I got this pen today

[Number99]

22 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

This particular one uses an 'accordion' filler but it seems there were cartridge/converter versions as well. See https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2011/09/japanese-accordion.html

 

Unfortunately, the sac on mine is ossified and no current replacement sac is available. A fix is to use a regular sac and turn the button, instead of pressing it, to twist the sac, then turn it back to the original position to untwist and fill. I suppose another fix would be to use a regular sac, leaving the sac protector tube (and the button) off, and simply squeeze the sac with your fingers, which is what I did with a couple Sheaffer Touchdown filler pens until I got the rubber seals they need. 

 

 

The complexity of consumable parts was unexpected.

 Please tell me the official model name of the cigar type elite.

 I'll try Google to see how Japanese users and collectors are dealing with it.

 It would be nice to find a regeneration method that makes use of the breather tube inside the filler.

 

[PithyProlix]

54 minutes ago, Number99 said:

The complexity of consumable parts was unexpected.

 Please tell me the official model name of the cigar type elite.

 I'll try Google to see how Japanese users and collectors are dealing with it.

 It would be nice to find a regeneration method that makes use of the breather tube inside the filler.

 

 

Unfortunately I've never seen the model name/number mentioned. And I don't recall seeing a model number stamped on any Elite series pen. I vaguely remember reading that Pilot abandoned this filling system after around 2 years. 

[Number99]

18 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

Unfortunately I've never seen the model name/number mentioned. And I don't recall seeing a model number stamped on any Elite series pen. I vaguely remember reading that Pilot abandoned this filling system after around 2 years. 

I searched but couldn't find it.

 There was only one blog post saying "It can be repaired by the pilot", and I confirmed it by email to the pilot.

 Only bellows rubber is in stock and only replacement and repair is possible (parts other than bellows rubber are out of stock).

 For repairs from overseas, please complete the procedure from the local window.

 The price of bellows rubber is 2200 JPY and there may be additional shipping and regional charges.

 The Japanese name for the filler system is "ゴムベローズ押下式フィラー".

 You can copy and paste this to request.

 

[Number99]

10 minutes ago, Number99 said:

I searched but couldn't find it.

 There was only one blog post saying "It can be repaired by the pilot", and I confirmed it by email to the pilot.

 Only bellows rubber is in stock and only replacement and repair is possible (parts other than bellows rubber are out of stock).

 For repairs from overseas, please complete the procedure from the local window.

 The price of bellows rubber is 2200 JPY and there may be additional shipping and regional charges.

 The Japanese name for the filler system is "ゴムベローズ押下式フィラー".

 You can copy and paste this to request.

 

Just in case, I will introduce the link of the blog article that was the basis for contacting Pilot Fountain Pen Co., Ltd. by e-mail.

 Please check the image of the filler.

https://www.sumi-ri.com/columnpilotsilvern.htm

 

 

 

[DvdRiet]

This nice little vintage Merlin Superior piston-filler arrived today, the first vintage pen I have bought in a while. The nib appears to be a Merlin-branded Degussa nib, which I'm quite excited about. The pen is very clean but with traces of ink in it, and the piston moves up and down easily but I am not sure if there is enough resistance to hold ink reliably without leaking or if the piston seal is about to give out. So I guess I either have a little research and job ahead or decide if I need to send it off for repairs. 

 

 

ps. I know nothing about these pens so feel free to volunteer any info you'd like to share!  Including how to remove the piston lol

[OldTravelingShoe]

Very nice pen, @DvdRiet! Would be curious if the nib gives good line variation, even if only dipped. Thanks for sharing. 

[DvdRiet]

16 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Very nice pen, @DvdRiet! Would be curious if the nib gives good line variation, even if only dipped. Thanks for sharing. 

 

Thanks! Here are my initial scribbles with the pen after dipping the nib in water. It seems to be very typically soft for the nibs of the period, with an easy line variation. There are no markings on it but I can write very, very tiny with it, so I think it might be an F or even EF (didn't measure) and possibly a right-foot oblique (or just very well used by a lefty), but I really need to investigate further with proper magnification and light. (Please forgive the kooky scribbles. This is just me checking whether the thing actually works! 😅 A bit like those notes lying around that say 'what color is this?')

 

[PithyProlix]

5 hours ago, Number99 said:

I searched but couldn't find it.

 There was only one blog post saying "It can be repaired by the pilot", and I confirmed it by email to the pilot.

 Only bellows rubber is in stock and only replacement and repair is possible (parts other than bellows rubber are out of stock).

 For repairs from overseas, please complete the procedure from the local window.

 The price of bellows rubber is 2200 JPY and there may be additional shipping and regional charges.

 The Japanese name for the filler system is "ゴムベローズ押下式フィラー".

 You can copy and paste this to request.

 

 

Wonderful - thank you very much for checking! I assumed that the bellows sacs were no longer available since others have said they are not.

 

Do you have the URL for the web page for contacting Pilot for this, please? 

[A Smug Dill]

3 minutes ago, PithyProlix said:

Do you have the URL for the web page for contacting Pilot for this, please? 

https://ssl.pilot.co.jp/public/contact/form.php

[PithyProlix]

12 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

https://ssl.pilot.co.jp/public/contact/form.php

 

Thank you but that URL gives an error when trying to go to it directly. It seems you have to click through to that page from this page: 

https://www.pilot.co.jp/service/repair_receipt/

 

Interestingly, there's no "contact" link listed on the sitemap page, nor is there a service/repair link (which is why I asked). 

