Another interesting pen i have been offered is a 1960s Pilot lizard skin with matching case. I know that Platinum and Sailor made a lot of leather pens during the 1960s and 1970s but i have never seen any Pilot ones.

Any comments?

Nikolaos

Wow - do you know what type of lizard the skin came from?

Also, are those little stylized lizards on the clip?

Hi Siv,

i am not too sure what is depicted on the clip or what kind of lizard was used so we have asked some questions to find out... more info hopefully soon

Nikolaos

I too wonder what the clip is about. In all the pictures I can remember seeing before, the leather was something of a plainer grain, and the barrel and section were probably the same or very similar, but the clips always seem to be that skinny curvy one, like on the pens aimed at women. The case has a cut out for the clip?

Pilot did indeed make some leather pens in the early 70's, but all of the ones I have seen before look like the image below, the Pilot Delux. These were Kidd leather in black and burgundy, and all with this clip. At the same time, Pilot made several women's wallet pens. These were small skiiny colorful Pilot Elite looking pens, but they had no clip, instead they came with a color-coordinated leather sheaf, much the same style as the pen in your picture.

Stay Well,
Dr. Ron Dutcher



Here is a pen and ballpoint set:

It seems the black leather is the most common, followed by the brown (burgundy) and red. I've seen a Pilot beige ostrich too so there might be few others out there as well.

Thanks for the comments guys.

We contacted the seller and he told us that the marking on the clip appears to be some kind of South American totem with a lizard pattern on it, or something like that. Perhaps the lizard skin comes from South America. It is certainly unusual. It is new old stock and i really like the matching case coming with it. I am sure that a version like this is not common since none of us has seen one like it before. I am buying the pen and once i have it, i will post some more detailed photos

Nikolaos

Hi all,

I received the pen today and it is a beauty. Although in the photos it appears to be black it actually is a very nice and warm dark brown. It is in perfect shape (probably unused) and the quality of the lizard leather is excellent. The same goes for the matching case. It looks as if they were bought and stored away. The scaly leather (grain) feels really nice to touch and to look at. The clip that was one of the more interesting features is a chunky clip almost twice as thick as the one in Ron's photos and more squarish. It is ribbed (fluted) but the ribs are very dense so they don't show on the photo and there is a raised depiction of a pattern that i can't really describe so i will try to post some photos of it. Overall a beautiful and unusual lizard skin Pilot pen and a very happy new owner.

A lot more pens to follow soon

Nikolaos

Very nice! Looking forward to many photos.

Beautiful pen Nikolaos. Congratulations!

May you please add the photos of the writing?

I was looking through my trays today and discovered that I have one of these pens too. Mine is also a dark brown. Anyone know what kind of snake this might be from?

Dear Ron,
that's Java lizard skin. Popular as watch straps and belts.

The closest snakeskin in terms of scale pattern is the Asian freshwater snake. The scales are flatter though, more like anteater. Freshwater snake was popular with bootmakers for a time. Unfortunately the skin is fragile and can tear like cloth.

Yours and Nikalaos' pens are similar to the 70s Platinum Amazonas model with the hooded nib. Only the metal diamond on the section above the nib is missing.

Regards.