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Hi everyone, This is a review of the vintage pilot elite (full size). I got it through ebay as NOS and it was pretty cheap since it has a steel gold plated nib and it is made of plastic... And very cheap plastic if you want my opinion... But i was attracted by the look of it and it would complete my collection of elite since I already own the small (Big cap) one. The look : It is actually the best part of this pen in my opinion. It is very subjective of course, everybody won't agree on that but I think it is a very nice pen, black and gold, pretty sharp edges but still a little bit rounded. The golden ELITE word under the cap. Very cool, very stylish, wont go unnoticed ! The nib : I got my Elite with a fine nib ( japanese ) wich would be considered as Extra fine. The nib is nice, gold plated stainless steel but It is very scratchy... It is more than just "feedback" from a very fine nib. So this pen is not my favorite for its writing, I don't use it on a daily basis because of that. The feed : Nothing to say about that... Just good, good ink flow, not too wet not too dry : very reliable, starts up every time and keep going through the pages. Weight and balance : It is a very light pen... it weights about 14g with the converter and ink but it is well balanced, pleasant and comfortable to write with. If you like lighter pens you will appreciate it. Conclusion : It is a good, reliable pen... but it is not very exciting to write with it, the scratchiness of the nib is quite a big issue. I would recommend this pen for a "collector" looking for those types of pen but not as a daily writer.. unless you like very fine and scratchy nibs Despite all this, it is a interesting pen that I got through ebay for very litte money, I still think it is a good buy ! *** English is not my first language so please understand if I made some mistakes ! Your comments are very welcomed !

Hello! First of all, this is only my third review on FPN, so if you can please leave constructive criticism below! I would love to improve the quality of my reviews. The Pilot E95S seems to be like the least expensive gold nib pen that is consistently offered here in the U.S. . The only cheaper one I can think of is the Platinum PTL-5000A, which I would love if it was consistently offered in the U.S., but they seem to constantly discontinue it. So, this is a very popular first gold nib pen. It was my second gold nib, so I did get it relatively early in my fountain pen hobby. For a quick summary of the review, I like this pen. I don’t love it, but it’s is great value, and I definitely recommend it. Design and Build Quality (8.5/10) For the most part, this design is great. It is slim, but comfortable, has a great inlaid nib (which I love), is compact, but bigger when posted, and the feeling of capping and uncapping is great. But, Pilot’s black resin does not hold up to the little metal things on the inside of the cap that hold it on. It has fine scratches on it, which are pretty apparent. Now, I am one of those people who sort of like that, and don’t really want pens to look brand new, I want them to look like I used them. But I can understand how this can annoy some people. That’s why it’s a 8.5/10, instead of a 10/10. Nib Performance and Writing Experience (9/10) This nib is great. I have a fine nib, which is 14k gold and inlaid. It is smooth, and quite soft. I would call this a flex, semi-flex, or soft nib, but a quite soft nib. By that I mean that you can get some line variation, but not that much where you can use it for calligraphy, just a bouncy writing experience. The only thing is it is just a bit particular with inks. Both Noodler’s Walnut and Diamine Chocolate Brown were just a bit too dry for it, and it had some skipping. But all Herbin, Jacques Herbin, and Iroshizuku work great with it from my experience. With them the pen is not especially wet, but I wouldn’t call it dry either. With the writing sample, I used Jacques Herbin Terre d’Ombre, which is currently my favorite ink but might be replaced by Robert Oster Caffe Crema when that ink sample gets to me, and on 52gsm cream Tomoe River Paper. Conclusion This a great pen, and a great value! I highly recommend it. It’s really great! Little Note- It seems like every place I go to except for JetPens sells it as the Pilot E95S for $136, but JetPens sells it as the Pilot Elite 95S for $136 as well. Just a little thing. Edit- It was to commemorate the 95th anniversary of Pilot, but is not a limited edition. It also comes with the Pilot CON-40, but can fit the discontinued CON-20. Now the pictures: The second to last photo shows scratches on the barrel, and the last one shows the metal things on the inside of the cap.

Hello pen pals! I just purchased my first vintage FP. A Pilot F ‘Saturn’ in yellow. But I can’t find any information online about the pen. Is it even a real Pilot? Hopefully. If anyone has one or knows anything about the pen, I’d love to hear from you. x, Tina

I was photographing pens this afternoon (getting ready to sell a slice of the collection) and took these two photos of my Customs and Capless pens. I like so many older Pilot models, but the Custom may be my favorite. If you squint, you can see I’ve added a black 18K nib to the stealth faceted VP. I am afraid to use that pen because I remember the stealth finish isn’t as tough as that used today. Please pardon the imposter that snuck in among the VPs.

