Pilot Custom Urushi Red Review

[Fatalpotato]

Thank you for the really good interview. I wonder what's the reason why Pilot do not release this worldwide already?

 

Thanks, and for your question your guess is as good as mine but what the guy I bought this pen from said pilot and Japanese brands in general have very hawkish dealerships in my country, which dictate the prices and probably also the models available. Don't know if this is the case in larger countries as well but I would guess if say pilot us would deem this item is not suitable for their market, us probably won't get it, which is a shame

[hari317]

Thanks for the excellent review. I have been weighing the purchase of this pen for a long time now but I am unable to justify to myself the 7xx usd cost. I am waiting for them to release this nib in a cheaper body and also wider nib choices like BB or C.

Edited May 28, 2018 by hari317

[MomoShinChan]

Thanks, and for your question your guess is as good as mine but what the guy I bought this pen from said pilot and Japanese brands in general have very hawkish dealerships in my country, which dictate the prices and probably also the models available. Don't know if this is the case in larger countries as well but I would guess if say pilot us would deem this item is not suitable for their market, us probably won't get it, which is a shame

 

To be honest, why the hell do Pilot keep a good pen for one market when they can release it to larger revenue over the world. If I am not mistaken, they have quite a big network of traditional as well as online retailers. It might be understandable when it is a small company as they might not have the capacity to scale up but this is Pilot we are talking about. They are fricking huge!

[jar]

 

To be honest, why the hell do Pilot keep a good pen for one market when they can release it to larger revenue over the world. If I am not mistaken, they have quite a big network of traditional as well as online retailers. It might be understandable when it is a small company as they might not have the capacity to scale up but this is Pilot we are talking about. They are fricking huge!

But the process is not something really scalable.

 

Raw urushi oil is very irritating; think poison ivy,

 

There are a limited number of people who are tolerant of the effects of raw urushi.

 

It is a slow process as each layer must cure; it is not dried.

 

Between applying each layer the existing layer must be polished and cleaned before the next layer is applied.

 

Urushi itself is created in small batches and keeping colors consistent is difficult.

[Fatalpotato]

But the process is not something really scalable.

 

Raw urushi oil is very irritating; think poison ivy,

 

There are a limited number of people who are tolerant of the effects of raw urushi.

 

It is a slow process as each layer must cure; it is not dried.

 

Between applying each layer the existing layer must be polished and cleaned before the next layer is applied.

 

Urushi itself is created in small batches and keeping colors consistent is difficult.

I would guess this is a solid argument for pens like danitrio, kop, nakaya etc. urushi which come in all colors of rainbow and then some more. But for two colors, especially black and this not so astonishing red, I think this is a non-issue.

[jar]

I would guess this is a solid argument for pens like danitrio, kop, nakaya etc. urushi which come in all colors of rainbow and then some more. But for two colors, especially black and this not so astonishing red, I think this is a non-issue.

The process is the same regardless of the color.

[Fatalpotato]

The process is the same regardless of the color.

Well, then I think it is perfectly fair to expect them to sell the whole gamut of their products globally, not just a select few. I don't know the specifics but if the black version of the pen can be sold everywhere, I guess red one should be sold as well. And if it's the same work to produce, I'd buy a lilac one as well .

[Mew]

From what I am told, Pilot currently has the capacity to produce only a handful of these pens (think about 20 per month?), and they are already cutting back on making their 845 both in black and vermillion. There is a substantial premium to be paid for this pen over 845, almost 80% which makes it accessible to lesser people. Maybe cutting back more on 845 is not a good idea considering more people would be able to buy that and not this. Just business. Sometimes we need to evaluate a product situation from a business point of view rather than an enthusiast.

[Fatalpotato]

In one of the more recent 845 reviews, I saw one writer complaining about their waiting time for 845 being prolonged after custom urushi was introduced, which means that one is definitely scaling the production of the other back. However, if basic economics works here,(if buyers are price sensitive like in general market) I would guess pilot would like to produce more of the expensive pen, as I guess it wouldn't be much more costly than 845, but it is sold for almost double the price, which means that if they're profiting $100 from each 845,they should be profiting around $350 for each custom urushi. I don't know the real figures ofc but I would guess the nibs are machine work, and the price of gold spent on it should be pretty negligible compared to 845,and the urushi barrel is not so much larger than the 845, but the cheapest 845 I can find goes for around $400 while custom is around $700. For a company, whichever direction the (profitxsales figures) is skewed, it is smarter for them to produce that unit. But this still doesn't answer the question why pilot does not release this pen globally, as Imho limited production should not be equal to regional availability. My knowledge on this topic is very limited, and would be pleased to be schooled if anyone has the time

[Tseg]

It’s a Marketing thing, we wouldn’t understand.

[MomoShinChan]

I think if Pilot want to scale up, they are able to do so. No one is going to buy the Custom Urushi in droves because how many people have $700 in spare cash to buy an fountain pen?

[Fatalpotato]

Yeah so many variables in this setup, profitability per pen, sales numbers, production time, natural restraints (I hear urushi is a very rare substance),but Imho this still does not explain why they're limiting the sales for Japan

[MomoShinChan]

Yeah so many variables in this setup, profitability per pen, sales numbers, production time, natural restraints (I hear urushi is a very rare substance),but Imho this still does not explain why they're limiting the sales for Japan

 

I think this is a textbook case of artificial scarcity from Japanese manufacturers, Sailor is particularly guilty of this.I do remember reading about a law in Japan that a good introduced as a limited edition at first cannot be sold again as mass produced goods so Sailor might not be guilty. Still, I hold my opinion on this as I have seen many Japanese companies did so

[sannidh]

Thank you for sharing this review and congratulations on getting it. I too like Hari am waiting for Pilot to release the #30 nib in a different pen without the 7XX tag

Somehow, I feel an ED would have made more sense to the price tag, CON-70 is kind of just okay..

