Early Pilot Nibs. I. Introduction

Few things are standard in the world of fountain pens. Each pen brand seems to create its small world with its own systems of names and measurements. A very clear example of this lack of standards is the way pen makers number their nibs. Many aficionados as well as traders simplify the wide gamut of Bock nibs as being of sizes 5, 6 or 8, which are, in actual terms, the diameters of their corresponding feeds. But those numbers have little to do with Pilot’s –to name just one company— nibs labeled as 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50. Sailor and Platinum, on their side, do not even bother to number their nibs nowadays.

A Bock nib, with a 6 mm feed, on an Eboya pen (formerly Nebotek).

Sailor nibs in three different sizes.

Four modern Pilot nibs in size 15.

In the early days of Pilot, the numbering system was very different: from 0 to 8, with the possible exception of 7, plus 20 and 50. Now, do those numbers mean anything?

With this text I am starting a new series of Chronicles aiming at describing all these nibs, and to analyze whether those numbers really meant anything. This is, needless to say, a work in progress.

Four Pilot nibs from the 1920s. They are labeled as sizes 1 and 3.

One additional note: The title speaks of “early” nibs. By that I mean all those nibs that followed a more or les consistent system of numeration. This came to an end with the implementation of the Super model in 1955. Up to that year, the vast majority of Pilot pens sported open nibs (i. e, showing the feed as well) labeled with what seemed to be a normalized numbering. Therefore, “early” means, more or less, before 1955. And implicit on this classification is the hope that those standards were maintained over all those years.

This series is a joint effort of some pen enthusiasts who offered their assistance to compile all the information. Their names are N. Syrigonakis and A. Zúñiga.

Platinum pocket pen, black stripes – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Chuo, June 13th, 2015
etiquetas: plumín, Pilot, Bock, Sailor, Platinum, Eboya

Sailor in Osaka

The following pen is a limited edition. It is a Professional Gear Realo made, needless to say, by Sailor, but it is not a regular Sailor pen. This model in matte black and red was commissioned by a group of pen users from Osaka organized as the YY Pen Club.

An unusual and very limited Professional Gear Realo.

Some more surprises on the nib...

And there are more variations beyond the unique –so to speak— coloring of the pen: the nib is not engraved with any sign save with the gold purity –18 K gold— and the nib point. 18 K is not the usual gold grade implemented by Sailor on its pens (save in the case of the ultra-thin Chalana), but we have already seen 18 K Sailor nibs on Davidoff’s pens.

Unmarked nib, save for the gold purity and the point width.

A very interesting detail here is how keen Sailor is to make limited editions for whoever demanded it. It seems that the basic order is of just 10 pens. On this particular case, YY Pen Club ordered 30 units, not numbered. Its distribution is only done through that club of pen users. In that regard, this is not so much of a limited as it is a commemorative pen for a private organization.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Sailor pocket pen, quasi inlaid nib – Montblanc Racing Green

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 5th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor, mercado

Datation of Japanese Pens. VI. Sailor's Bodies

On the previous Chronicle we have seen how the manufacturing date is codified on Sailor nibs. But that is not the only dating system used by Sailor—pen bodies were also dated for some time.

Between 1958 and some time around 1970, Sailor pens had their sections engraved with a two letter code, either or in lower or in upper case:

YZ

(Occasionally, there is a period between the two letters).

On it, Y stands for the year of productions following a simple rule: A (or a) is 1958, B (b) is 1959, C (c) is 1960, and so on. Z is the month of production, with A being January; B is February and so on.

This pen is encoded as C.E--May of 1960. It corresponds to the pen shown on the following picture.

This is the Jubilee pen made by Sailor on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (1961). This particular unit, as we saw on the previous picture, was manufactured on May of 1960.

This system, as said before, lasted until ca. 1970, when the system changed to a three digit code identical to that used on the nibs: abb, where bb is the month and a is the last digit of the year of production.

This 3-digit system did not last long. On my records I can only see it between 1971 and 1974. As a result, modern Sailor pens carry no dating code on their bodies

This pen is dated as 109, which might mean September of 1971.

This is the nib of the previous pen, which is one of the rare examples of dual datation. On this case, the nib carries the manufacturing date of 108--August of 1971. 1971 seems a very reasonable date of production given the fact that the nib is made of 23 K gold, and the gold fever of the Japanese pen makers took place in the early 1970s.

The previous pen, posted. A 23 K gold nib in a pocket pen.

Another interesting detail is that it is very rare to see a (Sailor) pen dated on BOTH nib and body, although there are some few examples of dual datation.

My thanks to Mr. Sunami.

Sailor pocket pen, quasi-inlaid nib (dated as 301 on the section) – Montblanc Racing Green

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, June 20th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor

Datation of Japanese Pens. V. Sailor Nibs

Some time ago I published several texts with information on how to date Platinum and Pilot pens. Sailor also has its own dating systems for nibs and pen bodies, but they are less obvious than those of the rival brands.

Sailor pen nibs have consistently been engraved with a three digit code in the form

abb.

On it, bb –from 01 to 12— stands for the month, and a –from 0 to 9— is the last digit of the year of production.

This nib is dated on 710--October of some year ending in 7. And later than 1954, when the JIS stamp was engraved on pen nibs. It belongs to the following pen.

A bulb-filler previous to the time of cartridges and converters. Most likely, therefore, made in 1957.