Pilot inks Regular Ink-30 Regular fountain pen inks Colours:- Black,Red,Blue,Blue-Black Approx:-₹290/- TSUWAIRO Ink-30 TW Pilot pigment inks Colours Black,Blue, Blue-Black Approx ₹710/- for 30Ml They are special inks with special instruction set as to which converter can be used with this. Iroshizuku Ink-50 Regular fountain pen inks claimed to be excellent colour true to their colour name Colours:- 24 varieties of colours Approx ₹1063/- for 50Ml Same mini 15Ml set of 3 colours to choose from ~ ₹1500/- ------------- Prices are as per pilot.co.jp Pilot seems to be based in europe as the eu site mentions locations across the world but they don't mention India under the locations and neither mention Luxor as their distributor on their website. Luxor neither responds to emails. Suprising is that Luxor is also official distributor for Parker Waterman confirmed by the company fine writing instrument's.

Hi everyone! When I was cleaning my pen the other day, and after a through cleaning and reinking I noticed there's a discoloration in the cap. Is there anyway of fixing this? The pen in question is a Pilot Metropolitan. Thanks!

Dear forumites, It's my 10th day on this forum and my first topic here. I really enjoy lurking through this site and my FP-mania grows with each passing minute Now today I've found a tiny fountain pen in my granddads closet. All I know is that it's a Pilot, maybe from '70s (or '80s. or '60s...). The nib is 14k 585. It's folding. And it's very thin. Kinda reminds me my Pilot Birdie pencil (however not that thin of course). Pictures: It's in excellent cosmetic condition. Folded. The color almost looks like surf green on my Precision Bass Posted: Disassembled with squeezer converter (or is it not?) Could someone please help me identify this pen: date of manufacturing, maintenance instructions (it looks like this squeeze module is not detachable. or am I wrong?) et ceterea. Oh, and there are tiny letters on the lower part of its body: HS 26 Thank you all!

I shot focus stacked macros of all these pens for Dromgooles. As far as I know they are all still currently available. Good, high relief maki-e by the French craftsman, Morgan Wisser. I have several pens customized by him and have been happy with the work. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions. focus stacked yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr focus stacked yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr focus stacked yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr focus stacked yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr turtle side focus stack yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr shark side focus stack yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr

I have a metro that I use on a daily basis and because of that the body and the cap was full of grease. I made a light dish soap solution, I put the body and the cap in there for 12 mins and then I took them out and rinsed them. Was that a good decision?

I have Sailor 1911 L Sailor Compass aka Profit Junior Platinum 3776 Century Platinum President Pilot 74 Pilot 78g Muji pen

Here is my Pilot Maki-e Seirei-nuri pen that I purchased at Itoya in Ginza, Tokyo in full focus-stacked macro glory. I love writing with pen, which is the same form factor as a Namiki Yukari. From my 2019 post on this pen "The nib was expertly adjusted by the resident meister at Itoya and it is freaking perfect. Like, perfect. Just a light touch is needed for generous but far from gushing ink flow. The nib has the faintest hint of feedback without being intrusive. The lady working there is a savant!". Good stuff. pilot seirei nuri focus stacked yes logo by Ja Ja, on Flickr

Dear all, (I hope I am posting in the right part of the forum. Apologies if I am not and, moderators, please help me move this message where appropriate.) TL;DR: This is about an issue with a 1970s Pilot Elite, Soft 18K Nib. I have never seen something like this before, but I suspect there is something wrong with the iridium tip of this pen. In plain English, I think it's missing. Could you please comment? Details: I just received a few pens from an eBay seller from Japan. One of the pens felt very scratchy on my thumb, so I started looking at its with 10x optics. Here are the photos, Figures 1-3, showing the nib overhead, sideways, and underneath, respectively. The original photo from seller seems to me to show the nib with tip, but I will not display it for now so I do not damage the reputation of the seller (which is high wherever I checked). My questions are: What do you think could be the problem? Is there a missing (iridium) tip? Is this reason to contact the seller and complain? What would be a typical request - money back? Is there any other way I could fix this? Can the nib be re-tipped? Who could do this and what would be typical expenses? Many thanks. Figure 1. Nib from above. Figure 2. Nib from the side. Figure 3. Nib from underneath.

