Gravitas/Kyuseido collaboration? Pump Piston filler pen (bought today at the SF pen show)

[Paul-in-SF]

This isn't a review yet, I will come back with that later. This is just an introduction, and maybe someone knowledgeable knows more about the background of this pen. 

 

I had a nice conversation with and demonstration of this pen by Ben Walsh at the Gravitas table, who says that he developed the design, and based on the build quality it looks like it could have been made in his workshop. But the online presence of this pen, such as it is, seems only to be on the Kyuseido website, and the box and warranty only have the Kyuseido name on them. The only branding on the pen is on the nib, which also says "Kyuseido." These points are why I suggest it might be some kind of collaboration between the two companies, but I have no other specific knowledge. 

 

The pen looks to me to be similar to Conid Bulkfillers; he says it is "better than Conid" if only because it costs less (show price was $660, which is probably 600 Euros); I added in my head that it's also better because it's available now, and I didn't have to wait in line or make an appointment to see it or buy it. He claims that the materials are as good as or better than Conid materials. For the record I have never held a Conid pen in my hand, but I have seen photos and videos, and read some about them. 

 

The body of the pen is a very clear demonstrator material. The rest of the pen comes in four finishes (or at least they were showing four): matte black, matte blue, shiny blue, and brushed titanium. Mine is the titanium finish. This comprises the cap, the section and the plunger knob. The workings of the filler system are also metal, possibly titanium, possibly something else. I'm sure Ben would have specified if I had asked, but in the atmosphere of a show I never think to ask all the questions. 

 

The filling system has a plunger with a shutoff valve on the end. When you draw the plunger back the metal part behind the shutoff valve engages with the piston, which you unscrew and push down, and then draw back. When the ink chamber is full, you screw the piston back down, disengage the plunger and push it back to where it operates as a shutoff valve. An additional feature is that the metal part behind the shutoff valve that engages with the piston is in the form of three little arms, which can agitate the ink when desired, for example to break up shimmer or pigment clumps. To get a complete fill, according to Ben, you point the nib upward and carefully push out all the air, then turn the pen over, put it back in the ink, and draw back again. Full capacity is over 4 mls. 

 

Dimensions: length of the pen capped is 142.5 mm; length of the pen uncapped is 134 mm; thickness of barrel at widest point is 14 mm; section is tapered with a flare at the end, 12 mm at its thickest point, 11 mm at the narrowest. It does not seem to post securely, but it is an excellent size (for me) to write unposted, and posting would probably back-weight it unacceptably.

 

Weight: Capped, the pen weighs 47.29 gm; uncapped it weighs 31.10 gm. 

It is, I think, a handsome pen, and it has a nice heft when capped, and is not too heavy when uncapped. Photos attached. 

 

 

[Surlyprof]

I thought this was one of the most interesting pens I saw at the show.  Ben and his collaborator Cy, from Kyuseido, gave an interesting presentation about the pen’s 2-year development on Saturday.  I also thought it was great that you could disengage the piston from the plunger anywhere in the chamber for partial fills with no air bubbles.  If I’d had surplus budget, I might have picked one up as well.  The weight and balance was really nice.  Alas, I was seeking out my grail sketch pen and had to save for that.

 

Enjoy the pen.  I’ll look forward to reading your review.

(BTW… I was standing next to someone wearing a white Patagonia fleece when Ben demonstrated the pen.  Might that have been you?  If so, I’m sorry I didn’t say hello.)

[jchch1950]

I will be waiting for the full review. 😀

[Karmachanic]

Thanks!  I've long had my eye on a Sentry.  I'll now wait for a matte black version of this plunger.

[Paul-in-SF]

9 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

I was standing next to someone wearing a white Patagonia fleece when Ben demonstrated the pen.  Might that have been you?

No, I didn't go Saturday (fear of being smashed by crowds). I was there Friday and Sunday, and I thought Sunday was perfect -- still plenty of people, but a much more relaxed vibe. I was just strolling around when I happened to see this pen. I got a personal demo from Ben, just me and one other guy. I think the other guy bought one too. 

 

I was nearly stymied out of the gate when I got the pen home, through not being familiar with the pen. I hadn't realized that the piston is screwed into its locked position, and you have to unscrew it before you can push it down. 

 

9 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

Ben and his collaborator Cy, from Kyuseido

 

Did they talk at all about the business relationship behind the pen? Are the two companies collaborating on this venture? What is Kyuseido bringing to the table?

  

9 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

I’ll look forward to reading your review.

8 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

I will be waiting for the full review.

 

Thanks, I'll do my best. It won't be a comparison with Conid, for example, because I've never even seen one in person. I will probably repeat that point when I write the review. 

[Surlyprof]

1 hour ago, Paul-in-SF said:

I got a personal demo from Ben, just me and one other guy. I think the other guy bought one too.

I was there Friday and Saturday.  I watched Ben demonstrate the pen to one other person on Friday.  May have been you.  I did buy an orange delrin pocket pen that Ben customized with a titanium section and a titanium flex nib.  Perfect weight and balance for urban sketching.  It may be my new favorite pen.  Unfortunately, the new piston filler was a little pricey for an impulse buy for me. I did think the $660 price was more than fair and this was confirmed in the presentation when they said that a gold nib felt necessary even though it would bring the price to $900.

1 hour ago, Paul-in-SF said:

I was nearly stymied out of the gate when I got the pen home, through not being familiar with the pen. I hadn't realized that the piston is screwed into its locked position, and you have to unscrew it before you can push it down.

I was also surprised by that and asked about it during the presentation.  They felt that some people would want to “park” the plunger all the way back so they added the threads.

