Bakelite Pens By Wancher On Kickstarter

[Theroc]

Wancher has launched a kickstarter for a series of fountain pens with the name Seven Treasures. They are made from Bakelite and feature Shippoyaki; Japanese Cloisonne artwork.

 

Current super early bird reward is at $240 for the basic version with steel nib and plastic feed.

Black ebonite feed is an aditional $30

Red ebonite feed is +$50

Gold nib is +$130

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wancher/seven-treasures

Edited February 4, 2020 by Theroc

[TaizoOkagaki]

Thank you so much for your support. I hope the pen will fulfill your expectation!

[OmegaMountain]

I really wanted to back this one, but 10-11 months is too much of a lead time for me. Beautiful pens though and I am glad it funded!

[TaizoOkagaki]

I really wanted to back this one, but 10-11 months is too much of a lead time for me. Beautiful pens though and I am glad it funded!

We expect to ship them in July if you order steel nib. For gold nib, we need a bit more time to make the nib so it migh take until December. Thank you for your support. I hope I will do better.

[Bill P]

Taizo:

 

I have read that Bakelite in Fountain pens can be very fragile , particularly if dropped.

 

Is that true with your Bakelite Pen? If no, what have you done differently so as to make your Bakelite not fragile?

 

Does the Bakelite require any special care? (environmental? cleaning?)

 

Thanks in advance for your reply..

[BlueJ]

Brittleness would be my concern about bakelite, too. Did you ever see an old movie where someone throws a phonograph record against a wall like a frisbee, and it shatters? Those 78 rpm records were bakelite. Vinyl (introduced late in the 78 rpm era and used in all 33 1/3 rpm LPs) doesn't do that, of course. Here we're talking about pens, but unless Taizo's material is different somehow, the same issue will exist.

 

On another front, this pen looks very similar to the FPNibs.com Ronda. I wonder if Wancher is getting these from the same factory in Taiwan that makes the FPNibs Ronda and Marbella? Those pens cost only a fraction of this one, and you can get them with one of Pablo's custom grinds too.

[OmegaMountain]

 

On another front, this pen looks very similar to the FPNibs.com Ronda. I wonder if Wancher is getting these from the same factory in Taiwan that makes the FPNibs Ronda and Marbella? Those pens cost only a fraction of this one, and you can get them with one of Pablo's custom grinds too.

 

Doubtful - the Wancher is a piston filler according to the Kickstarter and the Ronda is just a c/c pen.

[Bill P]

 

Doubtful - the Wancher is a piston filler according to the Kickstarter and the Ronda is just a c/c pen.

 

 

Not sure it is true Piston fill...like a Pelikan piston fill.

 

In the video on Kickstarter there is an image that appears for a brief moment, where the barrel is off and its looks like a traditional converter ...so perhaps this pen is a captive converter, sometimes deceptively (in my opinion) called, a Piston Fill.

 

The fpnibs Rhonda and Marbella are both made of Resin.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Bill P

[SpecTP]

I have a set of dice made of bakelite. They have been used daily for over 20yrs in boardgames. They are not brittle by any measure.

[dapprman]

Figboot recently did a video on it - he describes it as a piston filler - remember you are also paying for the shippoyaki piece on the cap. Also the section unscrews to allow you to fill without getting in on it.

[Theroc]

Watch the video on their Kickstarter page @2:37. It looks like a captive converter.

However, it's not a standard converter, it looks much fatter than a Schmidt K5 for instance. It also appears to have a ratcheting mechanism similar to some Visconti and Delta models.

Reminds me of the Centropen 10014.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Theroc

[WLSpec]

Saw these! They are beautiful.

[A Smug Dill]

Watch the video on their Kickstarter page @2:37. It looks like a captive converter.

However, it's not a standard converter, it looks much fatter than a Schmidt K5 for instance. It also appears to have a ratcheting mechanism similar to some Visconti and Delta models.

 

 

I suspect it's the same Schmidt piston-filler component used by Santini Italia in its Libra and Calypso models, down to the ratcheting mechanism and the capacity of the ink reservoir.

[AGxM]

I have bitten the bullet on this ..... long wait until December for the gold nib, but by then my wallet would have forgotten about it and so no biggie!

[TaizoOkagaki]

Taizo:

 

I have read that Bakelite in Fountain pens can be very fragile , particularly if dropped.

 

Is that true with your Bakelite Pen? If no, what have you done differently so as to make your Bakelite not fragile?

 

Does the Bakelite require any special care? (environmental? cleaning?)

 

Thanks in advance for your reply..

I understand your concern but my bakelite pen is not brittle nor week. In fact, it is very strong after a lot of testing and experiments. This bakelite is made using a special technique where roll-up paper and cotton is used as a base.

Of course, this bakelite is 100% from Japan and confirmed with safety as well as strength certificate.

 

You can clean the fountain pen using a cloth with or without slightly abrasive cleaner (don't forget to wear gloves) and do not apply strong pressure on the bakelite surface.

[mauckcg]

Brittleness would be my concern about bakelite, too. Did you ever see an old movie where someone throws a phonograph record against a wall like a frisbee, and it shatters? Those 78 rpm records were bakelite. Vinyl (introduced late in the 78 rpm era and used in all 33 1/3 rpm LPs) doesn't do that, of course. Here we're talking about pens, but unless Taizo's material is different somehow, the same issue will exist.

 

On another front, this pen looks very similar to the FPNibs.com Ronda. I wonder if Wancher is getting these from the same factory in Taiwan that makes the FPNibs Ronda and Marbella? Those pens cost only a fraction of this one, and you can get them with one of Pablo's custom grinds too.

Depends on the Bakelite I would Imagine. Eastern europe used bakelite for years on firearms and the parts held up well, some of the bits being rather thin and long which would lead to cracking and such.

[Estycollector]

Telephones, razor handles, insulators, and light fixtures were made from Bakelite.

[Bill P]

I understand your concern but my bakelite pen is not brittle nor week. In fact, it is very strong after a lot of testing and experiments. This bakelite is made using a special technique where roll-up paper and cotton is used as a base.

Of course, this bakelite is 100% from Japan and confirmed with safety as well as strength certificate.

 

You can clean the fountain pen using a cloth with or without slightly abrasive cleaner (don't forget to wear gloves) and do not apply strong pressure on the bakelite surface.

 

 

Taizo:

 

Thank-you for your reply...best of luck with your Kickstarter campaign.

 

Bill

[Theroc]

Telephones, razor handles, insulators, and light fixtures were made from Bakelite.

Steering wheels. That's the first image that pops up in my mind when Bakelite is mentioned.

Along with a sharp pang of nostalgia.

[Dovucoe]

I understand your concern but my bakelite pen is not brittle nor week. In fact, it is very strong after a lot of testing and experiments. This bakelite is made using a special technique where roll-up paper and cotton is used as a base.

Of course, this bakelite is 100% from Japan and confirmed with safety as well as strength certificate.

 

You can clean the fountain pen using a cloth with or without slightly abrasive cleaner (don't forget to wear gloves) and do not apply strong pressure on the bakelite surface.

 

Hi, just to check, would it be OK to soak parts of the pen in water?