I have been using a mr for 2 months now on a daily basis. I flush it every 3 fills, using tap water (it is clean and drinkable in my area). I was using pelikan 4001 brilliant black and now I swiched to pelikan 4001 royal blue. Sometimes the pen suddently stops writing and I have to twist the piston converter a little to get it going again. This happens once I've used around half the ink in the converter and after I switch inks. Any ideas to what causes the problem?

About 7 years ago I became aware of the PILOT vanishing point mechanical pencil. By then it had already been discontinued and was sought after, prices going up rather high compared to the original prices (around $20). The only model numbers I'd heard of were H-1003 and H-1005. The last digit meant 0.3 mm or 0.5 mm. But in time I began to learn that there were more models made. Apparently a good many of them never left the JDM (Japan Domestic Market). H-10xx H-1003 - All black plastic body, with chromed metal parts, lead size 0.3mm H-1005 - Same as H-1003, with lead size 0.5m H-20xx H-2003 - Partial black plastic body, all metal section, brushed metal parts and metal grip with small black accents, lead size 0.3mm H-2005 - Same as H-2003, metal grip with black rectangular accents, lead size 0.5m H-21xx H-2103 - Partial black plastic body, with brushed metal parts and knurled black metal grip, lead size 0.3mm H-2105 - Same as H-2103, lead size 0.5m H-30xx H-3003 - Partial black plastic body, all metal section, brushed metal accents and metal grip with paired rectangular accents, lead size 0.3mm H-3005 - Same as H-3003, lead size 0.5m H-50xx H-5005 - Very rare retractable tip titanium body with etched lines. Very few were made and it's nearly impossible to obtain today without spending thousands! PLEASE NOTE: There was never any 0.7mm lead size offering for any of these models While the H-10xx series is a competent writing instrument, the H-20xx, H-21xx, and H-30xx series were a notable step up. Professional grade quality. Reputedly very solid lead holder core, despite the retracting mechanism. The H-21xx series is all black, with a more industrial looking design, reminiscent of the Rotring 600. There were also a few other models made with all stainless steel brushed or satin finish bodies, but no apparent model numbers (imprinted on the body or noted in a sticker). The only way I discovered anything about them was on Japanese websites, but even still, all they had were photos -- nothing else. Based on what little I've discovered, there weren't many of them made and unfortunately even within the Japanese marketplaces they're very much sought after. I've seen some FPN members post about owning the H-1003 or H-1005. Anybody here own other models? Btw, there is a recently manufactured Pilot Automac with retractable tip. It looks to be really well made, reminiscent of the earlier "vanishing point" models. Retail is about $50, which is considerably more reasonable than these vintage Pilot MP's. Clicky Post wrote a great review about it (HERE).

