Curiouser And Curiouser...

[inkstainedruth]

Last week I went for a drive and ended up in a small town about an hour and a half northeast of where I live. There was an antiques store and I went in, just for a look (the place actually specializes in old radios and electronics, but also has more general stuff). Didn't really expect to find anything, but it turned out the guy did have a few fountain pens, and I picked up two for $10 US apiece plus tax. One was an old Parker Striped Duofold button filler, which turned out to be a bit of a frankenpen -- it's got a Sheaffer #3 nib on it!

The OTHER, though, is a mystery. It has no markings on the cap or barrel, a Pilot nib, and what appears to be a Pilot squeeze filler system (you know, like a Parker 51 Aerometric only not quite). I contact Pilot USA to see if I could get any info about the pen, and was asked to send photos to be shown to their technicians and (if necessary) to someone at Pilot's main office in Japan.

The answer came back today: it's NOT a Pilot, according to Pilot Japan. It may be a Korean pen; the person I have been corresponding with said that the filler looked somewhat like a CON-20 converter. So, I'll post the pix here and see if anyone has ever run across anything similar (I had been guessing from the style of the pen it may have been from the 1970s or '80s, but that's just a conjecture on my part -- but that was going on the assumption that it was some model Pilot pen, based on what it said on the press bar and the nib...).

The pen is slim, and has a metal body covered with what appears to be a sort of slightly yellowish enamel (and the jewels and decoration on the clip seem to be the same enamel):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry it's sort of photo heavy (and for the quality thereof at times -- my iPhone is not really a substitute for my DSLR...). I tried to take as many photos as possible to aid in the ID. The enamel has a bit of wear but the nib looked good, and the sac appears to be pliable (although I have not done a test fill).

Thanks in advance for any assistance. This is becoming more and intriguing. (I'm also going to show it around at the Triangle Pen Show this weekend, and see if I get any of the pros having a clue as to what this really is, and when and where it's from....)

Thanks in advance (I'm betting someone out there in FPN land will say "My aunt used to have a pen just like it!" [Posting here in this forum because I'm not sure whether this belongs in the Japan - Asia Forum or not (or, for that matter, in the China/Korea/etc. Forum) and I figured posting here was hedging my bets...

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PS104]

Whatever its pedigree I think it's a nice looking pen and once restored would be happy to use it.

I hope you have a chance to enjoy it

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Ruth,

 

It is a Korean pen.

 

It's one of those Korean-made Pilots like Speerbob sells on eBay for around $25-30, NOS.

 

Back in the '70s and '80s, Pilot used to have a factory in S. Korea that made "budget" Pilots for the Korean market.

 

- Anthony

Edited June 2, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[ink-syringe]

It is a Korean made Pilot.

[ink-syringe]

 

Back in the '70s and '80s, Pilot used to have a factory in S. Korea that made "budget" Pilots for the Korean market.

 

- Anthony

 

& inks. Pilot inks sold here in that Pilot store, with the iconic Pilot Neon Sign right near my house used to brew their own flavors of Pilot Blue, Black and Red. Not the same as Pilot Japan. Same labels and such but underneath it says Made in ROK. Still have a couple old bottles of this terrible brew in my cabinet someplace.

 

 

That old iconic Pilot shop is under remodeling. They rented out part of it to others. The rumor is that the person who owned the shop and the rights to sell Korea Pilots and owned the building passed away. I'll confess I am worried that the place will go under and that iconic neon sign will come down.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Ink Syringe,

 

Thanks for the additional info on the inks and the building itself.

 

I hope the sign can be saved; hopefully on the grounds of historical preservation, but I don't know if that is within the scope of the current Korean mindset. I know we lost a lot of our history in the 1940s & '50s, during our "streamlining" era when EVERYTHING had to be modern or it was considered "tired and out of date."

 

Good luck.

 

- Anthony

Edited June 2, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks guys -- you rock! (I knew I could count on FPN ).