 

1 hour ago, Paul-in-SF said:

Did they talk at all about the business relationship behind the pen? Are the two companies collaborating on this venture? What is Kyuseido bringing to the table?

It wasn’t talked about directly but it became more clear through the presentation.  Cy of Tokyo Station Pens (and I assume Kyuseido), advertised to the pen world that he was seeking a collaborator.  Ben answered.  It was my impression that Cy was fronting the development money and marketing in Japan.  Ben seemed to gain access to the Japanese market through the collaboration.  He also was able to sell his own blue version on his site (I’m sure you saw it at the show).  They did tell a funny story about how their gold nib deal went down.  Very back alley deal where someone set 2 gold nibs on the table and left.  Pretty funny.

[Surlyprof]

9 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

Thanks!  I've long had my eye on a Sentry.  I'll now wait for a matte black version of this plunger.

They are making one and had it at the presentation.  I believe Kyuseido is selling it in titanium and black.  Not sure if it was matte, machined or polished.

[Karmachanic]

54 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

 I believe Kyuseido is selling it

 

 

Not as yet.  As a collaboration one might expect to see it in both places.  Patience.

[Surlyprof]

On 8/28/2023 at 10:46 AM, Karmachanic said:

Not as yet.  As a collaboration one might expect to see it in both places.  Patience.

It appears that Kyuseido has released the raw titanium and black PVD versions.  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw_sdFzPIGl/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
 

 

[Karmachanic]

Limited numbered 50 unit run @ Gravitas €620 with more un-numbered to come.

[amberleadavis]

We are looking forward to the review!

[Karmachanic]

I'll wait for Asvine to "evolve" the P36

[Paul-in-SF]

21 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

We are looking forward to the review!

Sorry it's taking so long. I put this pen in the queue of pens waiting to be inked, and it has worked its way through the queue and today will be my first day writing with it. 

 

My only remark so far is that I asked for a Fine nib, and I appear to have been given a Medium. The nib is not marked, at least not where I can see it, but it certainly looks and writes like a Medium. One of the perils, perhaps, of buying at a show. 

[Paul-in-SF]

Reflections after writing with this pen today -- 

 

What stands out the most is the feel of quality in every aspect of the pen, from the knob at the back to the nib and the cap. (Bear in mind that I have never handled a Conid pen, about which I have heard similar remarks, so I can't compare them.) To turn the knob in the back I can only describe as luscious, the threads are so perfectly machined. The filling system (which I have used once to fill the pen, but I played around with it before I filled it) works flawlessly, once you remember you have to unlock the piston at the back (by turning it a little over one turn) before you can push the piston down towards the section. The titanium cap is fairly utilitarian (I don't know if a clip is available, mine doesn't have one); the threads on the section are plastic, and the threads inside the cap also appear to be plastic, and they mesh well, but being plastic it's not luscious. The section is titanium and has a non-slippery matte texture; there is a nice concavity, and the narrowest point is slightly under 11 mm, which is a very good size for me. There is a slight step-down from the barrel, which I don't even notice.

 

The most noticeable visual feature is probably the demonstrator barrel, which is ultra clear and which certainly shows off your ink, as any good demonstrator should. I don't know anything about the material, but it is (dare I say it) perfectly machined to size with the other components. 

 

The pen is a little on the heavy side due to the metal components, but to me it just gives a nice heft (about 31g without the cap and without ink; probably around 34g with ink, or maybe a bit more). 

 

Ink flow is steady, and plenty of ink seems to be available from the ebonite feed even after I closed off the main ink supply. The 14K nib is neither stiff nor flexible, but something in between. The 14K nib comes from Kyuseido, and they offer it on their website in a large variety of grinds, including stacked and sankakusen (whatever that is). The paper I am writing on right now is sugar cane paper and a bit toothy, but the writing experience is very pleasant for me. I have it inked with Papier Plume Spearmint. 

 

These pens are for sale on Kyuseido's website, and I can't find them on Gravitas' site, so maybe there is only one channel to buy them. At present, they show as sold out on Kyuseido, so I feel fortunate to have snagged on at the SF show. 

 

I've never done a pen review before, so sorry if I have left out anything important or useful. Please feel free to ask questions. 

[amberleadavis]

Pictures. We love pictures.  And show us the writing please.

[Karmachanic]

Click on this image for a full portfolio of Kyuseido pen photos.

[Paul-in-SF]

There are photos in the first post (the above link are all the blue finish, mine is titanium finish). Here is one with the green ink -- that was originally white paper, so imagine everything several degrees lighter. As for writing, I'll have to write something out, the stuff I wrote yesterday is a bit personal. 

 

[Paul-in-SF]

3 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

And show us the writing please.

Okay, you asked for it. This is a different paper, a Maruman A5 pad, with random text from a random text generator. The paper is smoother, and I think there is more shading than on the sugar cane paper. This writing is about 50% larger than in real life, I'm not sure if I can do anything about that (i.e. reduce the size of the image on the screen). 

 

[amberleadavis]

I think it shows your penmanship quite well!

[Paul-in-SF]

I promised a review, but I find I have covered most of the information already. After a few weeks of leaving the pen idle for a week or two and then writing with it again, it has written perfectly every time. I find the slightly soft nib a pleasure to write with. In fact I like everything about the pen, and can't think of anything I would change. Caveat: I haven't tried to clean it out yet, but it shouldn't be difficult -- the section unscrews, which should make cleaning it a doddle. I also don't know anything about the companies' policy on warranty and repair. The pen looks and feels like it would last forever, but the filling mechanism might be considered complex and therefore might have more opportunity to break down. So far I would rate the pen 5 stars out of 5. 

 

That's not much of a review, so I invite anyone who has read the thread and still has questions to ask them here, and I will try to answer them.