[Number99]

I'm not an overseas resident so I'm not confident there ...

 I don't know if this is okay.

 

 There is one caveat.

 If any part other than bellows rubber cannot be used, it will be treated as an unrepairable item and will probably be sent back without attaching a sack.

 Once you start exchanging emails with the pilot's repair desk, you may want to show all the remaining parts in a photo at once.

 

https://www.pilot.co.jp/company/english/global/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

Interestingly, there's no "contact" link listed on the sitemap page, nor is there a service/repair link (which is why I asked). 

 

[Number99]

33 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Thank you very much.

 The contact point for pilots was the same as in Japan.

 😄

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

10 hours ago, DvdRiet said:

 

Thanks! Here are my initial scribbles with the pen after dipping the nib in water. It seems to be very typically soft for the nibs of the period, with an easy line variation. There are no markings on it but I can write very, very tiny with it, so I think it might be an F or even EF (didn't measure) and possibly a right-foot oblique (or just very well used by a lefty), but I really need to investigate further with proper magnification and light. (Please forgive the kooky scribbles. This is just me checking whether the thing actually works! 😅 A bit like those notes lying around that say 'what color is this?')

 

@DvdRiet, this looks to me like a very versatile nib, enough for my sketching for example. Very nice!

 

Also inspiring: I have left my own pen with a Degussa nib to wait for a while, until I figured out what works and what doesn't in its piston mechanism. This makes me want to try it out sooner rather than later. Thank you. 

 

(Btw, when I say "my own pen", it's not that I want to be mysterious, but that I have to figure out what pen it actually is. If I cannot untangle the puzzle, I will of course ask for help on FPN.) 

[PithyProlix]

11 hours ago, DvdRiet said:

This nice little vintage Merlin Superior piston-filler arrived today, the first vintage pen I have bought in a while. The nib appears to be a Merlin-branded Degussa nib, which I'm quite excited about. The pen is very clean but with traces of ink in it, and the piston moves up and down easily but I am not sure if there is enough resistance to hold ink reliably without leaking or if the piston seal is about to give out. So I guess I either have a little research and job ahead or decide if I need to send it off for repairs. 

 

 

ps. I know nothing about these pens so feel free to volunteer any info you'd like to share!  Including how to remove the piston lol

 

Nice find!

 

[DvdRiet]

3 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

@DvdRiet, this looks to me like a very versatile nib, enough for my sketching for example. Very nice!

 

Also inspiring: I have left my own pen with a Degussa nib to wait for a while, until I figured out what works and what doesn't in its piston mechanism. This makes me want to try it out sooner rather than later. Thank you. 

 

(Btw, when I say "my own pen", it's not that I want to be mysterious, but that I have to figure out what pen it actually is. If I cannot untangle the puzzle, I will of course ask for help on FPN.) 

 

You have a lot more willpower than I!! This is my second Degussa, the first bought without knowing what it was, and it has confirmed my initial opinion that a Degussa is too much fun to write with to just admire it from afar! 😊

 

(I'll try to remember to bring it with me to the meetup on Monday!)

[PithyProlix]

Sailor for the London-based Daks Simpson luxury fashion house that I know very little about other than they have no stores outside of east Asia and Thailand and that Sailor has made other models for them. I can find virtually no information about this brass-bodied, lacquered model that seems unlike any other Sailor fountain pen I am aware of, except for the Profit/1911 Standard-size nib (but with Daks branding). Almost the exact same length capped as a Profit/1911 but about 7mm longer uncapped. It came with a Japanese instruction booklet and is personalized with "UENO" on the back, so presumably this pen was sold in Japan.

 

I have a few Profit/1911 pens but am not much of a fan of its Montblanc-like, stodgy design. This pen is much nicer, I think.

 

 

 

The section ring is not faceted - it just looks that way due to reflections.

[OldTravelingShoe]

1 minute ago, PithyProlix said:

Sailor for the London-based Daks Simpson luxury fashion house that I know very little about other than they have no stores outside of east Asia and Thailand and that Sailor has made other models for them. I can find virtually no information about this brass-bodied, lacquered model that seems unlike any other Sailor fountain pen I am aware of, except for the Profit/1911 Standard-size nib (but with Daks branding). Almost the exact same length capped as a Profit/1911 but about 7mm longer uncapped. It came with a Japanese instruction booklet and is personalized with "UENO" on the back, so presumably this pen was sold in Japan.

 

I have a few Profit/1911 pens but am not much of a fan of its Montblanc-like, stodgy design. This pen is much nicer, I think.

 

 

 

The section ring is not faceted - it just looks that way due to reflections.

Very nice pen, @PithyProlix, thanks for sharing! I did not even know this model existed, great to learn about it. 

[PithyProlix]

18 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Very nice pen, @PithyProlix, thanks for sharing! I did not even know this model existed, great to learn about it. 

 

I've started a thread for learning and collecting information about Daks/Sailor pens. Per a Sailor news release, this year will be the last year they produce pens for Daks.

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

4 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

I've started a thread for learning and collecting information about Daks/Sailor pens. Per a Sailor news release, this year will be the last year they produce pens for Daks.

 

Very nice initiative, @PithyProlix! This accumulation of excellent information is what I noticed and was a factor in my joining FPN. Thank you and all other people who are sharing this kind of information.