Pen Trading in Tokyo (ペントレ) is an annual pen show organized by “Pen Collectors of Japan”. It is arguably the place to find rare Japanese pens, and thus attended by some of the most dedicated collectors around. It is not just about vintage pens though.

This year’s show was the 19th. It was a three-day event, with the first day focused on presentations, paraphernalia, and Kakuno hacking, and the two remaining days on gold-nibbed pens, new and old.

One of the joys of attending pen shows is discovering new products. At Wagner’s year-end event, I picked up a type of paper called Null Refill. It wasn’t the first time this paper was sold at a pen show I attended, but for some reason, I had missed it until now.

Null Refill is based on a synthetic paper called Yupo, known for its water resistance. Because of this property, it is commonly used for e.g. posters and shampoo labels. It isn’t considered fountain pen friendly, as it takes forever for liquid ink to dry.

Wagner is a Japanese pen club that I have previously written about. On December 30th, Wagner held a year-end meetup and sale event at their favorite venue in Ryogoku.

As usual, there were plenty of exotic pens available, including Wagner-commissioned limited runs, various vintage pens, and other rare items such as y.y Pen Club’s red Sailor Realo.

A new ink, a turquoise iron gall one called 喜望峰 (Cape of Good Hope), was available for testing and pre-order. This ink has been developed by a Wagner member and ink mixer called Gary, who’s also worked with Platinum on their classic inks.