doodleandpen-blog

[doodleandpen-blog]

Uncle Michael visits Manila!

Last week I had the honor of meeting up with Uncle Michael for an impromptu late night pen meet organized by Leigh. After seven years of being active in the fountain pen community, I finally got to see and touch not just one, but two Hakase pens, a brand that has long been on my grail pen wish list. 

Uncle Michael, also known as Michael Chen, is an award winning photographer and also a well-loved member of the Taipei pen community. He was in town for Art Fair Philippines and had a bit of free time post-dinner on a Friday night to meet and talk over a pot of tea about his love for collecting handmade Japanese pens. He is active in the FPN community, see his post here on his journey to acquire Hakase pens, here to read more about Ohashido pens and here to read about his trip to the Omas factory before they shut down.

He had brought with him a few of his favorite pens, mostly recent acquisitions from the last 3-5 years or so. I was familiar with Hakase Pens from Tottori and Ohashido Pens from Sendai but this was the first time for me to hear of (and see) Ban-ei pens, particularly Ban-ei pens whose nibs bore the mark of “GK” or Kabutogi Ginjiro, known in Japan as one of the most famous nib makers in the postwar Japan era. Pretty intense stuff. Post-dinner meeting, a quick googling session led me to read more about Ban-ei and how later on they went to collaborate with Danitrio. Beautiful pens, beautiful lacquer work, stellar nibwork. 

The Ohashido pen Uncle Michael brought had a unique teal-colored lacquer tone and 18K hardware adorning the cap section. 

The Hakase pens were built using striated horn material personally selected by Uncle Michael and Mr Yamamoto. More about them on his post here. One of these days I too will make a trek to Tottori to pick out my Hakase pen. One day. <3

On a side note, I asked him about one of his pen wraps, which turns out was sewn by a lady known as Mrs. Pilot, the wife of Mr. Pilot, a retired Pilot Pen employee who frequents Tokyo pen shows selling NOS Pilot pens. I fell in love with its padded fluffy casing and simple but well made stitching, a wonderfully sewn piece that you could feel was made with love and care.

It was past 1AM when we parted ways, a delightful way to end a busy weekend that left us thinking about our next grail pen project.

[doodleandpen-blog]

Flexible Nib Factory’s Zebra G-Jowo Section

Just got my hands on one of JGrasty’s custom feeds, this one fits a Zebra G nib. My only problem is I haven’t figured out how to pull the nib out yet. The fit is super duper mega snug. Fitted it onto a Scriptorium pen, hoping my pen friends can help me so I can play with it this weekend.

On Renee’s Scriptorium pen:

[doodleandpen-blog]

Pilot Custom Heritage 912 FA Maki-E

Thank you pen fairy ❤️ I promise to take good care of it!

[doodleandpen-blog]

Nippori Fabric Town in Tokyo

A few stops away from the heart of Tokyo is the quiet neighborhood of Nippori. Whenever we visit Japan this is our preferred home base because of the distance of the train station to nearby affordable and roomy hotels (super near!) and the Keio Skyliner.

Nippori is also famous for it’s fabric street, more fondly known as Nippori Fabric Town or Nippori Textile Town or Nippori Fabric Street. The shops usually open at 10am and close at around 6pm so if you are a fabric hoarder like I am, one day is not enough to go around and browse through all the fabric and notions and accessories of the various shops. I try to drop by here every time I visit Tokyo to grab some fabric to make things like pen wraps and tissue holders.

You can find shops that sell only fabric notions, or shops that sell only hardware or leather, or just tools and charms.

If you only have a limited amount of time to drop by or just want to hunt for Japanese fabrics, your best option would be to walk to the middle of the street and drop by the main TOMATO fabric store. It has five floors full of different kinds of fabric both local and imported. They have a small selection of fabrics from Liberty of London, Marimekko, and a few American brands. The shop to the left of Tomato sells pre-cut Japanese fabrics at discounted prices (the cuts are usually 0.5m, 1.0m, 1.5m, 2.0m) so if you only have an hour or two, this might be less overwhelming than Tomato.

They have different kinds of fabrics with prices ranging from ¥100-¥7,000 per meter. The 5th floor of Tomato is dedicated to fat quarters for quilting and small crafts.

The store next door to Tomato with the pre-cut Japanese fabrics sold at a discount compared to getting it elsewhere:

[doodleandpen-blog]

Kingdom Note in Tokyo, Japan

No fountain pen addict's Tokyo trip is complete without visiting Kingdom Note in Shinjuku, a small but well-stocked store known for its vast and ever-changing collection of new, NOS and pre-owned pens. If you're a foreigner, you can only purchase pens in-store or have a friend grab something for you as they don't offer any online shopping service.

Cozy interiors, the smell of wood and leather, the soft hum of elevator music playing in the background, plus awesome one-on-one white-gloved customer service that you would expect from high-end boutiques like Montblanc, Mora Stylos or Aesthetic Bay. If I had the space (and the money!) this is how I would want my pen vault to look like.

Every wall is maximized. It's either full of pens or full of ink. Stocks change on a daily basis.

They have pens that most people only dream about. Make sure to plan about 1-2 hours minimum for your visit to their store (yes, even if you're only buying ink). The staff speak minimal English and if you're a tourist, any pen purchase over JPY10,000 or ink purchase over JPY5,000 qualifies for tax exemption (so it feels like an 8% discount). Sometimes they'll have a 10% discount promo or include a bottle of free ink with X brand pen purchase, best to check their website from time to time to see what promotions are currently running.

Parker Duofold Maki-E Series

Top and bottom photo: Just a LOT of Montblanc

They have the most number of Montblanc Writers Series I've ever seen. Hemmingway. Schiller. Dostoyevsky. Woolf. Voltaire. Wilde. Agatha. Dumas. Poe. Proust. Dickens. Verne. Faulkner. Kafka. Shaw. Fitzgerald. I drool with pen envy.

Montblanc Imperial Dragon

Montblanc Patron of the Arts Collection (L-R): Louis XIV, Semiramis

Visconti Limited Edition Salvador Dali, Green and Vermeil

Montblanc Patron of the Arts Collection: Andrew Carnegie

Montblanc Patron of the Arts Collection: Peter The Great, Catherine the Great

Pen wraps, clocks, and limited edition pens like the Pelikan Maki-E series, Nakayas, Graf von Faber Castell and solid wood pen cases. Spot the Pinafarina, the pen that never runs out of ink!

Kingdom Note has a vast selection of fountain pen ink. Not only do they carry most of the major foreign and local brands, they also have their own exclusive lines (the mushroom and bird series) in collaboration with Sailor. All the ink bottles on display on their wall are TEST inks! They encourage you to sit down and try out the inks before you purchase them. Testing is done with a dip nib and a blunted Zebra G nib.

Note: Best bring your own paper as the paper they provide feathers quite a bit and will not really show any sheen or shade properties.

Buy all the inks!

The elusive Hakase Sepia ink in LIGHT and DARK, one of the few inks still made today that are made from actual squid ink, just like how they used to do it in the old days.

The lady with glasses is Ms. Yuuko and she is the one who usually assists English-speaking customers.

Not in my photos are a small collection of fountain pen magazines and other fountain-pen friendly stationery and accessories. The store itself is not easy to find the first (or second) time around, but once you find it, you'll never want to leave.

KINGDOM NOTE

CENTRAL WEST GATE EXIT from Shinjuku Station

10:30am ～ 8:30pm (Open every day except New Year's Day 1/1)

6F, 1-12-5, NishiShinjyuku

Shinjyuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-0023, Japan

https://www.kingdomnote.com/

[doodleandpen-blog]

A shiny bird makes its appearance at my monthly pen luncheon! A Pelikan M900 Toledo Vermeil - 24K gold plated over sterling silver. Oh and its Mottishaw Spencerian nib too!

[doodleandpen-blog]

Sheaffer Balance and Pelikan Grand Place at lunch with pen friends. Old pens that are hard to find nowadays.Lighting wasn't the best, but ooh, those resin patterns, golden amber with hints of a deep blue. Lovely. I could not stop staring.

[doodleandpen-blog]

Fountain pen carries.

From L->R

Bexley Poseidon Magnum II, Tortoise Finish, Stub Nib

Pilot Namiki Vanishing Point, Blue and Gold, B Nib

Omas Paragon Blue Royale, F Nib

Omas Paragon XL, Masuyama M Cursive Italic Nib

Omas Milord, Mottishaw F Cursive Italic Nib

Nakaya Aka Tamenuri with Wisteria Stopper plated in rose gold, retipped to a 0.8mm Stub

Conway Stewart Model 58 Reissue, Italic Fine Nib

[doodleandpen-blog]

Omas 1993 Paragon Blue Royale

[doodleandpen-blog]

Recently had dinner with a few penfriends at a quiet bistro near the office. In order of appearance from top to bottom:

Omas Lucens Blue Omas Lucens Black Omas Extra Lucens Black

It was a fun night, filled with pens and single malt stories.

Photo again form ZB.

[doodleandpen-blog]

Another pen friend, an Ancora Perla, with an 18K springy M nib from Doc H. Red resin with sterling silver accents, further tuned by ZB, who also took this photo.

[doodleandpen-blog]

Today's pen is a Bexley Poseidon Magnum II with a very smooth 18K factory stub nib. The special tortoiseshell finish was recommissioned by our local dealer (lucky us).

I think this is the only pen in my collection with a bit of gauze looking material wedged inside the piston.

[doodleandpen-blog]

A placeholder while I fix things up. Today's fountain pen friend is a guest:

Danitrio Urushi Kawari-Nuri Nami-Nuri on Takumi

That's a mouthful.

Nibbage is an 18K stub nib. A wonderfully wet writer.