I started my Japanese pen journey with a Sailor pro gear slim (F) a fun but finicky small pen. Quickly a Platinum #3776 Century (SF) and a Sailor 1911 large (MF) followed. I discovered that Japanese fine nibs really suit my handwriting. I eyeballed this Pilot Custom 823 for quite a while before I decided to buy it. I painstakingly read reviews and watched many videos of other people talking about this pen, both loving and disliking it. Due to Covid restrictions I couldn’t visit a brick-and-mortar store to test it out, so instead I turned to the web shop of my favorite Dutch retailer, Akkerman in Den Haag. I know that if I disliked the pen, I could return it without any problem. So, the facts: Manufacturer: Pilot Model: Custom 823 Material: Semi translucent amber acrylic (injection molded) Nib: Pilot #15 14kt Gold (F) Filling system: Vacuum-filler Capped: 149 mm Uncapped: 133 mm Posted: 162 mm Section: 10 - 11 mm ______________________________________________________________________ Appearance & Design - Classic cigar-shaped design At a glance the pen has the same classic cigar-shaped design as so many others. The material is semi translucent and that gives you a nice view on the pen’s inner workings. The details on this pen really stand out. The big ball on the clip end seemed quite odd to me but actually, it’s very practical. The engraving on the cap band is filled with black enamel which makes the letters crisp and stand out. The glossy finish is prone to catch fingerprints easily. Normally I’m not that fond of gold trimmings but with the amber acrylic is really works for me. Construction & Quality - Japanese precision The pen feels more solid than it looks, my first visual impression was that of a flimsy plastic pen but looks can deceive. The pen feels solid in the hand, and everything works and fits well. The threads on the blind cap as well as on the cap are smooth. There is a small stepdown to the cap treading (which is unintrusive) but it’s small enough not to be in the way. The injection molding seems are visible on the threading and on the top rim of the section. On the barrel and section, they are not visible. The pen posts very securely due to the step-ups in the cap. The cap comes off with just over 1¾ turn, which is not bad but not great eighter. Weight & Dimensions - Slender yet comfortable The length and weight of the pen suits me quite well, I can comfortably use it unposted. When posted it is still well balanced and not too long or back weighted. The section is a bit on the slim side for my licking, it could do with a bit more girth. So, I hold the pen a bit closer to the barrel to solve this. Nib & Performance - Glorious The 14kt gold #15 (equivalent of a #6 nib) fine nib writes like a dream. It’s the smoothest nib I currently own and lays down a good amount of ink on the paper, but isn’t a gusher by any means. It has a lovely design and is a joy to look at. So far, I only used this pen with Montblanc Toffee Brown and Akkerman #23 Bekakt Haags as I really like to have a brown ink in this pen. And with both these inks it performs well, never had a hard start or any skipping. The nib is not flexible but had a decent amount of bounce to it. It always puts a smile on my face when I put this nib to paper. Filling System & Maintenance – Smooth vacuum-filler The vacuum filling system works well and operates smoothly. With some effort you can easily fill this pen to the brim and then it holds close to 2,5 ml of ink. This is great if, like me, you don’t like to change inks a lot. But is bad news for those who like to write with a different ink every day. Especially if you know that cleaning out this pen is quite the hassle. Pilot provides no tools or instructions on taking this pen apart. No, instead of that they void you warranty if you tinker with this pen. (a TWSBY wrench of a VAC-700 fits this pen, just a tip. Do with it what you will, at your own risk). So yeah, maintenance and cleaning of this pen is a thing to think about before you decide to buy this pen. Cost & Value – Well, it’s not cheap I’ve got this pen for just a little over € 315,- and that makes quite an expensive pen. But considering the joy of writing with this pen due to its glorious nib in my opinion it’s worth it. If it would break, I would most certainly replace it and that say’s a lot for me. Conclusion – One of my favorites As a daily carriage I have a 4-pen rotation, and this is one of the two pens that are always in there (the other is my Sailor 1911 large with a 21kt MF nib). If I go somewhere without my pen pouch this pen is in my shirt pocket. So yeah, I really like it.

So I was flushing my e95s out today before changing inks, and the nib fell off into the water. Didn't damage the nib at all, but a thin layer of what looks like epoxy was on the underside of the nib. Most of that flaked off while I was drying the nib contemplating what to do. Thinking as to repairs I've done, resetting an inlaid nib is beyond what I have tools or knowledge to do. I was thinking shellac, but that's fragile and I can't imagine it standing to writing. Has anyone had experience with the Pilot support center in Florida? I'd gladly spend some money to get it fixed- this pen has kind of been my right arm during the pandemic.

A while ago (time gets funny in Covidland) I purchased a 3-pack of what was reported to be Pilot Con-50 converters. I wanted to replace the Con-40s that had come with some of my pens that will not fit a Con-70. This morning I attempted to place one in one of my Vanishing Points; though it fit in the pen I could not close the pen correctly and ended up swapping back to a Con-40. Am I wrong in thinking a Con-50 should fit? I bought these from a spot @ASmugDill had mentioned - are they perhaps not actually Con-50s? I've attached a picture. I love Pilot Capless except for the lousy converters! Thanks.

Note that I am asking specifically about the Euro-spec MR and not the Metropolitan, which only uses Pilot proprietary cartridges. I'm wondering if larger standard international cartridges such as the Pelikan 4001 Giant Ink Cartridges can fit in the Pilot MR, given that that the MR's body tapers down away from the grip section.

A long time ago, Ron Dutcher posted A Field Guide to Japanese Nibs in this forum. It is an excellent article, and if you haven't seen it, you should read it. I have some, but not all, and I thought people might be interested in a comparison of the nibs in use. Fine nib: Soft Fine nib: Posting nib: Script Nib: Manifold nib: Coarse nib: