in stock. I will be placing one of the newlyacquired inks into that.

Edited September 8, 2015 by FinalEleven

[AndyYNWA]

Goulet sometimes sell empty Iroshizuku bottles. Could be an option for those who don't like the standard Sailor bottles.

 

 

 

 

This is the last note I have in the tracking system of Post Japan, entered 2 days ago:

Dispatch from outward office of exchange

 

Do I get any more updates before the package arrives at my door step? Or is it still stuck in Japan?

[Dhruv_Sood]

Dispatch from outward office of exchange means that your parcel has left Japan.

 

Next few updates would be something like this.

Arrival at inward office of exchange

Send item to customs

Record item custom information (means custom duty is charged)

Return item from customs

 

I think a 15kg parcel will be okay. That seems to be a pretty substantial order honestly lol. My friend ordered some goods from japan and they were severely damaged in transit...one could even say crushed. He was not a happy camper.

 

That's 4000 sheets of tomoe River paper from Rakuten.

Very substantial.

I think the way packages are handled in both SAL and EMS is same. Only difference is that the SAL parcels spend more time at the outward airport than EMS packages.

If there is empty space, EMS packages will be put in first and then SAL, if space is left. Customs authorities in any country do not give any sort of preference to processing EMS parcels before SAL parcels. They still do it in first in, first out basis while retaining items that needs custom duty charged.

[mongrelnomad]

I was luck enough to get one of the last Aka-tamenuri lacquered ink bottle holders from some outfit on Rakuten. It's designed to fit one of the squat Sailor bottles, but it hold it at an angle, like the boxes for the Caran d'Ache inks, making filling somewhat easier. Like so many other things that are beautiful, desirable, or useful in the fountain pen world, it's out-of-stock.

 

I have one of these as well (actually, I have two). Still hate the bottles.

[AndyYNWA]

Dispatch from outward office of exchange means that your parcel has left Japan.

 

Next few updates would be something like this.

Arrival at inward office of exchange

Send item to customs

Record item custom information (means custom duty is charged)

Return item from customs

 

<snip>

I just received the following update:

Arrival at inward office of exchange (Stockholm)

 

It's getting closer! Only 600 km to go....

[haruka337]

Let's consolidate the options:

 

-Purchase emptied glass bottles.

-Employee an industrial syringe.

-Use an inkwell.

-Don't buy ink in generic Sailor bottles.

-Accept it.

 

--

 

Someone recommended that Sailor buy the glass factory that made the diamond shaped bottle--without delving too deeply into the reverberating economics and current state of the glass industry--that would not be wise and Sailor knows it.

 

There's even rumor that Pilot may switch out the glass bottle they use for Iroshizuku, but it's a rumor I've not tried to confirm.

[lgsoltek]

Let's consolidate the options:

 

-Purchase emptied glass bottles.

-Employee an industrial syringe.

-Use an inkwell.

-Don't buy ink in generic Sailor bottles.

-Accept it.

 

--

 

Someone recommended that Sailor buy the glass factory that made the diamond shaped bottle--without delving too deeply into the reverberating economics and current state of the glass industry--that would not be wise and Sailor knows it.

 

There's even rumor that Pilot may switch out the glass bottle they use for Iroshizuku, but it's a rumor I've not tried to confirm.

 

What I heard is that Pilot is going to switch from hand-making the Iroshizuku bottles to machine production.

[Algester]

that would mean that Iroshizuku bottles could be cheaper then... at least hopefully thats what I'm led to think as I have heard of rumors Iroshizuku inks was and were artificially deflated in terms of price in Japan...

[haruka337]

that would mean that Iroshizuku bottles could be cheaper then... at least hopefully thats what I'm led to think as I have heard of rumors Iroshizuku inks was and were artificially deflated in terms of price in Japan...

They may be trying to maintain current prices by altering the bottle or style of production--glass has gotten more expensive.

[FinalEleven]

They may be trying to maintain current prices by altering the bottle or style of production--glass has gotten more expensive.

That sounds about right. Noodler's just very recently moved to plastic bottles due to their suppliers raising prices.

 

This actually saddens me as all these handmade glass bottles are beautiful items to have. It's still secondary to ink but the aesthetics are important to some as well.

[white_lotus]

 

What I heard is that Pilot is going to switch from hand-making the Iroshizuku bottles to machine production.

Guess I'd better buy all the Iro I've ever wanted before the switch.

 

You might ask, why? Because something that is hand made is made by a real person. I want to support real people who hold traditional crafts and skills. Otherwise those die out. Once that happens, they are gone forever.

 

The raw material for glass is sand. My guess is it's still quite cheap. Energy is needed to convert that sand into glass. While global energy production is very high and thus cost is cheaper than it has been in years, Japan is an island country with few natural energy resources. So the costs there may be much higher, especially with the shutdown of most nuclear reactors in Japan since the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.

 

My guess the reason that the custom glass supplier shut down (if that's what happened) was lack in demand, and that Sailor's requirements alone couldn't keep that other company in business.

[haruka337]

...

 

My guess the reason that the custom glass supplier shut down (if that's what happened) was lack in demand, and that Sailor's requirements alone couldn't keep that other company in business.

Correct, but the lack of demand is more tied into the local factories, not the glass.

 

Some glass factories (not just in Japan) are shuttering because they can not compete with bids from overseas (mostly from China). Problem is, many Chinese glass factories are promising more than they can deliver on and are taking on more orders than they can realistically meet. Orders get backlogged, quality isn't quiet as promised (reflective of the price) and the logistics of safely shipping glass are rising issues. That and the demand for glass has risen in construction.

 

Since the number of glass factories have reduced, businesses don't have as many choices in who they can work with. Bummer.

 

I've noticed online vendors and B&M stores quietly raise their prices (the past few months) on some inks. Nothing that goes over "suggested retail price"--the average hike being between $2 to $4--,but it's something I didn't quite notice until now.

[dms525]

This may be a result of the recession from which we are recovering as much as competition from China. See this article: There's a Glass Shortage, And It's Dramatically Slowing Down The article focuses on the US market and US glass manufacturers. I don't know about Japan.

 

David

[white_lotus]

Yes, competition from China is quite a problem (not being political here really). I get many emails from Chinese glass suppliers wanting to sell bottles to my business. Probably one a month. I delete them. My American glass bottle supplier has had some shortages but this is due to high demand in my industry which is growing rapidly.

 

The article about a glass shortage is in regards to glass for buildings. Unless you're a very large company, architectural glass manufacturers don't usually produce bottles. The production process is different in many ways, and there are many legal requirements for glass used in buildings that won't apply to simple bottles.

 

And the bottles Sailor used were totally custom. So getting someone else to make them would take time.

[haruka337]

Fascinating. Thank you for the additional insight as a buyer, white_lotus.

 

If you don't mind noting (okay if you don't), what industry are you in?