I showed the pen around to a few people today at the Triangle Pen Show, and the general consensus was that the pen was pretty neat no matter what the provenance is. When I get home I'm going to see about flushing it out to see if it works, and I'll post more info if I learn more, and also writing samples if possible.

Had a panic at one point when I thought I'd dropped it but it turned out to have been stuck in the outer pocket of my purse (this is what I get for having a pen wrap, an appropriated ThinkPad case, two pen sleeves in my purse, another one clipped to a small notebook, and at least one stuck in my back pocket (had a TWSBI clipped to my neckline part of the day as well, until it decided to unscrew itself from the cap.. ).

For now I'm going to be referring to the pen as "Korean-made possible Pilot pen". Of course, given the title of this thread, I'm ALSO going to be referring to the pen as "Alice"....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ParkerDuofold]

You're welcome, Ruth.

 

Enjoy your "new" pen.

 

- Anthony

[inkstainedruth]

Well, six months after starting this thread, I may have tracked down some more info on my pen: it appears to be very similar to one that FPN member Speerbob has up on his eBay site at the moment (similar barrel design, somewhat similar clip, and definitely similar section and collar, although a different style cap finial).

I may have a Pilot Dipper, and after seeing the one he's selling, I did a quick Google search, and found an old thread discussing the model (which goes with what Pilot-USA telling me last summer about the pen being Korean):

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/241407-pilot-dipper/

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

​ETA: Well, I stand corrected: just found this really old thread:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/73266-wtt-intersted-in-trading-with-pilot-saturn/

and my pen does look more like a Pilot Saturn.

Edited January 6, 2018 by inkstainedruth

[MercianScribe]

Fascinating! Nice detective work.

 

Ink Syringe, any chance of a photo of that sign?

[ink-syringe]

Here is an awful photo that happened to be on my phone. It's just a quick and dirty shot early in the morning from a distance (I was waiting for the bus). I can probably take a better one when I walk past it next week. But it is the yellow sign. One of the very few unchanged things in this neighborhood since I first moved here decades ago. To Koreans, it is probably iconic.

 

The store itself, depressingly, remains closed. I kept hearing about a makeover and a relaunch by the descendants of the owner but nothing has happened so far and this is possibly the single most famous street corner in the whole country. The bell they ring to bring in the new year (first built in 1396!!!!) is right in front of that Pilot shop. I can't imagine the untold millions that building is worth. I could tell you other things about that Pilot shop (some true, some rumors) but only in person.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosingak

 

 

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Very interesting. If not for the signage, that could be any city anywhere.

Thanks for posting.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ink-syringe]

Very interesting. If not for the signage, that could be any city anywhere.

Thanks for posting.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Well, the very distinctly Korean landmark is not well highlighted in this crummy cell phone photo. It is distant and obscured by the busses but otherwise, I suppose so.

 

The sign itself says: 빠이롯드 만년필 (Pilot Fountain Pens) in an old school Korean rendering but nowadays we don't usually spell Pilot that way. Usually 파일럿 만년필

[ink-syringe]

The sign at night lit up.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by ink-syringe

[NicolausPiscator]

Cool picture! And very nice pen!

[ink-syringe]

http://postfiles6.naver.net/20090815_53/cik508_1250333398215FztHJ_jpg/%EB%82%A8%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%AC_072_cik508.jpg?type=w2

[PAKMAN]

Nice find Ruth! Enjoy! Thanks everyone for the great info on this pen!!

[Runnin_Ute]

Glad you tracked down more info on this pen. Enjoy it.

[inkstainedruth]

Sadly, I'd probably enjoy it more if it didn't leak. I had a crack in the collar repaired, but it's still leaking from the top of the collar. Couldn't tell if the issue was the ink (which was some unknown sample that was very wet) or if there is still some problem with the pen. I will try a drier ink in it next time (something like Pelikan, maybe) and see how it goes.

Also, it's very skinny, (about the diameter of my Parker Vectors) -- so not a good pen for writing the Great American Novel with, but okay for a couple of pages at a time.

Yet another pen where the repairs cost more than the pen did. (Strangely, I have a lot of pens like that.... )

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth