Vintage Japanese eyedropper pens

[awa54]

I just got two really nice Japanese BHR eyedropper pens today, both with clear laquer coating (likely urushi) and steel nibs. Both are also ink shutoff type mechanisms and hold ink after the application of some silicone grease on the valve shafts (*after* removal of the gunky old grease).

One is a Meizen "cigar" style with a fine semi-flex to moderate flex nib, this one is the smoothest shiro nib I've encountered, likely at least partly because it's such a broad tip compared to the average EF to needlepoint that you find on these pens... it has a 14k GF cap band with a chromed nickel clip and there is a lengthy dedication or personalization on the barrel.


P9130019 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130021 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130022 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130023 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130024 by David Wimmer, on Flickr


The second is a smaller "jewelled" end pen (they're actually just lathe turned in the BHR, with no metal accents) that has no identifying marks in English, but the nib may have the maker's name in Japanese characters. It has a much more typical EF to EEF nib, with significant flex, as it came to me the nib would catch on any paper rougher than Rhodia, but with a light hand it was useable. After a very gentle smoothing on .5 micron film and some tine alignment work, it now writes on even rather coarse paper with light pressure and will allow full flex use on smoother paper, even at speed! I had been planning a nib swap before the tune-up worked out so well. This one shows very little use and has a dark rectangle in the aged barrel that was probably where a tag had protected the surface for many years. Maybe the nib was rough right from the factory and it never got more than a few uses in its life (it also had only the faintest traces of blue ink in it as received)?


P9130011 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130012 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130016 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130017 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

P9130018 by David Wimmer, on Flickr



Both also have toning in the BHR and laquer, which gives them a cool shaded/toned appearance, kind of like an attractively aged watch dial, it just adds character, rather than detracting from the overall impression.

I'll post some images and a few writing samples when I have the time.

These pens are so different from American and European pens of the same time period (early 1950s?), almost more like early reservoir pens in a way, but with more modern feeds and ergonomics. Both of these are likely to make it into my regular rotation, so long as they stay ink-tight in daily use. I may even start remembering to open the shutoff valve before I begin writing if I use them enough