I certainly won’t be exploring the whole Platinum Double Action catalogue (that way lies madness) but I found a slim rotator multipen that I decided to buy (I think it is the Double Action R3 ref. MWBS-2000). I also got a Skilcraft B3 Aviator to confirm my hunch that it is a twin of the Penco/Tanosee/Hedera described above.
Once taken apart, all those multipens are identical except for cosmetic details: paint, embossed logos and the Platinum uses a longer eraser cover, which allows the use of a “standard” mechanical pencil eraser in place of the minuscule one found in other brands.
The Skilcraft is “assembled in the USA” per the packaging but given the similarity with the “made in Japan” multipens I still think that the components come from the same factory.
The Skilcraft is “assembled in the USA” per the packaging but given the similarity with the “made in Japan” multipens I still think that the components come from the same factory.
I think no multipen is made in europe or the US anymore, it’s all japanese/chinese
As suggested earlier by @drifand earlier, the most likely supplier is Kotobuki and I think that the exact model is thisone (from the pictures it seems identical to the Penco/Tanosee/Hedera/Platinum/Skilcraft family).
Since the Tombow Zoom L104, Metaphys Locus, Rotring 600 and Rhodia Script multipens all use the same internals I assume that they come from Kotobuki as well, only with customised skins for their respective brands.
Today’s entry takes a (temporary?) break from the ubiquitous Kotobuki slim mechanism with the Cross Tech3 multipen. However, this doesn’t mean we’re venturing into the unknown: it uses the same internal parts as the Zebra Surari Sharbo, which I showed earlier in this thread.
You can mix an match parts between the two. I only have one of each but since both pens are available with various finishes the possibilities are endless.
The trystrams is here (by the way, for the native English speakers among us, is the y pronounced like in “try” or like in “tryst”?)
The build is extremely similar to the Metaphys, with the clip being part of the knock end. It also uses the same grip attachment and the part for the rear body is identical (although unpainted since in use it is hidden by the longer front).
Even their web pages are similar (clean white background, minimal text in a sans serif font) although this may just be a general trend for Japanese design studios.
Nice breakdown of the mechanism. At the time I found out about the Trystrams (I think it’s ‘tryst’), the minimalist design was a welcome change from the technobabble style of OHTO. I managed to get all 4 colors but I use the olive green the most.
If you like your multipens capped, you won’t be spoiled for choice: the only one that I know of is the Tombow Zoom 505mf.
Taking it apart, I was surprised to find the same Kotobuki mechanism as in the many slimmer multipens described in this thread. With its ample girth, I was expecting it to house a larger mechanism similar to the Pilot Evolt or Zebra Sharbo Nu.
The black selector piece differs from the other multipens in lacking an internal thread (instead of the knock screwing into this part and holding the body in place, here the knock is held by the body that itself attaches to the grip).
Thanks for showing this disassembly of the Surari. It’s an interesting deviation from the Sharbo X multi-pen. The main thing I like about the Surari is that there is a detent for retraction. Thus you don’t need to spend any time at all fiddling with it find the “low” point. It just clicks.
But build quality wise, I find the Sharbo X to be just a little bit better. The rotational travel for selecting inserts is a tiny bit short for my taste, and just right on the Sharbo X. And I think I just like the wider girth.
My hunch is that the Zebra Surari Sharbo (and its Cross sibling), the similarly-styled Platinum Double Action and the Pentel Vicuna EX (and probably others) are all based on the Kotobuki Ele model. I have taken apart one variant of the Pilot Evolt and it uses a different mechanism.
Back in the 00’s Kotobuki sales manager told me that they considered themselves the multi-pen specialists of Japan, and that they assembled multi-pens for all the brands, and thought they were probably over 90% of the market. They assembled lots of multi pens when they did not do the base pen or pencil model, i.e. Pentel, Pilot, Mitsubishi, etc would make the pen themselves, but ship bodies to Kotobuki for them to assemble the multi-pen version. Even Parker, Cross, etc would send them the bodies to do the multi-pens when they had other OEM doing the pen or pencil.
ELE has been around a long time, 20+ years.