They may perhaps, do a 14k monotone on #30 for some differentiation !

[Fatalpotato]

Thank you for sharing this review and congratulations on getting it. I too like Hari am waiting for Pilot to release the #30 nib in a different pen without the 7XX tag

Somehow, I feel an ED would have made more sense to the price tag, CON-70 is kind of just okay..

They may perhaps, do a 14k monotone on #30 for some differentiation !

Thanks and thanks! I hope they come out with such a pen, it would be a killer if it came out with a 743 style body, perhaps for around $400. If this was a Pelikan pen I'm sure they would make three special editions of this pen already

[Mew]

I think if Pilot want to scale up, they are able to do so. No one is going to buy the Custom Urushi in droves because how many people have $700 in spare cash to buy an fountain pen?

You answered your own problem. Not many people are going to buy this pen, as compared to their other models. Is the cost of scaling up manufacturing going to be covered by the increased sales? That's a standard example of relevant costing which every company does. Pilot probably saw the answer as negative.

[flipper_gv]

In one of the more recent 845 reviews, I saw one writer complaining about their waiting time for 845 being prolonged after custom urushi was introduced, which means that one is definitely scaling the production of the other back. However, if basic economics works here,(if buyers are price sensitive like in general market) I would guess pilot would like to produce more of the expensive pen, as I guess it wouldn't be much more costly than 845, but it is sold for almost double the price, which means that if they're profiting $100 from each 845,they should be profiting around $350 for each custom urushi. I don't know the real figures ofc but I would guess the nibs are machine work, and the price of gold spent on it should be pretty negligible compared to 845,and the urushi barrel is not so much larger than the 845, but the cheapest 845 I can find goes for around $400 while custom is around $700. For a company, whichever direction the (profitxsales figures) is skewed, it is smarter for them to produce that unit. But this still doesn't answer the question why pilot does not release this pen globally, as Imho limited production should not be equal to regional availability. My knowledge on this topic is very limited, and would be pleased to be schooled if anyone has the time

You assume well as it is precisely what Tokyo Quill Shop reported (relating to the production of the Custom Urushi slowing the production of the 845)

 

 

 

Dear Costumers,

For long period out of stock status of Pilot Custom 845 FA nib, WA nib and all vermilion lacquer models, we sincerely apologize to customers who are willing to purchase these products.

The batch we ordered in May, 2016 was estimated to deliver to our shop before July, 2017; whereas in February, 2017, we are noticed by Pilot that the delivery will be delayed to 2018 and still have no specific date.

We are truly sorry to customers who are waiting the delivery and please let us apologize again. The following is detail background for the delay:

For Pilot Custom 845 FA nib, WA nib and all vermilion lacquer models, these are our shop’s original models and each of them need 6 months as delivery period. In September, 2016, Pilot noticed us they have to prolong delivery period to 8 months because they have to spare production capacity to produce the new “Custom Urushi” model which is available form 2016’s autumn.

Custom Urushi shares same material and production process with Custom 845. Since Pilot wants to keep Custom Urushi’s delivery away from any delay issues, they have to prolong delivery period of Custom 845 vermilion lacquer models to 8 months.

We accept 8 months as delivery period for two reasons: one is that we couldn’t interrupt Pilot’s normal production since they spare capacity to make vermilion lacquer models only for us, another one is that we haven't announce the scheduled delivery time for next batch in that time.

Besides the prolonged delivery time, Pilot also noticed us they have to raise the item price because the cost of ebonite and lacquer is raising.

Based on Pilot’s notice above, we projected the delivery would be on early 2017 and ordered in May, 2016 and we planned to update specific delivery date and price once we have further information from Pilot.

In early 2017, Pilot told us the capacity is still insufficient to meet their delivery schedule of Custom Urushi and they have to delay the delivery of our order to 2018 and still have no specific date. For the raised price, they answered the new price will be 60,000 JPY excluding tax.

Here we have additional information about Custom Urushi. Pilot will issue vermilion lacquer models of Custom Urushi when production capacity could meet the schedule of black lacquer models on time. Pilot also told us that it’s highly probably our vermilion lacquer Custom 845 order would arrive after they issues vermilion Custom Urushi.

According to Pilot’s plan, vermilion Custom Urushi would be regular lineup when our vermilion Custom 845 arrives. For customers who are planning to purchase vermilion lacquer model, vermilion Custom Urushi would be another size option we can offer.

Above is detail background and thank you for your patience of long text reading. We also explained the background to customers who had mailed the inquiry.

As our constant policy, we refer customers who have ordered and still waiting product’s arrival as our first priority when issue effects them occurs. And we will use our policy to negotiate with manufacturer again and again when condition changes.

Still, we are sorry to announce that this time we are no able to avoid out of stock status for long period.

We will continue to negotiate with manufacturer for shorten delivery period.

We appreciate your kind understanding.

Sincerely yours,

Tokyo Pen Shop Quill

July, 2017

[MomoShinChan]

Well, if this is correct then demand is probably greater than Pilot thought it was going to be. This would also explain the reason they are not going to introduce the model outside Japan yet.

[Mew]

Finally got the black one at an awesome price, seems like a very nice pen although I haven't inked it up yet.

[Fatalpotato]

Finally got the black one at an awesome price, seems like a very nice pen although I haven't inked it up yet.

Nice, when I bought mine prices on ebay for used were similar to new. It's a nice looking pen but the real catch is that marvelous nib. You gotta try it to see that. My favorite modern nib by far, including anything from Omas to Pelikan to sailor