Needless to say, this system is not so precise as those seen on Pilot (::1::, ::2::) and Platinum pens. Sailor, so to speak, demands some additional knowledge on the pen model in order to decide whether that 3 (for a) meant 2013 or 2003 or, even, 1993.

This Ohashido nib, by Sailor, was made on November of 2014. The nib was not yet attached to any pen. The picture was taken during the last Fountain Pens of the World Fair at Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi.

Ohashido nibs, currently made by Sailor, also display this dating code. However, not all Sailor nibs are dated—just most of them.

Pelikan 400 NN M&K – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, June 20th, 2015
etiquetas: Sailor, Platinum, Ohashido, Pilot, plumín

Pilot Capless - 1984 - FCN-500R. I. Introduction

In the evolution of the Capless model by Pilot, things become a bit more complicated in 1984. Up to now, each model used its own nib unit and the nib units were not usable in other models. Some nib units, though, showed a number of variations, but their use, should I insist, was limited to a particular Capless model. An obvious example of this is that of the RW models from 1965, whose nib units had up to four different variations.

That changed in 1984. The model encoded as FCN-500R implemented the same unit as its predecessor CN-400BS. Later on, around 1990, the nib unit was redesigned, but keeping the basic geometry that allowed its use in all models made after December of 1973 (from CN-400BS on).

These units can be used in all Capless models made after December of 1973.

In actual terms, it is questionable whether this 1984 FCN-500R constitutes a new model or it is just a cosmetic variation of the previous one. The similarities are very obvious, starting, for instance, by the nose-clip piece made of aluminum.

Different models or just variations? On top, the CN-400BS from 1973; on bottom, the FCN-500R from 1984.

But for the sake of these texts, these variations or models will be considered as separate models. Otherwise, all Capless after 1973 should be considered as variations of the CN-400BS with the only possible exception of the Fermo model (FDF-2MR) of 2006. And if so, the description of all of them would be unnecessarily complicated.

All these models use the same nib unit. From top-left to bottom-right, CN-400BS (1973), FCN-500R (1984), FC-15SR (1998), FCT-15SR (Décimo, 2005), and FDF-2MR (Fermo, 2006).

Back to the "Pilot Capless - 50 years" page.

Platinum pocket pen, striated body – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Chuo, June 13th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless

Pilot Capless - 1973 - CN-400BS

After a long hiatus I am resuming this series of texts reviewing the different Capless models released by Pilot along the past fifty-something years.


Introduction:

In December of 1973, Pilot released one of the lesser known variations of the Capless line of pens. This involved a totally new nib unit, not compatible with the previous models. However, this new nib unit will be usable with so far all the later models, albeit it was bound to go through some modifications that did not alter the basic geometry.

On this model, nose and clip are made out of one single piece of aluminum.

Features:

Codes.	CN-400BS & CN-500BS. Both codes belong to the same pen. The difference in the number obeys to the change in price made in 1981. This model is made of aluminum and black plastic, all in matte finish.
Original_price.	JPY 4000 (1973-1981); JPY 5000 (1981-1984).
Production_years.	1973-1984
Nib_unit.	Type VII. Gold 14 K and steel.
Filling_system	Single spare cartridge. CON-20 and CON-50 can be used.
Opening_system.	“Knock system” (push button).

The CN-400BS on display at the Pilot's Pen Station.

Dimensions:

Model CN-400BS (and CN-500BS).

Length closed	136 mm
Length open	133 mm
Diameter	12.0 mm
Weight	18.3 g

Nib unit:

Type VII, variation a. In 14 K gold and in steel. This nib unit uses single spare cartridges and converters CON-20 and CON-50. This nib unit will be implemented on the following model launched in 1984. Therefore, this nib unit is be compatible (but not identical) with subsequent models.

Nibs made of 14 K gold and of steel. This nib unit survived the pen model and was used on the following model. This explains how the steel nib on the picture displays a manufacturing date of 1989.

Additional information:

Nibs are engraved with the production place and date, but not so the bodies.


Back to the "Pilot Capless - 50 years" page.

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless

Urushi R

Collectors crave for the rarity, but history is written based on common and well-known pens. So, after describing the anomaly of a gold nib made in Japan in 1942 it might be worth to do the same with a more normal Pilot pen from about the same time. This will also provide some basis for future reference.

The Pilot R was the workhorse pen of the company by the late 1930s and 1940s, and some examples have already shown up on these Chronicles. The following model is made of ebonite and is coated with black urushi. It is an eyedropper pen with shut-off valve, which was of the the usual filling (although not self-filling) mechanisms of the Pilot’s R series of pens. The nib is made of 14 K gold, and is a size 1. The date indicates it was made in November of 1937, which is about 18 months before the nominal prohibition on the use of gold in Japan.

This is a small pen, which might be associated to the war restrictions of the time. However, its construction quality is remarkably good. These are its actual dimensions:

Length closed: 120 mm
Length open: 110 mm
Length posted: 148 mm
Diameter: 13 mm
Weight (dry): 12.8 g
Ink deposit: 1.1 ml

The manufacturing date can be seen on the upper side of the nib (positioned like it is on the picture): 11.37.

The barrel carries the usual pre-war imprint: “PILOT” / THE NAMIKI (logo with an N) MFG. CO. LTD / MADE IN JAPAN. On the nib, on its side, we can read WARRANTED / "PILOT" / 14 K / MADE IN JAPAN / -<1>- / HARDEST / IRIDIUM.

All in all, not a rarity, but a very appealing common fountain pen.

Platinum pocket pen, striated steel – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 8th, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, urushi