Singing Bird

The Birdie was an inexpensive fountain pen made by Pilot in the 1980s.

In a nutshell, it is an all metal pen, stainless steel, with a plastic gripping section and a steel nib. Its filling system is by Pilot cartridges and it also admits the use of the CON-20 bladder-type converter.

The stainless steel nib in point F. It was manufactured on May of 1981.

The main characteristic of this pen is its very small size—thin and short. And simple too: the cap friction fits both the section (closing the pen), and the barrel (posting it). The later configuration is very nicely designed—the barrel becomes thinner to allow for a smooth fit a clean look.

These are the dimensions of the Pilot Birdie (1981):

Length closed: 110 mm
Length open: 105 mm
Length posted: 129 mm
Diameter: 9 mm
Weight: 12.9 g (dry, with converter)

The stainless steel nib is not particularly interesting. It is just functional and efficient, boring until we discovered there was a three-tined music nib, untipped, implemented on the Pilot Birdie.

On top, the cap posted on the barrel. Note the alignment between both pieces. On bottom, the music nib, the section, and the single spare Pilot cartridge. On this pen, made in April 1982, the clip is marked with the model name: Birdie.

And then, the boring and efficient Pilot Birdie became a very exciting pen.

The untipped three-tined music nib.

As can be seen on the pictures of this text, there were several variations along the history of this model. The dimensions stated on this text correspond to the model issued in 1981. The model with the music nib was made in 1982 and its ends are not flat.

My thanks to Mr. Niikura.

Sailor pocket pen, 21 K – Daiso Black cartridge

Bruno Taut
Madrid, November 28th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, plumín, plumín musical