Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 576

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving and long weekend! Today's review is of a Namiki 'Falcon' fountain pen that Christopher recently acquired!

Christopher writes:
"To be honest, I had no idea of exactly what a Namiki was, but when one ended up in my hands, the curiosity factor was just too prime to ignore. So, a few choice words about Namiki...

First off, and I guess most importantly, Namiki was and still is the luxury brand for the Pilot pen company in Japan. And I do not use the word "luxury" lightly, because the quality of this fine writing instrument is extremely impressive. Equipped with a most unusual 'Soft' nib, its writing capabilities allows for almost a flexible calligraphy option. Not that the nib is flexible in the standard way, but it does present a very favourable option. Secondly, the design is rather elegant in a conservative or even subtle manner. But above all, quality marks the day with Pilot's Namiki writing instruments."

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

"So, to get the ball rolling on my Namiki (because nowhere on this pen does the Pilot branding appear), it is presented in a jet-black high-quality resin plastic with 14K Gold electroplated over brass fittings. The cap is equipped with a double Gold banding, with one wide chased and carrying the Namiki branding topped with one very narrow one which is repeated near the barrel's end. The cap also sports a very attractive ring clip, held securely in place by a matching black clip screw. This clip is definitely a good length and smartly fashioned, wide at its top with a V shape, narrowing slightly to its end.

Underneath this pen cap mounted in a comfortable to hold black grip section is a beautifully designed and more than responsible 14K 'Soft' (as described) nib. This nib, which at least to me looks like it took its design from a bird's beak, sits on a well-defined black feed. There is also another gold banding at the business end of the grip section. The barrel is tapered to its end and in turn sits extremely well in hand when the pen is in use. As for the filler, it is of the aerometric design and draws in the ink most responsibly. This aerometric filler is marked Pilot and is their Con-20 model. Evidently, it was not to last, in that the Pilot company moved on to a converter filler in the years that followed. 

As for dating this treasure, the coding can be duly sourced on the nib under both the Namiki branding and the gold content. And in very a small (if not tiny) font, the Pilot coding reads B798 -- B being the Pilot plant where this pen was manufactured (Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Japan) and 7 for the month of July, and finally 98 for 1998, the year that it was brought to life. Now this code is actually in reference to the manufacture of the nib, but I feel that things probably came together overall around the same time. As for measurements, this pen posts at all of 6 full inches, but caps back nicely to around 5 ¼ inches. Personally, I like the weight of this pen as well, since it is not too light, but at the same time not too heavy, just comfortable and well balanced in the hand to write with. One other point of this pen's history is that when marketed in Japan, it was referred to as 'Elabo', while in North America it was branded the 'Falcon' (editor's factoid: The export model-- sold outside of Japan-- was called the Namiki 'Falcon' until 2014, when its name was changed to 'Pilot Falcon'). Still, and regardless of what it was called, it is a pen I have grown to like, and in writing with it am totally sold on adding it to my pen collection."