51: Swatching Inks in the Trenches
Jacob contacted Kaweco, CY went to Nagasaki, and Shishikura ran out of chunky glitter.
- Tokyo Inklings Episode 37
- Kaweco Perkeo vs. Ferris Wheel Press Carousel - A Showdown
- Ishimaru Bunkodo
- Masters of the Fountain Pen: Matsuya Fountain Pen Hospital
- Jacob’s Onoto-style Ban-ei
- Kobe Airport LE
- Shishikura Owl
- Shumi no Bungubako issue 47 with ink pH measurements
- Lichtope Concierge
Kaweco’s statement:
Thank you for reaching out, even though it would be more pleasant to talk about our passion for pens and our brand Kaweco. But we also want to keep it fair and honest with topics like these.
As we grow bigger, after putting a lot of work into our designs and the brand, more and more copycats of Kaweco products want to profit from our achievements. We invested a considerable amount of money, additional to the working time, to block the 1 to 1 copies. We tried several times to speak with the responsible persons at the known companies. From some companies, we did not even get an answer until today. Additionally, everything is very intransparent, and you can not find the address of the companies. When we finally had contact with somebody, they said in the first step they speak no English. So we hired a Chinese speaking person to contact them for us. No reply again. We tried so much to find a diplomatic way to solve these problems.
Regarding Moonman T1, you are correct that this design is not a 1 to 1 copy. We haven’t had a problem with it in the first place, even though it is very similar and defining design elements have been copied obviously (e. g., the cap). What forced us to make this decision was that we knew that Moonman is doing wholesale for Delike and, therefore, helping spread 1 to 1 copies. Once again, we wanted and tried to talk to Moonman several times, and they haven’t made any intentions to find either a solution or even speak to us. None of them does even care.
Still, we are open to talking and finding a solution.
You should also know that we are only a small company. Not comparable to brands like Lamy or Faber Castell. We have only 40 employees working here, and we can’t accept that someone is destroying our business.