pen world v27.4
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Pen World v27.4TRANSCRIPT
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$6.95US $7.95CAN
JUNE 2014
The Universe of Writing Culture
go for the BOLD
MetallicVanishing Point by Pilot
Montblancʼs new
Meisterstückcelebrates a milestone
you voted!Readersʼ Choice winners revealed
E X P R E S SY O U R I D E A S
with the New Apogee Limited Time Finishes
More Ideas. Guaranteed.
Inspiration Starts AtC R O S S . C O M
t h e a l l n e w m e t a l l i c c o l l e c t i o nFive high-energy fi nishes with rich black accents and black, ion-coated 18-karat gold nib.
www.pilotpen.us
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not-so-shy violetPilot jazzes up the Vanishing Point withbold metallic finishes and adds to its maki-e Yukari collection.
the suspense is over!Presenting the winners of the 2014 PWReaders’ Choice Awards.
devoted to paperPaper and papermaking take center stageat the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum.
note worthyThornwillow Press makes paper—andbooks—that are meant to last.
sweet as sugarFranklin-Christoph’s new ink-friendlynotepads are made of sugarcane!
power of the penA new exhibit at the National Archives isfun for the whole family.
romancing the Rosetta StoneAn Egyptian stele inspires American pendesigner David Oscarson.
ninety years youngMontblanc celebrates its flagship pen witha 90th Anniversary Meisterstück.
fit for a poetOmas honors the Bard of Avon with a penon the 450th anniversary of his birth.
sensational celluloidPart II in our series on pen materials:Good-bye, hard rubber; hello, celluloid!
right on the buttonGet to know the button-filler—popularized but (surprise!) not invented by Parker.
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 4ON OUR COVER:Vanishing Point Metallicsby Pilot
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departmentsWHAT’S HOT NOW
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viewraising awareness
mail our readers speak
newspeople, places and events
now new pens and other products
date mark your calendar
notehandwriting for self-improvement
getting startednote writing
shopAnderson Pens
networkclassified advertising
source guide to products and services
imhocolor me delighted
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Anib is the heart of a pen. Ink isits blood. What, then, is paper?Skin, of course. (And once
upon a time, that was literally true, asparchment and vellum were made fromanimal skins.) Paper is almost as variableas human skin—some smooth andsome less so; some opaque and sometranslucent; and all of it in a near-infinite variety of beautiful colors. We’rein love with paper, and we’ve devotedsome extra coverage to it in this issue aswe do every year at this time.
Jil McIntosh and Julian H. Kreegerfocus on the papers of two very different brands: Franklin-Christoph’snew proprietary notebooks with papermade from sugarcane, andThornwillow Press’s exquisite hand-made books and fine papers. DeborahBasel takes you along on her visit tothe wonderful Robert C. WilliamsPaper Museum in Atlanta, and weexplore a new exhibit—Making TheirMark: Stories through Signatures—atthe National Archives Museum inWashington, D.C. Both are great traveldestinations for the entire family.
And of course, we have pens, starting with the ever-popular PilotVanishing Point seen on our cover in averitable rainbow of brilliant metallic
shades. Find out how Omas’s newShakespeare pen pays homage to theBard of Avon while also benefiting theShakespeare Birthplace Trust, learn thesecrets of David Oscarson’s new RosettaStone pen and celebrate the ninetiethanniversary of the Meisterstück withMontblanc, all in this issue.
Of course, no issue of PW would becomplete without a shopping trip, andthis time we take you to Anderson Pens,a new brick-and-mortar pen shop thatarose from an online business. RichardBinder and Paul Erano carry on theirrespective series on fountain pen fillingsystems and materials. And don’t forgetto check out our annual Readers’ ChoiceAward winners.
All of which will inspire you, weknow, to pick up your pens, fill themwith your favorite ink and get yourthoughts down on fine paper, whetherit’s made of sugarcane, stone (see ournew products section!), wood or cotton. If you don’t like to think ofpaper as skin, think of it as clothing—the outward manifestation of yourinnermost thoughts.
BodyParts
With Pilot/Namiki, it’s nevera question of quality; thevenerable Japanese pen
company is renowned for its technicalexpertise and consistent performance.Instead, a new Pilot release is moreabout the intended audience. With thelast Vanishing Point, Pilot celebratedthe fiftieth anniversary of the pen andthe ninety-fifth anniversary of thecompany with a luxurious limitededition Vanishing Point in wood.Now, Pilot has a new Vanishing Pointfor those looking for everyday writers,along with three new additions to itslong-lived and highly collectibleYukari collection of maki-e pens.
When Pilot introduced theVanishing Point—better known asthe Pilot Capless in other parts ofthe world—it was not the world’sfirst retractable nib, but it did revolu-tionize the concept. The original1963 pen featured a complex innermechanism with an airtight trapdoor, which prevented the pen fromleaking or drying out. With a fewexceptions over the years, theVanishing Point uses a push-buttonmechanism to activate and retractthe nib. Since there is no cap, theclip is reversed, beginning at the nibend and hugging that end of the bar-rel so that it remains in the nib-up
Now YouSee It
Pilot’s Vanishing Point goes bold.
BY NICKY PESSAROFF
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position when carried in a pocket,just like any other fountain pen.Although it looks upside down whenwriting, Vanishing Point fans attestthat, after the initial adjustment,using the clip as a guide while writingcan even improve penmanship andink flow.
Vanishing Point nibs disappearcompletely into the pen upon retrac-tion and are composed of 18 karat gold.With three available nib finishes—yellow gold, rhodium plating and blackion coating—Pilot ensures that eventhe nibs coordinate with VanishingPoint’s finishes.
“The Vanishing Point has gonethrough many changes in its fifty-yearhistory,” says John Lane, general man-ager of the Fine Writing division ofPilot Pens USA. “There are twenty-four pieces in a Vanishing Point, andits uniqueness is that there is no capand no leaking due to a door that sealsthe nib. All nibs are interchangeable.”
However, if Vanishing Point weremerely a technical marvel, its rele-vance might have faded through the
years. Fortunately, Pilot pays as muchattention to the aesthetics as the tech-nical precision. The original PilotCapless was a thin aluminum numberwith gold accents. Since then, Pilot hasadded an elongated clip, a push-buttonmechanism and a more robust body.Composition has morphed from theoriginal aluminum to a gold-platedversion to stainless steel and plastic totoday’s metal bodies. Styles and finishoptions have been just as varied.
Now, Pilot adds to the VanishingPoint line with vibrant metallic colorsat median prices. Containing all ofthe Vanishing Point line’s bells andwhistles, the new arrivals retail at US$175 and feature five bold colors:mountain blue, valley green, tropicalpurple, copper red and desert orange.Lane, in his twenty-sixth year withPilot, summarizes: “They’re unique,and they’ll appeal to a whole newyounger crowd.”
The black matte accents enhancethe pen’s urban, androgynous look,and the black ion coating on the 18karat gold nib completes the package.
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Vanishing Point metalic finishespilotpen.us/PilotFineWriting
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This pen is appropriate in both abusiness meeting and a handbag, andthe price point means that either aCEO or a copy editor can afford it.The new metallic colors are anaffordable piece of metallic luxury,right down to the beautiful gift box.
Those looking for a more tradi-tional fountain pen from Pilot, don’tlose heart. Under the Namiki brandname—which is reserved for Pilot’sluxury products—the company alsointroduces three new Yukari maki-ewriting instruments. The three newpens pay homage to Japanese customsand reverence for nature.
With a deep black background,accomplished through the painstakingapplication of layer upon layer ofurushi lacquer, the pens seem toabsorb light. Featuring designs createdby sprinkling colored powders ontothe urushi while it is still wet andsometimes with accents of fine goldleaf or mother-of-pearl, these pens areexquisite works of art.
“To be a maki-e artist is a reveredposition and takes years of practice,”Lane says. These pens carry a heftierprice tag because of the handwork andskill involved—and the limited quanti-ties. “[The Pilot facility in] Japan only
makes what we order. The quantitiesare low, as I only keep a design in theline for three years before retirement.”
Yukari Pine Needles, or Matsu-ba,pays homage to the pine tree, a symbolof longevity in Japanese culturebecause it keeps its needles year-roundand grows tall and strong. The designdepicts healthy young pine needlesjuxtaposed with a fan, a symbol ofsuccess. The geometric fan bringsattention to the pattern in which pineneedles grow, and hence, the symme-try of nature. Handcrafted in hira(flat) maki-e style, the pen is accentedwith mother-of-pearl.
From top—Yukari Herb Decoration(Kusu-dama); Pine Needles (Matsu-ba)
Opposite—Rock Garden (Seki-tei)
MSRP: $1,376
Yukari Herb Decoration, or Kusu-dama, is inspired by the Japanese tra-dition that has the added benefit ofsmelling great: aromatic herbs aregathered in a beautifully decoratedcotton bag and hung on a string offive-colored threads as a charm againstimpurity and illness. Today, they maybe seen at the opening of new storesto bring good fortune. The flowerdecorations on the bags are intricatelyfolded paper, using a technique that isa predecessor of today’s origami.
The flowers of the Kusu-damapen are rendered in stark white andrich red and seem to jump from theebony background, a perceptionheightened by the sprinkles of mother-of-pearl, which represent the scented
herbs. Sprigs of green and yellowthread complete the togidashi (burnished) motif.
The Yukari Seki-tei honors aJapanese custom familiar to anyonewho has ever seen a rock garden.Ultra-minimalist in style, Japaneserock gardens feature just that—artfullyarranged rocks and sand that mimicnatural landscapes. The Seki-TeiGarden located at the Ryoanji Templein Kyoto is the most famous example.
Namiki’s own Seki-tei, done intogidashi-style maki-e, shows just howstriking such a landscape can be. Swirlsand waves of gold mimic the gentlesands and bring the eye’s attention tothe charcoal-colored rocks nestledpeacefully within.
With magnum barrels; a sturdycap and thread; 18 karat gold nibsavailable in fine, medium and broad;and a stylish clip, the new additionsto Namiki’s Yukari collection providethe reliability and artistry one expectsfrom the company. Along with thenew Vanishing Point metallic colors,Pilot has already managed to releasesomething for everyone this year.
Which only begs the question:what else does Pilot have in store forthe near future? On that, Lane remainsmum: “No telling. Stay tuned.”
NICKY PESSAROFF is a former PWstaffer who freelances from LasCruces, New Mexico.
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Meisterstück
Crafted for New HeightsNinety years ago, Montblanc created a writing instrument that became an icon far beyond writing culture: the Montblanc Meisterstück – a symbol for the everlasting quest of achievement. To celebrate 90 years of Meisterstück, the new Meisterstück 90 Years has red gold-plated fittings and a nib specially engraved with a commemorative “90”. Visit and shop Montblanc.com
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